Racism

Okay, this blog is not supposed to give sociological lectures, but here you go. Racism never bothers me too much, as I am a firm believer of individual hard work. The belief goes: Even if there is racism, if you work hard, you can still get on top. Maybe a little more work here and there, but so what?

Well, I was recently listening to a lot of podcast. When I eat, cook or walk. One good one is "This American Life" by NPR, and a story of a Muslim family really touched me. Racism is a strange thing. If you think it does not exist, then it does not exist, because you can explain away everything with a non-racism explanation. But if you believe it is there, then it is everywhere wherever you look. Now here is the tricky part: when you do so, you yourself become a racist because you look at everything through a lens of race. See, you cannot win!

That's not bad, though, considering I am a racist myself. I did the "implicit" test, and got a "mildly racial bias" result. I used stereotypes all the time, because it was a shortcut to add certainty into chaotic life. The other day I was flipping a high-class magazine or checking out a luxury ski resort website, and you bet that all the smiling faces were white. Well, I would be hypocritical if I wanted to judge them, because I also think whites, male or female, are more attractive and classy than blacks and asians, or whatever. I speak more confidently in front of asians than in front of whites, as if I unconsciously surrender my confidence to a more superior race. I also tend to think Chinese are very racist, although I think I am better than the rest.

That's how racism persists. If you are for it, you are a bastard, but if you are against it, you are a hypocrite, because you have been tainted on the way you get to know racism. So there is no point to pick a side between "for" or "against". Really, I am not personally for or against racism. I think biologically we are wired to be discriminative against something that looks different, and we should live with some versions of it just like we live with the rule of gravity (Of course, in an evolutionary point of view, I hope, rather hopelessly, that it is going away over generations). But people, please just admit it. And I damn you if you self-righteously claim you are color-blind.

Indeed, I have profitted from American racism. Remember the mid-term election? Our department had this prediction pool. Everyone contributed 5 dollars and the winner took all. Initially I picked all democrats on swing states. Then the infamous Harold Ford ad came out (The one that subliminally suggested that black mens are after white daughters). I was like "shit", and changed that one to a red state. Boy, was I correct! Ford lost by a wide margin.