If some whites are willing to vote for a person of color, but only to the extent they are able to view that person as racially unthreatening, as different from "regular" black people, as somehow less than truly black, or as having "transcended race" (a term used with regularity to describe Obama over the past several years), then white racism remains quite real, quite powerful, and quite operative in the life of the nation. More than that, even in the case of the electoral success of a man of color, it might well have remained central to the outcome. The only question, really, was which kind of racism was likely to show up most prominently on election day? Would it be the traditional old-fashioned kind, rooted in conscious bigotry and hate, the Racism 1.0, which historically caused many whites to act toward black folks with suspiciion, violence, distruct, fear, and anxiety, and which-if it is prevalent enough-could have resulted in Obama's defeat? Or would it be the newer, slicker, enlightened exceptionalism, or Racism 2.0, which still holds the larger black and brown communities of our nation in low regard but is willing to carve out exceptions for those who make some whites sufficiently comfortable?Tim Wise uses his short book to argue just this point (which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about this). Tim Wise is one of most highly regarded public speakers and authors on race in the United States and his books are written in plain English and entertaining.
Well, what do you think about the author's argument in regards to Racism 1.0 and Racism 2.0? Do you agree? Why or why not?
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ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Tim Wise. There are many people in America today that continue to have strong and prevalent racist views, or as Wise would call it Racism 1.0, towards the black and brown communities. I believe Racism 2.0 comes into play very surreptitiously though. There are individuals who still have those racist view yet, fortunately, most of the time these views are looked down upon in our society. Therefore Racism 2.0 is for those people who would try to convince themselves that they are not racist because they like "some" individuals or people of a different race, for these individual exceed their expectations.
ReplyDeleteRacism 1.0 is an all or nothing view. But this new kind of racism sometimes can be pushed under the radar. A person can have racist thought and views without necessarily being called a racist among some in society today, But I say call 'em as you see 'em!
Tim Wise's argument correctly portrays the new age racism as it truly is, a less violent version of traditional race discrimination. When comparing past conditions and circumstances regarding race inequality and discrimination the United States does appear to be striving towards a more racially perfect egalitarian society. However, the intrinsic implicit biases that continue to exist in society as a whole prove otherwise. The demand characteristics of society have only forced the question of racial resentment and fear to manifest itself in a different more "acceptable" form. Racism continues to thrive, it has only become less noticeable in the way that it expresses itself.
ReplyDeleteI have read parts of this book (preface and introduction) and I can't wait to read more. I feel that Wise's argument is not only timely and informative, but that it will help expose the underlying continuation and perpetuation of racism and segregation in the U.S. His arguments help to reveal the evils of racism and the racism of denial we are seeing more and more into today's society.
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