https://contemporaryracism.org/3232/racist-comments-in-the-public-eye-and-how-we-deal-with-them/ An academic blog about whiteness, implicit bias, and systemic racism Mon, 24 Oct 2016 03:42:32 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://contemporaryracism.org/3232/racist-comments-in-the-public-eye-and-how-we-deal-with-them/comment-page-1/#comment-776 Mon, 24 Oct 2016 03:42:32 +0000 http://contemporaryracism.org/?p=3232#comment-776 I completely agree with you in how our reactions to racial issues need to be more moderated. I think these occurrences tend to spark extreme emotional reactions from people – probably because we’ve conflated race to be such a sensitive and taboo subject. On the one hand, people tend to shut down and ignore these conversations because it makes them uncomfortable as we’re so used to colorblind rhetoric. On the other side, I think many people feel the need to react strongly to racial incidents like the one you described with Shoemaker because they want to make a strong statement – but in the end, did Shoemaker learn a lesson? Or has her reputation now just been ruined? I believe it’s important to both find that balance between being kind and firm with someone who has done wrong like you have described, but also make sure you are doing justice for those that have been offended. Too often are the feelings of people of color discredited, while the feelings of white people (specifically women) are coddled and cared for, as if they’re somehow more important.

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