Comments on: Wait…. Racism is a “Big Problem”?

By: Carli Weimer

Carli Weimer — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 19:06:13 +0000

The statistics you included really surprised me. I can not believe 42% of people still do not see racism as a big problem or even a problem at all in our country. Before taking this class, I was unfamiliar with implicit racism and aversive racism. Most of the actions, I classified as racist were blatant and overt. By educating myself, I have become much more aware of what unconscious biases I have. Being open to your own thoughts and feelings helps you understand your own actions. Racism is a big problem, and people should be educated not only on explicit forms but also implicit forms. Implicit forms of racism are so subtle thatI believe many White people do not even realize the microaggressions they are expressing. However, that is not an excuse.

By: Caroline Whiting

Caroline Whiting — Sun, 22 Apr 2018 19:12:23 +0000

Sarah, I think this is a good question you pose! How can we get people to recognize racism that is implicit, or more subtle? It is such a shame that tragedies need to occur in order for people to recognize that racism is still an issue. As you mentioned, the Charlottesville shootings and riots actually drew attention to the fact that racism is still an entirely prominent issue in our society, but why did it have to take a blatant racist act to do so? It is shameful that we can be so blind to racism in our country. Your statistic regarding the 42% of people who disregard racism as an extreme issue actually shocked me. I did not realize the severity of the issue; I knew that there were people who did not take racism seriously for the problem that it is, but I did not realize the extreme to which people do not understand the weight of the issue. I think this is where it becomes extremely important for education regarding racism to become much more integrated into our education systems, workplaces, etc. This way, people will begin to recognize the implicit forms of racism we miss constantly.

By: Lily Josephs

Lily Josephs — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 22:39:27 +0000

Sarah- I thought this blog post was very important and tied in a lot of things that we have spoken about in class. I think that the movie “Get Out” addressed the other 42% really well. The “we had Obama as President of the United States for not one but two terms so racism can’t possibly exist!” mentality. On your point that, “The more modern form of racism is when people hold more implicit bias and that is why people have a hard time confronting racism,” I feel that many times nowadays when people confront racism or implicit bias, they are told that everything in recent years has become too politically correct, people are too sensitive, or that these issues don’t exist. It is important to keep fighting the good fight even when the people against your argument keep coming back to try to silence you.