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> I didn't care that they were black, but my husband had never once mentioned that John was black. So I assumed he was white. How can an assumption be racist a
by type0 8y ago
> I didn't care that they were black, but my husband had never once mentioned that John was black. So I assumed he was white.
How can an assumption be racist anyway? If my friend told me about a friend I might imagine that person tall and slim with brown hair and whatever other look and if this person turns out to be short and chubby with blond hair - who cares. Obsessing about skin color like you are doing right now is completely meaningless, doesn't help anybody and just feeds the segregation even more. You can't be "subconsciously racist", don't believe those hoax psychologists that claim it.
- DoreenMichele 8y agoHow can an assumption be racist anyway? The assumption was rooted in cultural practices of the Deep South. Studies show that people who disagree with primary racism will still agree with secondary and tertiary rules that help enforce it. So you may not like the idea of subconscious bias, but it's quite real. It is sort of a social "Jim Crow" law. Like when people say they aren't racist, but they wouldn't hire anyone who "sounds" black (who has the so called black accent) because you need to be articulate for the job. My rebuttal to that back in the day was "George W. Bush." Because if you actually need to be articulate, then a white man widely mocked for his speech issues should have never been president. But that's not really it.
- mcphage 8y ago> How can an assumption be racist anyway? Very easily: "you're Irish, I just assumed that you were a drunk".