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It’s Really Sad That in 2023….
(What, That Racism Has Not Been Defeated?) Failure Non-Recognition Bias
Let’s just call it the Super White Privilege Bias. OK, it could be in other countries, and it could be a phenomenon among all people. I’ve no idea. But what expectations do the living have? I encounter it over and over again. Since I study American white racism, or just run across it as I’ve been sensitized to it, I see it everywhere now.
The underlying assumption must be something like this: We are an advanced economy and rich, therefore racism should have been defeated long ago. It’s so common that it falls under one of the top five repeated lines Americans use (that I’m beginning to hate): “It’s really surprising that in 2023 that….”
At least it’s one I’m continually seeing, once I noticed it. Today I was bothered by it again: Kareem Crayton was quoted as saying in an article on the failed redistricting map in Alabama: “The fact that we’re having to fight over that principle is really sad in 2023.” The principle of inequality? Of white racial repression? In politics, really?
Is it? Are you really surprised in 2023? The implication stems from the ruling that black Americans should have been given a better chance to get representation in Alabama. The second try to create a map that fairly gives them an opportunity to vote was openly derided by…
