Summary
It is also pertinent to stress that the need for this negative group designation is not always as straightforward as "black" and "white." For example, less economically advantaged Eastern Europeans seeking (competing for) employment in Western Europe find themselves lumped in the same group and subject to all sorts of classifications. Equally convenient has been the caricatured misrepresentation of "Arabs" by mainstream media, which serves to further specific political and economic interests.
The racism of those with political, military and economic power is often violent and detrimental, but it is important to remember that the underdog can be just as racist. An Arab reader from London sent me an email demanding that I explain myself for collaborating on various projects with some well-known Jewish authors. "You are either naive or you are selling out," she wrote. It made no difference to her that these authors are anti-Zionist and have been, for many years, on the frontline of the struggle for Palestinian rights and justice. She simply couldn't break away from a deeply ingrained racist belief that "Jews are not to be trusted."Even when it doesn't pertain to races, most people seem to slide easily into greater tribal memberships that divide the world into "us" and "them," often using words of negation and often utilizing religion. The "non" factor becomes very useful here - "non-Muslim," "nonJew," "non-Christian," and so on. Such negations are never well-intended and always produce negative results. Less apprehensive terms such as "non-democratic" (a neo-colonial equivalent to "un-civilized" perhaps?) could be similarly loaded and dangerous and are often used to promote and justify war.See the full content of this document
Extract
Convenient Racism: The 'Us' and 'Them' Factor
Racism is, among many things, convenient. It provides simplified, definite and ready-to-serve answers to complex and compounded questions. Racists, in turn, come from all walks of life; their motivation and the root causes behind their contemptible views of others may differ, but the outcome of thes...
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