(I still won't put up with taking any blame for stuff that happened before my ancestors got here, sorry ;))
While blaming you personally would be a mistake, it is still the case that there is a legacy of those actions taken by others, and that legacy affects how we all live today. So while you might not be responsible for what happened, you are responsible for how you deal with the advantages that go along with that legacy. Put another way, it's not what happened, it's what you do about it.
What we SHOULD be doing as a society is saying, "discrimination based on prejudice is wrong"
...which misses out entirely on the structural character of racism. Most people will vehemently deny being prejudiced, but not see how racism has structured our interactions and our institutions. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva talks about this in his very worthwhile book, Racism Without Racists (http://www.amazon.com/Racism-without-Racists-Color-Blind-Persistence/dp/0742546861/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0692053-3032942?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186580310&sr=8-1).
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-08 01:41 pm (UTC)While blaming you personally would be a mistake, it is still the case that there is a legacy of those actions taken by others, and that legacy affects how we all live today. So while you might not be responsible for what happened, you are responsible for how you deal with the advantages that go along with that legacy. Put another way, it's not what happened, it's what you do about it.
...which misses out entirely on the structural character of racism. Most people will vehemently deny being prejudiced, but not see how racism has structured our interactions and our institutions. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva talks about this in his very worthwhile book, Racism Without Racists (http://www.amazon.com/Racism-without-Racists-Color-Blind-Persistence/dp/0742546861/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0692053-3032942?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186580310&sr=8-1).