I don't use racism to only describe systemic things; I use it to describe all levels of prejudices and actions based on those lines of thinking. Whether a racist thought makes anything HAPPEN and how big of an impact it has is another matter. I think the sociological definition, while necessary because it brings power into the equation, glosses over the intra-POC and POC-to-white acts of prejudice, and so it softens that part somehow, especially in light of the colloquial understanding of the word. Maybe it's just me.
While I definitely am aware of patterns and trends or whatever, I like also focusing in on personal interactions and displays of power, and on a micro-level, I do think POCs can be racist and wield power. On a macro-level, not so much. I get the cancer/lesion analogy...but I also think that we really need to address the lesions. Think of it as an attack on two fronts. Society is simultaneously a system/collective AND a bunch of individuals, so we need to deal with the broad AND the specific.
I feel the racial prejudice vs. (sociological def of) racism idea is similar (kind of) to being racist or having prejudices vs. actually carrying those out and DOING something based on those prejudices. However, with the sociological definition, even action based on prejudice is NOT racist if it's coming from a POC.
I do agree that "overall" it's not likely that a POC can enact racism and harm a white person in some meaningful way.
The term lateral racism...meh. Does white/POC racism get called vertical racism?
I also think it's a little weird that we always lump POC together, as if we were all one giant mass of equals. I know this is not the point and that there IS a history of whites vs. everyone else...but still. I guess I just don't like the idea some people have that all POCs automatically get along, or love each other. (Then again, I guess some POCs also think "white people" are a giant blob too.) Oh, and a lot of people don't realize that who got to be called "white" has changed over the years (e.g. Jews weren't "white" for a time).
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Date: 2009-09-04 09:05 am (UTC)While I definitely am aware of patterns and trends or whatever, I like also focusing in on personal interactions and displays of power, and on a micro-level, I do think POCs can be racist and wield power. On a macro-level, not so much. I get the cancer/lesion analogy...but I also think that we really need to address the lesions. Think of it as an attack on two fronts. Society is simultaneously a system/collective AND a bunch of individuals, so we need to deal with the broad AND the specific.
I feel the racial prejudice vs. (sociological def of) racism idea is similar (kind of) to being racist or having prejudices vs. actually carrying those out and DOING something based on those prejudices. However, with the sociological definition, even action based on prejudice is NOT racist if it's coming from a POC.
I do agree that "overall" it's not likely that a POC can enact racism and harm a white person in some meaningful way.
The term lateral racism...meh. Does white/POC racism get called vertical racism?
I also think it's a little weird that we always lump POC together, as if we were all one giant mass of equals. I know this is not the point and that there IS a history of whites vs. everyone else...but still. I guess I just don't like the idea some people have that all POCs automatically get along, or love each other. (Then again, I guess some POCs also think "white people" are a giant blob too.) Oh, and a lot of people don't realize that who got to be called "white" has changed over the years (e.g. Jews weren't "white" for a time).
Colorism--definitely hear ya on that.