Addressing racism in society
Dialogue is a process in which two or more people come together to discuss a specific issue that affects specific people in a community or even on a global scale. A topic such as racism can be tabled for debate with the aim of either understanding its origin, how to remedy, or how to help those that are racially discriminated against. Although dialogues help to generate ideas on how to address issues of concern in society, some topics like racism may be too challenging to resolve using dialogue because of the complex nature in which such topics need to be approached. The challenge when debating the topic on racism is especially challenging because each person participating in the dialogue has to first acknowledge the privileges and challenges that they face due to their race as well as identify how race affects others. It therefore requires one to understand the position that race presents to the individual as well as how it may affect other people differently. With such knowledge in mind, individuals have to structure their arguments in ways that will not be offensive to other participants in the dialogue and this often requires a great deal of control especially because of the sensitive nature of the topic on racism. Although dialogue does create awareness on the negative outcomes of racial discrimination, it remains to be an ineffective tool for addressing racism because of the various challenges that exist to hinder successful communication among people engaging in the debate.
Discussions on race often provoke a lot of intense emotions among people from different racial backgrounds especially because it reveals the different ways in which people live their lives with respect to their racial backgrounds. In the process of discussing the effects of racism, different people from different ethnicities have to share their experiences, challenges and opportunities that they face because of their race. In this process, the diverse groups get to learn about the opportunities and challenges that each ethnic group faces and in the process, see just how much a privileged race may benefit one ethnic group and discriminate against another. In such a setting, it becomes difficult to reach a common ground and come up with viable solution because different groups will seek out solutions that will benefit their ethnic group the most.
Other than the differences in opinion, dialogue can be ineffective in addressing racism because of the notion that racism is a form of discrimination that has remained the same over time. Most people are of the opinion that racism is the oppression or discrimination of people because of their race. Since race is determined by ethnic characteristics, it is a constant factor as is the case between whites and African Americans. Since the difference is a matter of color, the constant factor that people use to define, and therefore, try to define race will be based on something as simple as skin color. A dialogue would therefore be ineffective because people would argue in the lines of what they already believe. Despite racism having evolved over the years, people still view it as a constant element that divides people on the basis of ethnic backgrounds. However, racism has evolved over the years and its definition continues to change over time.
In the nineteenth century, for example, people believed that whites ware superior to blacks because they had a bigger brain, and were therefore more intelligent. The belief was so strong that scientists had to research on the difference in size between the skulls of African Americans and whites to prove that whites were more intelligent due to the larger space meant to hold the brain in their skulls. Although the research was used to give whites superiority, the belief was done away with in the 20th century as research gave way to new means of racial profiling to determine which race was superior (Boza 25). While the different ways of differentiating people on the basis of race keeps evolving, the view that people have on racism remains the same and thus makes it difficult to debate about racism. This is especially because the dialogue could be based on factors that are no longer relevant, and therefore less likely to have any significant impact on racism.
Dialogue is also ill equipped to address the topic on racism because the people that carry out the debate are guided by ideas that are brought about by political and economic liberalism. Issues related to race are often presented in a liberal context that makes it difficult to identify the root cause of the problem. In an issue such as racial segregation, an argument can be made that African Americans choose to stay in neighborhoods that they can afford and this is the same with whites (n.a 56). Since liberals believe in offering equal opportunities, viewing racism in the context of choice makes it difficult to identify which people need help and which are in the situation they live in because of their own free will. Since dialogues require people to give their own opinion, it leads people into viewing racism on an individual level. Since people are free to make their own choices, the points put forward fail to address the topic as a whole and only picks on individual elements, thus making it hard to reach actionable solutions to do away with racism.
In addition, racism is still explained through cultural ideologies that have become acceptable in society regardless of whether they are based on facts or not. A good example is the belief that African Americans are more prone to engaging in criminal activity and that Mexicans do not value education as much as the whites (n.a 57). Such ideologies make dialogue difficult because arguments made are already biased by such stereotypes which have already become acceptable in society. This is especially because the stereotypes are shared by not only the racist people but also by the environment in which African Americans, Mexicans and other minorities choose to live in. If people continue to use such ideologies, it becomes difficult to truly define what racism is and no amount of dialogue will reach a desirable solution because some forms of racism have already become acceptable especially if they do not cause any harm or do not discriminate against the people they are directed towards (n.a 57). Since dialogue works best when all parties are debating specific topic, it becomes difficult to discuss the topic on racism because it cannot be approached from one angle.
Lastly, there is the belief that racism is no longer as extreme as it used to be. Although great achievements have been made in the fight to end racism, people still get discriminated against despite it having reduced over the years. The dialogues held are likely to focus on racism in general instead of narrowing down to the new forms of racism that still exist (Silva 467). Since African Americans and whites go to same schools and employment places among others, one might believe that racism is a non-factor. This makes it difficult to take the matter with the seriousness it deserves because people have been led to believe that racism is no longer an issue of concern.
Racism is a serious issue that needs to be addressed accordingly in order to bring to end issues of oppression and discrimination of people because of their ethnicity. For it to be resolved, there needs to be a clear definition of what racism truly is rather than relying on a set of agreeable forms of discrimination that varies depending on the racial background of the people falling victim to it. While dialogue can create a call to action for people to take the issue of racism more seriously, it fails to be an effective tool as it mostly focuses on the debater’s opinion regarding what racism is and how it affects an individual and other people in the community. It is therefore important to have a common definition for racism so as to create better understanding and help in getting rid of it from society.
Work cited
Boza M, “Race and racism: A critical approach” Oxford University Press, n.d
N.A, “The central frame of color-blind racism” n.d
Silva E, “Rethinking racism: Toward a structural interpretation” American Sociology Review, 2008
