Chapter 4, Racism the begginers Guide, Chp. 4 Racism without race?

Racism, the Beginners Guide
Chapter 4, “Racism Without Race?”
Written by, Alana Lentin

Summary
Many people today in politics and those who fall into the category as the standardized normal would say that America is a post-racial society. The author, Alana Lentin writes this chapter with the main purpose of showing how far we really are from getting rid of the idea of ‘race.’ Race in America has gone from what we think of before and during the civil rights movement, to something more subtle. In my opinion what we have today is almost more dangerous because we don’t see it. In America you have two sides or different cultures, the rich white people who can afford health care and private schools etc… and the poor people of multiple ethnicities. We use the excuse that poor people have put themselves there when in fact we don’t start on an even field. To have good schools and good health care you need money to start with. Our fend for yourself culture allows for this and justifies it. The fact that we still have racism shows in that we still use race and differentiate cultures. We use the terms, Asian, Black, White etc… in the same way we look at people and say girl, boy or tall short etc… which has its own problems. Racism in America is everywhere if you look for it and are aware some of the biggest according to the author being in Hurricane Katrina and our justifications for immigration policy.

Key Terms
Post-racial America- the idea that we as a country and people have put racism behind us.
Ethnocentrism- looking at the world from only your own cultural views and values.
Racelessness- the idea that white people are the norm and have become invisible.
Colorblindness- white, not seen as a color, the norm and invisible.
Re-segregation- “is ensured by the privatization of all common resources from roads to healthcare and schools.” (p.100)
Kinaltruism- a tendency to protect and help those of your own kind.
Instinctivism- the idea of protecting your group from outsiders, justified by evolution.

Important Quotes
-“…racism does not stand alone; it is bound up with the way our societies function.” (p. 91)
-“…Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak No Evil. If we do not mention the fact that someone is different maybe her difference will go away.” (p.95)
-The badge of race, “to the ‘physical bond’ that the ‘common history’ of those who have suffered a long disaster and ‘have one long memory’ have to carry with them.” (p.104) (Du Bois 1940, cited in Appiah 1985: 33)
-“…can avoid being accused of racism because it is based on the argument that all human groups share the instinct to want to live separately from others.” (p.107)

Questions
-Since the idea of race has been created and is so bound in our culture like male and female, can it ever go away?
-How aware are we that we are all racist in some way because we have pre conceived notions about everyone?
-A world with social justice is what most people would agree is what they want, but could we even imagine a world where that was possible?