IBARW 3: Multicultural Racism, or, Minorities Are Racist Too

[keilexandra]

Especially in the U.S., mainstream coverage of racism tends to focus on the black-white divide. I can assure you that Asians are also discriminated against, though perhaps more subtly (and I can't speak for any other group, or even for Asians as a whole); but that's a topic for another time. This post is about racism committed by minority groups

Comments

[teagrl83]

I'd love to read it! I know my head explodes whenever the media gets into their spiel of how Latinos won't vote for Obama because he's black. That's an idea worth unpacking, considering that different latino communities have varied relationships to black people. That's definitely worth exploring

[keilexandra]

Re: your first point: I've never heard of such a distinction, but personally I prefer "racism" because that is exactly what it is. If the word has been Westernized, the only way to free it is by using the term in all contexts.

[sparkymonster]

With regards to #1.

Racism = prejudice + power. SO in most situations racism isn't something that POC can do because they lack institutional power

Which means POC, in the US, can be prejudiced and bigoted, but not racist.

http://theangryblackwoman.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/monday-debate-what-is-racism/

[keilexandra]

Well:

a) Although I used examples from the U.S. because that's where I'm currently living, other commenters have chimed in with international anecdotes of their own.

b) Also, even in the U.S., POC do have institutional power over other POC. For example, Asian-Americans are commonly regarded as the Model Minority (not something I'm going to get into here) and as "above" other POC, though still below whites. Asians are prejudiced against Caucasians with a bit of envy; they are prejudiced against blacks and (to a slightly lesser extent) Hispanics because of ingrained cultural perceptions. This latter prejudice is backed by institutional power and thus constitutes racism.