When I was younger and I heard obvious bigots talk about “exceptions”, it gave me hope that some of the humanity and value of the targeted minority was shining through, and there might a change in views.
Later, I learned that the opposite was happening: any signs of humanity and value were being labelled “freak events”, “departures from the norm” and excluded from the data pool, never to be considered again. I learned that “Oh, there are exceptions” means “I have no plans to let reality change my mind.”
I’m Biracial, and my White maternal grandmother was prejudiced against Black folks. But she loved me and my siblings dearly.
It wasn’t until later when I was a teen, that I realized that love had NOT made her ‘get past’ her bigotry; it was simply that she had made special exceptions for us, her “Mixed” grandkids.
O_o
That was a hard reality to come to terms with at the time.
If used as part of a documentary, it should follow under fair use to show clips from the show, stand-up, interview, movies, etc. Which they could acquire through previous released media.
I dunno, it isn’t like I would put it past them, but I think they are making enough money on their stream services, that re-runs of Cosby isn’t going to pull new numbers in.
Person A: I hate [Martians], and think they all should be sent back to [Mars]! Person B: Um, I’m a [Martian], you know. Person A: But you don’t count, you’re [Person B]!
I have heard this with black friends, with refugees, and even myself as someone was railing against Americans (remember, I live in Germany). People always find a way to make exceptions for those they personally know.
And yeah, it sucks hard. But I get the sinking feeling that it’s somehow baked into our tribal wiring.
I didn’t deign to share other anecdotes about various other people I’ve known who truly DID overcome their racist bigotry, because it wasn’t actually germane to the point that I was making at the time.
Racial prejudice is not ingrained; it’s taught and reinforced.
Any cycle, any wheel, CAN be broken, with the actual will and commitment to do so.
I understand, and I didn’t want to imply bigotry is genetic. Calling it hard-wired was a bad idiom to use. It is a gut feeling that doesn’t go into the actual mechanics of whether it’s taught or hereditary. My gut feeling is that we as hairless apes feel familial ties, and reservations to those not in the family. Which is why we can so easily carve exceptions out of the definition of the out group.
If we’re “hairless apes” then we wouldn’t be able to use reason, logic, and the like. We have the ability to grow and change and to make choices about our behaviors. Bigotry is learned, not ingrained.
Other apes like chimpanzees also use reason, logic and the like. They too have the ability to grow and change and make choices about their behaviours. I do not see our species as something special. We are animals. Meat that thinks.
My feeling is not that we are bigoted from birth, but that we have a predisposition to accept such learning. The exploited trait is most likely some sort of trust in those teaching us, and so we all too easily soak up the lesson of exclusion.
I think we agree more than our discussion suggests. As I keep repeating, I don’t know. I only have this depressing hunch that I cannot shake. The lack of verbal nuance makes me seem more firm in this belief than I am.
I think some of the conflict may be due to definition. To me (and I think this is the standard definition) is the fear or hatred of someone or a group of people for who they are. Fear or hatred of specific people for their behavior or actions isn’t bigotry. That’s experience.
Your examples above are more the latter than the former.
