Just before I start this post, I would just like to say that the following opinions I express are nothing in connection to the London and UK riots and the supposed "justifications" for arson and vandalism. This is just about my views on society in general.
Ok, so completely contrasting what I just said in the last paragraph (sort of), I'm hearing a lot of things being said in the news that the reasons for the riots may involve "race suppression/unfairness etc." This gets me thinking about what people actually think about "racism" these days.
Some few say that racism is a natural thing that is just embedded into our system; our dislike... or perhaps failure to see eye-to-eye with someone who does not look like us.
Living in London, it's often I hear people say things such as "I don't think racism really exists that much these days." In the kindest way possible, I can say this: I think they are naive. Yes, in comparison to the segregation of black people many years ago, there is less racism. But it is there, and racism is extremely difficult to get rid of. I'm not even sure if it's possible.
I think that racist culture has become a trend, you can see it in comedy, on websites such as Tumblr, you can easily identify stereotypical connotations. Yes, to some extent, we can all have a laugh. I can easily make fun of myself, and I'm a pretty laid back person. I don't get easily offended. But eventually, jokes get old. You don't want to hear them all the time, and slowly people think it's ok to be "stereotypically racist."
"It's a joke, just having a bit of fun!" That doesn't sound too nice now, does it?
I think it's hard to relate when someone is not in the midst of it. I'm good at empathizing, but even there are things that I do not understand and I will refuse to be fake and pretend I understand it. I will TRY to understand, yes. I will do my research, look into things, get different perspectives. But I will not nod and think I know, when I clearly do not.
I am Indian myself and I have received racism when I was younger. But then again, kids repeat what they hear. A couple of weeks ago, myself and a couple others were discussing the topic of bullying, and when I was questioned, I admitted that some children used to say "Do not play with Ria, she is brown." People looked sad for a brief moment and then one said "Well, I suppose that's normal. It's what kids do, you know?" Fair. Or wait, is it? Not all kids do it, surely? It stopped for a bit and then the racism picked back up quite recently.
I don't know, what I'm saying is that I think it's complete and utter bull when people say that racism doesn't exist anymore. It's not just lower class people that are racist, it doesn't even matter what class they're a part of. There's a difference between being tolerant and thinking and behaving in a racist manner.
Unfortunately, it's impossible to prove so it will have to remain a conspiracy for quite sometime.
