No, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This might come as a shock to people who actually know me well, who have seen me criticizing racist power structures that favour white people. But let me explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
You see, racism isn\u2019t innate; it\u2019s something we have to learn. We learn it from our friends, from our parents, from the media, from classmates, from neighbours, from Sunday School teachers, from siblings, and from a whole host of everyday interactions with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The thing about racism is that it doesn\u2019t need to be overt for it to be racist. Just because I never call a black person a nigger, for example, doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not racist. Likewise, someone doesn\u2019t need to tell you that \u201cIndians are drunk and lazy\u201d for them to teach you racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Racism can be taught in several ways. It can be how a parent responds to a person of colour walking by on the street, or how a cashier responds to a non-white customer, or how a police officer changes how they talk to someone based on their skin colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be how your neighbour responds abruptly to an old First Nations person walking on the sidewalk because he doesn\u2019t realize the Blackfoot he is speaking is simply, \u201cHow are you\u201d. It can be your brothers making fun of your sister\u2019s new friend because she happens to be Cree. It can be your parents mentioning that someone breaking into your house was \u201cIndian\u201d, as if that explained their actions somehow. It can be your boss charging a surcharge every time he has to do a cleaning job on the nearby reserve because a previous customer out there wasted his time. It can be your classmates saying Sikh classmates never shower. It can be your Sunday School teacher telling you to marry only white people. It can be your friend saying, \u201cIt\u2019s okay if I say \u2018prairie n\u2014\u2014\u2019 because I\u2019m part M\u00e9tis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All these things add up over the years, and unchecked, can influence how you perceive someone based on their skin. And that can take a long time to undo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recognizing that you have prejudicial biases, I think, is the first step to eliminating those biases. What matters is being self-aware enough to notice when your biases surface, and changing your response to them. Instead of feeding and perpetuating those biases, we need to question them and prevent them from manifesting in our words and deeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check it and correct it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask yourself why you feel uncomfortable when three persons of colour are coming toward you on the sidewalk. Ask yourself why your circle of friends include so few persons of colour. Ask yourself why you view your person of colour friend as an exception; why you don\u2019t use them to inform your opinion of others from that group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m white. 100% European white. I\u2019m the product of settlers, some of whom invaded Canada over 400 years ago. I grew up in white communities. White communities that, while predominately white, still had sizable populations of persons of colour. All this influenced what I was taught, both directly and indirectly. And all those lessons I learned stuck. And though my first memory of standing up against racism was 35 years ago, I still catch myself entertaining these biases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And noticing them hasn\u2019t been something that has come naturally. Just like I learned racism; I have had to learn how to recognize it and try to change it. I\u2019m still learning. If I had to guess, I\u2019d say that every day I\u2019m exposed to new insights or information that help me to better understand the challenges persons of colour face living in a white persons world. And how my attitudes toward those challenges perpetuate white privilege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, yes, I\u2019m racist. It\u2019s how I was raised by my racist community. But I recognize my racism, and I\u2019m trying to change it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No, really. This might come as a shock to people who actually know me well, who have seen me criticizing racist power structures that favour white people. But let me explain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-2907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racism","tag-racism"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/03\/swastikas-906653_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4NkW7-KT","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3843,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/10\/01\/trudeaus-brownface-doesnt-erase-our-own-racism\/","url_meta":{"origin":2907,"position":0},"title":"Trudeau\u2019s brownface doesn\u2019t erase our own racism","author":"Kim Siever","date":"1 October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I get that it\u2019s problematic for Justin Trudeau to dress up in brownface, but it\u2019s also problematic when we focus on it.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/72134814_2393621157392356_2623243484684877824_n.jpg?fit=960%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/72134814_2393621157392356_2623243484684877824_n.jpg?fit=960%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/72134814_2393621157392356_2623243484684877824_n.jpg?fit=960%2C541&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/72134814_2393621157392356_2623243484684877824_n.jpg?fit=960%2C541&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4138,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/02\/05\/racism-isnt-about-skin-colour\/","url_meta":{"origin":2907,"position":1},"title":"Racism isn\u2019t about skin colour","author":"Kim Siever","date":"5 February 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Racism isn\u2019t really about the colour of our skin. It\u2019s about power.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/10\/animals-102483_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/10\/animals-102483_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/10\/animals-102483_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/10\/animals-102483_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/10\/animals-102483_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3722,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/08\/20\/debunked-4-myths-about-indigenous-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":2907,"position":2},"title":"Debunked: 4 myths about Indigenous people","author":"Kim Siever","date":"20 August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A few months ago, I was discussing the concept of \u201ca little bit racist\u201d with a friend on Facebook. Before long, the conversation turned to Indigenous people, and his discussion points started to incorporate common myths white people believe about Indigenous people. Here are a few of his comments, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/vancouver-3885655_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/vancouver-3885655_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/vancouver-3885655_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/vancouver-3885655_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/vancouver-3885655_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3894,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/10\/05\/capitalism-breeds-more-than-just-class-inequality\/","url_meta":{"origin":2907,"position":3},"title":"Capitalism breeds more than just class inequality","author":"Kim Siever","date":"5 October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Inequality is inherent in capitalism. Of course, in capitalism, power is unevenly distributed, lying in the hands of the few individuals who manage to own businesses and amass capital. But that power inequity breeds inequity in other areas. Because so few people can amass capital in capitalism, people assume they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/house-1937037_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/house-1937037_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/house-1937037_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/house-1937037_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/house-1937037_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4642,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/15\/dehumanization-is-the-key-to-colonization\/","url_meta":{"origin":2907,"position":4},"title":"Dehumanization is the key to colonization","author":"Kim Siever","date":"15 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The key to successfully colonizing a land is to dehumanize the people who were already inhabiting that land.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/prison-2648800_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/prison-2648800_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/prison-2648800_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/prison-2648800_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/prison-2648800_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3800,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/09\/21\/for-capitalism-to-succeed-it-must-divide-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":2907,"position":5},"title":"For capitalism to succeed, it must divide us","author":"Kim Siever","date":"21 September 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Capitalism is at the root of all that divides us as a society. Capitalism depends on our being divided; division is built into capitalism. It\u2019s what helps it survive.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/broken-216728.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/broken-216728.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/broken-216728.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/broken-216728.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/broken-216728.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2907"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4013,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907\/revisions\/4013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}