# Confronting racism in oneself **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 19, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215 "2026-05-19T17:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/161 "2026-05-25T15:04:30Z")
I am racist. I am very uncomfortable with that. I was brought up racist, and as hard as I try to eliminate the bigotry, some remains… into my mid-50s. It is completely stupid and nonsensical, but at least I am self-aware sufficiently to recognise this, and to try to be better. My racism is less of the “join the Klu Klux Klan and let’s ride” style, more of an arrogance coming from being part of the upper middle class, which in this country is predominantly white. I really do try to be a better person. I have dated Black women, based purely on their merits as women… and, as the cliché goes, I have Black friends. I can’t overcome what I was indoctrinated into as a child, but self-awareness is better than nothing. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/162 "2026-05-29T03:12:01Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I suggest avoiding the copula _to be_ on this topic. I wouldn’t endorse Korzybski’s General Semantics, which goes overboard in opposing use of copula _be_ altogether. But in this instance, find other ways of wording to achieve the intended goal: to remove racism from society without getting hackles up. Everyone grows up in this system polluted by pervasive racism, nobody’s immune, we’re all in this together. Me no less than you. You like having a healthy body? You have a wonderful immune system that protects you from germs. All I’m saying is let’s develop an immune system for the mind - one that seeks out and neutralizes all manifestations of racism that creep in from the unconscious. Will that sound acceptable to Joe Sixpack? Well, I certainly find your use of the term “Joe Sixpack” a bit hypocritical and problematic. It makes you sound less like someone actually concerned about eliminating unconscious bias and more like someone looking to check boxes for some overly Liberal “anti-racism” indoctrination training. The term “Joe Sixpack” is itself classist, racist, and elitist - characterizing working class (presumably white) men as dumb beer-swilling (presumably racist) simpletons. Like what are you actually going on about? How is someone automatically “racist”? And what is it they are actually expected to “do” about it? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/163 "2026-05-29T04:27:42Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > We have all had the education on implicit biases. I think most even intellectually accept its reality. Even that they likely aren’t immune from it themselves. That knowledge though isn’t usually enough to prevent these biases from still coming through. Sounds like some people have still completely missed the memo on implicit biases, though: > [@msmith537](#): > > Like what are you actually going on about? How is someone automatically “racist”? I don’t quite see how somebody could have read the 150+ posts of this thread without grasping the concept that even well-meaning individuals in a historically and persistently racist society are in some ways and to some extent indoctrinated to be unintentionally “automatically racist”, because that’s how implicit biases work. Nevertheless, here we are, evidently. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/164 "2026-05-29T10:23:04Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > I can’t overcome what I was indoctrinated into as a child You are not a robot. But, if you are, robots can be re-programmed. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/165 "2026-05-29T13:19:46Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I don’t quite see how somebody could have read the 150+ posts of this thread without grasping the concept that even well-meaning individuals in a historically and persistently racist society are in some ways and to some extent indoctrinated to be unintentionally “automatically racist”, because that’s how implicit biases work. Nevertheless, here we are, evidently. “Implicit bias” does not mean the same thing as “racist”. I’m also having trouble understanding what is the “so what” of this startling revelation. Like can someone give specific examples or steps a person is supposed to take to drive the racism away? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/166 "2026-05-29T13:26:11Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Someone just posted a link in another thread about how, in the U.S., all those Jews, Blacks, and Catholics trying to get into medical school were apparently a big problem. It is definitely not racist to keep them out, of course? The student body is limited, after all, plus how would it look if they all got in? Can you imagine? I suppose if you (general you) even have to consider this question then you would be a racist. That is to say, you believe that people can and should be categorized into races and that those categories need to be considered when selecting people for limited positions that typically convey some sort of economic or social advantage. Really the question is why should that even matter any more than how tall a person is or what color their eyes are? Then again, historically we never discriminated against people with green eyes. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/167 "2026-05-29T13:39:44Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Like can someone give specific examples or steps a person is supposed to take to drive the racism away? I tried to illustrate specific to medical care earlier. Short version: it is a challenge, not as simple as I read the OP’s proposal. First is an openness to recognizing that behaviors we each think are completely impartial and free of any racial factors may in fact be impacted by these conditioned responses and other mechanisms of implicit bias. Try to catch ourselves in patterns and restrain any knee jerk defensive denial that there could be a bias in how we behave. Easy to say but really hard to do. Be intentional in counter programming ourselves against these biases if possible. But agree with LHOD’s concise take: > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > preening about how aware of our own bias we are, ostentatiously wearing the hair-shirt and self-flagellating, doesn’t get much does either. Sure, we’re all sinners; what now? Try not to sin, and also put energy into trying to do good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/168 "2026-05-29T13:48:22Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Sure, we’re all sinners; what now? Try not to sin, and also put energy into trying to do good stuff. For instance, consider how phrases like “we’re all sinners” and “try not to sin” could be exclusionary toward non-Christians. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/169 "2026-05-29T13:52:29Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > For instance, consider how phrases like “we’re all sinners” and “try not to sin” could be exclusionary toward non-Christians. 🙂 I use those phrases deliberately: a lot of the discourse around personal racism seems derived from a Christian ethical framework. I could be wrong, but I think that folks who talk about racism in these terms are disproportionately from a Christian upbringing. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/170 "2026-05-29T14:17:19Z")
Oh the OP was admittedly so. My framework is that belief matters much much less than the actions we take. We may not have any explicit racist beliefs, sincerely so, but if our actions have racist impact there is still a problem to attempt to remedy. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/171 "2026-05-29T14:55:55Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > “Implicit bias” does not mean the same thing as “racist”. ? But **implicit bias about race** does mean racism. Even among people who **also** have culturally imposed implicit biases against nonminoritized races (including biases against white people), the experience of living in a historically and persistently racist society means that there’s implicit racist bias in the mix. Yes, everybody’s also got various other kinds of implicit biases as well, of course. But racist bias has been the elephant in the room in American society for a very long time. It did not just completely stop affecting well-intentioned people once the well-intentioned people agreed that actually, racist bias is bad. It is not a personal accusation or an admission of guilt or wrongdoing to acknowledge that in a society strongly shaped and influenced by racist bias and discrimination for a very long time, everybody to some extent is affected by “racism in oneself” that it’s important to confront. ISTM that the first step in any such confrontation is being able to acknowledge the phenomenon without feeling personally attacked or defensive about it. Yes, we’d all like to believe that we don’t have any unconscious biases based on prejudices that we consciously reject and disagree with. But the human brain doesn’t operate that way. Like I suggested above with my microplastics-in-the-body analogy, we need to stop thinking of racism as merely something we can choose or refuse to participate in voluntarily, and recognize that it’s also a society-wide problem that affects everybody **in** voluntarily even if we consciously despise and repudiate it. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/172 "2026-05-29T15:31:02Z")
Do you understand that the word “racist” to many implies explicit beliefs and intent? I get that your usage, and mine, does not require such, but even when stated as such the unavoidable implication makes the acceptance, even consideration, of having racial implicit bias a more bitter spoonful to swallow. The reaction to it is as much a conditioned response as implicit bias! Insistence on that word creates unavoidable crossed wires from word go, even without the … copula. 🙂 IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/173 "2026-05-29T17:31:56Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Do you understand that the word “racist” to many implies explicit beliefs and intent? Sure, but as I said earlier, I’m a bit surprised that anyone could get about 150 posts into this thread without figuring out that the term is being used to describe **implicit** beliefs as well. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/174 "2026-05-29T17:47:06Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > > Sure, we’re all sinners; what now? Try not to sin, and also put energy into trying to do good stuff. > > For instance, consider how phrases like “we’re all sinners” and “try not to sin” could be exclusionary toward non-Christians. 🙂 Naw, speaking as a Jew who grew up in Christendom, i understand that metaphor perfectly well. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/175 "2026-05-29T17:51:46Z")
My point remains - I am aware that implicit biases may be impacting some of my behaviors. I may even be able to recognize some of them as they occur and alter the behaviors, maybe, and I am sure others do better at that than I do. That other, who does much better at it than I do, still likely is unable to be aware of it mist of the time, it goes against the explicit thought process, it’s conditioning. The reaction to the word “racist” is also conditioning. The OP was correct here at least: > [@Johanna](#): > > It cuts to the heart of one’s self-esteem and social reputation and hits the amygdala as a vicious attack on the very person. Reading explicit statements about implicit beliefs in a long thread really is a piss in the ocean against that amygdala hit. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/176 "2026-05-29T18:11:27Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > But **implicit bias about race** does mean racism. Nope. Implicit bias means making incorrect assumptions or stereotypes based on bad information. Racism (at least IMHO) implies a deep, inherent belief that your people are inherently superior, regardless of any evidence to the contrary. Racist people I encounter (mostly online) it’s like they have this deep pathological aversion to whatever people they are racist against. Implicit bias is like I grew up in a predominantly white suburb and most of the black people lived in a nearby city causing me to maybe have preconceived assumptions around lifestyles, economics, etc. Racism is very much “I don’t want THOSE people living here, I don’t care how much money they have, I don’t care how they act, I won’t stand for it!” Like I think it takes a lot of work to be racist IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/177 "2026-05-29T18:17:47Z")
I have long argued that we need more nuanced language for this topic. We have avoided it as a society for so long that the terminology has not kept up with the problem. There is obviously a difference between a person who actively hates, targets, and holds genocidal intent against a given class of people - vs - a person who accidentally uses a word or phrase they learned in their youth and never stopped to realize was racial in origin or inference. But we call both of those “racist” which makes it a lot harder for the second sort to look at themselves in the mirror and own up to the word. Both are harmful, and both need to be addressed both by the person doing it and the people around who witness it. Society needs to change such that we excise this horror once and for all. The thing I did might be small, but as an addition to the pile of micro-aggressions suffered by another person throughout their day, their week, their year, their life, it can add up to exhaustion and even despair. My thing might feel tiny to me, but it might make a space feel unsafe to someone else forever afterward. I just think it would be easier to address if we had a spectrum of adjectives. Or maybe a “pain chart” to help people see themselves and understand that they do fall in there somewhere and have some personal work to do. Ten might be “Innocent of all the below but not actively working to better society on this subject.” (or better wording to that effect) because in order to solve it, we all have to be ACTIVELY solving instead of discussing or complaining or defending. The most confusing thing of all, is that it is entirely possible to be actively anti-racist and still be racist. Because if you are a fish in the aquarium you have been breathing this water all your life, you still have it in you. It has happened to me that a word or phrase came out of my own mouth and then I heard it and died inside as I realized the implications of it. It’s in the language, the institutions, the geography, it’s everywhere. And I have to take responsibility for tearing it out of myself every time I find a piece, and for actively looking for pieces to tear out. Because the person my parents and my society wanted to raise me to be was disgusting. I am who I am because I chose it, and it’s hard to be proud of that in my own character while also admitting that there is still racism in me, because in my mind the word implies hatred, and I can with 100% honesty say that I have no hatred in my heart for any “Category” of people (just a small few very specific people who have earned it.) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/178 "2026-05-29T18:18:57Z")
Do you accept that those “incorrect assumptions or stereotypes” have racist impacts, including when we were are not aware of their existence? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/179 "2026-05-29T18:23:25Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Implicit bias means making incorrect assumptions or stereotypes based on bad information. > > Racism (at least IMHO) implies a deep, inherent belief that your people are inherently superior, regardless of any evidence to the contrary. I think YHO is a rather oversimplified view compared to the complexity of widely recognized analyses of racism [such as this one](https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/levels-of-racism/). > [@](#): > > Vanderbilt University describes **personal racism** as “the biased response that occurs when individuals interact with others who are considered racially different than themselves.” Examples of individual racism include microaggressions, which are verbal slights that convey hostility based on stigmas of cultural groups and can be intentional or unintentional. […] > > The definition of **interpersonal racism** is the expression of racism on an individual level, primarily through interactions between individuals. Common examples of interpersonal racism include bullying, verbal harassment and negative personal thoughts about race. > > Another type of racism […] is the presence of discriminatory policies and processes within an institution […] **Institutional racism** , often referred to as systemic racism […] > > **Structural racism** is defined […] as “laws, rules or official policies in a society that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race.” Examples of behaviors include xenophobia, internalized oppression and white privilege. These days, I just don’t think it makes sense anymore to insist that the term “racism” can only be used to refer to conscious, voluntary endorsement of explicitly racist opinions and positions. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/180 "2026-05-29T18:37:05Z")
Those definitions are built around the responses and expressions of bias. Is there value in distinguishing between unconscious bias and effects or results of the bias? For example: Is there value in dropping the racist term when discussing unconscious bias? But keeping it when discussing the manifestations of that bias. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215.md?page=10)