*Racism:
*Structure:
2 a: something (as a building) that is constructed b: something arranged in a definite pattern of organization <a rigid totalitarian structure — J. L. Hess> <leaves and other plant structures>3: manner of construction : makeup <Gothic in structure>5: the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other <the structure of a language>
*Merriam-Webster Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
Is our society built upon structural racism? Do you see it within your own community and daily activities? Are we racist without purposely being racist, or by participating in a racist system, if indeed our society is, does that make one racist?
If yes is the answer to any of the above questions, and especially the first one, what does that say about the people we are? We have a constitution and bill of rights that pertain and explicitly state that all persons are equal under law. Why can’t we live this out? What about us as shumans allows us to live in a system that is built to exude or thrive off of racism? After reading the first couple of chapters these questions began to arise within myself and the answers provided were both enlightening and disturbing.
It appears that there is no clear cut way for most of these questions to be answered because there are many complexities to the situation. First and foremost the chapter talks about ways that outcomes may be construed as racist, as well as ways in which communities may get themselves into situations to where advantage may be taken of them. The books explanation of “lifestyle” choices seemed to me to be a bit of a copout. Yes people like to live with friends and those that they feel most comfortable around and so people of different ethnicities my stick together. But no one, no matter how much a person would like to live with friends and family, no one wants to or chooses to live in places of known or prevelant health hazards. The trend of poor people moving into such a place is seen due to the pressure placed on them by their position within society. They are forced to live in such places because they have no outlet, no escape route from their economic situation, basically they live where they can, not because they want to but because they have to. The “market dynamics” seems just to be an easy way for companies to cover their asses in situations that may be construed as racist or exploitive. Yea markets may determine where is a cheap place to live, but if a community of underprivileged ethnic groups just happen to live there its nothing against them, I just want to build in cheap areas. Ok. But why don’t more companies provide crucial information to these communities? Why isn’t there someone in there explaining to each member what exactly will happen and what exactly the risks are, and what exactly the company planned on doing to maintain public saftey? Unfortunately the answer is an easy one determined by market dynamics, it isn’t cost effective. It is much easier for companies to play the its not me its the market card and get away with promoting racist acts. Their intent may not be to bring down black or latino communities, but they sure like taking advantage of the markets in such areas.
Structural racism has many implications in a society. It calls for change and most importantly for explicit action on the peoples side. According to the Bill of Rights, article 12, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” * What can be taken from this is that if the structure of the system, the United States in this case, has a problem it is up to the people to take responsibility to bring out change. Knowing this re assess the beginning questions and then consider how you contribute to your own community and the stucture of the world in which you live.
*http://www.constitution.org/billofr_.htm
