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Racism and colorism are psychologically rooted, and that is why your physical features (or whether you pass or not) are important.
I have a BS in Psychology, and Iâm Anishinaabe but this can apply to other races/ethnicities, not just Natives
(Thread)
I have a BS in Psychology, and Iâm Anishinaabe but this can apply to other races/ethnicities, not just Natives
(Thread)
When Iâm driving in my car and a racist cop sees my light skin thru the window, they donât know Iâm ethnic (thus they wonât profile me)
When Iâm walking down the street and a racist passerby sees me, they donât know Iâm ethnic (thus they wonât cling to âsafetyâ)
When Iâm walking down the street and a racist passerby sees me, they donât know Iâm ethnic (thus they wonât cling to âsafetyâ)
When Iâm tryna get a loan from a racist loan officer and they donât look at the âraceâ section, they donât know Iâm ethnic (and wonât deny me)
When I get into online convos with racist accounts and all they see is my profile pic, they donât know Iâm ethnic (wont say racist shit)
When I get into online convos with racist accounts and all they see is my profile pic, they donât know Iâm ethnic (wont say racist shit)
If I did something bad and only my picture was in the headlines, people wouldnât know Iâm ethnic (and wonât blame my ethnicity)
When I get healthcare by a racist provider and they donât check my race, they donât know Iâm ethnic (and give me quality care)
When I get healthcare by a racist provider and they donât check my race, they donât know Iâm ethnic (and give me quality care)
If I need help from a racist stranger, theyâre gonna help me because they donât know Iâm ethnic
When I go to a job interview with a racist employer, they donât know Iâm ethnic (and wonât profile me)
When I go to a job interview with a racist employer, they donât know Iâm ethnic (and wonât profile me)
When I go to a store or service counter, they donât know Iâm ethnic (and wonât give me ill treatment or assume Iâm stealing)
When I go to get any other service (hair, oil change, etc) they donât know Iâm ethnic (and will give me quality service)
When I go to get any other service (hair, oil change, etc) they donât know Iâm ethnic (and will give me quality service)
When they donât know youâre ethnic, youâre automatically assumed to be a member of the âdominant.â Youâre assumed to be in the in-group. Everything is impacted - not just their assumptions but their tone of voice, the way they look at you, if they let you in or shut you out
Now...being ambiguous, I have had all these experiences with racism and know the pain (except for the bad shit/headlines one) - but I pass enough that those were exceptions and not my day to day.
In other words, I am treated as white SIGNIFICANTLY more often than not.
In other words, I am treated as white SIGNIFICANTLY more often than not.
The only reason I have those bad experiences is because I had some sort of signifier that told the observers Iâm not in their group, such as clothing, jewelry, or a summer shade. That shit can be taken off. A tan will go away (on me).
My family and community history is rich. My culture is rich. I know who I am.
But I also know I live in a colonizer society. I have to know how others see me as well, and they donât always know who I am.
But I also know I live in a colonizer society. I have to know how others see me as well, and they donât always know who I am.
People are meat sacks with free will. We have brains that work by selectively paying attention to some things, while drowning out other things. Itâs necessary, otherwise weâd get overloaded with stimuli and wouldnât be able to form memory.
We also have to categorize things into little brainy filing cabinets to help us make sense of the world. We have to make sense of the other meat sacks in front of us, often in a split moment. We attach meaning to things like physical features based off what we learned about them.
This is a large reason why racism and colorism are things. Many people formed memories and were taught that âperson who looks like that (ex. deep skin tone) does bad thingsâ and âperson who looks like me is good and/or normal.â
We tend to view our own group as more diverse and out groups as all the same.
Some âout groupsâ are viewed as all the same AND all doing bad things or not worthy of good things.
Some âout groupsâ are viewed as all the same AND all doing bad things or not worthy of good things.
So when I, a Native who looks white, am perceived by a stranger, they will either think âshe is a member of my groupâ or âsheâs a member of another groupâ and they will treat me accordingly until they learn more info.
But most interactions happen without that extra info.
But most interactions happen without that extra info.
Especially those interactions that go from bad to worse. Where people assume youâre stealing, or trespassing, or whatever else.
They react right away.
They donât stop to ask - âhey what race or ethnicity are you so I know whether to treat you good or bad?â
They react right away.
They donât stop to ask - âhey what race or ethnicity are you so I know whether to treat you good or bad?â
Every waking moment of our lives is influenced by how we move through day to day life, and this includes the movements of others that both directly and indirectly harm us. A substantial portion of the movements are decided on because of how we look to someone.
People who have physical features that are often attached to negative stereotypes have to think of this every day, all the time.
People who pass as white tend to only think about this when they occasionally acknowledge their privilege or are trying to prove âbut Iâm not white!!â
People who pass as white tend to only think about this when they occasionally acknowledge their privilege or are trying to prove âbut Iâm not white!!â
People who are white both phenotypically and ancestrally donât ever have to think about this, unless theyâre acknowledging their privilege or trying to say it doesnât exist.
To deny this privilege is denying racism and colorism exist in the first place.
Phenotype matters.
Phenotype matters.
