The effects of racism are like the parts of a mosaic: Until the parts are assembled, its picture is unclear.
But what is racism?
Wikipedia says racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics.
Belief.
A belief is a thing you have resolved as true.
Belief is the trigger of action.
Wikipedia’s definition continues: People with racist beliefs exhibit stereotype- based prejudices towards individuals and groups of people according to their race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment.
Institutional racism. Groups. Three operative words. Add to these that reality is perceptual.
Sprinkled over your imagination, consider the following:
“A hundred men and women wore devices that took readings of their blood pressure whenever they interacted with someone. When they were with family or enjoyable friends, their blood pressure fell; these interactions were pleasant and soothing. On the other hand, in a group of British health-care workers who had two different supervisors on alternate days, the more controlling supervisor caused spikes in blood pressure, whereas the presence of the second, more empathetic supervisor did not.” Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Social Relationships
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett* combed through 30 years of research data from around the globe. They uncovered a unit of measure previously unquanti- fied: the gap between the have’s and the have-not’s and its corresponding affect.
“mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity and teenage pregnancy are more common, the homicide rate is higher, life expectancy is shorter, and children’s educational performance and literacy scores are worse. The Scandi- navian countries and Japan consistently come at the positive end of this spec- trum. They have the smallest differences between higher and lower incomes, and the best record of psycho-social health. The countries with the widest gulf between rich and poor, and the highest incidence of most health and social problems, are Britain, America and Portugal.”
………………………………………………….. The Times of London, March 8, 2009
Read reviews of their book* in
THE TIMES OF LONDON, and THE ECONOMIST.
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*THE SPIRIT LEVEL: WHY MORE EQUAL SOCIETIES ALMOST ALWAYS DO BETTER by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. Allen Lane has published this title in the U.K. Bloomsbury USA will publish in the United States February 2010.
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“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has
wasted 30 years of his life.” ~Muhammad Ali
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Image Credit: “Dream Garden,” designed by artist Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), and executed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios
