Ask me about racism, and I will explain in terms of essentialism. On the morning news, there was a report about white people and talking about racism. (White) people were uncomfortable, and tried to avoid the term racism or racist. I don’t have that problem, but I see how it extends beyond race to multiple factors, including gender perception, nationality and location and becomes part of a bigger issue, which is the notion that people from a certain place, with a certain look, that play a certain part, are essentially definable by a set of qualities, and that those cannot change, or change only with great difficulty. This is why we hear people say things like, I’m not a racist, but black people are lazy by nature. Or women are gold-diggers. Or teens these days have no respect for history. Or that French women are smart. Or that cops are all bastards.
Essentialism, as the name implies, notes that there is something essential about a person that they cannot control because it is linked to their nation, their gender, their skin color or any other identifying marker. Nation can further be divided by subculture, so that states or regions can also be qualified, so that Californians are all, basically ____________. If you find yourself speaking that way, you are participating in essentialism, prejudice and probably racism.
We all do it. We need to identify something about people immediately. For some people, like those in security, or marketing, they have to “read” people quickly, which means they form information by looks and markers. Wearing Adidas? That means something. Unkempt beard? Means something. White man with a top knot? Means something. Hoodie? Does the meaning change depending on who you see wearing that hoodie? However, we also need to be aware of it, and aware that it is not right. Blending in or standing out both motivate people to adopt many looks according to what they think is expected, but it might go against that person’s very nature.
Essentialism also leads to the argument that people can’t change, or that change is only superficial, perhaps to fool or trick people. This is probably the most dangerous type of essentialism because it boxes people into certain traits or behaviors. For instance, if someone believes that lawyers are all tricksters trying to make as much money as possible, it is hard to get them to accept a lawyer will help them. If they find one that they like, they might say something like, “I have never met anyone like you,” or “you aren’t like the others”. That does not mean, however, that the relationship has moved beyond suspicion because any time the lawyer needs to discuss fees, this feeling will crop up again, and it is not unlikely that the relationship will sour over perceived greed by the lawyer.
Nowadays, we also see this powerful essentialism linked to political parties in the USA. It has always been there, but the sense of a character on one side or the other is clouding things. Our president doesn’t help in this regard by claiming that “they want to destroy the USA” when speaking of his political opponents. Wrong direction, ok, loss or change of values, ok, but destroy? Other qualities, such as bleeding heart, snowflake, cruel, etc. have become labels for members of parties or groups.
I am not saying that cultural markers are all wrong. The middle aged white guy wearing the leather jacket and biker chains probably thinks he is tough guy who will beat the shit out of you, but his life story is not, probably, what you think it is. The young brown skinned Muslim, walking into a mosque with a long white robe and prayer hat might be doing any number of things two hours later. Better to ask yourself, why is that seventy year old Asian woman pushing a grocery cart full of her life down the side of the highway at 8 am on a Sunday? Why is the only black girl in the 6th grade classroom so quiet? When we assume we know people by just looking at one or two things about them, we are participating in essentialism. If we can recognize that and work to change it, we will also be fighting all forms of discrimination, including racism, and maybe we can build a better understanding of our common humanity.
The CBm Experience 