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I’m a musical theatre geek. I have thousands of showtunes in my iTunes library. One of these shows is Avenue Q, which, despite the fact that it includes puppets, is not suitable for children. Or some adults. One of the uncomfortable-because-it’s-true songs is titled “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”. One of the verses proclaims:
Everyone’s a little bit racist
Sometimes.
Doesn’t mean we go
Around committing hate crimes.
Look around and you will find
No one’s really color blind.
Maybe it’s a fact
We all should face
Everyone makes judgments
Based on race.
I’m sure this song takes many people out of their comfort zones. How many well-meaning individuals have said that they’re colorblind? Maybe they are, but not everyone is. It’s important to recognize race and to acknowledge the fact that many people are prejudiced and some are outright racist.
What’s the difference? According to Merriam-Webster:
Prejudice: (1): preconceived judgment or opinion (2): an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b: an instance of such judgment or opinion c: an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.
Racism: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
Is it racist when a white woman crosses the street when she sees a group of black teenagers coming her way? Some would say yes. Some would say it’s better to be safe than sorry. Regardless, if you have a black teenager, you might want to tell him that some people are going to be uncomfortable in his presence. Stress the fact that this is not his fault, but the fault of the people crossing the street, and to some extent, the fault of the images we see in the media.
There are probably several blogs dedicated to this idea, but the one I read is Anti-Racist Parent. I don’t always agree with them, but they always have interesting topics to read about.
Every time I hear the song, I think about my prejudices. I hope that the song will be much less true when Jack is in high school. I hope that it will be considered quaint by the time my grandchildren hear it. But no matter what we hope for, we need to be aware that, yes, everyone makes at least the occasional judgment based on race.
After all:
If we all could just admit
That we are racist a little bit,
Even though we all know
That it’s wrong,
Maybe it would help us
Get along.
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