Perceived-Identity Prejudice

There are heated debates about whether or not what some people regard as ‘racism’ is really racism. But why don’t we focus more on what we want to prevent.

Whenever people come across someone with a ‘foreign sounding’ name, certain skin-tone, a non-native accent, an attachment to different customs – and they project an identity with negative features onto that person, we have a objectionable case of perceived-identity prejudice.

A difficulty with the term ‘racism’ is that it carries the connotation that it is essentially about a ‘race’-related problem. But there are no distinct races – no genetic factors that can differentiate any of the so-called ‘racial groups’ from others. Differences such as blood types, physical strengths, intelligence levels are found within each ‘group’ but not across them. The prejudicial distrust, dislike, or hatred even, that is at the heart of racism (as commonly understood) is not in fact connected with any biologically meaningful notion of ‘race’, but with perceived identities which may or may not include skin tones or facial structures.

Some individuals think that the prejudice against certain type of people is worse/more contemptible than prejudice against other types of people. For example, some have suggested that because of things such as past segregation in the US and recurring incidents of abusive treatment of Black people in the criminal justice system, prejudice against Black people is the most heinous form of racism. Others have pointed to the Holocaust and maintained that antisemitism is the most evil form of prejudice. The vile experiences endured by countless innocent Muslims following the 9/11 terrorist attack testify to the spread and intensity of Islamophobia. And many contemporary equality campaigners would point out that across Europe today Gypsies and Travellers suffer hateful discrimination to an extent not tolerated in relation to any other group of people. 

But should there even be a hierarchy of perceived identity prejudice (with one ranking as the worst of all time, and some dismissed as ‘not really racism’)? Prejudiced attitudes can manifest themselves in different ways, by different people, at different times. One manifestation at a historical moment may rightly be treated as unforgivably cruel. But that does not mean any other manifestation in connection with any group with a different perceived identity must be less serious. 

If we want to track and counter perceived identity prejudice in whatever form it manifests itself, and calibrate our response appropriately in relation to the actual threat, we need to focus on the likely perpetrators and the harm they are poised to inflict.

References to historical events are important reminders of how prejudices can arise and how destructive they can be. But while single events may be more dramatic to recount, the lessons are more powerfully conveyed when we look at issues over time – the treatment of Gypsies, Jews, Blacks, Native Americans, etc., over centuries. 

We also need a wide perspective so we don’t end up forming prejudiced views of the nature of prejudice. At its roots, perceived-identity prejudice is rarely a black or white issue. For example, there are many inter-tribal prejudices across Africa and Asia that fuelled distrust and conflicts; nasty discrimination can be found against people with perceived identities (associated with languages, religions, customs, but not with any ‘racial’ characteristics) in the East as much as the West; and the prejudice-infused atrocities committed by invading armies (the English against the people of Ireland in the 17^th century; Japanese soldiers against Chinese civilians in the 1930s/40s; Serbian forces against Bosnians in the 1990s; and many others). There isn’t one form of racist prejudice that should get the utmost attention for all time. There are many sources of unjustifiable distrust and hate, and we need to tackle them in whatever form they surface here and now.