I don't remember including a Rodney King-esque "Can't we all just get along?" plea in my rant, so I'm not sure what you could possibly be responding to. I'm not saying we all have to "be nice", I'm saying we have to take the difficult step of overcoming of our own linguistic prejudices so we can proceed to call others on theirs.
As I said, I realise this is an idealistic goal. That doesn't mean it's unachievable. According to the findings of evolutionary biologists, humans are to some degree wired for racism. That is to say, we are programmed not to trust those who aren't members of our tribe; one of the chief ways we recognise outsiders is by their lack of resemblance to our kin. Nevertheless, human societies have made huge strides in overcoming these evolutionary legacies in recent decades through the power of ideology.
I see absolutely no reason at all to accept the injustice of racial profiling when there are objective means available for determining a person's acceptability as an applicant. Are there no credit reports? Is it an impossible burden to ask for references and phone them? Perhaps in some parts of the world, but not in St. Louis. There's no reasonable justification for using a proxy like group affiliation to determine an individual's ability to meet financial obligations.
Lastly, contrary to what you might think, what I'm talking about is to some degree enforceable. The landlord I mentioned in my example is under investigation by the fair housing enforcement authorities in St. Louis and may well be fined for their practices. Of course, we can't catch everyone who violates the law in this way, but we can try to create a chilling effect and to socially isolate those who would discriminate in this fashion.
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 05:31 pm (UTC)As I said, I realise this is an idealistic goal. That doesn't mean it's unachievable. According to the findings of evolutionary biologists, humans are to some degree wired for racism. That is to say, we are programmed not to trust those who aren't members of our tribe; one of the chief ways we recognise outsiders is by their lack of resemblance to our kin. Nevertheless, human societies have made huge strides in overcoming these evolutionary legacies in recent decades through the power of ideology.
I see absolutely no reason at all to accept the injustice of racial profiling when there are objective means available for determining a person's acceptability as an applicant. Are there no credit reports? Is it an impossible burden to ask for references and phone them? Perhaps in some parts of the world, but not in St. Louis. There's no reasonable justification for using a proxy like group affiliation to determine an individual's ability to meet financial obligations.
Lastly, contrary to what you might think, what I'm talking about is to some degree enforceable. The landlord I mentioned in my example is under investigation by the fair housing enforcement authorities in St. Louis and may well be fined for their practices. Of course, we can't catch everyone who violates the law in this way, but we can try to create a chilling effect and to socially isolate those who would discriminate in this fashion.