When the students, who were asked to record their interactions with other people, were alone with other white students, racial stereotypes and racist language were surprisingly common, researcher Leslie Picca found. One student reported hearing the “n-word” among white students 27 times in a single day.
The results suggest white students have little sense of shame about racial insults and stereotyping and treat them as simply a part of the culture.
“This is a new generation who grew up watching ‘The Cosby Show,”’ Picca said. “They have the belief that racism isn’t a problem anymore so the words they use and the jokes they tell aren’t racist.”
Picca said she found it “heartbreaking” to see so many well-educated students perpetuating the stereotypes.
Interesting, and I don't doubt the results of the survey. However, that is far from the complete picture. As the proud parent of two teens--one in college--I've been around them and their peers for a long, long time. Never once have I heard the kinds of things mentioned in this survey.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I'm not some clueless, naive mom. I just believe that--as the case with any "general" statement, it's not so general after all. Yes, bigotry still exists among whites in too many instances. But far from all. Saying anything different would be...well, a STEREOTYPE.
The challenge for all of us of all backgrounds is to explore our own assumptions. And that includes the assumptions we embrace about groups or sub-cultures we might not cotton to. That's why the prevailing stereotypes of suburban white Americans, or rural folks deserve as much scrutiny and questioning as any other. Lumping human beings into tidy packages is simply bullsh****t.
The point of the study was that white college students talk differently when they're not around minorities. Doesn't that also apply to white teenagers and their parents? ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, most studies deal in broad strokes by necessity. No doubt this study's findings apply to some students, not to all of them. Someone would have to replicate this study and its findings elsewhere before we could begin generalizing it to the entire population.