Racism is real, race is not: a philosopher’s perspective |
Racism is real, race is not: a philosopher’s perspective
The Conversation
2017-08-31
Adam Hochman, Lecturer in Philosophy
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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There are no races – biological or social – only racialised groups.
We live in a richly diverse country, populated by Indigenous Australians, recent immigrants, and descendants of relatively recent immigrants. Some feel threatened by this diversity; some relish it.
Most of us, I think, are unsure quite how to talk about it.
We have many words to describe diversity. We ask people about their ancestry, their ethnicity, and – most awkwardly – their “background”. We seem least comfortable asking people about their “race”, and with good reason.
Racial classification has been used to justify some of the most heinous crimes of modernity, including those committed on our own shores. Asking people about their “race” can make you sound a bit, well, racist…
Read the entire article here.
Tags: Adam Hochman, Australia, The Conversation