Last week over Spring Break, I had the privilege of attending the Duke vs DePaul Women's Basketball game that was in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament this year. The Duke-DePaul game was after the Connecticut vs Georgetown game in which the number 1 seeded Huskies almost fell to Georgetown. (Connecticut would go on to lose in the Final 4 to Notre Dame a week later).
As I was in the bathroom washing my hands, there were two elderly ladies at the sinks next to me, one was African American, the other was Caucasian. The Caucasian lady was wearing a Connecticut shirt and she turned to the African American woman and said, "Are you Maya Moore's mom?" The woman looked incredulous, she looked down at her shirt and pointed and said, "I'm wearing a Georgetown shirt..." The elder Caucasian woman quickly apologized saying she was sorry and that they looked alike.
I went online later that day to see if the lady had actually looked like Maya Moore's mom and she didn't at all. Moore's mom is much younger. It was very interesting to see the stereotype cast upon the African American woman just because of her skin. I'm not in any way implying that the Caucasian woman said what she said maliciously, I believe it was an honest mistake. But isn't that still racism? Does it make a difference that the women are probably two generations older than me?
Earlier today I went out for dinner with a friend and said I saw Ronnie Brewer, a shooting guard on the bulls, at the restaurant. My friend was quick to jump on me for being racist for just seeing a very tall African American man (who was wearing a bulls sweatshirt) and thinking he was a basketball player. In five minutes our server came over and told us that Ronnie Brewer came into the restaurant, to my friend's surprise. I think it's interesting that you have this post because if the basketball player who came in was white my friend would never have said I was being racist for pointing him out, and maybe this woman in the bathroom would not have thought the other woman was the mom of a basketball player if this other woman was white.
ReplyDeleteI do think that it is racism but racism in a indirect way. Considering that the women made an honest mistake (as you said), I think that it is just an example of how racism is still present but that it is something subconscious. I guess the question is: would this women have asked that if she was completely not racist? I don't think so. But I do think that age has something to do with it because presumably the women would have grown up when there was much more racism.
ReplyDeleteI think her comment was the result of stereotypes, but I do not think it was racist as there was nothing degrading in her question. Her comment reflects more on her ignorance pertaining to African Americans than any racist views she might have held against them. In my view racism must involve a lesser view of another race, which I do not necessarily see indicated here.
ReplyDeleteTrevor- that's a good point and really cool that you saw him there!
ReplyDeleteAlex- I think I agree with you about the age thing. But I can't decide if it's racism because of what Daniel said. If anything, the elderly white woman was being admiring of the African American woman wearing the Georgetown shirt because Maya Moore is (was) the best female college basketball player in the country. I don't know though.
I wonder if we could think about how it might look if roles were reversed in this vignette describes by the Fish.
ReplyDeleteI am also wondering if the elderly white woman's comment is some kind of version of the "You're so articulate" 'compliment'?