September 30, 2016 - 17:57
Vivian O’Bannon
Jody Cohen
Emily Balch Seminar: Changing Our Story
September 30, 2016
The Many Agents of “Slippage”
Racism exists: it is very present in society and takes subtler forms than slavery, segregation, unequal civil rights. Maybe I was sheltered, but I do not remember learning about the subtleties of racism until middle school. I had learned about slavery, I had learned about white supremacy, segregation, the inequities of civil rights for people of color. But I did not learn about what still happens every day, in casual scenarios, in grocery stores, in the workplace. I did not know about the numerous incidents where police officers shot people of color without reason. I did not know that people were still affected by racism to the point where it hinders their comfort, happiness, and safety. “Slipping”, a term coined by Emily Elstad, encompasses the subtle (and not so subtle) mistakes that happen every day, ones that reach from blatantly racist acts to ignorantly insensitive comments to mildly rude jokes. Even as adults, people subconsciously and accidentally perpetuate racism because they have been trained to make comfortable assumptions. This causes them to make racially ignorant, insensitive, and incorrect comments. I like the concept of slippage because it presents a solution. Although it is nearly impossible to correct racism, there are many ways to correct slippage: teach people when they are children how to be correct instead of only correcting them when they are wrong; stand up for others when you witness an inappropriate situation; consciously try to be correct instead of subconsciously making mistakes that harm others.
When I was 17, I had to explain to my 8-year-old sister what racism was. She knew what slavery was, but did not know that racism exists today. Once explained, she said to me, “so basically, racism is when you have a scale from 1 to 10, and white people think that they’re a 10, but they think that black people are a 1”. Only then did I realize how much children are shielded from the effects of racism. The concept is taboo – as are most other difficult topics. Children do not learn some of the most important life skills at a time when it is most necessary; when their brains are the most plastic. They do not learn what impact they have if they say something inappropriate, especially regarding someone of another ethnicity. Free Rein epitomizes the impact of a child’s naiveté through their personal experience in the Heathrow International Airport. After staring at Free Rein for a long time, a young 5-year-old boy “abruptly shouted, ‘Mummy, she looks like a monkey!’” (Free Rein). The boy most likely made this inappropriate comment because he was not taught how to be correct or respectful regarding race or ethnicity. Racism is a difficult topic, so parents and teachers hesitate to correct children when they screw up. But in this situation, the child’s comment seriously affected Free Rein emotionally. Although it may be difficult, uncomfortable, or hard to explain, adults must teach children how to be correct, because the discomfort that they may face is incomparable with the pain and discomfort of slippage victims like Free Rein. If children do not learn how to refer to someone appropriately and respectfully, they will just grow up to make mistakes. Others may notify them, but without being taught what is correct, they will just learn to make new mistakes. Sometimes, parents do not fulfill the responsibility of teaching their children. In this case, no one else stepped in to correct the parent or child. Being a passive and silent bystander is almost as bad as being a perpetrator.
People become aware of the impact of their statements when others react; if there is no reaction, the mistakes are not realized or rectified. These comments and statements and ideas subsequently become valid and acceptable. With this in mind, walking away from conflict promotes passivity, actually supporting slippage. People avoid confrontation because they do not feel comfortable. Not only is the perpetrator of slippage subconsciously falling into a comfortable habit, but the victim has the choice to slip into something more comfortable by walking away from confrontation. Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” portrays passivity in a heroic way; the townsfolk make a moral statement by leaving Omelas. However, through the lens of “slippage”, choosing to walk away is somewhat selfish. The deserters decide not to confront the situation; although they preserve their own morals by opposing the wrongdoings in Omelas, they do not make an effort to correct and teach their fellow citizens. As the only members of their society to stand up for what is right, they are responsible to do so in a way that could improve the situation for everyone. By walking away, they do nothing but save face. These people are not perpetrators, but they are not victims: they are bystanders who witness slippage and choose to walk away for the sake of their own comfort. Just as one slips into more comfortable habits to cover up racially incorrect actions, when bystanders walk away from a difficult situation, they give up a learning opportunity for the sake of their own comfort.
This extension of “slipping” covers and rightly criticizes acquiescence. Correction is not just the responsibility of the perpetrator. When someone slips, they must recognize, account for, and learn from their mistake. Since a mistake is often only recognized after the provoked reactions, someone must reprimand the offender. The victim, or person being offended, will not always be present nor will they always feel comfortable fulfilling this role. Therefore, in a situation where the victim does not correct the offender, bystanders take on responsibility. Le Guin’s short story reveals the counterpart of slippage: passivity. However, it also shows slippage by the perpetrators. The people of Omelas demonstrate slipping when justifying the decision to lock up the young child. They convince themselves that the child “[…] is too degraded and imbecile to know any real joy. It has been afraid too long ever to be free of fear” (Le Guin 4). This way, the townspeople diminish their guilt and redefine their crime. The slippage at work is naiveté; in an attempt to avoid guilt, the people of Omelas found a more comfortable way to accept their wrongdoings while still committing a heinous crime.
Modern society recognizes the reality of racism. Some people make an effort to avoid being racist, others do not. But many people are not innately racist; they never intend to oppress or hurt others, and they believe in racial equality. However, mistakes happen. These mistakes occur because society attempts to counteract racism through correction, not information. When someone makes a mistake, they learn not to make that mistake through fear of reactions and consequence. Unfortunately, this fear does not teach people to stop making insensitive comments – they subconsciously find loopholes to make the intended comments whilst avoiding offense. Because we are taught not to do something, instead of taught to do something, we learn to be more discreet, quiet, subtle. We say things, unsure of whether or not they are politically correct. We are not taught how to be racially correct, we are just taught to avoid being racially incorrect. Although it is a huge problem that takes many forms and spans almost every aspect of daily life, slipping can be corrected by the perpetrators, victims, or bystanders. People slip into something more comfortable when they cover up the true implications of their statements and actions, and also when they back away from conflict. “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” shows that slipping can occur when innocent people consciously allow more slipping to manifest. Awareness is the underlying force that solves almost every instance of slippage: teach people what is correct, correct people when they are wrong, show them how to be correct, and make an effort to be cognizant of the impact of your comments and actions.