Full New York Times story
There is a universal human tendency to generalize about people different from ourselves. We deny the individuality of "others" yet freely acknowledge the variability of character within our own group.
The anti-immigrant ethnic finger-pointing over the tragic deaths of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz and Sister Denise Mosier of Virgina demonstrate how this human frailty is being abused by a growing number of opportunistic politicians and pundits.
Raul Ramos y Sanchez
2 comments:
Forgive me for nitpicking here, dear Raul, but in this sentence -
So we just assume he is simply a dangerous criminal, not an example of the violent nature of white Christians.
- doesn't your use of "we" imply that you expect your reader to be a white Christian? Or at any rate sympathetic to them?
Thanks for your comment,Vincent. I use "we" to include everyone -- in the U.S at least. I believe there is a widespread mindset in the U.S. that "white Christian male" is the default setting for membership in our society. That's why even women, who outnumber men, are still considered a "minority." This misconception is so pervasive, one could argue it's subconscious. What's more, it is not just limited to white Christian males. Even members of our ethnic and religious "minorities" often fall into this mental trap.
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