Racism and diversity: country comparisons

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Here is a Washington Post map showing the United States among the leading nations, and not in a bad way.

The United States is one of the nations in which the idea of racism is least acceptable.

That doesn’t mean that Americans are free of racial prejudice.  Far from it.  Surveys show that, all other things being equal, a black person is less likely than a white person to get a job—in fact, a white person with a criminal record has a better chance of getting a job than a comparable black person with a clean record.  Mayor Bloomberg of New York City justified singling out black people to “stop and frisk”.

Somebody took a video of a white person and a black person trying to break the chain on a locked bicycle.  Passers-by assumed that the white person had a legitimate reason and that the black person was a criminal.

Then, too, the question is over-simple as a measure of racism.  Southern white racists in an earlier era liked associating with black people, provided that the blacks were deferential and “knew their place.”

Still, I think it is significant that the idea of racism is no longer acceptable in the United States and many other countries.  I have lived long enough to remember when this wasn’t true.

It’s a bit surprising to me that people in India are so frank about not wanting to be around people of a different race.   I read somewhere that the Hindi word for “race” is similar to the word for “caste,” so maybe what the Indians were saying is that they don’t want to live next to somebody of a lower or different caste.

What does count as a race?  I imagine the answers reflect Jordanian Arabs’ feelings about Jews, and Vietnamese feelings about Chinese, even though outsiders might see them as members of the same race.

I have read that the Japanese value racial purity and treat Koreans and other minorities as second-class citizens.  Maybe the results would have been different if the question had been about what kinds of people you would tolerate marrying into your family.

Another Washington Post map, below, shows that ethnic diversity is not necessarily a cure for racism.

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Click on the following links for background.

A fascinating map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries by Max Fisher.

A revealing map of the world’s most and least ethnically diverse countries by Max Fisher.

5 insights on the racial tolerance and ethnic diversity maps, by an ethnic conflict professor by Max Fisher.

A surprising map of the countries that are the most and least welcoming to visitors by Max Fisher.

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Click on the following for some earlier posts of mine about racial discrimination in the United States.

Sundown towns and white flight.

Reasons for not hiring black people.

How race discrimination became legal again.

Other countries have their problems, too, as shown by this sign which was in a Beijing restaurant earlier this year.

Beijing restaurant removes racist sign after whipping up fury across Asia by Agence France-Presse.  Hat tip to Jack Clontz for the link.

Philippines files racism complaint against Hong Kong fans by the Associated Press.

Big trouble in Little Korea: spiral of race hate rips Tokyo by Julian Ryall in the South China Morning Post.

 

Tags: China, Country Comparisons, Ethnic Diversity, India, Japan, Race and Racism, Racism