Sunday, January 11, 2009

Racism - Say vs Do

Think you wouldn't tolerate a racist act? Think again, says a surprising experiment that exposed some college students to one and found indifference at best.

Here's the scene: Researchers in Toronto recruited 120 non-black York University students for what purported to be a psychology study.

A participant was directed to a room where two actors posing as fellow participants - one black, one white - waited. The black person said he needed to retrieve a cell phone and left, gently bumping the white person's leg on the way out. The white actor then did one of three things: Nothing. Said, "I hate when black people do that." Or used the N-word.
ARTICLE and RESULTS ...

[The problem with this experiment is that is one-sided and fails to show the flip side - how a 120 non-white students might react to similar circumstances. Saying: Nothing. Said, "I hate when white people do that." Or used a derogatory slang word for whites. It would be interesting to see those results also.]

See also: Change - A New America

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