I found this article in response to Harry Reid's racial comment about Obama's political success. Though this is an old story, this article was interesting because it talks about a study conducted by Joe Faegin on several college campuses asking students to record racial events they encountered over the course of a day. I was surprised when I read that 9,000 accounts occurred with a sample size of only 626.
This brings up the issue of the potential harm of statements made in passing. From as subjective viewpoint, the person making the remark may have done it with no harmful intention or were just repeating something they heard. Taken out of context, however, someone may feel that the statement is genuinely racist. If a company executive makes a racial remark in a meeting but other people hear about it it could cause potential problems.
Therefore, where do we decide where the line is with these type of comments? Stereotyping is more accepted in stand-up comedy, but what about the guy who repeats the racist joke in the office and other people hear about it? Were you surprised that the students in the study encountered so many racial situations? Do you think the number of encounters would have increased if non-White populations were included in the sample?
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