In Italy, too, we have a rich and multifaceted debate on racism ; it's discussed on social media and television, at conferences and seminars; there are editorial initiatives, countless studies, and scientific investigations. "Racism" is a term that defines some unmistakable traits of our society . This article stems from a concern related to the time and place in which it was written: isn't ours a "racist" society? Is it right to deny it?
Let's put ourselves to the test
A global phenomenon with considerable historical significance, racism is sometimes defined broadly as a synonym for exclusion or rejection of otherness . For racism to exist, there must necessarily be some idea of a connection between the distinctive features or physical, genetic, and biological heritage of an individual (or group) and their intellectual or moral characteristics. Highlighting physical or biological characteristics to justify relationships of domination, exclusion, or destruction constitutes a form of racism. To understand the concept, you can test yourself. Look at the image below, then spontaneously answer a simple question: who does it represent?
The answers that preclude a dialogic and expressive form of racism are: "child" (assuming, only in this case, also a gender perspective), "human being," and "person." Any other perspective, since it takes into account the subject's physical appearance, could suggest, whether evident or not, forms of xenophobia . The adoption of these descriptive categories, used in the cognitive identification of the subject, reveals the basis of a learning process, operating through interpersonal relationships, within a society and majority groups characterized by racial discrimination. Would you use the same adjectives to describe the child depicted in the following image? Probably not.
The forms of racism
According to Michel Wieviorka , a French sociologist, director of the Centre d'analyse ed intervention sociologiques (CADIS) since 1993, a member of the executive committee of the International Council on Social Sciences of UNISCO since 2004, and president of the International Association of Sociology – ISA since 2006, it is possible to distinguish four levels of racism :
1) At a first level, it's more appropriate to speak of " infra-racism " rather than actual racism. The phenomenon, in this case, is minor and inherently disjointed. We observe the presence of theories, the spread of prejudices and opinions that are more xenophobic than racist, more tied to community identities than authentically racial. Violence may appear , widespread or very localized; segregation may emerge, both socially and racially, for example, around areas where poverty and unemployment compete with the marginalization of ethnic groups; discrimination is encountered here and there, in some institutions, where it is nonetheless degrading and shameful and is not duly stigmatized.
2) On a second level, racism remains fragmented , but is already significantly more precise and established. It shows itself as such, openly expressed, quantifiable, for example in opinion polls . The theory is more widespread, animating more publications, influential circles and groups, and violence is more frequent and reiterated, so much so that it is no longer considered a secondary problem. Segregation and discrimination are also more pronounced, perceptible in different spheres of social life or with a clear spatial correlation. The whole thing forms a mass , but still appears disjointed, as if a single impulse runs through society, but there is no glue to give concrete unity to the different expressions.
3) This unifying force appears at the third level, when racism becomes the active principle of a political or parapolitical force, sparking debate and exerting pressure, mobilizing broad segments of the population, creating a context favorable to mass violence , or using it directly as a tool in a strategy for seizing power. At this stage, the political movement capitalizes on and directs opinions and prejudices; it asserts theoretical elements that are no longer marginal, it trains its own organic intellectuals, it inscribes itself in an ideological tradition, and it calls for concrete discriminatory measures or a project of racial segregation.
4) Finally, a final level is reached when the state itself organizes itself on the basis of racist orientations, develops policies and programs of exclusion , destruction, or mass discrimination , calls upon scientists and intellectuals to contribute to this effort, mobilizes the instruments of law to affirm racial categories, and structures institutions to serve these prerogatives. Racism becomes " total " when those who lead the state succeed in subordinating any form of social organization to it: science, technology, institutions, and even the economy, moral and religious values, the historical past, military expansion; and at all levels, without debate or the possibility of contestation. Racism is total, in other words, when it manages to fuse into a single dimension everything that grants the discriminated group a place, even if greatly inferior, within society.
Is this the form of racism our society is once again aiming for?
Julia Marra
