'Are you going to Chinese restaurant with them?'
I said nonchalantly,
she paused for a moment,
objected vehemently,
'You know it's racist to say,
mentioning a specific place,
when they belong to same region'
I was taken aback,
never thought deeply enough,
just because of her Chinese friends,
I made a casual remark,
and in return, received lesson,
of inherent racist bias.
Casual racism . . .
Masked as harmless observation,
they are part of cultural conditioning,
where people absorb stereotypes,
manifesting as default reflexes,
but didn't carry malicious intent,
having normalized in the community.
It might be influenced by our brain,
categorizing world for easier understanding,
forming lazy mental shortcuts,
by making sweeping assumptions,
where groups were more noticeable,
than engaging with individuals.
Casual racism . . .
Even if we make such mistakes,
being defensive is counterproductive,
for, intent may be absent,
but impact is real, pervasive,
so, we need to be discreet,
let our act not cause discrimination.
