Zizek contends that today's racism is just as reflexive as every
other part of postmodern life. It is not the product of ignorance in
the way it used to be. So, whereas racism used to involve a claim
that another ethnic group is inherently inferior to our own, racism
is now articulated in terms of a respect for another's culture.
Instead of "My culture is better than yours", postmodern or reflexive
racism will argue that "My culture is different from yours". As an
example of this Zizek asks "was not the official argument for
apartheid in the old South Africa that black culture should be
preserved in its uniqueness, not dissipated in the Western
melting-pot? (The Fragile Absolute, or Why the Christian Legacy is
Worth Fighting For) For him, what is at stake here is the
fethishistic disawoval of cynicism: "I know very well that all ethnic
cultures are equal in value, yet, nevertheless, I will act as if mine
is superior". The split here between the subject of enunciated ("I
know very well...") and the subject of the enunciation
("...nevertheless I act as if I didn't") is even preserved when
racists are asked to explain the reasons for their behavior. A racist
will blame his socio-economic environment, poor childhood, peer group
pressure, and so on, in such a way as to suggest to Zizek that he
cannot help being racist, but is merely a victim of circumstances.
Thus postmodern racists are fully able to rationalize their behavior
in a way that belies the traditional image of racism as the vocation
of the ignorant.
<http://www.lacan.com/zizekchro1.htm>Link
--
Posted By johannes to
<http://www.monochrom.at/english/2009/02/postmodern-racism.htm>monochrom
at 2/25/2009 04:00:00 PM
