Thread by @SikhProf

Most who are critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's racist costume have taken two one of two positions: either it is in poor taste and unintentional or it is harmful and dehumanizing.

I think it’s both.

A short thread on stereotypes, supremacy, and Orientalism.

Edward Said's work, Orientalism, shows how European colonialism was founded on the principle that the Eastern peoples and cultures are inferior to and in need of saving by those of the west. The drive to colonize people around the world relied on this supremacist logic.

The emergent stereotypes – irrational, uncivilized, backwards – are products of Orientalist assumptions. And they are part of Orientalism’s legacy too. We continue to produce and reproduce these stereotypes over time and across cultures.

Our romanticized views of Buddhists as peaceful. Our demonizing views of Muslims as inherently violent.

These are two sides of the same Orientalist coin. Both are dehumanizing because they strip people of their full human selves and reduce them to flattened stereotypes.

Like white supremacy, Orientalism can be understood as a lens through which we see the world and also a power dynamic by which the world has been structured. This reminds us that Orientalist ideas are so pervasive that we internalize them without necessarily being conscious of it

The perpetuation of Orientalist stereotypes are problematic because they reproduce power dynamics that have their roots in supremacy, dehumanization, and violence. Whether we justify our actions by claiming ignorance or good intentions, the impact of such actions is harmful.

What I’ve learned is that just because something is relatively less harmless doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. We can’t wait until someone is killed out of racist hate to take a stand. We need to squash racism whenever we encounter it We can't allow hate to fester.

It’s this way of looking at Orientalist racism that helps us understand how Justin Trudeau’s decision to wear a turban and brownface for a party could be both – in poor taste and unintentional AND harmful and dehumanizing.

Both are true.

After the racist photo came to light this week, PM Trudeau offered an apology that reflects this outlook. “I should have known better, but I didn’t. I am really sorry… I am disappointed and pissed off.”

We can't let the PM off the hook — but we can take his apology seriously.

His apology claims ignorance. It also indicates that ignorance does not excuse his wrongful behavior

He also seems aware that such behavior is unbecoming of any human being, let alone a world leader who champions diversity and inclusion.

We can all agree on that.

At the least, this photo gives us an opportunity to understand that good intention and harm are not mutually exclusive. Any one of us can be guilty in perpetuating stereotypes of foreigners that are harmful, whether we mean it or not. That’s an important lesson for us all.

On Trudeau, Brownface, and Orientalism: religionnews.com/2019/09/19/how…