“A Golly was simply a toy. End of”: Inoculation, attention deflection, and attempted puzzle‐resolution in contesting racism in online discussions

Abstract

In producing arguments against minority groups that are designed to avoid accusations of prejudice, speakers routinely deploy two discursive strategies. One strategy of “inoculation” seeks to ward off such accusations, while the other strategy of “attention deflection” directs attention away from the potential target group. Where despite use of one or both strategies accusations arise, the result is a puzzle that needs to be resolved through explanation. Here, in a discourse analysis of online discussions as to whether “blacking up” is to count as racism, we see contributors contest (a) whether absence of intention to offend inoculates individuals from accountability for potentially racist actions, (b) whether “blacking up” depicts toys/characters rather than people, and (c) whether attempted explanations of accusations of racism work to resolve the apparent puzzle that has arisen. Contributors do not reach any consensus. These findings point to the difficulties in attempting to challenge potential racism.

Cyber racism in counseling cyberspaces

“…For example, technology allows for racist beliefs to be communicated through various means, with permanence, and to a larger audience than offline occurrences of racism (Daniels, 2009; Keum & Miller, 2018). Moreover, cyberspaces allow for long distance relationships that permit individuals and groups to collude in racist acts (McVittie et al., 2020). Individuals may also feel less inhibited in expressing racist beliefs via cyberspaces due to a greater sense of anonymity, detachment from their behavior and intended audience, and a sense of entitlement to freely express their views (Jakubowicz et al., 2017; Ortiz, 2020).…”

Mobilizing race and racism: Visible race and invisible racism

“…Common across these studies is the attempt to understand and examine how something as important as race and racism are barely acknowledged in a wider range of contexts. Studies that show exceptions to these practices have examined either noticeably extreme groups (Billig, 2001; Burke & Goodman, 2012) or responses to specific events (McVittie, McKinlay, & Munro, 2020). The general picture, then, is one in which issues of race and racism are rendered relatively invisible.…”

“You are Irish—and as Irish as Me!”: Antiracism and National Identities in Ireland

“…The data were analyzed using discursive psychology (Edwards & Potter, 1992;Wiggins, 2016) as particularly applicable to topics in social psychology (McKinlay & McVittie, 2008). In particular, I employed discursive techniques developed for the examination of Twitter data by Sambaraju and McVittie (2020) and McVittie et al (2020). These approaches build on existing methodological practices of conversation analysis (Sacks, 1995) and discursive psychology (Edwards & Potter, 1992), with a focus on examining Tweets for the construction of specific versions of events, actors, and actions, and accomplishing social action in their sequential position (McVittie et al, 2021;McVittie et al, 2020).…”

“…In particular, I employed discursive techniques developed for the examination of Twitter data by Sambaraju and McVittie (2020) and McVittie et al (2020). These approaches build on existing methodological practices of conversation analysis (Sacks, 1995) and discursive psychology (Edwards & Potter, 1992), with a focus on examining Tweets for the construction of specific versions of events, actors, and actions, and accomplishing social action in their sequential position (McVittie et al, 2021;McVittie et al, 2020). Tweets are examined as communicative practices that accomplish specific action in their sequential location.…”