Color-Blind Racism in Pandemic Times

Abstract

In this article the author examines how the frameworks of color-blind racism have influenced many topics during the pandemic. Using readily available material from popular culture (TV shows, newspaper and magazine articles, and advertisements) and from statements by government officials, the author examines how color blindness has shaped our national discussion on essential workers and heroes, charity, and differential mortality. The main argument is that color-blind racism is limiting our understanding of the structural nature of the various racial problems coronavirus disease 2019 has revealed, making it difficult to envision the kinds of policies needed to address them. the author concludes by summarizing what these ideological perspectives block from view as well as addressing the nascent discursive cracks that might be used to produce alternative frames for interpreting matters and organizing collective action.

Between Post-Racial Ideology and Provincial Universalisms: Critical Race Theory, Decolonial Thought and COVID-19 in Britain

“…the racial status quo’ (Bonilla-Silva, 2017: 15). The central function of racial ideology, therefore, is ‘providing arguments to “account for racial inequality”’ (Bonilla-Silva, 2020: 2). When we look at how the higher COVID-19 death rate of BAME people is dismissed (as explored in the following sections), CRT brings attention to the ideology of post-racialism .…”

“…While Hancock denied this was deliberately targeting Muslims, we can wonder why measures were put in place that prevented households from meeting one another in their homes – at a time where many Muslims would want to celebrate with their families – but different households could meet each other in indoor restaurants and pubs. While Muslims were not explicitly mentioned in the justification for these local lockdowns, therefore, the timing and application of the policy suggests that ‘race looms large in these seemingly nonracial discussions’ (Bonilla-Silva, 2020: 3).…”

White Space(s) and the Reproduction of White Supremacy

“…3 In fact, COVID-19, which by the end of May had killed over 100,000 Americans, disproportionately affected communities of color. 4 The incidence of COVID-19 were highest in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) communities, and People of Color remain at greater risk of getting very sick and dying from COVID-19 (Saenz, 2020; see also Bonila-Silva, 2020). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that this is in part related to relationships between health care infrastructure and people living in underresourced communities of color; the fact that people of color are disproportionately represented in jobs that are considered “essential” so were forced to continue working during shut-downs; as well as racial hierarchies in income and wealth.…”

Malaysian Onion Army and Othering: Radicalized Trolling Hunters on Twitter During Pandemic

“…Technical techniques of communication have developed substantially in the last decade, particularly during the epidemic, as a means of promoting hatred, bigotry, and xenophobia [23] [24] [25] [26]. People are more likely to accept violent views or recruit for extremist groups, according to this theory [26], since the internet makes it more accessible.…”