The notion of ‘prejudice’: Some rhetorical and ideological aspects

Abstract

This article looks at the ideological meaning ofthe denial of prejudice, which is common in contemporary discourse on race. Even fascist writers deny their own prejudice, and the use of 'disclaimers' is widespread. However, the general norm against being perceived 'prejudiced' has not received äs much direct investigation äs, for example, images of outgroups. Therefore there is a need to examine what is meant by the concept of 'prejudice' in everyday discourse and to trace the ideological significance of this concept. A rhetorical perspective is recommended. It is suggested that the concept of 'prejudice' reveals the heritage of the Enlightenment liberalism in everyday contemporary discourse. In ordinary discourse, äs in Enlightenment texts, 'prejudice'refers to psychologically irrational beliefs and Speakers attempt to justify, and particularly to self-justify t their own rationality: therefore Speakers try to make their discourse 'reasonable* by finding external reasons for discrimination. A detailed example of these discourse processes is discussed, in relation to justiflcation for discrimination in the British army. The ideological implicationsof this liberal, but discriminatory, type of discourse arebrieflydiscussed.

The perception of racism in ambiguous scenarios

“…The Asian female providing the response, like many of the Asians in the study, saw the coach who verbalised his annoyance at the team with the racial slur`don't nip off', as being benevolent towards his team. These results are at odds with reports such as thè Too Hard Basket' report (Moss 1992), the National Inquiry into Racist Violence (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1991) and research ® ndings (Billig 1988;Greenberg and Pyszczynski 1985) proposing that racial slurs can damage the self-concept of individuals belonging to minority groups by insulting them and creating feelings of negativity and degradation.…”

“…According to Pettigrew (1989), the overt expression of racism has become increasingly socially unacceptable, while Greenberg and Pyszczynski (1985) argue that in contemporary American society it has become socially undesirable to show blatant signs of racial prejudice. Similarly, Edsall and Edsall (1992) claim that there has been a public repudiation of racism and a stigmatisation of overtly racist expression, and Billig (1988) has argued that now there is a general cultural norm against racism. This trend has been so pronounced that Feagin and Sikes (1994) have suggested that in the United States the majority of Whites have come to believe that racism is no longer a serious and widespread problem.…”

Discursive Strategies of Polish Nationalists in the Construction of the Other

“…Owing to the fact that they are aware of their negative image on the one hand, and the importance of political correctness and legal consequences on the other, they try to use subtle linguistic expressions and deny racism (understood by them in classical-biological terms) and homophobia. These discursive strategies make the Polish nationalists' studied similar to the far-right activists studied in other countries (van Dijk, 1992;Billig, 1988).…”

“…There is also a strong rejection of being labelled as fascists, Nazis and racists. Not only the need of destigmatization, which is manifested in distancing from other ('more radical') nationalists, but also the consciousness of binding norms and law concerning racism involves aversion to being identified with racializing practices (Billig 1988in: van Dijk, 1992. Despite the fact that most of the narrators openly criticize the meaning of tolerance, they are aware that their statements may be understood as 'breaking the social norm of tolerance or acceptance ' (van Dijk, 1992: 89).…”

“…However, the denial of racism, which is one of the well explored discursive strategies of the far right activists (van Dijk, 1992;Billig, 1988), appears not only when the narrators talk about otherness, but also when they explain the various challenges they have to deal with. For example, some of those who control the recruitment process put stress on too radical views of some of the candidates who mention in their application their positive attitudes towards Hitler, readiness to beat black people or leftists.…”