Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Systemic Racism Is Akin to Negligent Homicide

Regarding systemic racism: "Systemic" does not have to be the explicit and stated aim of a law or policy but rather the systemic effect of its implementation. Think of it this way: systemic racism is akin to negligent homicide: death that is the result of reckless indifference to an ought-to-be-known consequence. Systemic racism is the neglect of the inequities amplified when broadly enforcing the status quo. Policing is a prime example. Even if the police honestly believe their job is not to promote racism, policing's implementation is all too often racist. Housing policy tends to be another. This use of "systemic" applies to any legislated or applied policy that when implemented has an ought-to-be-known consequence on people given their race, ethnicity, religion, class, gender, age, etc. Since police have a legal monopoly on violent force, they are often the witting or unwitting agent of systemic racism.

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