Seeing Racism

I've written repeatedly about how racism can be a problem in a society with seemingly no racists, how racism–out of all the isms–became the province of cannibals, ogres, people existing one rung above the rapist, and child molester. Some of this is our fault–dramatizing the depravity of Southern racists was a brilliant political strategy. But the unexpected upshot is that whites who know they'd never sic a dog on a kid for the crime of crossing a street, can sit at home and say "Well if that's racism, I know I'm not that." It'd be as if our thoughts of sexism revolved strictly around honor-killings and rape. Perhaps they do.