“According to Stephen Jay Gould, our racial thinking, conditioned by European ethnological frameworks of centuries past, is ‘subject to visual representation, usually in clearly definable geometric terms.'”
My interpretation of this statement was a mix of ups and downs as I quarreled with my inner confusion, but given some of the contexts provided that succeed this statement, I was able to somewhat formulate an idea. For generations, our perceptions of other racial groups have largely been fueled by others’ experiences – others referring to people of the same race. We have constantly associated races with untrue stereotypes and demeaning assertions, which have been placed forth mainly by white politicians, community leaders, and business elites. Of course, it’s not just limited to whites – as we saw with Barack Obama – but given the history of this country and its relationship with demonizing “inferior races”, we have become accustomed to this environment. Even in the present-day, President Trump takes vast measures to attack the widespread BLM movements as riots and threats to the nation, leading white supremacists and already doubting white bystanders to believe his accusations, when in fact, reality tells a different story. All at the same time, these images are being pushed forward to the public through an overarching media.