I should start by saying that I noticed the criticism towards the Eduardo Bonilla-Silva document, Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, first. Thus I do not deny the possibility of bias.

I can see why people find Bonilla-Silva’s article to be rather horrible. In 2006, Bonilla-Silva couldn’t have predicted internet culture. He couldn’t imagine how people online encourage others to embrace their heritage  and advocate racial harmony. Bonilla-Silva thus predicted a racial hierarchy based on that in Latin America, which has holes based on modern American discussions on the subject.

For example, Native Americans are placed in his third tier, yet today people try to shed light on problems Native Americans face, such as cultural appropriation and the effects of colonization on indigenous culture. Yet that is nearly not as bad as his prediction that blacks will still be on the bottom tier of society. First of all, he bases his racial order partially on phenotype, but not all black people are dark-skinned. Furthermore, this predication is now less likely to happen once again due to internet culture, and the fact that racism faced by black people is highly discussed.

All in all, I’m saying that the way people educate others of various racial experiences and problems, and the modern goal of eradicating not only racism but a racial hierarchy is in direct opposition with Bonilla-Silva’s prediction. This is not to say that Bonilla-Silva doesn’t see how problematic the order he predicts is, but my initial response to it was, “Well how does that help?” But that is because ten years after this was written, the goal of society has changed.

People today try to think more like Peggy McIntosh. In White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack, McIntosh explains how she became aware of her privilege, and how many are unaware that such a thing exists. Yet, once one realizes it, one must ask, “‘Having described it, what must I do to lessen or end it?'” (McIntosh 1). This coincides with the modern outcry against ignoring racism, and instead using one’s privilege to combat it, going against Bonilla-Silva’s prediction of a color-blind world.

But, this is not to say that Bonilla-Silva’s prediction is entirely wrong. His data shows that racism is also internal, and that even the oppressed have a prejudice against each other. This is something that the online culture doesn’t consider. They see racism in a binary mostly, though internal conflicts are occasionally spoken of. It’s just that people don’t want his predictions to be true, because if a racial hierarchy exists, then what have people done? Today we strive to create an American society that celebrates diversity without overall preference towards certain groups. We want everyone to have the opportunity to go the same distance. I believe, however, that modern discussions must include the problems that Bonilla-Silva uncovered. He noted how different groups have different prejudices, and how some groups are divided on the topic of racism. So, that begs the question: how do we deal with internal racism as well as the binary in racism?