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So why blog against racism anyway?

Two questions really – why did *I* choose to take part, especially since I didn’t have much to say, and why have a B. A. R. Day at all?

The first question is easy – I think it’s an interesting and potentially valuable exercise, and I wanted to support it and help spread the idea. I don’t imagine it’s going to change the world any time soon, and there’s a risk of it being an exercise in right-on self-congratulation. But what I like about it is that it’s not asking people to sign a petition, or wear a badge, or buy a wristband – it’s asking them to think about the subject and articulate something – an opinion, an experience. And many of the responses are interesting, like this one on race in romance novels.

And that’s good enough for me.

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Blog Against Racism Day

I find other people’s overt racism deeply offensive. On the other hand I score rather badly on the race version of the Implicit Association Test which is supposed to measure unconscious bias.

I don’t think the test result means that the offended reaction is any less genuine, but it does suggest it’s not the whole story. A strong social taboo against overtly racist behaviour is a good start, but it’s only a start.

Blog Against Racism Day