![]() ![]() Of course "every national community must at some point been represented as a Chosen People," Ballibar wryly observes, noting that although the process of nationhood may be phrased in triumphant terms, it is as much about exclusion as it is inclusion, and thus it is the language of loss. Implicit is the question of national formation is who may be admitted to that status of nationhood. Ī nation is an idea, not just a physical place. The state is more than the sum of its borders. Why have certain individuals been excluded or included in what we would call the American community? Communities and the concept of community is itself an ideology, much like the concepts of gender discussed by Collins, and race as discussed by Essed. Her essay, though it seems overly focused on scholarly definitions at its onset, ultimately emerges as a powerful reply to people who respond 'well, I'm not a racist' as a reason for ignoring historical legacies of racism.Įtienne Ballibar's "The Nation Form: History and Ideology" asks the potent question "What makes a nation a community? " (220). Racist images and practices become an invisible and accepted part of daily life, and are unquestioned, thus it is not enough to simply change one's individual mind (190). Racism for Essed is an ideological social construct, a powerful social and philosophical method of enforcement that affects how 'people' see the world, and also the mechanisms of the justice system (185). ![]() ![]() In short, the institutional racism of society inevitably affects interpersonal relations, even amongst people who do not harbor what we might think of as hatred in their hearts. Essed notes the profound perceived threat to power experienced by those in the majority feel when even small encroachments are made by other groups into the dominant fabric of society, and how tacit racism against minorities is often allowed even by those who might not consider themselves prejudiced on an interactional and personal level (184). ![]()
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