On the other hand, is it the fault of the different that they don't conform, or the fault of the majority that being different means you get treated worse? I would think that "Oh, behave just like whites and you'll get treated just like whites" is a less admirable attitude than "Let's all get along".
I would separate two types of racism - one is the very dangerous ideological "those people are lesser than us and are our enemies" thing (American black/white thing, European antisemitism and persecution of the Roma), and the other is everyday intolerance: "They're not like us, so why should we treat them well?"
The ideal society would be one in which you're not considered not to be entitled to normal participation just because you speak a different language or have a different family model. The "different = dangerous" connection is basic instinct, but we've managed to subjugate many others, so no harm in trying with this one, too. I think there's work to be done there on both sides of the divide.
(And that ties nicely into the essay I'm writing now, I think. Reading about other cultures means they're not so much strangers anymore, so fiction has a large role to play there.)
Re: International Blog Against Racism Week: Central European perspective
I would separate two types of racism - one is the very dangerous ideological "those people are lesser than us and are our enemies" thing (American black/white thing, European antisemitism and persecution of the Roma), and the other is everyday intolerance: "They're not like us, so why should we treat them well?"
The ideal society would be one in which you're not considered not to be entitled to normal participation just because you speak a different language or have a different family model. The "different = dangerous" connection is basic instinct, but we've managed to subjugate many others, so no harm in trying with this one, too. I think there's work to be done there on both sides of the divide.
(And that ties nicely into the essay I'm writing now, I think. Reading about other cultures means they're not so much strangers anymore, so fiction has a large role to play there.)