At this day and age I am used to these type of incidents happening to me, but it still makes me a little angry every time. I get angry because people claim that racism is not a factor but these small indignities show black people are not looked at in the same way as white people, and to think otherwise is truly a fallacy.
The idea of the Individualistic Fallacy is a little different. This fallacy is based on the belief that only people are racist and that institutional racism does not exist. This belief states, either you are racist or you are not. Those that believe this fallacy feel that they have the moral high ground since they think they are not racist. It oversimplifies racism and fails to consider the systemic and institutional racism in our society. Research and common sense show us that racial inequality exists not only on a tangible level, but also on a subconscious level and is prevalent in many areas of society including our criminal justice and educational systems, and also dictates access to opportunity and economic equality. I feel like the average person would fall under this fallacy. Many people do not consider themselves racist, but by not taking into account the societal mechanisms of racial inequity we are reducing the weight of racism by believing it is only based on prejudice on the individual level. When in fact, racism has been placed into our schools, as well as political institutions, labor markets and neighborhoods. I myself sometimes forget to think of the bigger picture of racism and how affected our society really is from it. The prejudice people aren't the whole problem; the larger problem is how ingrained racism is in every facet of ones existence here in America. From economics to education to housing to healthcare, racial inequality is part of the fabric of America. If more people looked at the overall picture of racism and how we are no where near actual equality for all, we might make some progress as a society.
