on friendly racists
I don’t drink coffee, but in Spain, when someone invites you para tomar un café it’s common courtesy to accept, as coffee chats are an expression of social kindness. About a month into my job, I was at a café with a group of teachers who work at a different school near my own. As I sipped my tea, I noticed one of the women across the table staring intently in my direction.
My eyes caught her gaze as she began to speak. She must have been about 45 years old—a white Spaniard. In a jovial tone, she said:
“You know, I can’t stop looking at your face, because it makes me feel like I’m in an anthropology class.” She paused. “You really look like a pure Indian!”
In a state of shock, I asked if she could repeat herself, unsure if I had misheard her Spanish. There was no mistaking it this time, as the words clase de antropología leapt off of her tongue with precision.
I then did what many POC do in the face of “compliments” such as this one: I took a deep breath, replied with a feeble gracias, and rejoined the larger conversation. For the rest of the day and the subsequent weeks, I ruminated on the intent and effect of her words.
What did this woman seek to accomplish by speaking to me as if I were a figurine in a natural history museum? Furthermore, what did she mean by pure Indian, and what grants her the right to even suggest that such a distinction exists? In this one comment, there is so much to unravel, but for now, I will focus on what it helps me understand about this particular brand of coffee chat racism.
In white-dominated societies, overt fear and hatred of POC is often accompanied by a similarly dangerous and condescending fascination that can manifest itself in casual, amicable settings.
My brown body is perceived at once as a threat, as well as a source of curiosity and awe to those around me. What’s important to note is that both are methods of dehumanization employed in a culture of racism.
I believe this duality is inextricably linked with the legacy of imperialism, which is why it feels more pronounced to me here in Spain, a country that prides itself on colonial history. The process of colonial dehumanization took place explicitly in the massacre of indigenous communities, but also through the subtler phenomena of exoticization and Orientalism. Additionally, anthropology as it was once practiced (and perhaps still is) functioned as a tool of colonial power by providing the fodder for such fetishization of foreign bodies.
Recently, I attended an Indigenous Film Festival taking place in none other than the Museo Nacional de Antropología here in Madrid. The event was co-sponsored by the Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Cine y Comunicación de los Pueblos Indígenas (CLACPI) and aimed at empowering indigenous content creators.
There was something eerie and paradoxical about the notion of indigenous empowerment situated in an anthropological museum of what was once the capital of the Spanish empire. Looking around the crowd of entranced white audience members during the screenings, I couldn’t help but imagine what sort of thoughts might be churning through their minds.
While I couldn’t control their thoughts, nor was it my responsibility to do so, as a POC I can practice self-care by reminding myself constantly of my own humanity. POC are more than plastic models in exhibitions or images in National Geographic; we are human beings with purpose and potential. No passing comment will ever modify that truth.
Links
Deep Racism: The Forgotten History of Human Zoos
Los racistas «zoológicos humanos» de negros que Bélgica permitió hasta mediados del siglo XX
Anthropology and Colonialism
Association of Black Anthropologists
The Roots of European Racism Lie in the Slave Trade, Colonialism – and Edward Long
"En España la gente no se considera racista, pero lo es”
It’s Time To Call Out ‘Nice Racists’ And Their White Fragility
Get Out Review – White Liberal Racism is Terrifying Bogeyman in Sharp Horror
