**everyone has biases, this doesn't automatically make you a bad person but it is something to work on.** - [everyone internalises the harmful messages they see growing up and we need to actively unlearn it.](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/mishagajewski/2020/06/29/youre-more-racist-than-you-think-how-your-mental-biases-perpetuate-racism-and-how-to-fix-them/amp/) we receive subliminals everywhere, from the media in particular, about what is beautiful and desirable and POC soon learn that this is not them. they are subject to stereotypes, limitations and sometimes violence and bullying before they can make sense of it. if children can pick up racism then it shows how deeply ingrained in us it in since birth. some then grow up to be parents who pass that thinking onto the next generation so it stays that way. due to a lack of interactions or understanding with people outside of their bubble they focus on differences and rely on stereotypes they learned to fill the gaps. sometimes it is merely blind hatred and the plain refusal to understand. everything from microagressions to outright hate crimes is proof that racism is so normalised and thus present even unconsciously in most of us. - even P.O.C can internalise it or discriminate against other minority groups. racism goes so much deeper than we know, to the point where some people reject who they are to fit in. they refuse to acknowledge their identity out of embarassment and wishing to be white. sometimes this is passed down, like relatives warning kids away from the sun in case they get too dark. anti-blackness is rooted in many other cultures too and this is merely one manifestation of it. the myth of solidarity between oppressed groups is indeed a myth, since no one is safe from holding harmful views. we may not realise the effects of our actions or the reasons for them, since [implicit bias](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2014/12/26/7443979/racism-implicit-racial-bias) affects them massively. no one is claiming that everyone is consciously racist, but on an unconscious level we all need to take a moment and think about what we have let go unchecked. - some people are actively working to be anti-racist and put in the work, most people are not consciously racist but the fact is that no matter what we can all do better to check ourselves.

**Most people are inherently, but not intentionally, racist; acknowledging this is an important step towards anti-racism** • Our society is [systemically racist](https://www.vox.com/2020/6/17/21284527/systemic-racism-black-americans-9-charts-explained). Historically, white people have held more power, privilege, and status than people of other races, who have consequently been subjugated. This has led to a combination of social bias and institutional power that favours white people over others. Unfortunately, racism is still a major issue across the world. • Racist attacks and [overt racism](https://www.economist.com/special-report/2021/05/14/what-it-means-to-be-an-american) have become less common over the past 50 years, however, many [still hold racist beliefs](https://theconversation.com/how-racist-is-britain-today-what-the-evidence-tells-us-141657). As by-products of a racist society, I argue that most people are inherently racist, even if unintentionally. • Studies have shown that most people possess some unconscious level of prejudice or stereotype against people of other races – this is referred to as [implicit bias](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40124781). Psychologists have devised a [test](https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html) to measure implicit bias; the subject is shown pictures of monotone white and black faces in conjunction with positive and negative words, and must click as quickly as possible to categorise the words and faces. Results show that most white people find it slightly easier to associate positive words with white faces than black, revealing a subconscious preference. [Even babies show racial preference](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2566511/) for people of their own race. • Acknowledging that most people show racial preferences and prejudices is an important step in moving towards [anti-racism](https://www.vox.com/2020/6/3/21278245/antiracist-racism-race-books-resources-antiracism). By confronting our own internalised racism, we can contribute to creating an anti-racist society.