Ignorance

"Surely it is correct to understand some apparently racist comment as coming from ignorance. But ignorance is not always a good excuse. There is such a thing as culpable ignorance. There is the notion "he should have known better" -- which strictly implies that he didn't know, but also holds him responsible for it. It is a very interesting kind of moral judgment."

This comment on one of my previous blog posts by Professor Florka inspired me to consider the topic of ignorance in regards to racial issues. I struggle with how to view those who are ignorant to the point that they do not understand when they say or do something that is racist. These people may be full of good intentions, but their ignorance hinders them from realizing the true gravity of their actions. And regardless of their intentions, their racism only perpetuates the problems with race in society as a whole. So are these people at fault?

This question conjures two types of ignorance of me: willful ignorance and culpable ignorance. I question if the people who are ignorant to racial issues do so willingly or if they are simply uneducated and haven't been subjected to an environment that forced them to confront that ignorance. I suppose that it varies on a case by case basis, but it seems for the most part that those who are ignorant to racial issues in today's day and age may be doing so willingly. Although there are exceptions, a majority of people have been exposed to the history of racial issues and have been taught all about equality and understanding. Because of this, it's difficult to understand how people remain ignorant of how their words could be interpreted as racist, especially if they're judging or assessing a person or concept completely based on race. 

So is this willful ignorance? Perhaps. It's easy to convince oneself that race isn't an issue anymore which would make one less sensitive to the comments they make about race. People sometimes choose to ignore reality because a flawed perspective of the world is more comfortable than acknowledging the real world. People are willfully ignorant about things all the time and it seems logical that race could be another issue that people choose to ignore because it makes their lives simpler.

This brings me to the culpable ignorance mentioned in the above comment. Although it's difficult to assess exactly how severe one's guilt may be in regard to their ignorance, people should be somewhat held accountable for their ignorance if it perpetuates hatred or negativity, even in the slightest. Willful ignorance seems to be the most culpable form of ignorance, but with the topic of race, people SHOULD be aware thus they are subject to guilt if they are not.