"Reducing racism to personal prejudice hides its true nature as a global system of power and profit that sustains inequality and violence. When media and political elites frame racist violence as a matter of individual hatred or mental illness, they obscure its systemic nature and global reach. Seeing racism only as hatred is not only deadly. It serves as an excuse that only benefits those in power and allows systemic racism to flourish indefinitely."
"It should not be difficult to grasp that one's gender identity and worldview do not have to align. White transgender women like Westman can be drawn to white supremacy, just as it is often embraced by cisgender white men and women. Yet in a New York Post op-ed, pundit Karol Markowitz responded with transphobic and ableist overtones, writing: If any other mental condition produced a pattern of murder, we would collectively discuss and decide on strategies to help those ailing."
Racism operates as a global system of power and profit that sustains inequality and violence. Media and political elites often portray racist violence as individual hatred or mental illness, obscuring its systemic nature and global reach. Framing racism as personal prejudice allows those in power to evade responsibility and enables systemic racism to continue. The case of Robin Westman, a 23-year-old white transgender woman who killed herself after a mass shooting that wounded 17 and killed two children, illustrates how coverage can shift focus to individual identity. Transphobic and ableist narratives, including deadnaming and unsupported links between gender identity and violence, erase structural causes and hinder effective responses.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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