The Conditions in Which Racism Thrive: If Racism Was a Virus & THE SIX STAGES FRAMEWORK
Dr Shungu Hilda M'gadzah
AUTHOR: UNDERSTANDING & DEALING WITH RACISM #SIXSTAGESFRAMEWORK. PSYCHOLOGIST, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION COACH & TRAINER Doc. in Emotional Intelligence. Director & Lead Psychologist at Inclusion Psychologists Ltd.
I? have been writing and talking about what happens when we fail to deal with racism for a while now. I know some people out there have not wanted to hear this but what’s happening in the UK right now -the rioting- reinforces my and many others concerns.
When we fail to deal with hate and intolerance and allow the targeting of people because of the colour of their skin we have to know and understand that we are stocking up problems for the future.
When we fail to speak up when injustices are occurring and when we witness discrimination and racism we have to recognise that we are slowly allowing fuel to be poured onto smouldering wood and we are feeding the monster of hate.
In my book, Understanding and dealing with racism: The Six Stages Framework (May 2022), I asked “So what does it take and what are the costs if we fail to do this work?”
‘We have to understand that such ‘dumb questions’ may not appear to be an extreme form of racism, but they are on the spectrum because they indicate some biases,
prejudices or micro-aggressions that involve discrimination, which will perpetuate if we fail to deal with them (Fig. 5). They point to some underlying or simmering prejudice that is at risk of bubbling over into more insidious and extreme forms of racism.”
The tensions and behaviours we are seeing in the UK did not just start a few days ago. They have been fermenting and simmering and they have been fuelled by denials that racism exits and the so called rhetoric of victim narratives of those who complain about racism.
“In the context of the Six Stages Framework (Figs 1 and 2), people at stages +/– 1 and +/– 2 are ‘not racists in the extreme sense of the word’. However, some of them are guilty of ‘casual’ racism, as defined previously, whereby issues of racial equity and inclusion are not on their radar – they are not interested or aware of the issues others face, or do not accept their experiences.
Similarly, people at stages – 2 and – 3 (Fig. 1) are not radical or terrorists; however, their behaviours and beliefs show a level of ‘intent’, which makes them vulnerable to being groomed or radicalised. If they proceed further on the negative axis, that is more concerning and they may pose a real danger to those who are different (Figs 1 and 4). We all need to appreciate the damaging effects of all forms of racism on individual people and on society, regardless of position on the racism spectrum. Casual racism is still racism (Figs 5 and 6).”
For many watching the events in the UK, there is a frightening realisation that these racist people are among us. They are not just rioters on the streets but come Monday morning they will be in our workplaces. Someone commented that things were quieter today. Elliot stated that it certainly quieter out there and I guess even writers have day jobs.
So true, these are not just thugs these are professionals and people we work with.
We need to recognise the problems we are faced with and not deny the existence of racism and of hate. We need to get better at understanding the root cause and at identifying the continuum of behaviours and dealing with biases early on.
See Article: If Racism was a virus..
In this article I state that: We need to understand the conditions in which racism thrive and how we can stop individuals spiralling down the negative axis of the Six Stages Framework.
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“We need to stop burying our heads in the sand and pretending that racism (and hate crime in general) is not a problem. We need to stop pretending that we do not have problems as a society (and globally) relating to racial injustice and racial discrimination. The problems exist and we cannot wait until we reach a crisis point before acting.
This article/book is a call to action for individuals and organisations to engage more actively in these issues if you’re not doing so already.”
On 14th March 2024 I wrote the following blog article:
UNDERSTANDING WHAT RACISM & EXTREMISM LOOK LIKE & CHALLENGING BIASES BEFORE THEY BECOME EXTREME (Before they spiral down the negative axis of the Six Stages Framework- see diagram below)
“In supporting individuals and organisations to understand and challenge racism it is important to explore and to be able to identify some of the beliefs, values and behaviours individuals and organisations engage in as they struggle to reformulate their views and challenge their own prejudices and biases.
The Six Stages Framework supports us to recognise different types of biases, discrimination and different stages of racism….”
“If we are to redefine extremism we need to map out the different types of biases and racism and how these show up in society.”
Check out this blog and many more on my website:
Other related articles:
Are You Concerned About The Increasing Levels Of Hate Crime? The Six Stages Framework Can Help.
Also Check out my book:
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