So it took a few hundred years, but we finally diagnosed racism as the affliction it is. Yet something sinister rides on the coattails of this marvelous achievement. We feverishly swat at one hornet while ignoring the nest above our heads. But wait, this all gets worse. Though we try not to judge people based solely on their race, we often unconsciously do it just the same.
Humans posses far less control over their psyches than they like to admit.
In other words, we discriminate without even realizing our potential to do so. Not only do we not realize that we make these assumptions, we fail even to realize that these unconscious reactions are actual forms of prejudice. Consider an example from my own life. As an avid runner, virtually every morning, rain or shine, I trot outdoors to pound out a few miles. I figured the students that glimpsed me each day considered me ever so slightly insane, but gave the matter little more thought than that.