But should the thought arise which compels one to ask questions of society and should the awareness which gives rise to this inquiry be so compelling that the individual assumes to live for change in society, then life becomes inevitably difficult. Those women who have chosen to call themselves feminists and who have determined to live their lives accordingly will attest to this fact, as will all people who struggle against the odds everywhere. The thought in this case is that our society and its culture is racist. The racism in the culture of our society is such that some people, for the simple reason that they are of a different skin colour, are condemned to live out their lives as second class citizens, always in deference to others who are supposedly better than they are. The existence of this condition is made possible through the interactive or communication mechanisms 1 of society and the cultural practices which it contains.
Racism is based on the singular idea that some people are inferior to others.
Around this core idea, all the other supporting ideas and racist practices are based. To oppose racism is to challenge society. Those who do oppose racism have thus to contend with a culture which has conditioned itself almost unconsciously to be racist throughout its communication mechanisms. This unconscious condition exists because racism in society has never been adequately challenged. It has not been challenged adequately because most people exist in a subjective reality in which the only things that matter are those of the instantaneous or immediate necessity.