It can be shown in much subtler forms, and can cause a great deal more pain than if it were openly displayed. White middle class society is too afraid to admit that they have preconceptions of blacks, so they pretend that they see them equally, but when it comes time for the promotion of the Black person, the preconceptions surface, and the Black person does not get the promotion that indeed he is entitled to. The ascription of inbred incapacity is the ultimate expression of racism, the one that is hardest to eradicate, because most Whites will deny that they hold this view, thereby making it the hardest to overcome. All of this is bothersome enough, but what hurts members of the Black middle class the most is that they are held responsible for the sins of the Black underclass. It is as though society expects the middle Class Blacks to be their brothers' keepers.
Whites tend to claim that the best way to reduce racism is to reduce black crime.
To that Mr. Cose responds that no logically thinking person would dare to assume or suggest that since organized crime has historically been run by Italians, that we should discriminate against all Italians until the Organized Crime Italians give up their wayward lives. This is totally preposterous. All society is to blame for the increase of crime in the underclass, and to hold Middle class Blacks responsible for all Black crime is absurd. Yet, that is precisely what is going on. To contend that we should penalize all members of a racial or ethnic group because some members are engaged in egregious behavior is the utmost form of discrimination.