Читать книгу Microaggressions in Everyday Life онлайн | страница 38

Former world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, during a successful run for senate in the Philippines, claimed that gay and lesbian individuals are “worse than animals … It's just common sense. Do you see any animals of the same sex mating?” Drawing on his Christian faith and the Bible, he remarked that same‐sex behavior is “detestable” and confirmed he was speaking his true feelings. Nike swiftly cut all ties with Pacquiao, terminating his contract.

In 2016, the media released a recorded conversation from 2005 with television personality Billy Bush and Donald J. Trump, in which Trump made lewd remarks about women: “I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her … I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And, when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” When called out by Anderson Cooper during a presidential debate, Trump apologized and said this was “locker room talk,” implying that all men speak this way behind closed doors. Actor Scott Baio jumped to Trump's defense: “I like Trump because Trump is not a politician. He talks like a guy. And, ladies out there this is what guys talk about when you are not around. So if you are offended by it, ‘Grow up!’ … This is the way the world works.”

Do Examples 2.1 to 2.4 indicate that Maher and Barr are racists, Pacquiao is heterosexist (antigay), and Trump and Baio are sexist? Do these public figures recognize their use of blatantly inflammatory language? These outbursts were roundly condemned by the public, and a debate ensued over whether their language was a true reflection of personal bigotry; in ssss1 blamed it on the “banter of a live moment,”. In ssss1 Barr explained that she was on a sedative and just being an “idiot,” in ssss1 Pacquiao justified it on his literal interpretation of Leviticus in the Bible, and in ssss1 and Baio both explained it away as men's “locker room talk.”

Are these individuals bigots, skilled in disguising their biases (Apfelbaum, Sommers, & Norton, 2008), or are they generally decent people unaware of the racism, heterosexism, and misogyny they harbor until they lost control (Conley, Calhoun, Evett, & Devine, 2001; D. W. Sue, Lin, Torino, Capodilupo, & Rivera, 2009)? More important, are any of us capable of such outbursts? Have we ourselves ever lost control and used racial epithets? What about telling or laughing at racist, heterosexist, or misogynistic jokes? If so, does it make us bigots?