Habits of Hate: A Pragmatist Analysis of Habits of Racism and Nativism

• Main Author: Terrence MacMullan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gonzaga Library Publishing 2011-01-01
• Series: Journal of Hate Studies
• Online Access: https://jhs.press.gonzaga.edu/articles/78

There are many different ways of recognizing, describing, and combating racism. This essay extends my previously published research on the topic of whiteness and habit to advance the argument that A) racism (by which I mean primarily white supremacist racism directed against people of color) still exists as a corrosive impediment to the realization of a truly fair and democratic American community, and B) it is best understood as a network of flexible, persistent, yet correctable habits. The primary value of seeing racism in America as being a problem of bad habits rather than as conscious actions or attitudes is that it helps white people understand that we are all, to greater or lesser extents, vessels for hateful and uncivil habits even if we consciously reject the ideology of white supremacist racism. Further, by using a pragmatist framework of habits, we can reconstruct these habits and effect positive social change.