Racism without Racists Chapter 2: The Central Frames of Color Blind Racism

The ideology of color blind racism engages in blaming the victim in an indirect "now you see it, now you don't" style.

The central component is its frames, or set paths for interpreting information. They explain racial phenomena following a predictable route. They misrepresent the world (hide the fact of dominance) but often are founded on some truth.

Classic European liberalism is defined by individualism, universalism, egalitarianism, and meliorism (the idea that people and institutions can be improved). It was the philosophy of a nascent, aspiring ruling class in early modern capitalism: the bourgeoisie, the middle-class owners of property. The bourgeois goals were only extended to the populace in the middle 20th century, and it was never extended to the countries that European powers used for raw materials and workers.

This liberal tradition informed the racist policies of the United States: slavery, the relocation of Native Americans to reservations, the utilization of Mexicans and various Asian groups as contract laborers, and Jim Crow.

Even though disenfranchised groups used liberal rhetoric to advance social and legal reforms (e.g., Civil Rights Movement, National Organization for Women), the central elements of liberalism have been re-articulated to rationalize racially unfair situations in America today.

There are four central frames of color blind racism:
1. Abstract liberalism uses ideas associated with political liberalism (e.g., equal opportunity) and economic liberalism (e.g, individual choice) to explain racial matters.
2. Naturalization explains away racial phenomena by suggesting they are natural occurrences, such as "segregation is natural because all backgrounds gravitate toward likeness."
3. Cultural racism explains the standing of minorities in society using culturally based arguments, such as "Mexicans do not put much emphasis on education."
4. Minimization of racism suggests discrimination is no longer a central factor affecting minorities' life chances.

By framing race-related issues in the language of liberalism, whites appear reasonable opposing all practical approaches to dealing with de facto racial inequality.