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A Quick Outline Of How Racism Differs From Ethnocentric Monoculturalism.

A quick outline of how Racism differs from Ethnocentric Monoculturalism.
  -Racism is conscious. One does not even want to speculate on why an individual feels so traumatized about oneself as to feel the need to boost one's own self-worth by denigrating a person of differing skin color or different cultural practices. Racial discrimination is generally forbidden by laws.
  -Ethnocentric Monoculturalism as defined by two of its most coherent authors (Gerald Wing Sue & David Sue in "Counseling the Culturally Different", 3rd. Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 1999) is unconscious. It is predominently a product of enculturation. Many people of an Ethnocentric Monocultural bent are well meaning. Five aspects of this unconscious belief system can be particularly damaging to ethnic minorities. These are: (Quoting & paraphasing from Sue & Sue)
  1)A strong belief in the surperiority of all other group's cultural heritage (history, values, language, traditions, arts/crafts, etc.
  2)There is a belief in the inferiority of all other groups cultural heritage that extends to their customs, values, traditions and language. (Others considered pagan, primitive, uncivilized, etc.)
  3)Power to impose standards.
  4)Manifestation in Institutions. For example, education systems, management systems.
  5)The Invisible Veil. "Since people are all products of cultural conditioning, their values and beliefs (world view) represent an invisible veil that operates outside the level of conscious awareness. As a result people assume universality: that the nature of reality and truth are shared by everyone regardless of race, culture, ethnicity or gender."

It's not hard to see how these unconscious belief systems result in two divided groups of people who do not understand each other at all. On the one hand, the dominent group presumes that everybody thinks like them and that they are pretty great and on the other hand, an oppressed group who thinks the dominant culture people are...