The Effects Of Racism On The Internet

With one swift movement across your keyboard, you can easily offend other people from across the globe in part of the progression of technology in the modern days. Whether that be on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or even in an online chatroom, racism is a widespread issue throughout the Internet because of how easy it is for someone to type something online. The book “Citizen: An American Lyric” by Claudia Rankine expresses many realities where people in the US display racism as a microaggression, which is a subtle, usually distasteful comment about another 's person 's race. One example Rankine talks about is when “Caroline Wozniacki, a former number one player, imitates Serena by stuffing towels in her top and shorts”(Claudia Rankine 111) and proceeded to impersonate and mock her opponent Serena Williams at an exhibition game on December 12, 2012. Rankine addresses these social microaggressions as a another obstacle for a “detractor”(Rankine 113) to overcome, …show more content…
Trayvon Martin’s case was an infamous one where he was shot and killed by neighborhood watch for carrying skittles and an Arizona drink, the Internet went berserk trying to defend Trayvon Martin because many believed he was shot through racial profiling of the neighborhood watch patrol. The African American community was broken by this and through dark, but real language said, “The hearts of my brothers are broken.”(Rankine 156). Racism is still alive through social media mean because of how easy it is, people can not only start directly name calling, but by indirectly racially profiling someone in a case just as similar as the Trayvon Martin one. In a study done at Capella University featuring graduate students, were asked if they faced racism in online learning environments that would get in the way of their education “46% of students stated that racism exists or believed it is possible;