Understanding Racism in a Post-Racial World by Sunshine Kamaloni

Author:Sunshine Kamaloni
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030109851
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

An opportunity presented itself for me to question the process of random security checks. In this instance, I did not supress my anger but instead used it as a prompt to query an airport procedure. This is not to say the airport as an institution does not threaten me; the officer could have taken me to task for being “insolent,” but my determination in this particular case came from the fact that for the 15 minutes I was standing in the security line I had not witnessed any passenger randomly stopped for a security check. And because of what appeared to me like subtle racism hiding in procedural processes that are labelled “random,” I felt compelled to take the officer to task.

The airport then in some ways allows for this talking back to occur because of the structured nature of the interactions that the space produces. It is explicit in how certain bodies are processed through the space and, therefore, gives us the opportunity to witness how race comes to play in different situations in different parts of the airport. There is little doubt in my mind that one of the reasons I am picked for the random security check is my visibly dark skin. And it is not clear whether the white man who comes after me is stopped simply because I insist on waiting to make sure the security checks are indeed random and not targeting passengers whose bodies do not exhibit the normalised Australian or European physical characteristics. The structure of my interaction with the officer and how that comes to bear on me compels me to, and in a sense allows me to ask explicit questions. This ability to engage and ask questions in situations such as this is what the concept of post-racialism undermines.

However, even with this allowance to talk back to the system, there is a level at which it becomes inconsequential because of the constant movement of bodies through and within the space. In order to stop and question each and every one of these demonstrations of racial inequity, one has to have the time as well as the gumption. There are also much larger structural and social processes at play, and in an institutionalised space like the airport, there is always fear of being detained, missing flights or denied passage through the many borders spread out in the space.

What this experience at Sydney Airport and the many random security checks I’m constantly subjected to at different airports—whether it’s Malaysia or New Zealand—reminds me of are the subtle means of inclusion and exclusion that continue to formally and informally operate through the designated somatic norm and processes of surveillance. Evidently, though I have a valid visa that legally allows me to enter Australia, I feel self-conscious and fearful of not being allowed in, every time I leave. Despite my legal right to occupy the space, I feel like a trespasser with no real guarantee that my legal rights will be considered should any situation arise.

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