For a person to experience bad faith is a lie told to oneself or others in an effort to evade responsibility. Dealing with bad faith denies a person’s freedom and it also takes away their human rights. Most people decide they cannot have freedom because they fear of the consequences that will occur. They already know the outcome if they choose the wrong path, therefore a person would normally stick to what they know. Since most people allow these consequences to stop their happiness they lose out on a different stand point of life and they also lose out what opportunity might come their way. A person typically chooses the easier way out just so it will benefit them in the end. In life, there will come rough obstacles, and it is hard to avoid but them, but in order to conquer them a person must take on the challenge and see the obstacles for what they actually are rather then siding with what everyone else says. In the subject matter of racism, it should be viewed from different stand points.
When people see race they see color, and when color is seen people distance their self from each other. It is said whites are superior over blacks and that blacks do not deserve to have equal rights as whites. However, just because a person is lighter than someone else does not make them different from the next person. When God created humans, he created them to be equal, but society disagrees. Society has taught us that we are different, and whites are the dominant race. According to Kant’s anthropology being black does not make a person uglier, less intelligent, or loud. Kant’s opinions on different races was a lie he was told; it was a lie to cover up the truth. Instead of Kant spreading the positivity of blacks and other races he decided to talk negative about them. He considered whites to be the only race to be trusted. His bad faith was an example of bad faith, Kant supported the bad faith he was once told. Kant only had negative images on blacks because he wanted everyone to think he was correct, However, just because blacks come from different backgrounds and have different color pigments does not mean they are any different from whites. Blacks have to work twice as hard to prove they are more than thugs and unintelligent thinkers.
Yet, it is discussed that there is no such thing as race. “The term race refers to the concept of dividing people into populations or groups on the basis of various sets of physical characteristics (which usually result from genetic ancestry)” (Race vs Ethnicity). Each race has an ability which they are superior to, yet, it does not give a person the right to try and destroy peoples (homes and property). When racism is mentioned people mainly think about the how whites kept blacks in captivity for years. When education or a criminal act is discussed most people refer to blacks as less intelligent just because of the type of people they meet or see on TV. However, blacks are just as smart as anyone else. “The racist who denies that black people face limited freedom is blaming the victim, and victim blaming is the worst form of racist bad faith. Taking responsibility for our actions and leading an authentic life is an alternative to the bad faith of racism.” (Roberts and Jones)
“In bad faith since they attempt to reduce both themselves and others to beings with no transcendence. They seek to see themselves as having a fixed essence of some sort, some essential nature that entitles them to a job, power, wealth, land, prestige, etc. They fear change (often socio-economic and cultural) and the anxiety that a free person’s reaction to change brings. “So they seek to deny their freedom by reducing themselves to beings—really objects, the in-itself—with a superior nature set in stone. However, in order to maintain this image of a fixed superior nature, they need to create a being that is inferior by nature. So they need to see some other group or groups as beings with no transcendence as well.” African Americans have known to be a target in today’s society, they are judged by the way they look when it comes to applying for jobs, and when we tend to walk into stores we are the ones being observed the most because most people assume that we are crooks. According to Lewis Gordon, “Yet what makes his contribution unique is that he focuses on a particular brand of racism namely, “anti-black racism”, and that he explores the meaning of racism as a bad faith not so much from the receiving side (the oppressed) as for instance Franz Fanon and to have a lesser extent Albert Memmi have done but mainly the perspective of the racist worldview itself (the oppressor).” Blacks have been oppressed for years, they were not able to think for themselves or even make their own decisions without being judged by half of the country. Being silent for years and letting people of another color over rule a person, finally encouraged some people to stand up for themselves and the issue with racism, being prejudice, and oppression in media. History repeats itself, as it portrays whites as the dominant race, and that people of other cultures do not deserve justice or equality. Anti-Black racism shows how blacks perceived as inferior to other races; However, most philosophers categorized humans into four groups, African Americans, Asians, Caucasians and Europeans. That shows there is no inferior, we are all just another category of human.
I believe bad faith could be avoided. If a person allows someone to continually put lies in their head they will be drawn victim to the situation. Every induvial is entitled to their opinion and choosing their own faith according to their choice. Whether they choose the path to spread the negative energy is their choice. Since bad faith deceives the opinions of others this leads people to think racism is okay. To discriminate a person by their color is wrong, and it also has a powerful effect on people. Blacks were restricted from certain rights as whites their whole lives, until a man named Martin Luther king Jr. came and to inform the world that, “with this faith we will be able to work together, pray together, struggle together, go to jail together and stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. we are all humans and we all deserve equal rights.” For humans of every race to come together and realize that we are no different from each other is what Martin Luther King Jr wanted. Although, we come from different backgrounds, everyone deserves freedom and respect just like Caucasians.