Horizontal And Vertical Racism

Racism is defined as hatred or fear directed against a person on the basis of his or her origin or skin color. Despite the simplicity of this definition, it is difficult to understand the inability of certain so-called progressive currents to recognize all forms of racism, in particular that directed against people of European origin, known as white.

The mental software of the left-wing parties very easily validates systemic racism, which is often superimposed or added to class discrimination. This almost exclusively affects non-white people who have emigrated to countries where institutions and power in general are held by European people because of history and class reproduction. This structural racism – called vertical racism – that can exist within States often obscures another racism that the press is less fond of and which can be just as vivid. This is the horizontal racism that is perpetuated between individuals of the same class and that finally materializes because of a different demographic ratio according to the regions and neighborhoods where one is. Thus, a person of European origin living in a working-class neighborhood where the population may be mainly of immigrant origin may suffer just as much racism because of his or her minority situation in this new microcosm.

Racism has no color, yet a large part of the public seems to deny its existence when it attacks people considered as non-racialized, i.e. white. Racism is a phenomenon that indiscriminately affects an individual as long as he or she is placed in a minority demographic relationship.

This relationship can exist at the level of a nation or institutions, which are often managed by members of the community of origin. However, it is not the only one, horizontal racism can be just as prevalent, especially in a society fractured into small microcosmic islands materialized by working-class neighborhoods or community associations and groups.