As far as the author is concerned, just like bacteria, the definition of the word race has been changing as time goes by. This is much faster than what many academicians can be understood to define it. There are various implications of this argument and statement from the author but he simply means that the meaning and definition of the word race has been changing very fast. It should be understood that racism resembles bacteria in various ways and this can mostly be based on its resistant behavior to various cures.
All in all, the author is just appreciating the fact that racism as we initially knew it has been changing as time goes by. This is something that people seem to forget because they consider and view racism from the previous definitions that were propagated and augmented by various academicians. Society has been changing very fast in relation to various aspects like technology and trends which have helped to redefine racism (Graves 23). A bacterium has various variants that can also be traced to racism meaning that such unusual traits can enable it to be resistant to various antibiotic attacks. In this case, racism has had various unusual aspects that have not been discovered thereby dealing a big blow to the fight against it.
As much as there are efforts by everybody and the whole society at large to fight racism, people have forgotten some underlying aspects and traits. In tandem with various societal changes, racism has also changed in relation to such aspects. Just like a drug is able to kill some defense fewer bacteria, there have been good steps and strides in the fight against racism but some aspects that can not be understood or defined as racism have been left behind. In this case, most people think that they have done away with racism through good intervention strategies but they fail in some areas (Feagin 39). This is because the whole aspect of racism keeps on changing as time goes by.
As a matter of fact, forms of racism have been changing drastically meaning that people might not be successful in identifying such aspects. Perpetrators of racism known that everybody has been enlightened on various forms of racism and that is why there is caution. All this withstanding, some people have redefined racism by perpetrating various injustices that might not be universally known to other people. This means that some people might be racists without knowing based on the fact that they have known it from various definitions that have been explained by different academicians.
The renegade bacteria that are left behind because of their ability to resist various drugs multiply and become dominant and this is also the case with racism. It is undeniable that the world has been united against racism and there is a determination to do away with it. In this case, the new forms of racism have multiplied in different societies thereby redefining it. This is a challenge because there is a need for intervention strategies on how the new and evolving forms of racism can be done away with or fought unilaterally.
Just like bacteria changes daily in relation to different drugs, racism has also followed suit as time goes by. There is nobody who wants to be on the wrong side of the law because of racism and this is what has made people be cautious when dealing and interacting with others. In interacting and treating other people in a certain way, such individuals have been advancing racism in a different way which justifies the fact that it has changed in a broad way (Graves 65). Everybody knew that they had effectively defined racism but this has not been the case. As a matter of fact, through that definition, everybody knew that we were on the way to eradicate it but we have almost found it active in different forms.
Racism is a bad social disease that everybody in society has been trying hard to eradicate through existing definitions. As much as this is a fact, it has rejuvenated and redefined itself in different forms thereby being active. The complexity of race has made it possible for racism to reenergize itself as time goes by and these are some of the challenges towards its eradication (Feagin 55). It can be unilaterally said that popular culture and the media have been responsible for redefining race.
As a matter of fact, other right-wing think tanks can also be blamed on this because of what they have been advocating for as time goes by. People have had varying experiences in relation to the whole aspect of racism and these are some of the issues that have made it to be compared to bacteria. The race has different meanings in diverse societies and these are issues that complicate the situation further. Racism will continue to mutate just like other bad viruses because of different societal needs and competing interests. Segmentation of society is a big challenge in the fight against racism and this will prove to be a big problem in trying to define it.
Works Cited
Feagin, Joe. Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Graves, Joseph. The Race Myth. New York: Dutton, 2004. Print.