It can be difficult to recognize because it often occurs in common situations. Often associated with minority groups (national, ethnic, religious, etc.).
Examples:
- Stereotypical remarks, behaviour or humour of this type.
- Questions about the origin of a black student who was born in the Czech Republic. “Where are you from?” “From the Czech Republic” “Oh no, where are you really from?” “I was born in the Czech Republic, I’m from the Czech Republic”. Our curiosity may be unpleasant in this case, as it implies that a person of a different skin colour cannot be from the Czech Republic. We would certainly not ask a person of light skin colour in such an obvious way.
- The rolling of the eyes when an individual speaks.
- Disregard for language skills in work or social interactions (using a language that someone present does not understand, or conversely automatically starting a conversation in English with a person with a seemingly different cultural background).