Reena Gupta

We often hear that a racist incident wasn’t actually racist—it was mistake, an error or a gaffe. But why are certain people, names and countries afforded a level of care that others are not? How do ingrained biases shape what we focus our attention on?

When bars and restaurants lean on historically and racially-loaded images to stand out, does the excuse that these themes are ‘just a bit of fun’ really hold up? Or does ironic detachment simply allow the privileged to avoid accountability?