No, it’s not just that. When in this TED talk the guy said “Vultures are being poisoned because humans …”, some part of my brain expected to see white people, and when the slide showed black people that part of my brain thought “Wait… so black people do nasty stuff too? o.O”. Likewise, when I read stories about humans causing extensive damage to the environment, I don’t get the same gut feeling of indignation when it’s non-Europeans doing that (e.g. the Māori exterminating moa or the tragedy of the commons on Easter Island) as I feel when Europeans do that.
No, it’s not just that. When in this TED talk the guy said “Vultures are being poisoned because humans …”, some part of my brain expected to see white people, and when the slide showed black people that part of my brain thought “Wait… so black people do nasty stuff too? o.O”. Likewise, when I read stories about humans causing extensive damage to the environment, I don’t get the same gut feeling of indignation when it’s non-Europeans doing that (e.g. the Māori exterminating moa or the tragedy of the commons on Easter Island) as I feel when Europeans do that.