Alternatively, the immediate statement “I’m not racist” is actually the evidence that you are a racist. The additional statement “Some of my best friends are black.” may or may not be evidence against racism, depending on context. It seems like one piece of evidence, but nothing stops you from taking it as two entirely different pieces of evidence and evaluating each one separately. Or alternatively, the mere context of the fact that the statement is immediate might be the indicator itself.
Consider: A person named John Doe does not even appear willing to consider that they might have, for instance, offended a person of another race with whatever they just did, and they just immediately deny that person of the other race is saying something plausible and start making excuses as to why they are wrong. Ignoring John Doe’s specific words for a moment, does that context make John Doe sound more or less likely to be racist?
Alternatively, the immediate statement “I’m not racist” is actually the evidence that you are a racist. The additional statement “Some of my best friends are black.” may or may not be evidence against racism, depending on context. It seems like one piece of evidence, but nothing stops you from taking it as two entirely different pieces of evidence and evaluating each one separately. Or alternatively, the mere context of the fact that the statement is immediate might be the indicator itself.
Consider: A person named John Doe does not even appear willing to consider that they might have, for instance, offended a person of another race with whatever they just did, and they just immediately deny that person of the other race is saying something plausible and start making excuses as to why they are wrong. Ignoring John Doe’s specific words for a moment, does that context make John Doe sound more or less likely to be racist?