Identifying racism requires prior knowledge of how a situation should have gone

Evidence

In the particular event the receptionist refused to register the woman of color, and showed disbelief about a white man and a woman of color sharing a room. In order to know why this was unacceptable you need to have knowledge of how it should have been: the receptionist is supposed to file both names in the computer upon demand, and is not supposed to question, let alone disapprove of, a couple. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1503

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the methodological point from Milgrom and Bernhardt about information asymmetry and what counts as evidence. — connects to: Researchers should ask which differences matter before defining difference itself. — Farhan Samanani, Conviviality and its others: for a…, 38; Recognizing racism requires unstated normative knowledge of how an event should have gone. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1503
• SEED: Essay angle: recognizing discrimination depends on baseline expectations, which is why plainly documented harms (like the hotel refusal) are easier to prove than covert ones — the ‘normative baseline’ problem in antidiscrimination law.