White talk about immigrants surfaces spontaneously and negatively when asked about neighborhoods

Evidence

Study of conversations of white people in the Netherlands and California about immigrants (van Dijk, 1984, 1987) shows a number of interesting characteristics. Casually asked about their neighborhood, many speakers spontaneously begin to speak about “those foreigners,” often negatively (see also the following studies of racist conversations: Jager, 1992; Wetherell and Potter, 1992; Wodak et al., 1990). — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1075