The definition of Latent is “hidden”, “presently inactive” or “potentially existing but not yet realized”.
This in itself should make clear how dangerous (and underestimated) latent racism usually is.
Latent racism might be regarded as institutional racism. Institutional racism is the sort of racism that exists in society, not necessarily with the desired effects of keeping one race subordinate to another, but conversely, as the side effects of some other institutional endeavor. Such as a police officer keeping track of race for occupants of cars he gave speeding tickets to, all in an effort to try and prove the police are in fact not perpetuating ‘racial profiling’. (this was actually done by the Michigan state police). This action also produces the latent effect of exacerbating racial tension by publicizing the crime statistics, and providing a further foundation for the institutional racism and creates an expectation of many police officers to continue racial profiling based upon notions supported by the statistics that for example certain minorities commit more crimes.
My impression is that latent racism happens quite a bit, also here in Norway… I’m almost tempted to say ‘More than in the Netherlands’, but since I do not know how the current situation in the Netherlands is, I’ll refrain from doing so… What I can say is that it is definitely more nowadays in Norway than it was back in the ’90s in the Netherlands. 🙄