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Are you racist?

Trust Rugglesby to bring an elephant into the room.
The poll is anonymous as far as I know and is not linked to your answers or to you. Rather than just ticking the "no" box I challenge you to delve a bit deeper. Personally I reject the term "race" I do not believe in it. Others have stated their thoughts that they align it to "breed" for other species. To me, a "breed" has been bred for particular traits. I am a Heinz 57 variety, my ancestry is pretty much anything from Irish to Australian Aboriginal and most in between. Any breeding for traits has been bred out of me, I am a mongrel. Some consider race to be based on language or religion. We are not religious, but could still have a prejudice against any or all religions. I do not believe that would make us racists. For the purposes of this question I would like you to consider that cataloguing people as a race, is in fact being racist. Not necessarily that you think ill of the people you put into those categories, but simply by the fact that you do make the distinction. Remembering that this is not just about ancestry but more about appearance, or religion or language. A racist person would look at my fair skin and auburn hair and declare me Caucasian totally ignoring my Aboriginal grandfather. So the question is, do you categorise people (including yourself) for any reason as belonging to a "race"? To emphasize my point I am making the poll questions harsh. Feel free to make any comments you like, this is only my opinion, I am wrong more often than right, but please consider it only as an exercise to think outside the boxes. Clearly their is no obligation to answer the questions at all and to answer is only a test of your ability to express your own doubts and certainties.

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Rugglesby 8 Feb 19
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54 comments (26 - 50)

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2

i not only don't believe that i am racist, i also believe i am not racist (there, we have agnosticism and atheism regarding racism too!) first of all, as ashley montagu eloquently proposed, race an artificial social construct. anthropologically, there are families and populations, not race. now, an artificial social construct has been constructed and therefore exists, as such. it can't be avoided. people are going to notice your skin color, the amount of epicanthic fold you've got, stuff like that. and subcultures have evolved (nonscientific use of the word) from the separations this construct has caused. to be racist you have to think there is something more to it, or at least feel there is something more to it. i hope i don't.

g

2

If ya can't like someone for who they are, ya better have a long look inside, you may find it's darker and uglier in there than you relaised!!!

2

I can tell racists by the subjects they talk about as well as how they talk. They deny this if you call them racist. It's so damned funny. I work with some of them. One has it on his websight that he is so proud to have been born white. He still denies being racist. As for being proud of my birth race, I never thought of it much before. I can tell you that the earth is like a big box of crayons and all of us are the colors that fit inside that box. We can be in any order inside that box also.

2

By the definition you're giving, yes. I categorize people into races. I don't intend to, it just happens, just as I categorize them by their hair color and eye color. And I worry about whether those people are being treated fairly or not and I always wonder if this Caucasian person I am speaking to has a person of color in their family that didn't show in their phenotype. I'm Mexican yet I look white. Nobody believes nor assumes I'm Mexican. Yet I still do this. However, I am not racist in the definition of treating people unfairly simply because of their skin color. Nor am I racist in that I feel one race is superior to another.

2

On forms where the question of race or ethnicity is asked, if there is a 'decline to state' I pick that one, and if there is an option for 'other' I write in 'human.' But then, I'm a bit of a rebel when it comes to being categorized.

good call.

2

Lol. What did you expect from this poll other than what you got?

No, I'm not racist. I'm indifferent to race. Always have been.

Have I unconsciously contributed to structural aspects of society that limit people of certain races / genders? Doubtless. That doesn't make me complicit. It makes me ignorant. Have I ever used a politically incorrect term for a person of another race? Yes, when I was young, because it's what I knew. Again -- ignorance. For a long time, for instance, I used the term oriental instead of asian. At some point asians decided that "oriental" was a slur. Since asians get to decide such things, I changed the terms I used. Simples. I'm not racist because I'm not a mind reader and used a term I was taught to use as a child. I am however respectful because I took the time and effort to change an innocuous habit for no purpose other than to make other people comfortable with my speech. How is that racist?

I understand the impulse to get people to challenge their assumptions but sometimes I think it's overdetermined and ends up often having the goal of guilting people and sorting people by objectively innocuous characteristics and behaviors. How is that any different in principle than sorting people by skin color or gender? We need to ease up and quit being so hectoring and serious about it. Sometimes we try too hard and care too much, and it defeats the purpose.

2

While I most certainly have my predjudices, I am not racist. There are people I am above, but my superiority over them is never based upon the color of their skin, their ethnic background, their religious beliefs or their sexual orientation or preferences.

If I am superior to someone, it is because that individual has made a conscious choice to shun learning about the world they live in and the other living creatures with whom they share it. They are the kind of people who live in a bubble of fear and loathing of their own making, and the planet would be a far better place without them.

why do you operate a crane ?

LOL!

No. But I do stand on a ladder at work quite often, and it's tall enough to identify the willfully ignorant.

2

I didn't voted. My take... By many definitions of Racism, I am a Racist by other definitions I am not and not only that but... I couldn't be. I will leave it at that. Because they are... like your... Opinion Man. But my Actions will speak Louder than my Words. I do recommend to all americans to watch the movie "imitation of life" 1934 version and 1959 version. For those that "habla" I recommend "Angelitos Negros", a 1948 Mejicano film.

2

According to the poll I am a racist because I consider all races equal; or do I consider all races equal because I am a racist? we can not deny that races exist; it would be like saying: during the dark ages of slavery racism didn't exist. where there is racism there have to be races. otherwise I simply call it discrimination. the fact that most people are probably mongrels does not remove the original existence of different races.

But can we or should we still identify or be identified by race? Should 1/4 of me blame 3/4 of me for the stolen generations? I do not believe we should continue to use these classifications. I must be an australcaucasoid.

BUT the existence of different races does not exist. Genetically two people of different "races" are just as likely to share most of their genetics as two people of the same race.

ok, this is my take on the issue: in theory races can exist without racism developing out of it. racism, on the other hand, can only exist if there are races to begin with. as it seems that races genetically do not exist in practice, we can not call the discrimination of people of various skin colour, facial features, hair, etc. racism. i would have liked to have the option to vote "no, i am no racist, but i do perceive the diversity in people's natural appearance", @Rugglesby. that's my position anyway.

@Blindbird, by saying that different races do not exist you are also stating that racism does not exist. racism can only exist if there are different races. i acknowledge the difference in people's outer appearance. does that make me a racist? i do not judge or discriminate people for their outer appearance. does that make me a racist? as long as we need to emphasize the fact that "all humans shall be treated equal" there is obviously some discriminating ism going on. only when we learn to realise the difference between discrimination & distinction can we free ourselves from the centuries-old shameful attitude of racism, sexism, genderism & all the other isms that have held our potentially promising species in blindness for each other's beauty.

@walklightly nope. That is false. Race does not have to exist genetically to exist in some peoples minds. I can absolutely state that race is not a thing genetically AND that racism exists socially . Your argument is nonsensical.

yes, @Rugglesby, i agree, the classification "race" is truly outdated, & with it the term "racism", as the latter originated from the first. so what are we squabbling about here? 😀

1

We all are. Yes, it's true.

1

I am not a racist. However racism is something that is taught. A part of my family descends from aborigenes who lived on the Canary Islands near Africa. I also am distantly basque, and portuguese by part of my grandparents. We are all at least 51st cousins. I have been around the international community all of my life, and it is a great experience.

I agree with you that racism is taught. Many of the racists I know are so frigging ignorant that they deny this.

1

I learned that I was not racist when I sat next to a black woman at work. I nicknamed her K-Mart, because she was large, smelly, and dressed only in sweat pants and shirts too small for her. Her hobby was to sing along to the gospel music that she was playing on her headphones. She thought she was a great singer. She was not. For eight hours a day, five days a week, I had to sit next to "JeeEEeeeEEesuUUUuSssS."

And I learned I don't judge on race, sex, class, body type, or even personal hygiene, because if a white, fit, immaculate man were to sit next to me singing like that, I'd still want to throw him out the window! 😀

1

Yes I am but I'm always trying my best to figure out how I'm racist and what should I do to not be. Im not talking about think someone is inferior for whatever reason but about that half second when you feel less safe because you saw a black guy or a bearded Islamic guy walking towards you in the street late night and you realize that that half second would be a split second shorter if it was a white well dressed guy

Well thought out and explained. I think we would all experience the same feelings.

1

I am absolutely convinced that absolutely everybody is a racist to at least a minute degree. It is only natural that we prefer people who are similar to us. If we would all just come to this realization and stop making such a big deal out of it and stop working so hard at being "different" or "unique", it might make life a little more bearable for some.

Agree in as much as we are often prejudice toward those more like us and against those less like us. Look how much flack people with red hair get. My real issue is the term "race" my sister and I have red hair 1 brother has dark hair, we all have dark brown eyes. youngest brother has blonde hair and blue eyes. One of us could have been born with the features say of the supposed negroid or mongoloid races, in fact the dark haired brother looks Indonesian yet we are not descended from those nationalities/"races"/ Just appearances.

I look at some people and wonder if they even realize that in their struggle to be "different" they've actually just made themselves a cliche.

1

Racist?
By definition of species, ever since the last Neanderthal, there is only one "so called" race.

As hard as I've tried, I've failed at trying to be a racist. 😟

1

I'm like you, I have everything from Irish to Sioux. There's too much mixture to call out one from another. I always check the "other" button when asked that ridiculous question.

1

I'd like to toss this into the mix - this is the American Anthropological Association Statement on "Race" and Intelligence (adopted December 1994) -

The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is deeply concerned by recent public discussions which imply that intelligence is biologically determined by race. Repeatedly challenged by scientists, nevertheless these ideas continue to be advanced. Such discussions distract public and scholarly attention from and diminish support for the collective challenge to ensure equal opportunities for all people, regardless of ethnicity or phenotypic variation.
Earlier AAA resolutions against racism (1961, 1969, 1971, 1972) have spoken to this concern. The AAA further resolves:
WHEREAS all human beings are members of one species, Homo sapiens, and
WHEREAS, differentiating species into biologically defined "races" has proven meaningless and unscientific as a way of explaining variation (whether in intelligence or other traits),
THEREFORE, the American Anthropological Association urges the academy, our political leaders and our communities to affirm, without distraction by mistaken claims of racially determined intelligence, the common stake in assuring equal opportunity, in respecting diversity and in securing a harmonious quality of life for all people.

REF: [s3.amazonaws.com]

1

I believe I AM a racist. I don't hate anyone for their skin color or nationality or their religion or politics, even (though, what they DO in the name of those last two may certainly make me hate them), in fact, i have no immediate hate for anyone. I have no wish to harm anyone for any accident of birth. But people scare me. They all do. From the ones who look just like me, to those who look nothing like me and have nothing in common with me culturally. I think stereotypes exist because there is often a grain of truth at their centers. I mock everyone... never with the intention of causing harm, but I still mock everyone, because I think we're all capable of being ridiculous and doing a ridiculous impression is funny. I use all of the words I'm not supposed to say... not to denigrate but when I'm mocking the worst of the racist white fuckers out there... but I still use those hurtful words. I don't believe anyone is superior to anyone else, no matter how great for how shitty you've had it. Nobility character is earned, not conveyed by circumstance. I am inappropriate. I am not politically correct. I am insensitive. I am afraid of all of you because I think all of you might hate me. I can't identify with any of you because I'll never be able to live in your skins. I'm a straight white guy in Merikuh and no matter how hard I try, no matter how much guilt I take on for the actions of all the other white guys, I'll never be able to truly know any of you. Because of that I feel like a racist.

I reckon if we hung out together there would be a lot of laughing.

1

No I hate everyone equally

1

I certainly don't think I'm racist That being said there are large cultural differences Between peoples. It has more to do with social origins than skin color though.

1

I said NO but I cannot be sure - I enjoy meeting people from other country's and races not really sure having said that that I know very much about race - People seem to be just from wherever they are born, but our genes must be by now so intermingled it would be hard to know - I see people on the net who have had their genetic code done and they end up in percentages of this and that - Its probably interesting but I am not sure I can get my head round it, or if it even matters.Sorry this is about the worst answer I have ever made here!

0

Depends on ones definition of "racist"... I may want to rid the world of white folks, but I don't have any nuclear weapons, biological, or control of media or academic mental manipulations, or others of mass destruction, so I can hate all "white" people but so what? I can't act upon my "hate." However "white" people have those capabilities and if they hate and wish to rid the world of "Black" ppl. they can do so over time. So I can have racist thoughts, wishes, or desire, but that's how they will remain.. but with "Whites" the story is different, they can act and institute their racist notions and make it come alive and into reality.

0

Am l racist? No. Do l notice race? Yes. I also notice fat, skinny, beautiful, plain, ugly, tall, short, hair, color, and baldness. Being observant does not make one a racist. Treating them differently does.

0

I don't consider myself racist. I pretty much give most people benefit of the doubt until they show me otherwise. I do however go along a little bit with stereotypes. I don't think they're the same thing, and are often confused with each other. They're "stereotypes" for a reason. They don't generally influence my thoughts about a person, but there may be something of a predetermined image of what to expect of them. Overall they're irrelevant, and frankly, should just be fodder for humor.

I am bad, I don't mind the humour side, as long as it is funny, but not keen on stereotyping in general.

0

I voted as not being a racist, but having a politically active black friend (we live in the USA, and I am white) I have come to see the subtleties of unconscious and institutional racism, so I actually work to be non-racist whenever I see the possibility - and I don't, always.

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