Using the Merriam-Webster definition of racism,
racism
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
You CAN be racist against white people but is it OK?
Is it OK to tell an entire race they need to atone for the actions of their ancestors?
Is it OK to tell an entire race they are racist simply because of their race?
Is it OK to blame an entire race on the actions of 2 people?
Is it OK to purposely tell your kids to not trust an entire race?
Sadly I doubt I'll get many honest answers because it's not PC to you think racism is OK as long as those your racist against are white. But hope springs eternal.
I am a Red Man and racism is pure evil. ...just like sexism both practice rape of land and bodies. ...Israelis are racist misogynists Andrew Jackson must be removed from 20 dollar bills PUT HARRIET TUBMAN there defeating racist plantation owners by the dozens
I've been called Gweilo many times when I worked with a group out of Hong Kong, basically White Devil but it depends upon how you say it - much in the way that Black can mean a person with dark skin pigment or nigger, tone is everything.
Cracker is one I used to get when I lived in the Caribbean, same deal as Gweilo, depends on how it is said but usually it's a bad one.
Gringo was so common when I lived in South America that I barely noticed it after a while, technically any European foreigner but only targeted at the White variety.
Caucasian people are at the top of the food chain globally and have been for the past few centuries but this too shall pass. Expect more of this as Asian power increases and Western power decreases, it doesn't make racism right but it does make clear that Whites don't hold a monopoly on this form of ignorance.
Tribalism is so ingrained in our primal instincts that it takes active awareness to recognize and reject it. Racism isn’t okay, but I undeterstand why it’s easier to just group “others” rather than see beyond flesh.
I feel like our biology hasn’t caught up with our social awareness and morality.
Yes, suspicion/mistrust/hatred of the "other" was hard-wired into the "rat brain" (actually way back before rats) in evolution. For millions of years, our survival depended on it. And for a few hundred years, humans have tried to deal with it via philosophy, religion, and science. Our future survival as a species depends on our ability to recognize this and overcome it.
I'd like to point out that in the poll only 4 people said yes and 35 people said no and yet most of the comments here are saying yes. What didn't you want to vote? Didn't want to put down that yes tick to make it look like it's okay to be racist against white people when you then turn around and say it's okay to be racist against white people? Not at all surprised.
Racism is a learned behaviour and no matter what color its just not ok. Peace ?
@Kaitaki It is more an evolutionary behaviour that kept us alive for millions of years. We had to make snap judgements whether someone was of our clan. Did they look like us or were they a threat. Today we no er have to make those snap judgments so if a racist thought or fear pops in our mind, we can reject it because it is no er relevant today
@MsDemeanour false equivalency
@JAEMPRESS My scientific explanation for how racism (or wariness of difference) came about IS totally inadequate for today's prejudice, you're right. As a woman having experienced sexism, I can only glimpse what black people go through on a daily basis. Our Australian Aboriginals have the same deal where they are over represented in jails, lack education, increased health issues and have a life expectancy ten yrs less than white people. It's an appalling situation. I believe racism is a choice today, regardless of how you were brought up, people, all people should make a stand for injustice and it starts with every individual. People need to question their values.
You're making a sweeping generalization. There's no way that ALL minorities are racist against all whites. There's no way that ALL whites are, or are not, racist tward all minorities. What is the evidence that you have to support your contention? You start with an extreme view and then seem to think people are lying when they say they don't agree with it. I hope you are not persuading your child that this level of prejudice is acceptable. Even if you don't want to, he will have to succeed in a diverse world, and having an "all minorities are racists" world view is not going to help in that.
what responses were YOU looking at? everyone said it's NOT okay to be racist, usually altogether, whether against white people, black people or green people. as for voting, i won't vote because i find your question racist. i can't speak for everyone else who didn't vote.
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It's something I call 'minority privilege.' You see it in the LGBT community a lot. The trouble generally being that these people become accustomed to being able to get off scott free with attacking the oppressive majority, but they become equally nasty about other minorities. So a gay man might (justifiably, in some people's eyes) attack straight people. But he gets used to that privilege and attacks anyone lesbian or transgender, too. A cis hetero white male is used to not being able to attack anyone without being called a bigot. Someone with minority privilege is shocked to find themselves on the wrong side of the argument when they attack and even more oppressed minority than themselves.
I'm a great believer in equality all round. I don't let the colour of someone's skin affect the way I treat them. What I'm sick of is white people self-flagellating over the way our race historically treated theirs, and in some areas (where white folks tend to marry their sisters and daughters) still do.
The trans movement went through a phase a while back where it wasn't sufficient to be trans. If you were white and trans, you didn't matter. I actually watched white trans women apologise for assuming that they did. Only 'trans women of color' were of any interest. The disparity no more evident in the different way that the community treats Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox. Cait can do no right (okay, she's a Trump supporter - feel free to hold that against her.) Laverne can do no wrong (even appearing in Rocky Horror, a play that's done more to harm public perceptions of trans women than anything else in history.) Thankfully, we seem to have come out the other side. Everyone loves Sophie Labelle. She's white, and yet her trans story seems to matter.
What we need is actual equality. We need being black to stop being a social disadvantage. We need it to stop being something police officers can use as an excuse to shoot first and ask questions later. But let's be honest, we also need to address the prevalent gangster adulation in black culture that's leading to people assuming that a black person is going to be armed and dangerous. Equality isn't achieved by allowing people to fight fire with fire. Argue all you like whether racism can be directed by a disadvantaged minority at a privileged majority, judging someone on (and hating them for) the colour of their skin is prejudice (literally pre-judice.)
I dated a Hindu once. Her mistrust and loathing of Muslims was legendary. Comparable with the hostility between Catholics and Protestants in Northern and Southern Ireland at the height of the troubles. Proper 'cross the street to avoid them' kind of prejudice. Minority races (and faiths) can certainly be prejudiced towards each other. Saying they can't be prejudiced against white folks is just more of that good old white self-flagellation. We can't complain because we deserve this? Well I personally haven't done anything to warrant any skin colour prejudice towards me.
And what have BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE DONE TO WARRANT their treatment. If you are inclined to answer, please begin with treatment of Native Americans
The moment I saw " these people" it invalidated any reasonable position you might have taken.
Where were you when white America was enamored with gangs of KKK burning, shooting, looting and cutting black babies from the bellies of their mommies. Or is it that violence and the adulation of violence simply a " black" thing.
Being against a particular religion is not racist.
@SallyMc Billionaires are a minority
@CrassBrauer it's isn't homophobia, either. It's still prejudice, typically leading to animosity and discrimination.
@JAEMPRESS I'm not going to take personal responsibility for what someone did several generations ago on a different continent. If I'm going to beat myself up over history, I'll do it over the way the English treated the Irish during the potato famine or my country's involvement in the slave trade.
The "these people" I was referring to were LGBT people. I happen to be one of them. I am being critical of people like me, there.
@NicoleCadmium and you're not taking responsibility for how you perpetuate either. Neither stance is a winner
@JAEMPRESS What exactly am I (personally) perpetuating, and how do you expect me to take responsibility?
Any form of racism is ignorant and counter productive, so no it's never okay to be racist. I grew up in a multicultural community and while racism was frowned upon and uncommon it was still there, probably because we are taught from an early age to identify differences. One of these is not like the other, one of these things is kinda the same, right out of Sesame Street.
I built several projects in Bermuda and I was the subject of racist comments and slurs on many occasions from the black majority. I was even told that these comments weren't racist because racism is a 'white thing', it was an eye opener to say the least. In the past I had approached racism as a negative thing to be frowned upon but I did so from the white majority perspective, it is quite humbling to be on the other end of the stick.
Interestingly enough, the island I had be building on prior to my work in Bermuda was very racist but from an Elitist White point of view, it was a virtual apartheid system and I felt very sorry for the blacks and how they were treated by the wealthy, white land owners. I wouldn't comply with some of the directives I was given and in the end it was so unbearable that I left. I did all I could to help my black workers, they even nicknamed me Bob the Builder because I was the little white guy that made everything good. These were good men who weren't being allowed to reach their potential because of elitist and racist people. No, racism is never a good thing no matter who is on the receiving end.
@MagRat Not me, just a Canadian who grew up in the most multicultural city in the world. Any man on my crew who pulls his weight gets my respect, if they don't pull their weight I'll skin them alive and I don't care what colour the skin is.
Of course it's not ok, but if you are, what can you do? A lot of white people make me cringe.
What you can do is not judge all white people on the ones that make you cringe. Try judging people based upon themselves and not the color of their skin. It's the best way to judge people.
Race is a nebulous concept. Everyone should be judged the same: we should all pass the same test to learn to drive. It’s not ok to burden anyone or to benefit anyone based on their race alone, or on their appearance alone, or on their IQ alone. Some of us are better at some things than others. Finding our path is not easy in this complex society. Pitfalls abound. And success or failure isn’t entirely up to us. But we live in a country full of opportunities. We should strive to do better, and if we do, our chances are good.
Is it ok to discriminate against tall people? They have ALL the advantages--getting things off the top shelf, everyone looking up to them, instant high-altitude weather forecasts--and yet they still have the gall to complain. "Oh, my head hurts because I keep hitting it on the door frame." Please! "Oh, my back hurts because I'm too tall and not short like everyone else!"
I say we build a really, really tall wall to keep them all out. Some of us short people might like a job as a professional basketball player, you know. Jobs jobs jobs!
Hi, I’m a white guy and I think it’s ok to think whatever you want about any segment of the population, be it based on cultural differences and preferences, social class, gender or, yes, ethnicity. If you think that the colour of the skin generally goes along with a certain type of culture, then it’s ok to be a racist, homophobe, Xenophobe, or have a general dislike about anything, white people included.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Just to be clear, you are saying that it is ok to go with our much more primitive instinct and just brand an entire people based on our few and insignificant experiences with them?
Seriously? That kind of profiling worked great when we were in tribes. Now it makes zero sense.
In the past I was jumped several times by a bunch of Mexicans while I was delivering pizza.
I do not like the Mexicans who jumped me, for good reason, but what gives me the right to label them all for what a small few did?
It makes no sense to me.
My old boss said he didn't like gay people because he was "sexually harassed" by a gay guy in highschool... I was like "are all gay dudes that one guy from highschool?" No.
This guy I know despises black people because of violent childhood trauma involving him and his mom. How he feels is understandable but his anger towards black people is rooted in fear and he needs to work that shit out.
Hating a group for a "this one time" anecdote is pretty weak.
@Joenobody I work in a souvenir shop and, to begin with, everyone who works here and all other shops like mine, we’re a blank slate, no prejudice. It doesn’t take long until we see certain people from certain parts of the world walk into the shop and sigh. No social/ethnic/national group is inherently bad, but our opinions and behaviours may be so different as to seriously disagree.
We struggle to like to culturally similar street neighbours and to be liked by them and we’re expected to like and be liked by other completely different peoples.
I wouldn’t consider myself a racist, I won’t treat anyone badly under any circumstances and I’d NEVER vote for a right-wing party, but one must recognise that it can happen and is almost inevitable.
I have always looked at the unique individual without concidering their genetics. We are taught from a age that there are all of the other animals and then there is the human race. Later we are taught to separate our fellow humans into various genetic categories which often are referred to as "race". This is contradictory and confusing. Whenever possible on different documents, census, drivers licence, job applications and such, I usually write human in the "other" space.
That shouldn't even be a question. Racism is racism no matter against which race, social group it is directed. Of course there's a trend of pushing for the so called "white guilt" nowadays and those that go against that concept or "reverse racisms" are automatically branded racists, Nazis, KKKs, you name it. I won't go into detail now, but if there's anything obvious is that people never learn from the past and keep repeating the mistakes. If anyone is wondering I'm comfortable with and proud of who I am, I respect people no matter the skin color and treat them according to their worth as individuals.
My experience has been that racism is born mainly by fear....fear of culture....fear by indoctrination, fear of un-known.... and of course, anything feared, is resented.....fear is most damaging to those experiencing it, and most harmful to others when expressed toward them. A real sad shame that some cannot face such petty fears, and learn a real joy that the freedom of fear can be...good luck with your life.
I wouldn't dismiss fears so easily as you do. The right fear can save your life in extreme cases and more often it just make you do the safest thing at any given time.
@Algernon awareness is a substitute, fear is a mind killer. Try it, you'll like it.
@HankSherman the level of racism that there is today in the Western world is by no mean a fear and for all that matter not even a mild awareness. Antiracism reins and it has become a dogma based on good intention perhaps but still an agenda based on the lie that races are social constructs.
@Algernon what? I admit that my fifth grade education is a hinderance. Are you rationalizing or trying to justify racism?
@Algernon -- Race is a social construct. We are a single species displaying regional variations at this stage of our evolution.
No, you can only be racist against ignorant and stupid people.
@JustLynnie Not really racist, just bigoted toward, unless of course they continue to breed within their group of Trump supporters.
A moderate level of racism could be useful, a bit like stereotypes are at times.
Oh really now ....define moderate racism?..How is any racism useful? ..who is it useful to?
Just so you know stereotypes and racism are two different things.
@jamrock876, no they're not different things. Racism is a form of stereotype based on the features of the average individual in any taken race.
Racism is useful to racists but only if they're willing to make exceptions. They have to be careful and always remember that every individual can differ from the average of the race they belong to.
@Algernon seriously? Man, I hope you give this a little more thought. racism is just hate. webster dic def: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior
@crazycurlz. I've been giving this some 30 years of thinking and arrived at this conclusion. Some races are superior to others based on the average individual and on the best individuals it can generate. Some races are superior to others in some traits and inferior to others for some other traits. I invite you instead to have a little more thought instead of dismissing racism as just hate, prejudice and so on.
@Algernon I see what you think you're saying.
@crazycurlz Yeah, he's saying he can't be bothered to look beyond media stereotypes and the limited number of minorities he can be bothered to interact with. He's had 30 years to build up, shore up, and justify his "useful" racism and we're never going to get him to think about the ethical aspects of that decision. So let's move along to look for someone whose head isn't mired in 1968.
@citronella sadly, you got that right, girlfriend.
@citronella no, I can't check all the refugees and the economic migrants that are coming to the West so I have to think in stereotypes based on the average individual. Stereotypes are rooted in reality though. All you need to know is what civilisation the other races have been able to produce. Also average IQs and GI (general intelligence). Also physical traits. Also inclination to commit crimes. Also way of thinking, namely the ability to look forward into the future and to be creative. And the list could go on and on.
@citronella Moreover I have had many experiences with minorities and actually if I had to base my judgement on those individuals I met my racism wouldn't be as moderate as it is now.
@Algernon I believe the evolutionary process made people adapt to the lands they lived in. Shorter people are from countries that had less nutricious food. People from other countries had to run fast from some very dangerous animals. This is just adaption
I would say yes but with context. It’s a grey area I guess. I know how it sounds I know, but I can’t articulate my argument, but i’m not a “ racist”
Dr King saved most White Americans from racism, for which we can be eternally grateful. Unfortunately no one has yet performed that task for most Black Americans. President Barack Obama should have done that job, but instead he fed the flames of racial animosity. Of course some Black Americans are among the very best of us (I'm thinking of Thomas Sowell), but I do perceive a lot of anti-White racism among a lot of Black Americans. Deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome some day.
Dr King did what?? Barack Hussein Obama did what? Could you elaborate pleas
Dr King's speech at the Lincoln Memorial was the single most consequential public address in US history. He didn't convert racist bigots, but after that speech a majority of White Americans were on his side.
As for Obama, his presidency could have been a celebration of a post-racial America. Instead he spent his 8 years in office fanning the flames of racial antagonism. And today we live with the consequences of his actions.