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Something I mull a lot is which one is more racist: The working-class white person who says racist things, but socializes with and sometimes even dates black people? Or the middle-class white person who would never do anything explicitly racist, but also has no black friends and lives in a less than 5% black neighborhood?
Something I mull a lot is which one is more racist: The working-class white person who says racist things, but socializes with and sometimes even dates black people? Or the middle-class white person who would never do anything explicitly racist, but also has no black friends and lives in a less than 5% black neighborhood?
Slightly the second one- but probably not by much IMO. The first one probably has all types of racist beliefs they hold as fact despite having black friends. That's why they say racist things.
If you've got black friends and you say racist things... that, to me, signals you only hang around a certain type of black person or maybe only 'respect' black people that you personally know.
No, I agree they've been integrated for quite a long time. But I'm saying that the cultural stigma around interracial dating/children has vanished in these communities more recently.
Speaking as a transplant from the East Coast, I was shocked when I first moved here how much more open racism was than where I grew up. Not just white people being afraid of/avoiding black people, but open dropping of the "n word" in conversation, racist jokes, etc. It's very, very common. The comments I got from some friends when I was dating black women were eye-opening! But quite often these exact same racist white people have biracial people in their own families - sometimes even their kids. I remember quite strongly a time I was in a laundromat where a guy was telling a friend of his it was okay to tell his black employee (he was some sort of small-time general contractor) he was "acting like a n****" because his son was half black.
This isn't that surprising actually, given that there was likely a supposed comfortability in speaking that way with you and there is likely a "transition" for lack of a better word in terms of attitudes.
Slightly the second one- but probably not by much IMO. The first one probably has all types of racist beliefs they hold as fact despite having black friends. That's why they say racist things.
If you've got black friends and you say racist things... that, to me, signals you only hang around a certain type of black person or maybe only 'respect' black people that you personally know.
I think it has to be defined as to what those things are. One of my best friends, who is black, and I tease each other about our respective cultures. He likes to do the high pitched cry (A LALALALA) that terrorists have been shown to sometimes make to tease me about being Arab and I make jokes about certain Soul Food items that I think are gross. I dont think that makes us racist because we know each other. Now if he went into a crowd of random Arabs and did that, it could be seen that way.
I think it has to be defined as to what those things are. One of my best friends, who is black, and I tease each other about our respective cultures. He likes to do the high pitched cry (A LALALALA) that terrorists have been shown to sometimes make to tease me about being Arab and I make jokes about certain Soul Food items that I think are gross. I dont think that makes us racist because we know each other. Now if he went into a crowd of random Arabs and did that, it could be seen that way.
I think there is a difference between the 'racist' thing you and your friend say to each other, and the things said by the working class whites in the example above. For one thing you wouldn't say the racist things when your black friend isn't around would you?
South Park's latest episode touches on this. Suppose a person who is not especially racist but goes through life without having made a black friend, even though such opportunities didn't really present itself because the part of country he lives in is pretty white. Anything that person tries to do to rectify the lack of black friend or acquaintance is going to be cringe worthy and the person would appear more racist than not having black friends.
Something I mull a lot is which one is more racist: The working-class white person who says racist things, but socializes with and sometimes even dates black people? Or the middle-class white person who would never do anything explicitly racist, but also has no black friends and lives in a less than 5% black neighborhood?
NOt sure but don't think the second one is racist at all. I don't have to seek out where black people live.
NOt sure but don't think the second one is racist at all. I don't have to seek out where black people live.
Its the mentality of "why would I want black friends, Im not black.".
People want to be around others just like them. I get it. But if youre purposely only wishing to be around those that are just like you to the exclusion of other groups, that stems from being more tied to your own racial identity than you would wish.
Its the mentality of "why would I want black friends, Im not black.".
People want to be around others just like them. I get it. But if youre purposely only wishing to be around those that are just like you to the exclusion of other groups, that stems from being more tied to your own racial identity than you would wish.
Not sure about purposefully wishing, us family people just head to areas with good schools. Race is not an issue.
I think there is a difference between the 'racist' thing you and your friend say to each other, and the things said by the working class whites in the example above. For one thing you wouldn't say the racist things when your black friend isn't around would you?
Its very much a shade of grey. Some people find things racist that others do not. If you have a room full of 100 people and 90 of them dont fine something racist but 10 do, would we consider that racist? What about half and half?
There are some things we could all agree are racist (slurs, blackface, etc.) but the majority of things that get attention are those that some consider racist and others dont. The question becomes where the line is drawn.
That brings me back to eschaton's question. Is the first type of person he mentioned just being politically incorrect with his friends or is he using slurs or attempting to put his black friends down? If its the former, then no I dont really view that as racist. If its the later, that is definitely racist.
However, if a person purposely seeks to avoid another group, that is more racist than a politically incorrect person with a diverse group of friends. The only way to break down walls is to engage not to isolate with your own kind. Its the reason why my family keeps asking me to move to the Lebanese communities in the Western Detroit area but I wouldnt dream of it. I dont want to only be around my kind.
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