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Yeah, I do know lots of people that have no problem declaring it. In fact, when I bartended they had no problem making sure that everyone knew it. Some of them, scream outside of the window while passing by a group of African Americans.
Tats. Hammers, swastikas, etc. If you know what your looking for, they have still expressed it without having to verbally do so. The Confederate flag in a window or on a pole or best yet, an entire vehicle painted as one sends a pretty clear sign. You could spend all day stating the 99 ways one can display that flag and it have no meaning but the reality is, one knows exactly the type of reaction one is going to get. AND IN KNOWING IN ADVANCE CONTINUES TO DO SO.
These types of sayings and or questions,
"We have to sell because the value of our property is about to decline"
"Am I a racist if..."
"Lets compare the crime statistics"
"they have the victim mentality"
They may even dance around it and without so much as stating race, drum up the picture of the pink caddilac African American welfare mother. Illegal immigrants=only Mexicans.
white people aren't the only ones who are racist. any person of any race can be racist.
It is really not very nice to call someone a racist, so why would you be wanting to find a reason to do that? If someone is a racist, I really don't want to know that. And yes, I do see it here on the threads, but it is my opinion also that the real racists are the ones calling someone else a racist. Whether someone is a racists or not is not something I think about on a daily basis. I think a more important question is whether a person is a Christian.
I fail to see what this has to do with the subject at hand either.
Weren't churches used to spread the KKK's message?
What about the statement from the judge in the Loving Vs. Virginia case?
This is a weird (and I really don't mean that in a bad way) thread that has wandered all over the place.
Depending on how broadly you define racism, we're probably all guilty to some degree, regardless of our own racial heritage. I'm sure I am, though I'd like very much not to be.
It's also puzzling and frustrating when too much stuff gets thrown under the accusation of racism. I'm a white guy living in a black neighborhood in the black part of my city - am here by choice, and loving it. So is it racist of me to say that blacks tend to gravitate toward big cars with huge chrome rims (spinners are common) and lots of bling? Or is that just an honest observation? I'm not being mean or derogatory, but I'm sure somebody would scream that that's racist.
I guess I'm just trying to treat people like people, regardless of their race. I wish I did a better job of it, but at least I'm trying.
This is a weird (and I really don't mean that in a bad way) thread that has wandered all over the place.
Depending on how broadly you define racism, we're probably all guilty to some degree, regardless of our own racial heritage. I'm sure I am, though I'd like very much not to be.
It's also puzzling and frustrating when too much stuff gets thrown under the accusation of racism. I'm a white guy living in a black neighborhood in the black part of my city - am here by choice, and loving it. So is it racist of me to say that blacks tend to gravitate toward big cars with huge chrome rims (spinners are common) and lots of bling? Or is that just an honest observation? I'm not being mean or derogatory, but I'm sure somebody would scream that that's racist.
I guess I'm just trying to treat people like people, regardless of their race. I wish I did a better job of it, but at least I'm trying.
I'd say that "tending to gravatitate" is an observation that you made that shouldn't be bashed.
I guess it depends on how it's phrased and what the true intentions are.
As long as we all try, things will start to get better. Look at how much progress has been made so far.
I'd say that "tending to gravatitate" is an observation that you made that shouldn't be bashed.
I guess it depends on how it's phrased and what the true intentions are.
As long as we all try, things will start to get better. Look at how much progress has been made so far.
Yeah, you're right.
I grew up on a farm outside a small town in Iowa. I had never even seen a black person until I was in high school and running at The Drake Relays, in Des Moines. Lack of familiarity and experience with something/someone can lead to a lot of fear-based negative feelings. And I didn't grow up in a home with prejudiced and hateful parents.
On the other hand, my wife & I have always lived in rather multi-racial areas. And I've noticed that none of our 3 kids (two grown now) pay much attention to, or even notice, people of different races. They're just so accustomed to it.
Maybe that's what we all need more of. Just being around each other.
I grew up on a farm outside a small town in Iowa. I had never even seen a black person until I was in high school and running at The Drake Relays, in Des Moines. Lack of familiarity and experience with something/someone can lead to a lot of fear-based negative feelings. And I didn't grow up in a home with prejudiced and hateful parents.
On the other hand, my wife & I have always lived in rather multi-racial areas. And I've noticed that none of our 3 kids (two grown now) pay much attention to, or even notice, people of different races. They're just so accustomed to it.
Maybe that's what we all need more of. Just being around each other.
I think that has helped me. I grew up in a city and went to school in the 'burbs so I had exposure to people of other races early on. It helped me learn that all types of people can truly get along, and that there are jerks in all colors.
I think the younger generations as a rule are going to care about race less and less. You can see it happening before your eyes.
Is there a difference between a racist and a person who makes jokes about stereotypes? I tend to think of racists as people who actively spread hate and descriminate, where as I know people who will make jokes about people using stereotypes but they joke about all races. like they will joke about WT people driving pick-ups an shopping at wallmart, or asians being crap drivers, or a mexican being able to work 50 times harder than us etc etc But they never say it to other people and they never are bothered by being around/being friends with any people of other races so I guess my question is are they racist or not??
Personally I would see the example you've given as commentary only and nothing to do with being racist unless the person making the commentary has avowed their hatred for someone based purely on race and intends to use their racism to incite hatred from others based purely on race.
We are different and acknowledging the differences in a humourous way isn't racist in my opinion.
I do think people are hypersensitive these days and can get themselves all worked up over nothing based on their own assumptions.
As to the original question of the thread well I'd bet my bottom dollar that people have decided I was racist over my life time but seeing as I define racism as a person holding the view they are superior to others because of their heritage and skin colour, as far as I'm concerned I'm not racist.
In terms of "revealing" myself to be racist that would be if I physically harmed someone based purely on their skin colour being different to mine or in some way managed to assert some kind of superiority over another based purely on skin and heritage being different to mine. Can't see any circumstances where either situation would occur in my life.
I think that has helped me. I grew up in a city and went to school in the 'burbs so I had exposure to people of other races early on. It helped me learn that all types of people can truly get along, and that there are jerks in all colors.
I think the younger generations as a rule are going to care about race less and less. You can see it happening before your eyes.
I think you're spot on. My 3 kids have a little different approach toward the whole racial issue than I do - and I think it's partly because my wife & I have intentionally guided them that way, but it's also because they've just lived their whole lives around people of other races. What was different for me is normal for them.
Here's an example. Today was Jackie Robinson Day in the Major Leagues. Every player wore number 42, which has been permanantly retired by all teams. Today, it would have been unthinkable to NOT wear number 42. Tomorrow it will be unthinkable to wear it. By what logic is it appropriate to wear Robinson's number on some days but not others, according to some greed-motivated edict?
Why would a player comply? Because everybody else did? How does it honor Robinson to do what everybody else mindlessly does? Robinson wouldn't have, and that's what made him worth honoring.
Or, because the profiteers in baseball marketing made extra bucks by proclaiming it? What if a player said "I refuse", not out of disrespect for Robinson, but out of disrespect for the people using Robinson's name for a high-profit publicity stunt.
No. Every player complied because he would be called a racist if he didn't, and they all remember what happened to John Rocker. Nobody retired his uniform number. He was a farm boy from Georgia, who got on the New York train and opened his eyes and looked around and told somebody what he saw, and spent the rest of his career in Opprobrium
I have many friends who would call me a racist if they read this.
By the way, for what it's worth, I went to our college baseball game today. The visiting team was from a historically black university, and most of the players were black. No reference was made at the game to the fact that today MLB was honoring the removal of the color bar. It thought it should have been mentioned. We beat them 14-2 and 11-1, and the consolation might have helped.
Last edited by jtur88; 04-15-2009 at 11:48 PM..
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