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Alright, please define racism for me. Every definition I've seen says racism is about believing in racial superiority or inferiority. Now apply that here. Are any of those examples racist? The last example might be stereotyping (and jokingly at that), but that isn't racism.
What I get from this is that a black family is looking at the world through the racism lense, "feels" like there might be prejudice involved, completely speculating, and then concludes that their experiences are evidence of a racist society. Then when people challenge them on it, they're labeled racist or unempathetic.
I believe the article was biased from the writers standpoint and stood to try to make whites consider racial biases. That is fine IMO but I also don't think that what they are describing is definitively racist. I'll also point out that the family interviewed also was quoted as thinking about both options "maybe race" and "maybe not."
When confronted with the sorts of situations described in the article, most black people do this - think of both options. It is not usually the first - they were racist option, unless it is rather blatantly racist.
I honestly don't like articles like this. IMO they serve just as all the "sob" media stories serve to make black people look like victims. Previously in media (and still to wide degree) they would focus on the poor, lowly black person who is so sad and can't do anything because of poverty and oppression and blahblahblah. Now today, they want to focus on upper income black families and try to say that they are hurt as well based on bias and perceived racism.
Sorry but I'm just not "into" sob stories. I think black people as a demographic need to wake up to the fact that we are negatively biased. We cannot change people's minds. You do like we usually do anyway and just deal with it and move on. Obviously it has not hurt this couple. It has not hurt me either to any wide degree (though I have been victim of police aggression - I chose to sue them over it and won and also got pretty heavily involved in my neighborhood and got to know the commanding officers of my neighborhood beat - mostly because I lived in a poor majority black neighborhood and I know that poor black people just don't have the time or resources to work with police like I can do in order to build a better relationship with our community).
Can it happen (we or our family member become harmed) of course it can. But I am not afraid of soft bias. IMO it is a sign of the biased person's ignorance. I do my best not to associate with ignorant people or with organizations that support the ignorant ideas of ignorant people. Like the wife featured in the article, if I go someplace where I'm followed or treated poorly and I feel it is race based, I'll just not go there anymore and tell other black people they may want to consider whether or not they go to that businesses/organization.
I believe the article was biased from the writers standpoint and stood to try to make whites consider racial biases. That is fine IMO but I also don't think that what they are describing is definitively racist. I'll also point out that the family interviewed also was quoted as thinking about both options "maybe race" and "maybe not."
When confronted with the sorts of situations described in the article, most black people do this - think of both options. It is not usually the first - they were racist option, unless it is rather blatantly racist.
I honestly don't like articles like this. IMO they serve just as all the "sob" media stories serve to make black people look like victims. Previously in media (and still to wide degree) they would focus on the poor, lowly black person who is so sad and can't do anything because of poverty and oppression and blahblahblah. Now today, they want to focus on upper income black families and try to say that they are hurt as well based on bias and perceived racism.
Sorry but I'm just not "into" sob stories. I think black people as a demographic need to wake up to the fact that we are negatively biased. We cannot change people's minds. You do like we usually do anyway and just deal with it and move on. Obviously it has not hurt this couple. It has not hurt me either to any wide degree (though I have been victim of police aggression - I chose to sue them over it and won and also got pretty heavily involved in my neighborhood and got to know the commanding officers of my neighborhood beat - mostly because I lived in a poor majority black neighborhood and I know that poor black people just don't have the time or resources to work with police like I can do in order to build a better relationship with our community).
Can it happen (we or our family member become harmed) of course it can. But I am not afraid of soft bias. IMO it is a sign of the biased person's ignorance. I do my best not to associate with ignorant people or with organizations that support the ignorant ideas of ignorant people. Like the wife featured in the article, if I go someplace where I'm followed or treated poorly and I feel it is race based, I'll just not go there anymore and tell other black people they may want to consider whether or not they go to that businesses/organization.
That sounds reasonable to me. I honestly think the one thing that would significantly help is getting black families to stay together like they used to. A lot of problems would get cleaned up, less "bad apples" coming from bad situations, and the negatives associated with black culture would begin to fade away. It might take time, but I think that's the best way.
Then what are you complaining about. By your own admission the United States is the only place that allows a person on earth to have a spouse, serve in a military, serve as an officer of a court, drive a car, eat food, and have a f---ing house to sleep in. Because no one in Canada or Israel has experienced these things, running naked, hungry, and homeless as they are. And you want to complain about a minor inconvenience your husband occasionally went through?
Why is ok to go through any "minor inconvenience" solely because of the color of your skin?
If these "minor inconveniences" happened equally to all races/ethnicities/nationalities then I could accept that racism isn't an issue.
blacks have been harmed by the war on drugs the most because blacks have been targeted the most. People of all races use drugs. If there was really a war on drugs the police could just go from dorm room to dorm room locking up white college students. If there was really a war on drugs the Reagan administration would not have sold the drugs in these neighborhoods. And when you factor in the different sentences used for something like cocaine powder vs crack, then you start to see the racism in the fake war. And please tell us how you would quantify which race is more or less active in the war on drugs.
Alright, please define racism for me. Every definition I've seen says racism is about believing in racial superiority or inferiority. Now apply that here. Are any of those examples racist? The last example might be stereotyping (and jokingly at that), but that isn't racism.
What I get from this is that a black family is looking at the world through the racism lense, "feels" like there might be prejudice involved, completely speculating, and then concludes that their experiences are evidence of a racist society. Then when people challenge them on it, they're labeled racist or unempathetic.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,486,476 times
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As a White person I have tried to never tell someone else what their experience has been. Some people all of races have a victim complex but when you hear consistently about a problem it's hard to assume it doesn't exist.
That sounds reasonable to me. I honestly think the one thing that would significantly help is getting black families to stay together like they used to. A lot of problems would get cleaned up, less "bad apples" coming from bad situations, and the negatives associated with black culture would begin to fade away. It might take time, but I think that's the best way.
Black people have always stayed together and there are not any negative associated with "black culture" that aren't a part of the dominant American culture either.
Not a jab at you, but I like to be consistent in the fact that I did point out that IMO black people need to be culturally aware from an historic standpoint and not let any outside overt or soft biases influence our lives. This includes the fact that the family has always been a primary factor in black culture and black culture itself is "black excellence" and has always primarily focused on being positive and forward facing. Too many black people IMO also are culturally ignorant when it comes to black American culture and that for me is the only "issue" we really need to work on. The idea that we have a lot of "negatives" is false and is not something we should even consider.
I am white and the same sorts of things also happen to me on a regular basis. Only difference is I would never assume every sleight is because of racism. Some people are just selfish and rude. Get over it.
It's pretty selfish to assume your experiences set the standard for everyone else's experiences, isn't it?
I am not sure why Black people deserve the same respect when they overwhelmingly support AA which basically says "Black people are inferior and they need government's help otherwise they wouldn't qualify for schools or jobs."
Thank you for this awesome display of racism! See y'all? It's still alive and well!
Bad stuff happens to good people. All the time. 1 example from a week ago and how many black people live in America, like 40 Million? A white girl recently died of starvation in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa.
So using your logic, we really need to start dropping food baskets on rich whites in suburbia because they are dying of starvation and don't have access to food.
You should learn a little more about "logic"
Then come back and apply what you've learned.
Just a friendly suggestion!
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