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I suppose the better question is, who are the minority? Are you talking nationwide minorities? What if you're not a minority where you live, but are in fact, the majority?
I grew up in LA, it's diverse as heck. I have seen Asian store owners refuse to serve Caucasian people or downright ban them. That's "power" that some people were touching up, but being Asian, are they minorities when in a city they're in, they are in fact, the majority?
Most Asians I know have more of a distrust of different races. They'll trust their own, even if they get screwed over by them. However, most Asian I have met are very racist. Caucasian people, IME, are more tolerant than Asians (or they just don't voice it to me since I am Asian). So if Asians are a minority, then heck yeah they can be racist. Let me introduce you to my racist family.
Red, White, Brown, Black or Yellow, Everyone is a minority to another race...simply put....anyone can be racist regardless of economic quota, status etc., in complete honesty racism can be categorized as Actions, Practices, Beliefs, or Social or political systems that consider different races to be either Superior or Inferior to another based upon Presumed shared or taught traits, abilities or qualities. This topic cannot be placed in any category because it is controversial and no one psychologically speaking will ever agree! example; If everyone was the same color, etc. People would still find or look for something to hate or disagree with another person regardless. (Human Nature and Flaw) People are not born Racist it is taught and learned!
Anyone can be racist, just like women can be sexist too. This notion that only whites are racist is flawed and dangerous and naïve.
Oh and plus even within a particular racial group can there be racism between peoples. For example some Japanese are racist towards Koreans, or vice versa. There are some say Brits who are racist towards some Polish people, many examples abound.
I suppose the better question is, who are the minority? Are you talking nationwide minorities? What if you're not a minority where you live, but are in fact, the majority?
I grew up in LA, it's diverse as heck. I have seen Asian store owners refuse to serve Caucasian people or downright ban them. That's "power" that some people were touching up, but being Asian, are they minorities when in a city they're in, they are in fact, the majority?
Most Asians I know have more of a distrust of different races. They'll trust their own, even if they get screwed over by them. However, most Asian I have met are very racist. Caucasian people, IME, are more tolerant than Asians (or they just don't voice it to me since I am Asian). So if Asians are a minority, then heck yeah they can be racist. Let me introduce you to my racist family.
I grew up in Pittsburg California in the 60's and 70's, I am white with red hair and was part of a minority by population demographics, the majority of the population was African American and Latino with white being around 20% and having red hair really made me stand out. I was often accused of being a cracker, white patty, h o n k y, etc and when I went home, it was to a Portugues, Mexican and American Indian family where I was still the minority. I was talking with a neighbor about this very same subject earlier today. I was judged and persecuted by my latin and black peers just for having white skin, red hair, blue eyes and freckles.
If the sons are sinning just because of their fathers, then racism is permanent because of what happened almost 2 centuries ago. My point wasn't that there isn't still racism today, rather that it seems a bit racist to permanently label all whites are racist.
When ever any one says "all of anybody are......." it is racist. What concerns non whites is not whether each individual white is racist or not. It is the impact that INSTITUTIONAL racism might have on their lives.
As an example. I care not what an ageing and possibly impotent wealthy white man says when he fears what his gold digging girl friend might be doing when he sees her with a virile and wealthy black man. So he makes remarks that aren't nice, but reflect his own sexual inadequacies more than any thing which matters to blacks. Even Magic Johnson, who has long passed the point where he cares about what a white bigot might think of him.
What concerns me is when he discriminated against non whites in his rental units. People can think what they think. Its when their actions HURT people that becomes another issue.
Now having said that it serves every one's interests if people listen before they attack. So if a non white person says that in their lived experience there are barriers that present unique challenges to them that might not be as onerous for affluent whites, then a white person should seek further clarification. Instead we find the remark is dismissed as a "chip on the shoulder"......or worse yet "an excuse for laziness".
I will also add that a belief that "all whites are racist" is actually more damaging to the non white person who believes this, than it is to whites themselves. If some one looks for racism under every bush, or makes a huge issue over what is unimportant (Sterling's commentary about Magic) then they will be too afraid to get out of bed and get on with their day.
I I was talking with a neighbor about this very same subject earlier today. I was judged and persecuted by my latin and black peers just for having white skin, red hair, blue eyes and freckles.
And how did this prevent you from getting on with your life? This is equivalent to the torture that fat people endure in a world which rewards what it sees as "good looking". Not to say that it doesn't present a challenge.
If your entire argument is that institutional racism is the problem, then you're arguing that no black is ever racist and EVERY white is racist. Regardless of how anti-racist their stance may be, your claim is that the existence of any institutional racism means NO black can be racist and conversely EVERY white must be racist. There's no way you can realistically believe that to be true.
Penalty free? No, however equal crimes can result in unequal punishment. There has never been a single conviction of a hate crime against white, yet I find it difficult to believe that there has never been an instance where a person was attacked simply because he's white. Alternatively affermative action is essentially institutional racism in the other direct by it's very definition. It's intention is to offset other pieces of institutional racism, but it's existance means you can't deny that both races have advantages and disavantages within the system.
You're attempting to view the conversation only as an overall absolute black vs white argument, ignoring the role of individuals.
First, the situation for white managers is the same but reversed. They need to worry about being viewed as a racist and subject to lawsuits if they appear to "favor some one from their ethnic group, and of being blamed if this person doesn't work out." If a white manager hires a white person and it appears that the black person would have done better, it's now a lawsuit with legal rammifications instead of just the perception issue you described when the races were reversed.
As for black owned businessed, do you not realize the flaw in your arguments? If we roll back the clock to 1950, and I swap black and white in your sentence above, it becomes one of the most racist statement of the time:
That is the exact line of reasoning people used to justify separate but equal. That blacks would be more comfortable with "their own kind" and they don't even want to work with whites.
So, the bottom line is that you believe all whites are inherently racist and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it because we're unaware of it and the system is self sustaining, make us all doomed to be racists for ever. Guess every white should just accept it and go join the KKK members? After all, you're saying both groups of people are racists already.
Let us get this straight. It is not that easy for someone to prove that they weren't hired for racist reasons? Will any one be silly enough to say this, or put it in writing? NO! In addition the person suing will have to prove that it is part of a pattern, and not just applicable to their individual situation. So they must find others willing to join them. Of course few people sue, unless they feel confident that they will win, or are truly desperate, because no employer is going to hire a person who is suing another employer.
This is an excuse and it doesn't bear out in reality when we see that black college educated men on average earn the SAME as white men who have only completed high school.
Individuals will think what they will think, and it takes a truly idle person to worry about their every thought. Indeed when impoverished people hate others, and scape goat them, they usually do more damage to themselves than to those who they hate.
If a black man refuses to get out of bed because he has already decided that no white will hire him because they are all racist, then who suffers? The same person will also claim that "bougie negroes" hate him because he is poor, and will do the same.
DITTO for the poor white male who dropped out of high school, can't get a job, and then blames affirmative action when an affluent black man drives by in an expensive car. How does his rants against his imaginary belief that the whole world hates white men (and we see MANY of these rants all over C-D forum) help him?
So really why does this matter at the level of the individual? That is assuming that the individuals lacks the power to enforce his prejudices.
If there were not systemic impacts of racism then the whole thing will not matter.
But the fact remains that there are barriers posed, by race, skin color, gender, social class, cultural orientation, and the myriad ways in which humans divide themselves. These perceptions hurt the outside groups who might be blacks, Latins, Asians, women, gays, immigrants, or white men from blue collar back grounds.
My core point is that there are some "racisms" and other biases which matter and some which don't. As some one said if the cleaners in the office hate their bosses who cares? What can they do to express their hatred? They lack the power to do so outside of using violence, and if they do the likelihood of getting punished is a distinct possibility.
So it gets back to who has the power. Not every white has it. Really unless I am walking through a trailer park I don't care what their inhabitants might think of blacks. If they attack me they have committed a crime. It only rises to a racism which hurts if the police know who the perps are, and refuse to arrest them for reasons of racial loyalty.
It makes no sense to attempt to negate the real impacts on people's lives that real racism might have by comparing it to silly beliefs that powerless people might have, when they lack the power to enforce their belief system.
It is YOUR belief that there hasn't been a single conviction for hate crimes against whites. Blacks and others who attack whites for reasons of hate get charged all the time. AT LEAST IN NYC! Indeed the rate of black on black crime is way higher than black on white crime. This despite the fact that the average white person is richer. This is because of the perception that a crime against a white will be more seriously pursued by the authorities, resulting in arrest than if the victim was black. So they target the more vulnerable black, especially those who aren't affluent.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 05-18-2014 at 04:07 AM..
Reason: Removed font color
Black americans have no real economic social or political power to discriminate against white Americans in any fashion.
We don't even control the sports leagues in which our people dominate
And this is the point that people need to understand. Individuals will think what they want to think. Its when they have power to enforce their views, which then create challenges for others, it then becomes of concern.
I do not care what some red neck in WV says about blacks, given that he has no power, and might even be worse off than most blacks in this country.
I do care when actions taken by some people, either consciously, or subconsciously, serve to increase the barriers which restrict people from seeking their own socio economic empowerment.
I will summarize remarks made by Condi Rice. She says that if people seek out candidates for positions, using only channels that limit their search to people from within the traditional networks, they restrict the ability of QUALIFIED people to be considered. She cited herself as an example where Stanford made a concerted effort to seek candidates beyond their normal networks. The result was that she was considered and got the job.
I change any right wing person to suggest that Condi is unsuitable for her job, and her assertion that some diversity based criteria be used when seeking out QUALIFIED candidates for positions.
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