Is it Actually Racist?

[DickyP]

So what counts as racism? I was in my local Morrison's supermarket when they had a promotion on West Indian food, which as I dislike fruit with meat I'm not really fond of although there are plenty of West Indian dishes I do quite like. I mentioned to my wife in passing that I didn't really like West Indian food generally and young man of about 20ish at the same shelves, told me I was a "racist b*****d".

 

[DickyP]

Where do I sign up for my reparations?

The thing I've never understood about reparations mostly related to slavery is all the demands are made to us the buyers of the slaves, and not to Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and the rest of west Africa who Sold the slaves? They are as, if not more, guilty.

Same with apologies - why would I apologise? I wasn't in any way responsible for things that happened 200 years ago, and if I'd been alive then I would have probably gone along with it like anyone else. Any apology is pointless.

 

[AngelSpeaks]

So what counts as racism? I was in my local Morrison's supermarket when they had a promotion on West Indian food, which as I dislike fruit with meat I'm not really fond of although there are plenty of West Indian dishes I do quite like. I mentioned to my wife in passing that I didn't really like West Indian food generally and young man of about 20ish at the same shelves, told me I was a "rasist b*****d".

My husband would have told him to f off and mind his own business. You can dislike the foods of another country or ethnic group and not be racist. Some use specific spices that some people can't stomach.

 

[DickyP]

My husband would have told him to f off and mind his own business.

I did - remarkably politely all things considered.

 

[Isaac]

So what counts as racism? I was in my local Morrison's supermarket when they had a promotion on West Indian food, which as I dislike fruit with meat I'm not really fond of although there are plenty of West Indian dishes I do quite like. I mentioned to my wife in passing that I didn't really like West Indian food generally and young man of about 20ish at the same shelves, told me I was a "racist b*****d".

Indeed the word has been expanded in its definition. I think of racism as just generally disliking, or hating, or acting negatively towards, a person ONLY because of their race. That said, making observations about characteristics you have witnessed about any race is not in itself racism.

For example, Whites have a higher rate of male suicide and car accidents. is that racism to say?

 

[AngelSpeaks]

Indeed the word has been expanded in its definition. I think of racism as just generally disliking, or hating, or acting negatively towards, a person ONLY because of their race. That said, making observations about characteristics you have witnessed about any race is not in itself racism.

For example, Whites have a higher rate of male suicide and car accidents. is that racism to say?

You can say anything derogatory about whites, especially men, and get a standing ovation.

 

[Dick7Access]

Racism is whatever a racist says it is because it is only an actual racist who sees race everywhere. To a racist, if I disagree with a black person, I am a racist. The person I'm disagreeing with is more likely to perceive me as treating him as an equal and worthy of having a disagreement with therefore I am not being a racist.

Pat Hartman for president

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Don't you realize, Dick, that she is automatically disqualified from being President.

She can actually think for herself.

 

[AngelSpeaks]

Pat Hartman for president

Hey Dick, I already nominated Pat the other day!

 

[NauticalGent]

You can say anything derogatory about whites, especially men, and get a standing ovation.

My generation finds it funny, we can laugh at ourselves, for the most part.

The younger generation takes it because they think they deserve it.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The really sad part, NG, is that if they willingly take it, they DO deserve it.

 

[ColinEssex]

, but if you walk down the street in your underwear, you're an idiot, and I'll stil point it out (Col, you excluded - if you did it we'd know you were just trying to make us laugh)

How did you hear about that?
It was in the 1970's and there was a gang of us - all absolutely ratassed, it was a stag night. Actually we met up with the hen party and they stripped to bra and pants, quite a night as I recall.
Col

 

[GaP42]

Racism is whatever a racist says it is because it is only an actual racist who sees race everywhere. To a racist, if I disagree with a black person, I am a racist. The person I'm disagreeing with is more likely to perceive me as treating him as an equal and worthy of having a disagreement with therefore I am not being a racist.

If that is a working definition of racism then I understand why it is considered that racists often have no conception / are blind to what racism is. Very pleased there is no chance of running for President.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

If that is a working definition of racism then I understand why it is considered that racists often have no conception / are blind to what racism is. Very pleased there is no chance of running for President.

The thing that always gets to me is that I am accused of racism by black people but they then deny that black people can EVER be racist. Sorry, but if the definition includes a race filter regarding who CAN be racist then by definition it is ITSELF a racist statement. Actually, no I'm NOT sorry to have stated it that way. I call 'em as I see 'em and I see racism lurking in your comment, @GaP42.

The whole problem with racism, sexism, genderism, pick-your-favorite-ism is that it becomes an attempt to pigeon-hole someone into a category and then judge the category, when in fact EACH of us is an individual with individual likes and dislikes. All of those -isms are examples of trying to judge a book by its cover, which generally qualifies as either stupidity or laziness or both.

Speaking generically now: Racism is just another way of saying you are unwilling to forgive someone for not looking like YOUR ideal person. It includes not forgiving someone for making non-violent life choices different from yours.

It is sometimes easier to make generalizations that end up sounding like racism. It is very difficult to avoid that behavior because our minds evolved to classify threats quickly in hopes that we could avoid danger quicker. It IS a survival trait derived from our saurian ancestry, in which we learned to be territorial. We learned to strive for the ascendency of me-and-mine over thee-and-thine because that is our genetic imperative of survival of the species. In our more modern society, we need to learn to curb that flash judgment even though it IS the way that early Man learned to survive. Today that instinct has become detrimental and we need to learn how to suppress it or at least control it.

NOTE: Teaching "Critical Race Theory" is not the way to do that. All it does is exchange one scapegoat for another.

 

[Dick7Access]

Don't you realize, Dick, that she is automatically disqualified from being President.

She can actually think for herself.

Wish I had said that

 

[GaP42]

@The_Doc_Man
Just as you “call ‘em as you see ‘em” I also feel the same about calling out any form of bullying, belittling or unjustified prejudice. The statement I reacted to was that “Racism is whatever a racist says it is because it is only an actual racist who sees race everywhere.” A few went all in and presumably thought that was worth “liking” or endorsing. However such a statement is in my view absolute . It simply tries to absolve in any instance that the perpetrator bears any blame (similar to blaming the victim for causing her ra**). Racism can exist in many forms. It is blatantly obvious that racism has and is expressed in our societies and often for political purposes. Do you deny that racisms exists, or it only exists through the expression of those that raise the issue? That sounds like it is a good way to try and suppress dissent.

Clearly perpetuating unjustifiable generalisations about someone based on their race is reprehensible and as you say in your view it may arise in the hatred generated through the use of the racial trope of us v them, I do hope it can be seen for what it is.

As an eg. Haitians are humans too. The Haitians in Springfield are immigrants, as I am sure there are many other groups in Springfield. Are the Haitians illegals? Was there any real incident? So why the need to make such claims? Who is really being riled up? Who is the ”us” and “them”. Was it justifiable?

 

[Cotswold]

Unbelievably in this country, children as your as four years old are being sent home by their school for making a racist statement.
The statistics are 1,413 incidents at primary schools, were logged against children as young as four last year.
Childhood does appear to becoming ever shorter thanks to these nut-jobs. The question is; just who is approving and supporting this nonsense?

 

[AccessBlaster]

In Springfield you have a population of 58,000 residents (taxpayers). In a span of 3 1/2 Years the federal government resettled 20,000 Haitian migrants about a 34% increase on state and local resources, schools, police, fire, etc. The taxpayers most likely were blindsided by this and never got a say even though they are the taxpayers.

It's not racism It's math.

In the 70's they did the same thing with Vietnamese, millions were relocated across the country including where I live. It devastated OUR sleeply little town, our culture is changed forever but their culture thrives.

The only answer seems to be accept the radical change and go quietly into the night or leave and be called a bigot.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I also feel the same about calling out any form of bullying, belittling or unjustified prejudice.

On this we can agree.

It simply tries to absolve in any instance that the perpetrator bears any blame

I see the statement to which you objected as being a relevant opinion on racism. It calls out the "Pity me, I'm a victim" mentality, which by the way is NOT limited to racism. It can also be about sexism, genderism, or any ethnic-ism. To the extent that a person claiming to be the victim of racism is in fact a victim of self-inflicted bad behavior leading to a condemnation or other bad result, claims of racism - like ANY OTHER ACCUSATION - need careful analysis and verification.

Want examples?

• The recent "Haitians eating pets" quote, for example, has now been traced to a person whose anger over a sudden Haitian influx in her area led her to fabricate that claim. She hated change and her neighborhood was undergoing change.
• In WW2, Hitler's claims against the Jewish people (and gays and handicapped people and 7th Day Adventists and the Romany people) were ALL a form of scapegoating.
• Modern-day claims that gays want to "groom" children to become gay have long ago been shown to be a fabrication.

The latest trend towards DEI is an example of applied insanity (though I cannot rule a bit of natural issues as well). Diversity? Not a problem, I'm all for it. Inclusion? Totally fine with me. Equity? Depends on what you mean by it. It CAN become a crock of, as you put it, , because it should be Equity of Opportunity, not Equity of Result like Ms. Harris seems to want. To put it simply, if I refuse to hire you because you cannot do the job I want done, the color of your skin doesn't matter. Your gender doesn't matter. Your nationality doesn't matter. Your religion doesn't matter. The only question that EVER should matter is "Can you do the job I need done?" If you don't prepare yourself in a way to be able to answer that question "Yes" then don't expect to work for me. I'm not the headmaster of a school for training. My economics and business model can't afford to support people who can't further my business needs. (Though some such places DO exist, and good for them!)

The question is, do you see my stance on DEI to be racist? Or simply motivated by the harsh reality of economics? This will decide whether YOU are a racist or not. Because if you consider that economics is a well-studied discipline, you would realize that it doesn't actually contain ANY theoretical references to the abilities or inabilities of the various ethnicities. It only talks about abilities of individuals or amorphous groups as applied to problems of a hypothetical or actual workforce.

 

[ColinEssex]

In Springfield you have a population of 58,000 residents (taxpayers).

Isn't Springfield where Mr Trump said that they eat cats and dogs? I thought Springfield was a make believe cartoon place, didn't realise it was real.
Col