Is everyone racist?

[Mcshane22]

Also I can see that this inherent nature is seen in the immigrant families who migrated to the the U.S throughout it's existence. These immigrants did not Depart each other and go their separate ways. They found out in order to survive they had to have strength in numbers as where individualism would lead to failure. Little China is still a prominent community to today. In these communities marriage outside of ones nationality is frowned upon and sometimes punished by banishment from said community. This sort of punishment today is seen by mainstream America as archaic and intolerant. However it was not done out of hate of other races it was done to maintain the integrity and survival of the community .

 

[Vinayaka]

ok, how about where I live now.

As a foreigner I have to pay 50-100% more on an apartment rental per month because I am a white. This is for the exact same apartment that a local would live in.

I

Is it based on race or is it based on being foreign? This happens everywhere. In many places there are two economies: tourist, and local.

If I buy a house in Hawaii, I pay an additional 15% tax than a local. I can't remember which way it is, but since I'm Canadian, its 5% for being out of state, and 10% for being out of country, or the other way around. Is this racist? Not in my view.

In many third world countries, foreigners are charged more simply because they can afford it. I have no problem with this at all. In fact when traveling, I love the challenge of 'slipping into' the local economy.

 

[Qymaen]

What the???
What country is that?

Still, this doesn't mean that people are inherently racist and cannot escape the mindset.

China? Japan? Thailand?

 

[Gharib]

i have a question, it is somewhat stupid but anyway, what exactly do you take to be racism?

for someone, calling a black man black is a fact.
calling a white man racist , in some cases, is a fact.

do we settle for racism being a derogatory gesture towards people of another ethnicity or do we say that any remark/gesture of any nature whether friendly, factual or derogatory is racist?

 

[Qymaen]

i have a question, it is somewhat stupid but anyway, what exactly do you take to be racism?

for someone, calling a black man black is a fact.
calling a white man racist , in some cases, is a fact.

do we settle for racism being a derogatory gesture towards people of another ethnicity or do we say that any remark/gesture of any nature whether friendly, factual or derogatory is racist?

I think this brings up another question. Sorry for no answer, though. :sorry1:

Do Africans, as in people who live in Africa, take offense to being called black? It seems to be a uniquely American, maybe western, term (at least historically). Would they rather be known as an African?

for someone, calling a black man black is a fact.
calling a white man racist , in some cases, is a fact.

I have an answer for this, sort of. There is no such thing as a black person. Have you ever heard of or seen a human with black skin color? At most it's dark brown.

 

[Mcshane22]

To me racism is any remark that leads to an opinion that one ethnicity is superior to another

 

[Storm]

To me racism is any remark that leads to an opinion that one ethnicity is superior to another

Yeah... I don't think acknowledging ethnicity qualifies.

 

[Gharib]

I think this brings up another question. Sorry for no answer, though. :sorry1:

Do Africans, as in people who live in Africa, take offense to being called black? It seems to be a uniquely American, maybe western, term (at least historically). Would they rather be known as an African?

i don't think they would rather be called anything (and maybe would take offence). what do you call your fellow white man? whitey? chicken breast fillet, lol?

I have an answer for this, sort of. There is no such thing as a black person. Have you ever heard of or seen a human with black skin color? At most it's dark brown.

i have seen fully black people yes. and everyone knows that the majority are dark brown, it's just a term that we use, there is no such thing as a white man either, we are very light brown/yellowish or what ever.

 

[Qymaen]

i don't think they would rather be called anything (and maybe would take offence). what do you call your fellow white man? whitey? chicken breast fillet, lol?

I'm not a white person. My skin color is a light-dark brown. Considering I live on the border of Alabama and Georgia, it's not the best idea to call a white person "whitey".

i have seen fully black people yes. and everyone knows that the majority are dark brown, it's just a term that we use, there is no such thing as a white man either, we are very light brown/yellowish or what ever.

Yes, I know.

 

[Mcshane22]

Not to acknowledge our physical differences is willfull ignorance. We have our phenotypes for a sound reason an that is adaptation to varying environments. Racism Is intolerance of these differences and a belief in superiority.

By willful ignorance I'll use this example " an African American who refuses treatment for sickle cell based on his belief that sickle cell trait is a white mans lie to make African Americans inferior"

 

[Rakhel]

As I have said in previous "Racism" threads. Different regions view the American black differently. My husband knew a Nigerian who felt that the African-American was the N word. Black Caribbeans, who happen to be American, are very insulted when you call them African-American(they prefer black if you can't figure out their country of origin). I have actually heard a Caribbean-American call an African American "nothing better than an Ape that has crawled out of the jungle"
So is the term "African-American" a western thing? I would say yes. Because if you were to ask a person from Nigeria if they were African they would , most likely, tell you, "No. I am Nigerian" However, I do feel that the same applies to a person from the continent of Africa as it would a person from the Caribbean. Calling Nigerian an African wouldn't necessarily be as insulting as calling him a Zulu.

Now the same note, though, it would still be correct to call a white South African or Rhodesian, who happens to be an American citizen, an African American.

 

[Qymaen]

Not to acknowledge our physical differences is willfull ignorance. We have our phenotypes for a sound reason an that is adaptation to varying environments. Racism Is intolerance of these differences and a belief in superiority. "

While racism is usually a vessel of spreading the message of one person's superiority, it doesn't have to be. When it isn't used for this "cause", that's what I call casual, or informal, racism.

By willful ignorance I'll use this example " an African American who refuses treatment for sickle cell based on his belief that sickle cell trait is a white mans lie to make African Americans inferior

Who the hell would believe this? But I see your point.

 

[Mcshane22]

Yeah... I don't think acknowledging ethnicity qualifies.

You are correct , I meant to say race not ethnicity . Mendelian population would be the more accurate term

 

[gnomon]

I would say that applying a predefined set of cultural attributes upon any person based on their appearance is prejudicial and that there does appear to exist in the majority of us this need to do such a thing. It's just too easy to look at someone and make an assumption never mind that appearance alone doesn't reveal an individuals language, religious beliefs or lack thereof, diet and all the other things that define a culture. We assume ethnic identity is hereditary and rely on the physical attributes to determine that.

However, I see more people relying on heredity to define themselves when they actually do not have only a tangential connection at best to those cultures.

But I wouldn't call what I just wrote equivalent to racism. More like confusion.

 

[Storm]

You are correct , I meant to say race not ethnicity . Mendelian population would be the more accurate term

I didn't mean your post. I don't believe "races" exist. I call people "white/ black/ etc." only as vague descriptors.

 

[McBell]

Is everyone racist?

Depends on how you define 'racist'.

Seems to me that if you define 'racist' in such a way as to include everyone, you pretty much make the word meaningless.

 

[Mcshane22]

Depends on how you define 'racist'.

Seems to me that if you define 'racist' in such a way as to include everyone, you pretty much make the word meaningless.

Good point I guess you can say Racism is in the eye of the beholder

 

[Kathryn]

I avoid using the terms "white," "black," or "Asian" as much as possible. There are so many other ways to describe people. I like the challenge of coming up with other descriptions anyway.

I really dislike categorizing people by the color of their skin. There are so many more interesting categories.

 

[Vinayaka]

Its pretty natural to generalise, although its not necessarily a correct perspective. But who has the ability to get to know every person we see individually. So we lump 'em together, by country, by race, by religion, by gender, by age, etc. Natural working of the mind.

 

[Storm]

I avoid using the terms "white," "black," or "Asian" as much as possible. There are so many other ways to describe people. I like the challenge of coming up with other descriptions anyway.

I really dislike categorizing people by the color of their skin. There are so many more interesting categories.

Personally, I can't think of the last time I utilized those descriptors as anything but that. It's the first thing I say when trying to describe a person's appearance, and other than that, it's not on the radar.