Is everyone racist?

[Gharib]

Good point :yes:
Like saying 'white' or 'black'

yes. in my home country for example, in southern europe, we don't see many people from east asia, so over there, a korean, a japanese and a chinese are all chinese. when they see an asian although he might be of japanese nationality, he is called a chinese because we can't tell the difference.

same goes for many other people of other nations.
another example would be men with blonde hair, they are usually called either german or russian and all this is based on some actors or other normal people from those countries who just happened to be blonde and whose movies were a hit back there many years ago, it was something abnormal to the people of my country to see a man with blond hair many years ago so the labels have stayed unfortunately.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

My theory is that everyone is racist, just that some people manage to mask it better than others.

It's pretty hard to be racist when you acknowledge that there is only one race of homo sapien.

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

My problem with such terms, no matter what you try to use, white, black, African-American, Hispanic, or whatever, is that they are very inaccurate. There are many different shades of white and black, and to use a term like African-American is ignoring that someone who is black may not have African heritage, and may not be American. But even saying something like "a person of darker skin pigmentation" is complicated. I think we'd be better of just calling people people, but our society is far from being able to refer to all groups as one group. Even in the social sciences it can be very difficult, and often impossible, to not distinguish between different ethnic groups.

 

[nnmartin]

funny about the pricing though is that you never see the reverse happening.

for instance , if you were from a rich nation and a poor tribesman came into your shop would you charge them any less?

unlikely , but there would be a much higher chance of you following them around the store on suspicion of shoplifting.

 

[Mcshane22]

for the first question: It is based simply on being white.

you mentioned tourist and local - I can agree with that but there is a large third section , that of the expat. Why should they have to pay more when they are on a local wage?

You say when you are 'travelling' - that is a different scenario , ie: tourism.

Since when can you tell whether someone can 'afford' something or not based on their skin colour?

It is like saying overweight people must be rich as they can afford to eat more.

Really it is just self-serving logic in that you charge the foreigner more because you have the convenient moral escape clause of 'well, they can probably afford it anyway'.

By this logic then , it would be acceptable for me to steal small items from shops if I were short of money as I couldn't afford the products.

So basically, charging foreigners more for the same product (and we are not talking about tourists here) is a form of racism.

Therefore , in my view, I think it should be ok to charge foreigners of certain nationalities more for the same product when I return home and open a business.

agree?

When I was staying in Thailand my Thai friend tought me about thie extra charge applied to tourist but she also taught me the in's and out's of their bartering culture. It was not long that I could get most purchase 75% below their first offer. As in th U.S with exceptions to flea markets etc... barging is not an accepted practice

 

[9Westy9]

Bingo!

Oh! Everyone put down your sheets, we have a winner!!! :clap

 

[9Westy9]

without really wanting to get bogged down in semantics I think it would be fair to say that xenophobia is a form of racism , certainly in some cases.

so racism is unreasonable fear of a particular group because of their colour, race or origin? In which case I'd disagree that everyone is racist

 

[Kathryn]

nothing specific - just seems to be the way things are done in the region I live (East Asia).

But this happens in many other parts of the world too - a symptom of what I believe to be inherent racism.

Now I'd have to say that, ironically , having lived abroad for a number of years has made me slightly less tolerant- not the other way round as people are keen to espouse back in the West.

Often the people clamoring for equal rights and political correctness the most have never even left their home town - it's too commonly just naive idealism.

I say to these people - go and live in an inner city in a Third World country on a local wage and then see how much the world really gives a fig about Western bourgoisie neo-liberal One-World patchouly preaching!

I've lived outside the US for 6 years of my life and traveled throughout Asia and Europe extensively. My husband has been to 42 countries and worked in most of them.

We both have found that our travels and experiences outside the US have made us more tolerant and respectful of different lifestyles. We also have come to appreciate the United States and the "western" lifestyle and values even more, whether others do or not.

 

[McBell]

it's a misconception in some cases agreed , due to low education and poverty etc..(although I find that hard to use as an excuse in Germany which is arguably the most developed in Europe!)

Again, I am speaking about my own personal experiences.

but that is not always the case for sure.

Based on my experience, I would say that it has to do with them thinking foreigners have money to spend because they are in a foreign country.

Don't get me wrong, I have met some who would charge me more than they do the locals and then charge my friend, who is black, even more than they charged me.
So I am not dismissing your argument completely, merely saying that based on my personal experiences..

often it seems like 'the foreigner owes us a living' type mentality.

Yes, I have encountered that attitude as well.
But again, it was not nearly as common as the "foreigners have lots of money" attitude.

 

[Mcshane22]

Money has the ability to trump all racist beliefs.

Even in prison a Benjamin will pass through the hands of Caucasions, Latinos , African Americans etc.....


I believe that this concept is the basis of capitalism, for if a vendor only sold to a certain race his business will never grow but by selling to all, his business is not limited by the factor of race. It still may be limited by other factors such as law of supply and demand. If there is no demand for his product his business will fail but by selling to all he increases his odds. That's why private business should be not be forced by law to sell to all. The capitalist system itself will weed out the intolrant

 

[idav]

My theory is that everyone is racist, just that some people manage to mask it better than others.

Not racist. I'm rather indifferent to race not really a lover or hater. I am very certain there are much more constructive ways to pass judgement, lol.

 

[Half/WayHouse]

When it comes to a verbal insult it would be like water off a ducks back (no offense Mr Mallard) to me, yet the idea of meeting physical and political prejudice really defines to me the crux of the problem we need to rise above. I stlll go to the chinky chippy with my chinese daughter. And I'm a Whitey, Brit, Honky, Limey or a Pom or whatever else your culture decided to label me.

 

[nnmartin]

We both have found that our travels and experiences outside the US have made us more tolerant and respectful of different lifestyles. We also have come to appreciate the United States and the "western" lifestyle and values even more, whether others do or not.

Good post, I think you have hit the nail on the head there!

Living in the Third World makes you realise and appreciate your own country so much more. It let's you see first hand what many people in the world have to put up with on a day by day basis and the things that we usually take for granted back home are actually blessings.

for instance: infrastructure, minimum wage, welfare, hospitals, non-corrupt legal system, libraries, education, equal rights etc.... (the list could go on)

Actually the only reason I have the fortune to live abroad is because I come from a Developed nation.

 

[nnmartin]

Money has the ability to trump all racist beliefs.That's why private business should be not be forced by law to sell to all. The capitalist system itself will weed out the intolrant

interesting - surely a true capitalist system should allow the seller vary his prices at any time to any purchaser.

so if he felt that someone coming into his shop looked wealthy he could just change the price tag.

 

[Mcshane22]

interesting - surely a true capitalist system should allow the seller vary his prices at any time to any purchaser.

so if he felt that someone coming into his shop looked wealthy he could just change the price tag.

If I feel the price is too high or that I'm being taking advantage of I will go to a competitor, the store owner either has to match his competitor or loose business. If I feel the price is ok even if the store owner sold it cheaper to another person, my perception is that I received a good deal and that I'm happy with the product which I'm not forced to buy. It's only when there exist a monopoly on one product(that is a need such as gas,utilities,shelter) that it should be bad business practice to adjust the price

In no way do I feel the capitalist system is the best system , it is the worst system except for all the others. I think we can create something better. U.S Capitalism relies on the people's faith that everyone can reach the "American Dream" that faith has dwindled and so the system is failing. True free market could work if It does not fall to the variable of human greed and corruption of a sustainable system.

 

[Alex_G]

Relating to the idea of an underlying racism, i thought this might be quite interesting to some. I had a thread about it a while back. (http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/general-discussion/108449-speak-your-mind-but-do-you.html)
Its the Implicit Association Test developed at Harvard, which tests your subconscious preferences relating to certain things such as race and ethnicity, sexuality and gender, which sometimes are revealed to be quite at odds with what you thought your preferences where, or at least your conscious preferences.

Here’s a link to the Tests available to the public
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.html

Alex

 

[Engyo]

[youtube]aHKIMOgoJoU[/youtube]
Everyone's A Little Bit Racist - Avenue Q - Original Broadway Cast - YouTube

Beat me to it.............

 

[Just Another]

My theory is that everyone is racist, just that some people manage to mask it better than others.

This has become clear to me since living abroad for a number of years as well as general observations made whilst living in my own country.

In the region that I'm living now most countries have their own pejorative term for 'white person' and use it with casual abandon - just their normal way of speaking. We could not possibly use this kind of language in the West without causing offence or getting fired from work.

So, if , when leaving our countries, we have to put up with this daily discrimination why is there such a fuss back home about being politically correct on all occasions regarding nationality, skin colour and origin?

If you ran a store would you think it acceptable to charge people different amounts depending on their racial background?

If we are subjected to this kind of discrimination abroad why do we have to pander to the immigrant hordes invading our own shores?

note: in order to avoid the usual responses, I state that I am not talking people born and bred in the West from past immigration. That is different.

As long as the human species can perceive color, "racism" will be around.

What we do with the knowledge that different people are different colors is on us. Some people are allowed to think freely while others are limited by demographic regions in which theyre born into.

However, people raised in either of the two above cases can go the other way.

Therefore it stands to reason that a hatred for another race is something thats developed, in one form or another, not a natural given. Kind of like, "Are people naturally good or bad?". I think either one is naturally obtained given the enviroment in which theyre brought up, among other variables.

 

[Amill]

If we are subjected to this kind of discrimination abroad why do we have to pander to the immigrant hordes invading our own shores?

Because as a society we're better than them? What's the point of worsening our behavior towards people living in our own countries to get back at people thousands of miles away? When immigrants message back to relatives I'd rather them spread stories of the respect they've been given rather than hatred. That would only make their opinions of us worse in those countries.

 

[jojowedge]

racism is alright to a certain degree.

 

[nnmartin]

I'd say it's natural up to a certain degree too.

but we can make ourselves feel more pc by calling it 'mild xenophobia' - same thing though really.