Why is there an increasing trend to say racism is bad but not try and explain why in the US

[Revoltingest]

First I don't get where you are coming from when you bring religion or lack of religion into the discussion. But if you want to go there, I don't think God gives a rat's *** what we do.
Second I'm not sure what you mean by "proper and improper" meaning. Why don't you enlighten us with what you mean.
Third the term racism, as far as I'm concerned exactly what the Merriam Webster Dictionary gives as a definition
Full Definition of racism

1. 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
   
   
2. 2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

And the person who practices those attributes or beliefs are a racist.


Now I have little or no respect for this President and others of the African-American/black race. However I do have a considerable amount of respect for others of the African-American/black race. So does my lack of respect and or disagreement with this President or others of the African-American/black race make me a racist? The answer is no. However, there are those that take that line because that it is their only option because they don't have any other defense to present.
What I am saying is that the term racist/racism is too easily attached to a person if they disagree with another person when the other person is of a different race.
If you have a problem with the above. That's your problem not mine.

It's the oddest thing, & a controversy that I never imagined would happen.....
Many (entirely from my leftish friends it seems) believe that dictionaries are not cromulent.
Words mean whatever we (they) want.
Correct...incorrect....standard....there's no such thing, except for what they want a word to mean.

As you notice, I bend words, grammar & punctuation.
But I also recognize that we benefit from a common language.
The side I pick is what is most standard.....until it isn't.

I like the words, "bigot", "bigoted", & "bigotry".
They're general, & include racism, sexism, xenophobia, ageism, etc.
It's useful to have some concepts be subsets of larger ones, & not conflate them.

 

[Sunstone]

Well now someone get up on the wrong side of the bed? Seems like you didn't like the answer. Oh well that is understood.

To spell it out for you, Esmith, your response to my post was so wrong in my opinion, so off the wall, that I thought it would take more effort to give it a serious response than I'm usually willing to make to address a post on an internet forum.

After all, I am not on a mission from the gods to correct people's opinions, so I feel free to choose how much effort I want to put into responding to really off the wall posts.

By the way, if I were on a mission from the gods to change people's opinions, I would certainly do my crusading somewhere else than on an internet forum, where the odds of changing anyone's opinion seem pretty minimal at best.

I hope that clears things up for you.

 

[esmith]

To spell it out for you, Esmith, your response to my post was so wrong in my opinion, so off the wall, that I thought it would take more effort to give it a serious response than I'm usually willing to make to address a post on an internet forum.

After all, I am not on a mission from the gods to correct people's opinions, so I feel free to choose how much effort I want to put into responding to really off the wall posts.

By the way, if I were on a mission from the gods to change people's opinions, I would certainly do my crusading somewhere else than on an internet forum, where the odds of changing anyone's opinion seem pretty minimal at best.

I hope that clears things up for you.

Watch out or King Neptune will be coming for you.
But to get serious I asked you a question. Are you willing to give your opinion. Just to refresh your memory it was.
"Now I have little or no respect for this President and others of the African-American/black race. However I do have a considerable amount of respect for others of the African-American/black race. So does my lack of respect and or disagreement with this President or others of the African-American/black race make me a racist?"

 

[Underhill]

Watch out or King Neptune will be coming for you.
But to get serious I asked you a question. Are you willing to give your opinion. Just to refresh your memory it was.
"Now I have little or no respect for this President and others of the African-American/black race. However I do have a considerable amount of respect for others of the African-American/black race. So does my lack of respect and or disagreement with this President or others of the African-American/black race make me a racist?"

That is a rigged question, because we cannot know your motives.

Racism is not a simple thing. It can be as simple as a person being more likely to distrust someone of a certain race.

It doesn't have to mean you hate all black people, it often means someone judges them by a different metrics than others.

 

[esmith]

That is a rigged question, because we cannot know your motives.

My question was not rigged. It was a very simple straightforward question asking if I was a racist based on the parameters given. Again use the definition of the word, not some convoluted thinking to define the word.

Racism is not a simple thing. It can be as simple as a person being more likely to distrust someone of a certain race.

It doesn't have to mean you hate all black people, it often means someone judges them by a different metrics than others.

See that's the problem with it comes to defining racism. If one is a racist then their judgement applies to all members of that race. You and others are trying to redefine what the word means to suit your own agenda. By your terms I would be a racist if I disagreed with anyone that you agreed with. But that seems to be the thinking of those on the left. If they do not have a valid argument against a person who opposes them they must be a racist.
I didn't think liberalism was a race, if it is then I'm a racist.

 

[Revoltingest]

My question was not rigged. It was a very simple straightforward question asking if I was a racist based on the parameters given. Again use the definition of the word, not some convoluted thinking to define the word.

See that's the problem with it comes to defining racism. If one is a racist then their judgement applies to all members of that race. You and others are trying to redefine what the word means to suit your own agenda. By your terms I would be a racist if I disagreed with anyone that you agreed with. But that seems to be the thinking of those on the left. If they do not have a valid argument against a person who opposes them they must be a racist.
I didn't think liberalism was a race, if it is then I'm a racist.

It's funny that some pushing the embroadened definition of "racism" are guilty of it.
I'm thinking of their "racist" rants against libertarians, objectivists, conservatives,
Republicans, Tea Partiers, capitalists, & laborers (rednecks).
OK....that last item really is a race, "redneck" being a code word for white working class.

 

[Underhill]

My question was not rigged. It was a very simple straightforward question asking if I was a racist based on the parameters given. Again use the definition of the word, not some convoluted thinking to define the word.



See that's the problem with it comes to defining racism. If one is a racist then their judgement applies to all members of that race. You and others are trying to redefine what the word means to suit your own agenda. By your terms I would be a racist if I disagreed with anyone that you agreed with. But that seems to be the thinking of those on the left. If they do not have a valid argument against a person who opposes them they must be a racist.
I didn't think liberalism was a race, if it is then I'm a racist.

I'm not calling you a racist. I have no idea if you are or aren't. But I stand by what I said. Part of racism is treating someone different based upon their race.

"Racism - prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior."

A lot of people are racist without making a conscious decision and thus these motives are impossible to prove. Where it becomes obvious is in group dynamics. If a group reacts collectively different when a black person does exactly the same thing as a white person then it's fairly easy to attribute at least part of the problem to race.

But individually who knows. People could dislike a persons color, a policy position or the way one quaffs their hair.

And yes, the question is rigged. I have no way of answering that question. Nobody on this forum does. If you had listed reasons for why you dislike the president, then asked if those make you racist, one could answer. But saying you dislike one black man and like another doesn't prove anything.

I once knew an old guy in South Carolina who was well loved by many in his community. He was as racist a person as I ever saw. Called all black people "n*****" and complained constantly about most of them. But he would tell you that he liked that 'n*****' down at the supermarket. He was a good 'n*****'.

 

[esmith]

I'm not calling you a racist. I have no idea if you are or aren't. But I stand by what I said. Part of racism is treating someone different based upon their race.

"Racism - prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior."

A lot of people are racist without making a conscious decision and thus these motives are impossible to prove. Where it becomes obvious is in group dynamics. If a group reacts collectively different when a black person does exactly the same thing as a white person then it's fairly easy to attribute at least part of the problem to race.

But individually who knows. People could dislike a persons color, a policy position or the way one quaffs their hair.

And yes, the question is rigged. I have no way of answering that question. Nobody on this forum does. If you had listed reasons for why you dislike the president, then asked if those make you racist, one could answer. But saying you dislike one black man and like another doesn't prove anything.

I once knew an old guy in South Carolina who was well loved by many in his community. He was as racist a person as I ever saw. Called all black people "n*****" and complained constantly about most of them. But he would tell you that he liked that 'n*****' down at the supermarket. He was a good 'n*****'.

However a considerable number of those that support the Democrats are making a judgment that anyone disagreeing with the polices put forth by a black person are racist. Whereas you can neither prove or disprove that assumption. I for one do not think I am a racist. I just happen to disagree with certain policies and assumptions and those policies and assumptions are sometimes brought forward by a African-American, or Mexican-Americans. or Other. I for one will never call anyone a racist unless I have absolute proof that they are in fact a racist.

 

[Underhill]

However a considerable number of those that support the Democrats are making a judgment that anyone disagreeing with the polices put forth by a black person are racist. Whereas you can neither prove or disprove that assumption. I for one do not think I am a racist. I just happen to disagree with certain policies and assumptions and those policies and assumptions are sometimes brought forward by a African-American, or Mexican-Americans. or Other. I for one will never call anyone a racist unless I have absolute proof that they are in fact a racist.

I wouldn't normally call an individual a racist without proof. But when you look at numbers that show people collectively are supporting racism, it isn't hard to come to the conclusion that there is some racism out there.

 

[esmith]

I wouldn't normally call an individual a racist without proof. But when you look at numbers that show people collectively are supporting racism, it isn't hard to come to the conclusion that there is some racism out there.

Ok, who, when, where are people supporting racism in any number greater than it has been in the past half century.

 

[Underhill]

Ok, who, when, where are people supporting racism in any number greater than it has been in the past half century.

Greater than in the past half century? Since when has that been a metric we use?

 

[esmith]

Greater than in the past half century? Since when has that been a metric we use?

Well it seems that there are many that say blatant racism has increased in the past, say 8 years. I really see no example of that and in many instances a decrease in racism.

 

[Underhill]

Obviously you want a tangible example. Okay here goes.

The most notable and easiest to quantify is within our court system. I cannot say a specific judge or jury is racist (for the reasons specified above). But I can look at the conviction rates overall, as well as the sentencing, and come to the conclusion that because more blacks are convicted per hundred arrested, and the sentences after those convictions tend to be harsher (again on average) for black people convicted of the same crime, that the system by and large has a racial bias.

 

[Underhill]

Well it seems that there are many that say blatant racism has increased in the past, say 8 years. I really see no example of that and in many instances a decrease in racism.

I doubt the number of racist people has increased. But I do see more racism out there. It is probably a result of reactions to black lives matter, where a lot of people are angered by them. Having a black president is also having an impact. Yes, a lot of people just don't like the guy, but there are also a lot of racist out there who feel empowered by the negativity (just look at the comments on any youtube video of the president speaking if you need proof). I also think terrorism is leading to more racist attitudes towards Muslims or anyone who looks like they are from the middle east.

But these things are hard to judge. Is it just being reported more? I don't know. I suspect the number of incidents are actually increasing based upon the reasons I gave above.