TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Political Discussion / Debate
-- Are all Americans racist?
Pages (2): [1] 2 »

Are all Americans racist?

I was wondering If people from anywhere other than America think they are racist, or do they actually fight for freedom like they say they do? Because American on this chatroom are calling French and Canadians racist. I was wondering who do people other than Americans think are more racist Canadians French or Americans?

I think frankly everyone is racist in some form. By that I mean every person prefers to be with a certain group over another.

The main reason America is bashing France is because they refused to help and led the opposition of the war in Iraq. As for Canada, I'm not quite sure how that got started....

I live in America, and I think that the majority of Americans are racist. The most obvious reason for this is the lack of understanding on the part of Americans. Unofrtunately, MANY Americans are completely oblivious to the rest of the world, and they do not want to learn. Ignorance is such a problem here.

I believe that a racist is a racist. Wether they are from America, Canada, France, Germany,etc, they are ignorant scums, you get the point it doesn't make a difference where you are from. Racism has to do with who you are as a person, your environment and experiences in life, along with one's own biases all combined. Monsieur Labelle of course asks the question who is more racist Americans or French Canadians, wonder why that question would be asked in the first place. You are an individual with a lot of contradictions in your facetious statements and this just represents another one.

quote:

Originally posted by DrummeRaver86 Unofrtunately, MANY Americans are completely oblivious to the rest of the world

I have a problem with that statement. Here's why. Americans, for some reason, are expected to know everything about the rest of the world.

The fact is that most students around the world learn about America in school. I have friends in Hong Kong, the UK, and Holland, and all of them have a great deal of knowledge about the US because after learning about their own nations, they learn about America.

Do Americans, in turn, learn everything about every single other nation in the world? No, they don't. But most Americans know a great deal about one or two countries, at least. This puts them on the same level as the rest of the world.

For example, my family is of German and Italian heritage, and we are quite knowledgable about what goes on in those nations. But when someone from, say, Austria comes up to me and automatically expects me to know all about their government, that's unreasonable.

Now, about racism. It exists everywhere, just to what degree. Americans, if you can say it this way, are "polite" racists. Things are said behind other people's backs, but true hate crimes (white on black, black on white, etc.) are actually very rare. The highest rate of violent crime in the US is black-on-black, followed by white-on-white. Things only flare up when you have something like Rodney King, or OJ on trial.

I would take this relationship over what I have seen across much of Europe any day. Muslim immigrants have poured into the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, et al., and have formed communities that don't assimilate into European culture. 10 years ago, no one in Europe had heard of "honor killings," but nowadays they are commonplace. If native Europeans want to be "racist," I think they have some grounds for it, because their culture is at stake. Pim Fortuyn tried to raise the issue in the Netherlands, and lost his life over it.

People all too often call defending one's own culture racist or intolerant, but at some point you need to defend your history, your government, and your common culture. Or it begins to turn into the same sewer of a culture that the immigrants were trying to escape.

I agree with NYCTrancefans views on this it really depend on the way your raised or what your expriences are in life etc are, like for an example one of my best friends mother got held at gun point by a black guy who was doing a lot of armed robberys in my area and it really turned my friend a bit cold and harsh towards people of ethnic minorities and the strange thing is some of our best friends are black, so it was difficult for us all to deal with so we talked it out with one of our more chilled friends from an ethnic minority and my friends views ceased to exist.

But I think its just how your raised really like between Europeans one of my best friends has Italian parents and I have Irish parents I call him a fucking wop he calls me a fucking mick its a sick sense of humour really, but when someone says HEY your being racist, me and my mate say hold on minute we're both mates we're both caucasians thus its not racism its friendly xenophobism a lot ppl in this day and age have a problem with distinguishing the diffrences between racism and xenophobism.

But back to the topic. Its how your raised I'm lucky to of been brought up in an area with a lot of Black people, I found it teaches you everyone is human and deep down everyone bleeds the same blood just because someone has a different skin colour to you dosen't make them any different, we're all the same we're all fucking humans at the end of the day.

imokruok,
myabe i was generalizing a bit much. Anyway, I dont expect all Americans to know about every other country in the world, but from what i've seen, plenty of Americans don't know about what's happening outside of their own state. 2 years ago in my freshman year of high school i was the target of serious racial profiling by many people in my school. They thought that because I am Lebanese, I'm Arab and a Muslim. But these statements were both wrong.
It's just that I see a lot of ignorance in America today, and it's kinda sad.

Roughly 60% of Americans believe in the use of affirmative action in its current state. Therefore at least 60% of Americans are racist. LOL. That should get somebody pissed off. (Although I do believe affirmative action in its current state is racist)

quote:

They thought that because I am Lebanese, I'm Arab and a Muslim

Lebanese are Arabs, no?
or are you Armenian origin?

To answer the thread title:

No.

Bigots, most likely. But racist....no.

MrS

Are all french Quebecs mindless retards who wet their momma's panties?

I was wondering If people from anywhere other than Quebec think they are retard mommy panty wetters, or do they actually not wet panties like they say they do? Because French Quebecs on this chatroom are calling Americans retard panty wetters. I was wondering who do people other than French Quebecians think are bigger retard panty wetters, Canadians French or Americans?

Think before you speak.

quote:

Originally posted by Dj O'Callaghan But I think its just how your raised really like between Europeans one of my best friends has Italian parents and I have Irish parents I call him a fucking wop he calls me a fucking mick its a sick sense of humour really, but when someone says HEY your being racist, me and my mate say hold on minute we're both mates we're both caucasians thus its not racism its friendly xenophobism a lot ppl in this day and age have a problem with distinguishing the diffrences between racism and xenophobism.

Hehe, yeah, kinda like me and my friend too. I call him a stinking gypsy and he calls me a dirty serb.

what is xenophobism?

quote:

Originally posted by nic01445 what is xenophobism?

It is the fear of people that are different than you.

It is usually used in talking about aliens of the human or little green man types.

MrS

quote:

Originally posted by occrider Are all french Quebecs mindless retards who wet their momma's panties? I was wondering If people from anywhere other than Quebec think they are retard mommy panty wetters, or do they actually not wet panties like they say they do? Because French Quebecs on this chatroom are calling Americans retard panty wetters. I was wondering who do people other than French Quebecians think are bigger retard panty wetters, Canadians French or Americans? Think before you speak.

Quebecois


MrS

quote:

Originally posted by NYCTrancefan I believe that a racist is a racist. Wether they are from America, Canada, France, Germany,etc, they are ignorant scums, you get the point it doesn't make a difference where you are from. Racism has to do with who you are as a person, your environment and experiences in life, along with one's own biases all combined. Monsieur Labelle of course asks the question who is more racist Americans or French Canadians, wonder why that question would be asked in the first place. You are an individual with a lot of contradictions in your facetious statements and this just represents another one.

The issue here is not whether American racists are different then Russian racists, at least not in my interpretation. The way I see this as being read is whether or not American culture promotes racism, and whether or not people are more likely to be racist there. Although this might be an overbearing generalization I have myself noticed that of the people I know who are American a lot more are racist and homophobic then people I know who are Canadian. I'm not going to attempt to say that this in any way proves anything about Americans because I clearly know a very small group of people. But I figured I would just put that into the picture.

quote:

Originally posted by bass drive Lebanese are Arabs, no? or are you Armenian origin?

I'm 100% lebanese, lebanese in origin.

Technically, lebanese are not arabs because our ancestors were the Phoenicians, not the Arabs (Berbers, Bedouins, Arabs, etc.).

It seems there is alot of American hate for French and Canadians? Why is this, you Americans just can't swallow the fact you are starting wars and how many racists are in your country.

I laugh at stereo types, and even make them, but I dont really mean it. Am I racist?

LouisLaBelle I love canada and france, wish I can live there one day. plus points to france for giving me Alizee

quote:

Originally posted by LouisLaBelle It seems there is alot of American hate for French and Canadians? Why is this, you Americans just can't swallow the fact you are starting wars and how many racists are in your country.

Your perception of the United States is that it is full of racists. However your perceptions are probably fueled by media coverage of certain events or even movies like American History X. These influences can easily change your perception of Americans. It is unfortunate that you would consider many Americans racist because of a few bias thoughts you may have seen or heard about from friends, without any first hand knowledge or observation. Why if that were the case then you would consider the country of South Africa a racist haven because that country got rid of its "slave" institution around 10-15 years ago. Your comment actually is an indication that you are also racist, at least towards Americans, and since you are the only French-Canadian I have read make comments I therefore believe that all or many French-Canadians are rascist (not really, I'm just trying to make my point). Like many others have stated it is hard to find anyone who is not racist because as humans we are inherently inclined to have a preference for some people over others.

funk233 how can I be racist towards Americans? Are you kidding me Americans are not a race!

quote:

Originally posted by LouisLaBelle funk233 how can I be racist towards Americans? Are you kidding me Americans are not a race!

Alas my Canadian friend you are incorrect. You see this excerpt I have taken from the website http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
clearly defines a race.

Main Entry: race
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, generation, from Old Italian razza
Date: 1580
1 : a breeding stock of animals
2 2 a : a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock b : a class or kind of people unified by community of interests, habits, or characteristics
3 a : an actually or potentially interbreeding group within a species; also : a taxonomic category (as a subspecies) representing such a group b : BREED c : a division of mankind possessing traits that are transmissible by descent and sufficient to characterize it as a distinct human type
4 obsolete : inherited temperament or disposition
5 : distinctive flavor, taste, or strength

So a race can be any national group including Americans.

quote:

Originally posted by imokruok I have a problem with that statement. Here's why. Americans, for some reason, are expected to know everything about the rest of the world. The fact is that most students around the world learn about America in school. I have friends in Hong Kong, the UK, and Holland, and all of them have a great deal of knowledge about the US because after learning about their own nations, they learn about America. Do Americans, in turn, learn everything about every single other nation in the world? No, they don't. But most Americans know a great deal about one or two countries, at least. This puts them on the same level as the rest of the world.

I have a problem with this comment. Somehow it embodies what is wrong with American mentality IMO. Us in "the rest of the world" do not focus on the US, immediately after we have learned about our own country. The only school subject, which deals with the US more than most other countries, is history. And even in that subject we do not get taught about the Independence War, the Civil War, etc.
In my view it is quite arrogant to believe that one's country and its institutions are natural topics of interest in other countries.

I'd like to comment about other countries learning about America. True, it may not be a subject in school, however I'd imagine much of what you see in your daily life comes from America. I know from my time in Europe that American news is displayed there much more than European news is shown here. Also, although you may loathe the idea, much of the music, movies and television shown in Europe is American. Therefore, although not expressly "taught," Europeans as well as those from other countries, are exposed to America, American culture and Americans much more than Americans are exposed to outside sources and cultures. We simply don't have as much outside influence as outsiders have American influence.

quote:

Originally posted by imokruok I have a problem with that statement. Here's why. Americans, for some reason, are expected to know everything about the rest of the world. The fact is that most students around the world learn about America in school. I have friends in Hong Kong, the UK, and Holland, and all of them have a great deal of knowledge about the US because after learning about their own nations, they learn about America. Do Americans, in turn, learn everything about every single other nation in the world? No, they don't. But most Americans know a great deal about one or two countries, at least. This puts them on the same level as the rest of the world. For example, my family is of German and Italian heritage, and we are quite knowledgable about what goes on in those nations. But when someone from, say, Austria comes up to me and automatically expects me to know all about their government, that's unreasonable.

It's not about knowing everything about every country, or about knowing as much about other cultures as they know about yours, it's just about being aware of what lies beyond your own borders: not being willfully ignorant. As the biggest nation in the world, it should come as no suprise that people know more about you nation than you do about theirs, but it's still no excuse for cultural ignorance which, in itself, gives way to racial intolerence and xenophobia. There's no excuses, with the media availble in this technological age, to not have a basic, functioning grasp on geography and foreign cultures.

So, haveing said that, I don't know whether the popular perception of the US being full of culturally ignorant individuals is accurate (you tell me), but it's pretty hard to justify things like this:

quote:

The survey asked 56 geographic and current events questions of young people in nine countries and scored the results with traditional grades. The surveyed Americans got a "D," with an average of 23 correct answers. Mexico ranked last with an average score of 21, just three points from a failing grade. [...] "Someone once said that war is God's way of teaching geography, but today, apparently war or even the threat of war cannot adequately teach geography," said John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society. "More American young people can tell you where an island that the 'Survivor' TV series came from is located than can identify Afghanistan or Iraq. Ironically a TV show seems more real or at least more meaningful interesting or relevant than reality."

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATI...quiz/index.html

quote:

People all too often call defending one's own culture racist or intolerant, but at some point you need to defend your history, your government, and your common culture. Or it begins to turn into the same sewer of a culture that the immigrants were trying to escape.

My culture only exists because it was forcefully created by a bunch of foreigners and same with yours. The notion that we have to "protect" our culture from foreigners implies that we believe ours to be in some way "superior" and thus that we cannot afford to surrender it to those of an "inferior" culture. Now, I know that's probably not what you intended to say, but that's what it amounts to.

Culture evolves dialectically, it isn't stagnant. If people want to introduce new viewpoints to "my" culture then I'm all for it: it's a way of viewing our own commonly held belief systems objectively (i.e. from the perspective of an outside culture) and working towards improving them.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.