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Racism
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| Arbiter |
After reading this thread entitled “Gay or Asian? !!!”
http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=170902
as well as being repeatedly frustrated by the degree of ignorance possessed by many individuals whom I encounter regarding racism, I feel somewhat compelled to try to repair the damage which growing up in a hypersensitive society seems to have done to many of us.
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines the term racism as such:
| quote: |
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 : racial prejudice or discrimination
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The first definition is the real definition and the second is a poor attempt to account for the widespread misuse of the word. If you have any doubt about the fact that the second definition doesn’t work, just refer to the definition of discriminate.
So allow me to get to the point. Racism is “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.” I would hope everyone would agree that racism is stupid based on this definition. However, there are a lot of things which I see commonly referred to as “racist” when in fact they are not. Consider the following:
Using racial slurs is not racist. To do so could be an indicator that you possess the beliefs necessary to qualify as a racist, but it could be completely unrelated. Therefore it is non sequitur to classify racial slurs as “racist” behavior.
In a more extreme example, possessing a sense of hatred against a particular racial group is not racist. Unless you hate them because you think they all possess some set of traits, or hate them because you believe they are inherently inferior, you’re not a racist. In fact, hating them isn’t a belief of any kind – it’s just an opinion – and therefore cannot be true or false, whereas racist beliefs are clearly false.
In an even more extreme example, carrying out genocide against some ethnic group is not racist. Unless, that is, you’re killing them because you believe they all share some particular trait or traits, or because you believe they are inherently inferior. If you’re killing them for some other reason and don’t possess those beliefs, you aren’t a racist – you’re just a mass murderer.
The point is that you shouldn’t throw around loaded terms like “racism” in situations where they simply don’t apply. Know what the term means and use it properly. If you’re truly interested in a genuinely colorblind society, realize that accusing people of being “racist” who are not doesn’t help your cause at all. It just makes you look like the ignorant one.
Whether you or I like it or not, there are going to be people who have opinions that we don’t like, or have a different sense of humor than our own. Calling these people racist when they are not is not only stupid, it’s downright inappropriate. So please, next time you’re thinking about busting out the “R” word, make sure it actually applies to the situation. You’ll be doing everyone a favor, including yourself.
Regards,
Arbiter |
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| arctic |
Excellent post, now you just have to hope that people actually sit down and take the time to read it.  |
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| nchs09 |
| read almost all of it, too tired though, but its 330 in the morning so give me a break :)..... nice post, i just thought the other thread was ridiculus, but oh well, i guess i can say that stupidity is found in every race... |
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| caddyshack |
| yeah so its 420 in the morning now... i'm a loser, anyway i don't know what you are talking abount because i'm drunk, but "Racism" is BAD mmmkay?? |
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| [N]űk|ęű[Z] |
great post mate, but no matter how accurate or correct that is.. it still dosnt stop ethnic's from accusing people of racism when they lose theyre job or when a black man or an asian guy [whatever] gets arrested by a white cop.
same with sexism.. a guy gets a job that a woman would blatantly not be suitable for.. next thing the employer would be accused of being a sexist pig.
sad but true :( |
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| Iyrlk |
Racism isnt just a word anymore. It is a global, moral issue that concerns humanistic values. Dictionary definitions are not applicable anymore on courts and modern life when it comes to words like racism.
Racism: Any acts or expressions that express any kind of racial inferiority/superiority or segratory to anyone or any ethnic or racial group or person.
| quote: | | In a more extreme example, possessing a sense of hatred against a particular racial group is not racist. |
| quote: | | In an even more extreme example, carrying out genocide against some ethnic group is not racist. |
These two above quotes are opinions. Possessing a sense of hatred against a particular racial group isnt racist... If this kind of belief was allowed, we'd all be looking down on each other. This kind of hate, i cannot help but emphasize the pathetic validity of Arbiter's statement, is stemmed from racial prejudice. Of course one might experience in their lives a person or a group the same race to be dislikable or even hateable. Even I've been through this.
"Possessing a sense of hatred against a particular racial group"
NOW THIS is what encourages a person or a group of people to carry out specific inhumane actions against a race. "In an even more extreme example, carrying out genocide against some ethnic group is not racist." This is a very straightforward statement which says "I do not think the KKK was a racist organization at all." Does ANYONE see the very sickening view of the writer of that statement? The two quotes directly lead to RACIAL ABUSE ALL OVER THE WORLD. We (who are reading this) are lucky to be one of the most fortunate people who do not see these kinds of things very often. I can't help but be disgusted at the very essence of people who believe in things like the two quotes stated above.
When I have time and people request, I will write an essay or a paper that accesses the validity of Arbiter's short writing. Fully backed by historical facts, contempory situations, human interactions, and moral pleading to show how very very wrong Arbiter's interpretation of racism is. One might disagree with me saying that I've been defining discrimination, but racism IS racial DISCRIMINATION. |
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| Floorfiller |
| i'd just like to say sorry about the other thread. i could have perhaps argued my position a little more intelligently, but i just got caught up in it. i just found it very offensive to hear that i shouldn't be allowed to date a girl just because her mother is from korea. right now my girlfriend is part korean and she's the perfect woman so having someone tell me that she shouldn't be mine...well...that just set me off (i remember the same thing happening last time the whole "asiophile" or whatever thing came up). so i obviously took it too personally and that probably clouded any rational argument that i might have tried to make hehehe. i still feel that those of us disagreeing with mndeg were right though hehehe.. |
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| Galapidate |
| The problem with your explanation Arbiter is that, like other forms of hurt (sexual harrassment for example), to determine racism is to see what's in the eye of the beholder. For example, if a white man beat up a black man, it could easily be seen as racism by the black man. Yet, the white man may not have beaten him up because he's racist; it could have been some other motive, but it's the way the victim interprets it that the rest of us rely on for defining it. |
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| Lira |
Great post :)
| quote: | Originally posted by Galapidate
The problem with your explanation Arbiter is that, like other forms of hurt (sexual harrassment for example), to determine racism is to see what's in the eye of the beholder. For example, if a white man beat up a black man, it could easily be seen as racism by the black man. Yet, the white man may not have beaten him up because he's racist; it could have been some other motive, but it's the way the victim interprets it that the rest of us rely on for defining it. |
Indeed... the most bizarre example I can think of was a (black) teacher of English language who thought I was racist because I didn't ever do the homework (I'm a lazy bastid :D) and he thought I would do this because "I wouldn't accept the commands of a black person outside the classroom".
However, he did have the guts to ask me and tell me what he felt, and I told him my father was also black (so I would accept the commands of a black person after all) and it was all good from then on :p |
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| igottaknow |
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by Galapidate
The problem with your explanation Arbiter is that, like other forms of hurt (sexual harrassment for example), to determine racism is to see what's in the eye of the beholder. For example, if a white man beat up a black man, it could easily be seen as racism by the black man. Yet, the white man may not have beaten him up because he's racist; it could have been some other motive, but it's the way the victim interprets it that the rest of us rely on for defining it. |
I think that is part of the problem Arbiter was talking about in the first place. While the "victim" may feel that he/she was victimized because of racism, that does not make it so. And as a society, we have to stop allowing the victims (who are often victimizing themselves without any real external forces at work) to define racism on their own terms.
Do victims of a petty crime or tort define guilt on their own terms? Do we let someone who has been defrauded stand in court and actually carry out a conviction and sentencing on the person who defrauded him? No, the way our society works - or is supposed to work - is that such things are not assumed to be true until they are proven to be so. What the victim says is merely an accusation - perhaps it might even qualify as evidence - but it is NOT fact.
Arbiter, as always you've hit the nail on the head, but I fear that the people who should be reading your post the most closely are the same people who will either skim it and shrug their shoulders or not read it at all. They are the victims of a sick society indoctrinated with the ridiculous notion of "equality for all", and any inequality whatsoever is what they consider to be racism. One of them even went so far to say that dictionary definitions are irrelevant. It just goes to show how people have not only twisted this word to such an extent that it's become meaningless, but also accepted the new term as part of their everyday vernacular.
I'm almost ready to start saying to these people that "racism, the way you are defining it, is perfectly acceptable." If they want me to condemn something, they'll have to learn what the word really means.
Edit: Now that I think of it, this has been a very common and very successful tactic for agenda groups like multiculturalists and feminists, hasn't it? Take a word that in the past could only refer to something grossly unacceptable (like racism, or sexual harassment), twist its meaning to refer to just about anything against your agenda, and force the new meaning into people's heads so hard that they start to forget what it used to mean, and they now consider everything against your agenda to be equally unacceptable. Interesting political strategy - who wants to form a new lobby group? |
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| djSlain |
| I think racism has become a standard in our society to get things to go our way when we are cornered by someone of another race. Almost everything that happens here in San Diego is considered racism. When people lose jobs, fingers are pointed; when service is discontinued, fingers are pointed; when a man is shot, fingers are pointed. I'm tired of people resorting to the "race card." Yes, there are incidents that occur because of racism, but a vast majority of incidents are just a cowardly way to say "it's not my fault, it's his." Being born of a certain race does not entitle u to benefits (or the benefits of the doubt). If u just watch the local news (not the big CNN-types), the end of every "racial incident" is concluded with "police are unsure if it was racially motivated." Will it ever go away? I believe the Japanese don't have a word in their vocabulary for "failure." We need to get rid of the word racist and replace it with responsibility |
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