Discussion Are you racist?

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by ExcitableFoci, May 21, 2020.

Tags:
  1. Katsurandom

    Katsurandom [The One That Does Nothing][Villager C]

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2015
    Messages:
    371
    Likes Received:
    202
    Reading List:
    Link
    I am mexican, mexican are inherently racists.....

    I like to think that i am practical.... I will not hate you for the color of your skin, i will hate you for the dipshit you are.

    I will not hate you for the race you are, i will hate you for the crap you do using the excuse of "its a cultural thing".

    And finally, even if i hate you i will not do anything about it, because half the time if you earn my hate, most probably you will be an idiot, so your bad desicions will do the work anyway......
     
  2. Nyamsus

    Nyamsus Life is full of shit and we live in it

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2016
    Messages:
    7,567
    Likes Received:
    9,252
    Reading List:
    Link
    Probably
     
  3. elengee

    elengee Daoist Ninefaps

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2016
    Messages:
    13,488
    Likes Received:
    25,896
    Reading List:
    Link
  4. Jed333

    Jed333 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2016
    Messages:
    97
    Likes Received:
    67
    Reading List:
    Link
    I don't know when, where, or what moron decided to turn bigotry into 'racism' but it was obviously the decision of a self important, egotistical 3rd grade graduate. Having a dislike or hate of an Ethnicity is not the same as hating a Race. Taxonomy is the science of breaking life down into groups, i.e. Family, Genus, Species, but you know what is not there.... race and that is because 'race' is not a thing genetically. So why not quit with the 'racism' bullshit because that is all it is... bullshit.
     
  5. Vudoodude

    Vudoodude Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2016
    Messages:
    599
    Likes Received:
    1,075
    Reading List:
    Link
    We're all a little racist, it's how we're programmed. Categorizing, stereotyping, we make general assumptions and distinctions based on past experiences from what we heard and what we learn in order to make quick decisions or first impressions. You don't need to think much to look at the road and identify a car as a car, and when you see another one of a different color you come to the same conclusion just as fast. Why? Because based on previous experiences and what you've learned, you've created ways to quickly identify a car as a car through generalization and stereotyping. You do not need to know how many people are in the car, whether it is automatic or manual, or even the year, make, and model of it to recognize it as a car because that knowledge is useless to you. It is given low priority and there is no need to investigate it further because any further knowledge would be useless.

    The same happens when you look at people. When you look at a crowd, you identify it as a crowd, you identify the direction it moves but usually not much else. You don't care about specific composition, the ratio of sex and races, nor do you care about each individual name or faces. When you see something unusual, something that stands out a little more, you pay attention to more details, but an initial general assumption or stereotyping has already been made. You may pay more attention to their actions, their appearance, or what they say, but everything is built upon that initial first impression you had of them. If you see an older white man in a suit and holding a suitcase running down the street, you might think that he is a man trying to catch the bus, or is late for his job because that's a common conception to have based on how he looks and is dressed, but what if in fact he just embezzled money from his company and is going on the run. You may see a black man wearing baggy pants and a hoodie sneaking in and out of homes that are currently being built, and the first thing that comes to mind is that this is unusual or shady. Your initial impressions is that it is something illegal, that he is stealing or vandalizing, but what if he is just curious and never seen a half-built home before? Or what if he just needed a quiet place to think, brood, or work on his rap lyrics? (The reason I mention this in particular is because there was a black person that really did this, he visited a construction home on his daily jogs and when some white people saw this they grabbed their guns, chased him with a truck and tried to forcefully detain him. When he tried to avoid the truck and run in a different direction, they shot him.)

    Now what about your friend. You may not realize or remember it, but you had a first impression of them too. Before you knew their name, before you understood their personality, you already had a preconception of them. These preconceptions are obscure, vague, and very general, but you'd at least have a male/female preconception, a racial preconception, and perhaps a social preconception based on how they were dressed. It's only when you are exposed to them long-term does your understanding and preconception of them gets overwritten by new information. More exposures leads to a deeper understanding, and a deeper understanding leads to more accurate assumptions about them. In the end, you may know a friend well enough to know what meal they'll choose at a restaurant, what movie they'd pick at the movies, or if they would like something or not, but once again this is only your assumptions based on what you learned and experienced about them. Ultimately, who they are and what they choose to do might be very different, because you're not them.

    The reason why I say we're all a little racist is because this is how we function. We are all a little prejudice not only to people but to things, concepts, and even events. We use our knowledge and our past experiences to make initial assumptions on things, and if that thing is not important than that's the end of it. If that thing happens to be a bit more impactful on our lives, only then will we take the time to learn more and refine our understanding on the subject. So why is our initial assumption that a white man in a suit running is someone late for work? It's because based on what a suit entails, it is something associated with work or formal occasions. A person running in one assumes an urgency since no sane person would casually exercise in a suit. Why is our first thought about a black man going into a half-built home something dark or shady? Because homes, whether half-built or fully built are understood to be someone's property and entering it without permission is viewed as a crime. A person entering a half-built home is already suspect, let alone the stigma behind being black that is reinforced by the media, by word of mouth, and yes even by black people.

    We all have a certain prejudice to everything, it is not only a rapid way to identify and understand things, but it helps keep us safe. We avoid homeless people and vagrants because they are dirty and could be dangerous, we avoid black people who dress up in gang colors and outfits, and we avoid bulky and strong people who may seem like a bully or may be aggressive. And is this wrong? No. Like I said, this is how we function. It let's us identify things quickly and keeps us safe. Is it racist? Well yes, a little. Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, blah blah blah against people of different race, skin color, blah blah blah. Prejudice is defined as a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Thus we are a little racist. You've never met that man before but you've already made certain assumptions about him.

    The key thing is that this little bit of racism isn't bad, it's just how we're wired. We're designed to be selfish, we're designed to be self-serving and self-preserving, and our understanding of things is destined to be based on our past and our experiences. It's hard to think outside the box when everything you know is the box, and the box is your full understanding of everything. That's why this little bit of racism is normal. But as the video touches upon, all of this doesn't make us a real racist. Just because we don't understand, just because we don't know more, we're not truly racist. We only have these preconceptions based on our understanding, and we only think of other people from our perspective because that's our limit, we're only human.

    It's kinda touched upon in the video, that there is two sides to everything and that we're just lacking understanding. That doesn't make use racist. What does make use racist is when we have the opportunity to understand more, but do not take the time to do so. What makes us racist is when we are given new information, but stubbornly refuse to change our understanding. What makes us racist is when we act upon our preconceptions without thinking of the consequences or caring about the impact it has on others. Ultimately, it doesn't even come down to race, but personality. The most hateful thing about racism is not the fact that a person is disrespecting or disregarding another person of a different race, but that they lack the mind to understand others, lack the heart to think of others, and lack the will to care about others.

    I don't even know what I'm trying to get across, it's just that this video really hits close to home in terms of what I think. The fact that it is done in a well written rap is even more impressive. The main thing I want to get across is yeah, we're all a little racist, but that doesn't mean we're racist (if that makes sense). We may have some racist preconceptions, misconceptions, or assumptions about people, but that doesn't mean we aren't willing to overthrow these misconceptions when provided new evidence. We may have some racist prejudice but it doesn't mean we're going to act on it. And most importantly (and what I feel like people don't understand enough) we may say things out of ignorance or arrogance, but that doesn't mean we can't change or gain new understanding.

    The reason why I bring this up is because I often see people digging up past texts/tweets/etc that a person was racist, sexist, or said something. Often times the evidence comes from many years ago (5, 10, or even 15 years ago!) and the internet gets up in arms about it. The said person ends up having to make an apology, and the apology is always the same (blah blah blah I was a different person), and then the person has to quit whatever job or task they are doing over internet outrage. I can't believe it has to be said, but let ye without sin cast the first stone people! Who here hasn't made a mistake in the past? Who here hasn't had a misconception, or made a stupid insensitive joke? The important thing shouldn't be what a person said 15 years ago, but what they think, believe, and do now.

    Anyways, that's my two cents.
     
  6. Zomula

    Zomula Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2016
    Messages:
    524
    Likes Received:
    533
    Reading List:
    Link
    I am proud. The activity that made me realize the problem I had hit me hard and left me crying. It was after I calmed down and I was walked through the activity that I was disgusted with my ideology that had left me in tears just from a 30 minute activity designed showed a person what bigotry and racism looked like without being obvious. My only regret is that I had to cut some of my family out of my life in order to get away from the ideology. I keep hoping they'll find their way out, but I doubt they ever will.
     
  7. Chrono Vlad

    Chrono Vlad 『Banned From Drinking』

    Joined:
    May 24, 2017
    Messages:
    2,502
    Likes Received:
    4,706
    Reading List:
    Link
    Everyone is racist no exceptions.

    Those people who jump the bandwagon of condemnation are a bunch of hypocrites.

    Our current era is an awul era where FEELINGS are given more importance over FACTS.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2020
    Vudoodude, mir and novaes like this.
  8. novaes

    novaes Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2016
    Messages:
    234
    Likes Received:
    277
    Reading List:
    Link
    It does scare me that everything people do is up on the internet these days. It used to be if you made a fool out of yourself, maybe a few people remember but that's it. Now what you do can be dredged up decades later and ruin your life.

    You don't even know what will be the new "bad word" in 30yrs, and then boom, your life is over. A lot of us are posting things on the internet from a young age, before we really know better and even when we grow up that doesn't guarantee we won't make mistakes. And the way I see it ending is always very bad for everyone, since small groups of people will use that power over everyone else. Just like they do with wealth, property, power and so on, they will definitely strangle people with their 'misdeeds' of the past.

    Is it to make the world a better place? Heck no! It's about controlling people.

    Maybe you are a smart egg and in your 60s you figure you want to do some good for the world and get into politics or something, and you do really well and can make a huge difference, but you step on a few toes... toes that are NOT good eggs, but they have power. Well, out comes the forensic search of you entire life to find something, over-inflate it to make you look like a monster and then it's all over, all because some bad eggs wanted to protect themselves, not help humanity. I see these sorts of things happening and it makes me sad for the future.
     
    Vudoodude likes this.
  9. ExcitableFoci

    ExcitableFoci Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2019
    Messages:
    2,063
    Likes Received:
    3,570
    Reading List:
    Link
    Watch this video.

    5:43

    upload_2020-5-22_8-23-8.png
     
    clmbheat likes this.
  10. Coffea to Ell

    Coffea to Ell 【❀ Sleepy Bunny ❀】

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2020
    Messages:
    1,560
    Likes Received:
    10,255
    Reading List:
    Link
    :eek: Wow... I will just step back, sit, and watch :blobpopcorn:
     
    ExcitableFoci likes this.