How racist are we?

[Skippy 82]

Just what the thread title says, how racist are we? Individually and as a society? Are we more or less racist then 20 years ago? 10 years ago? four years ago?

As per my usual, I'll hold off on my views for a bit.

[Knuckle 484]

My friends make racist jokes from time to time, that's about it.

I'd say we're less racist than 20 or so years ago since open discrimination is practically taboo nowadays. Granted, America still has problems with hating on Hispanic people imo but that's it.

[Chimetals 344]

and anyone that looks like theyre from the middle east....especially if theyre wearing a turban. american paranoia.

but i think to our own weird degree, america has kainda gone into a racial discrimination inversion--racial procrimination, or some random name like that. basically, theres no stigma, but rather, a paranoia that any action/interaction with someone of a racial minority could be misinterpreted as racism.

[Cascade 741]

Individually, I'm not sure what to describe myself regarding racism. On one hand I cringe and feel ill whenever I hear someone make racist remarks/jokes (why is discrimination still an area of humour for some people? Will never understand) because, they're always stupid, ignorant or just plain dickishness. Also a shit sense of humour at that.

On the other hand, this is where I get confused. I have lived in a country where the population is roughly 96% (editing statistics whee) white for my entire life. I have known only one black person throughout my life and we never really got on well (she was kind of a snob), and there was the stereotypical Pakistani family running a corner shop that I sometimes went too. So when I went to New York for holiday in the summer of 2008, I was suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that there were people not the same colour as me like, everywhere.

I don't really think I would call myself racist over this, I didn't think things like 'oh, that black person will probably mug me' or 'that Pakistani probably owns a corner shop' because idk it's silly to prejudge people, but it was super-weird. I wasn't like, afraid or anything like that. I was just...aware of it. Do you get what I mean? Sorry if it sounds stupid.

A small note: I've never really understood all the generalisations and stereotypes of black people that, Americans, perpetuate :/ They've never made any sense to me (probably because here there weren't enough black people here to generalise lol), like, the whole watermelon thing. What is up with that even. I sound horribly ignorant right now but, I just don't get it!

In regards to society, it's definitely come a long way since the times where stupid views ruled the world, and we're definitely much more equal in law, but socially we're still doing pretty terrible. Again, discriminatory jokes are just one small area we could improve on. I also dislike how in the UK at least, it is taboo to be racist. Like, racism is the special form of discrimination that is EVILLLLL and people try to avoid being racist like, freakishly obsessed with it. Yet being sexist, homophobic, ageist and ableist for example is not really treated as seriously. They're still seen as bad yes, but, why is racism that much more important...? :/

On another note, society is still massively suffering from white privilege. And I don't say that meaning that the majority of white people intentionally abuse it. I believe that most are simply unaware of how much they benefit from the racist structure of our society. To sum it up neatly: When you're a white person, people see and treat you as a person. When you're a black person, people see and treat you as a black person. This is especially obvious if you look at the labelling of people in the US - terms like "African-American", "Asian-American" and even "Native American" are commonplace, but "European-American" is almost never used because, if you're white, you're seen as "American-American".

Being white gives you the freedom to be whoever or whatever you want (obviously within the confines of other societal classifications like gender, class and so on), but if you're not white, you're constantly forced to be a representative of your entire race, whether you like it or not. And I think that's just a really horrible effect of our society. :/

This is a very simplified, exaggerated version of the forces at work behind white privelige, but the point is how people don't realize they're benefiting from - and thusly reinforcing - a massively racist system:

Sorry for the long-winded post, and if it causes any offence. I just had a lot to get off my chest clearly lol.

[Chimetals 344]

On the other hand, this is where I get confused. I have lived in a country where the population is roughly 98% white for my entire life. I have known only one black person throughout my life and we never really got on well (she was kind of a snob), and there was the stereotypical Pakistani family running a corner shop that I sometimes went too. So when I went to New York for holiday in the summer of 2008, I was suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that there were people not the same colour as me like, everywhere.

I don't really think I would call myself racist over this, I didn't think things like 'oh, that black person will probably mug me' or 'that Pakistani probably owns a corner shop' because idk it's silly to prejudge people, but it was super-weird. I wasn't like, afraid or anything like that. I was just...aware of it. Do you get what I mean? Sorry if it sounds stupid.

i totally get this....in my area, its a ratio of white/black something close to 50/50, with next to no indians or asians. my college? 30/30/30 white/indian/asian with very few black people. its weird as heck, going from one to the other for me. moreover, when my dorm had "soul food night" and blasted rap/R&B(?) (i dont listen to either, or anything similar, so sorry, i dont know any differences) and my friend complained about the volume/songs, it was weird, because thats what /all/ of my school dances have basically played, and the kind of music that youd hear periodically coming from someones car as they drove down the street.

and on the race jokes...im ok with them under one real condition--if theyre told by someone /of/ that race. when i was in drivers ed in high school, my driving group was me, a girl, and this black guy, and sometimes wed all get around to swapping jokes, and my and her would tell blond jokes, and occasionally some race jokes we had heard (typically preceded by a disclaimer) and the guy would tell black jokes. we all mutually understood that none of us actually meant anything by it, and we all had friends of different races and such, and we just kainda kept it to ourselves. idk where that falls on the scale of racism, but it was really done with no ill intention, and no one was offended or anything, or took any of the stereotypes seriously.

i mean, ill laugh at stereotype jokes that apply to me, if theyre funny, and ill not laugh at other jokes if i dont find them funny.

like, the other day, i literally saw this asian girl with a pink shirt that said "i tark good engrish". i have an asian friend thatll generalize asians, and herself in the generalization, fully aware of it (she typically justifies silly actions with "its an asian thing" or "im asian")

though, i just remembered that the other day, i was walking down the quad, and saw one of those solicitor people, she beelined for this woman in front of me and handed her a pamphlet-flier-thing, and as i walked by the lady, i noticed that the pamphlet said "we need people of color!"

the woman that had the pamphlet pushed onto her was black. i just....i just /raged/ when i saw that, honestly, i mean, i dont /care/ what the pamphlet was for, getting singled out for /anything/ based on race like that just....ugh.

moar things:

my mom, going through teacher school and whatnot, started ripping on me and my bro for describing peoples appearance when telling antidotes...she called it racism, and all "you dont speciafy a white person when youre talking about a white person" but imo, its just painting a better mental image, and the default race just happens to be the majority--white. because probability dictates that thats the color of the person you ran into.

[Princess Valhalla Hawkwind 39]

Racism is bad but it's funny so it's okay.

[Arachne 25]

I think the racism we usually think about (e.g. bigotry against blacks and mexicans in the States) requires enough exposure to create observations that turn into stereotypes, but not enough to avoid lumping everyone in that group together based on said stereotypes.

I think trying to be overly PC is almost as bad as using derogatory terms. It strikes me as someone who's trying too hard, and probably not as tolerant as he lets on.

[Chase 390]

I can't stand political correctness because of its consistent double standard for everything. I like racist jokes, they're funny and completely different than violent racism, like lynchings and muggings and such. Of course that's wrong, I mean, that should be obvious to everyone.

As far as being racist more or less today than we were before, I say we're more closet racists than anything. It's no longer cool to be racist, so everyone's (read: white people) quick to defend themselves and how not racist they are.

[Otis McNutt 395]

I'm not racist personally, but professionally I unfortunately have to pay close attention whenever a black or hispanic enters the bank. Statistically bank robbers tend to fall into the minority groups.

My father and grandfather on the other hand are unbelievably racist, like 1930's Disney racist and sexist and homophobic too. When the two of them get to talking it's like Alabama 1962.

[Chimetals 344]

Right. I try to judge on an individual basis, but I have no problem writing people off who WANT to be stereotyped

some people almost seem like theyre /trying/ to fit the stereotype, i swear :<

I'm not racist personally, but professionally I unfortunately have to pay close attention whenever a black or hispanic enters the bank. Statistically bank robbers tend to fall into the minority groups.

the statistics are true, sadly, my sociology class covered some of those as well...and most of those criminals tend to be "hot blooded males", about age 20, +/- 5 years.

[Arachne 25]

I make racist jokes, too. I think almost everybody does. It's like that Avenue Q song: "Everyone's a little bit racist sometimes,/ Doesn't mean we go around commiting hate crimes."

Some judgements are understandable, like not being surprised when a native guy's family has had problems with alcoholism. I'm not going to assume every native person is an alcoholic, but completely ignoring the fact that it's an issue in North American indigenous communities is silly.

[Shadowknight 54]

I agree with the idea that people tend to be more closeted racists these days. There are people that are still open about their racism, especially some of the older people who grew up in times when it was normal, but the younger generations seem to be more...passive about it. It obviously still influences some actions that most people take, but we're much more careful about drawing attention to that fact.

[Princess Valhalla Hawkwind 39]

How racist are we?

sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo racist

[Sahaqiel 1232]

I will not bother to open the above image.

Personally, I am not racist. I don't really have a reason to be. I judge people individually, but I recently have been worried about like, a sort of subconscious thing. For instance, when walking to the store, I will not lock my door, but when people walk by, I turn around and make sure the door is locked. Because of my neighborhood, it's mostly black people. So I was worried that I might be discriminating. I did, however, discover that I do the same thing with white people and children, and have the same distinct paranoia. So I am relieved that I'm not just being dumb or anything. Just paranoid about people trying to get in my house.

I'll run through my family diversity, though. I have a half black little brother, two black stepbrothers and stepfather, three Malaysian siblings, my dad is of English descent and my mom is Filipino. So it's pretty much like I have a lot of everything. That's not the primary reason why I am almost completely indifferent to race. I just would rather not be racist.

As a society, I definitely think we've improved. You know, considering that African-Americans used to be considered subhuman.

Shut up, LL.

Sahaqiel

[Princess Valhalla Hawkwind 39]

Lol it wasn't an image. It was an answer that I simply typed. It hurts me to think that you would assume the worse of me, Saha. WOUNDS ME.