Is this racist, does my teacher have a right to punish me for this?

[interspark]

yeah, while we can still treat people of different skin tones with the respect and rights we ourselves expect, i still find it normal to be more physically attracted to those of the same skin colour as us. however there ARE alot of people out there with the "racism guns" blasing so it's probably best to leave things like that unsaid

 

[Broax]

I'd love it if one day my kid would get into this kind of problems... I'd love to go to school and accuse the teacher of being prejudicial against skinny people as she had no problem with you preferring "healthy-looking, ie in good shape but not too skinny". That is complete bullshit and racist of the teacher. So suddenly you can't have a sexual opinion about skin color without being called racist?

It's like those guys who are repressed homosexuals who are always too self aware of their mannerisms... If you have a clear conscience of course you don't have any problem talking about it... I hate this stupid PC pressure that makes us treat people differently...

On the other hand I don't like too white skin... I like girls with some (natural) tan but not too much... Does that make me racist against albinos?! Or against too tanned people for that matter!

 

[Olrod]

Anyway, she didn't even give me a chance to explain what I meant by that, and wouldn't hear a word of it when I tried.

This is why your teacher can STFU.

 

[ryanthemadman]

bullshit. completely. but thats like punishing you for being homosexual. its your personal beliefs you shouldnt be punished for that

 

[Angry Camel]

It's not rasict in any way. I'd talk to someone higher in authority if they'll listen. The obsession society has with political correctness is scary.

 

[M920CAIN]

We were discussing attraction in psychology today and we did a worksheet, one of the questions being about what we find attractive in the opposite sex. When it got to which physical characteristics we find most attractive, I listed:

somewhat tall
healthy-looking, ie in good shape but not too skinny
dark hair
white skin

and some other things, but that last one was what got me in trouble. Now, at no point did I say I find other skin colors unattractive, and I did not say that I find colored people unattractive, just for their skin color. All I said was that it was one of many physical characteristics (saying nothing of personality and intellectual traits) that I find attractive. And also, it's not like I'd turn down a girl just because of her skin color, to me it's just one trait that I notice, and there are many more (saying nothing of intellectual and personality traits). To me, dating a black or asian girl would be no different than dating a blonde, yes I prefer dark to blonde hair but I can still find her attractive and nice (hopefully). I thought I was being honest about a personal opinion in a mature discussion about a mature topic.

In short, it's no different than my finding dark brown hair more attractive than light blonde hair. It's only a superficial thing.

Anyway, she didn't even give me a chance to explain what I meant by that, and wouldn't hear a word of it when I tried. Now I have to write a paper about racial tolerance. Is this right? Am I a racist, just for finding one skin color more physically appealing than the others?

EDIT/UPDATE: Okay, so the term 'colored people' comes off as racist. Just a poor choice of words on my part, sorry. I'd actually been told it was the politically correct term.

People are stupid and overreact... don't worry too much about it... everything one says nowadays is interpreted in ow so many ways that you can't believe how twisted they come out to be... so your message was distorted... well too bad... as long as you know where you stand on the subject, don't worry so much about it...

 

[Klepa]

What about people who preferred blonde hair, or blue eyes. Seeing as both are almost exclusively found in white people, doesn't that sort of imply that they don't find other ethnic groups as attractive?

 

[BeanDelphiki]

Not reading the thread, because it's probably a load of fuckery.

Answers are:

YES, it's completely racist. You're an idiot if you think otherwise. Do you genuinely believe you would feel this way in a world in which white supremacy did not exist? Use your fucking brain.

NO, your teacher did not have the right to punish you for that. And there was a teaching moment there that their knee-jerk reaction completely missed. But I guess it's more important to overreact to any overt sign of racial prejudice than it is to actually discuss how we've all been subconsciously indoctrinated with white racism. That doesn't actually help maintain the status quo, or anything. *SLOW CLAP*


The term you were probably thinking of is "people of color" (or "POC"). It might look similar, but it's not; the two terms have COMPLETELY different histories. I know that's confusing because your linguistic instinct is to drop/re-word the awkward construction there. Don't.

 

[Eccentric_Jon]

Go to the headteacher, (or whoever is next up in Chain of Command if you want to go step by step), with your parents. Put in a formal complaint that the teacher is persecuting you for your beliefs and preferences. Explain calmly and eloquently that you were asked, in essence, for a roadmap of your ideal biological partner, and as such, you gave a specific attribute in each area that you find MOST attractive. Race was not singled out or specified as a negative, just as hair and eye colour weren't. Also point out that this teaching method should be abolished if this is the reaction that students are going to get for doing exactly as requested.

Feel free to take notes with you to the meeting, it's professional and will remind you of any points that you want brought up.
Finally, be an adult about it all. If somebody else brings up a point, listen, and THEN give a response if necessary.

If you use the above guide, you will come across as a mature adult, trying to change a broken system for future students, and not a whiny kid, trying to get out of a punishment.



On a personal note; I too would like to see the teacher get punched in the face, and/or fired.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

No. And your teacher is an idiot.

 

[Jewrean]

The teacher, unfortunately, is what I like to call a PC Nazi. They are pretty common and run the world at the moment. Basically there are minorities who love to complain and get compensation and then there are the people that have self-gratification by giving those minorities things. In actuality these people care less about you and more about minorities. Although she claims equal rights, she is entirely full of it by squelching your right to free speech.

Me personally, I'm white. I like other white's and also Asians. I don't find Blacks, Latinos, other races AS attractive.

Interesting fact. "In anthropology their are three major races, Caucasoid, Negroids and Mongoloids."

 

[ssgt splatter]

I know this would get me in trouble if I was in your situation but I would say to the teacher's face, "Are you high? How is that racsist? I didn't say anything that could be interpreted as white supremacy or other crap like that."

I also wouldn't even bother doing the paper as punishment. I would explain the entire situation to my parents, the counselor, and maybe even the principal and they will side with me. Now I might get in trouble for asking the teacher if he/she was high but that would be worth it.

 

[dvd_72]

So she punished you for an opinion. Right. I wonder if she could explain to whomever she'd have to explain herself to, after you brought things through the right channels, how preffering a skin colour over annother is different from preffering one hair colour over annother without sounding racist herself.

I see this as PC gone haywire, or she's compensating for her own racism that she's supressing... or something.... shut up, I'm no psychologist

 

[owbu]

thats like calling a gay guy sexcist, because he only likes man

sexual selfdetermination (I hope this is the right term) is one of your basic rights, so your teacher would be in trouble for punishing you because of it (or at least would be as a german teacher), if you went to your principle/partens/whatever

 

[Michael Hirst]

racist [ráyssist]
adj
1. based on racism: based on prejudices and stereotypes related to race
2. prejudiced against other races: prejudiced against all people who belong to other races.

(plural racists)
racist person: somebody who hates others who are not of his or her own race

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

It's not racist by definition to say you find white people more attractive than other races. Also you're not a racist person for saying such a thing because you don't HATE people of other races. A preference in skin colour is not racist, now if you said all *insert race here* are unattractive/hideous there would be grounds for an arguement but to say you find white skin more attractive is fair just the same as people who find dark hair more attractive.

If your teacher tries to take this very seriously you need to talk to them calmly and rationally preferably with a witness.

 

[mew4ever23]

That's BS. She asked, you answered. The fact that you probably shouldn't have put that down is beside the point. Go through proper channels.

 

[poleboy]

Yes, you're a terrible person for having specific sexual preferences, probably decided by some random event in your childhood that you don't even remember.

/sarcasm

Your teacher is an idiot, or deathly afraid of being accused of being a racist. Both are bad.

 

[Henkie36]

This is bullshit. I find myself to be more attracted to women with white skin then to women with a colored skin, but by no means does that mean I'm a racist. It's just like saying: ''I'm more attacted to women who have blonde hair'', and nobody would call me a racist if I say that. It's personal preference, and no one can touch that. Since you live in the USA, you have right of free speech and you can tell your teacher that he is obstructing you, so sue him and get him to pay a big compensation.

 

[i7omahawki]

First of all, it is in our genetic code to be racist at least for reproductive reason.

I think it's actually in our code to be anti-racist, especially when it comes to reproduction. Novelty is an important factor and different races (back then) were nothing if not novelty. On the other hand we had an inset tribalism which is probably what stirs up racism today.

But anyway, you're bang on with every other point.

OT: If this is an accurate representation of what happened, that you listed a personal preference of attractiveness as 'white skin' and got called racist, then it is totally out of order.

It is as laughable as calling someone racist because they prefer blondes. Just as discriminating against someone in terms of jobs and opportunities because they are brunettes is just as absurd and wrong as if they were black.

I would concur with the other posters suggesting you take this higher, but also follow up on that essay distinguishing between anti-racism and political correctness. Use your sword-pen to fight the academic injustice!