Poll: Is Not Dating a Certain Race Racist?

[runic knight]

Someone brought up the point that African-Americans have almost uniformly black hair. It is a trait of their race. If someone does not feel attraction to that trait, and if that trait is important enough to affect attraction over all, one could say that they are not attracted to black people in a way that is not racist (as it is not because of their race, rather, because of a trait their race just happens to have predominantly).

Of course, they would then have to say that they are not attracted to Asians, or Native Americans. It's so difficult to assign specific traits uniformly to an entire race, then turn around and say, "Therefore, I dislike (aesthetically) this race", that doing so will give the appearance of racism, intended or not. Easier to simply say "I dislike these traits" and leave it at that.

Oh I do agree there, don't get me wrong, I merely disliked the idea that he presented that people saying they weren't attracted to a race instantly was a replacement for something far more sinister or egotistical.
You are right though, would save a lot of hassle to just say "I don't feel attracted to this trait" then anything else.
Though, what if said trait is skin color? Obviously with the visual nature we use to mark races in the first place, that would be a bit of a hard way to present it as it is. At that point, saying "I don't feel attracted to this race" would probably have the same reaction from people as "I don't feel attracted to this skin color."

 

[carnex]

It's not a choice made based on race. That race just happens to have physical features he(hypothetical dude) finds displeasing.

I'm going to leave this quote here, so you can read it as many times as you like, until you find the logical phallacy hidden in it.
Hint: it's between "it's not a choice based on race" and "that race has displeasing physical features".

If you remove a conditional, the context of words tend to change.

"Happen to have" As in, race was not considered.

Dude, you said it's not a "race thing", but it's a "physical feature associated with race thing", which makes it a race thing.

Not if said physical feature exists independent of said race.

Dude, you just said "That race just happens to have physical features he(hypothetical dude) finds displeasing".

This is getting really dumb. Look, many equality advocates would not get in relationships with many of the races. They don't find them attractive. Period. You can like person without wanting to stick your weiner in one.

To be racist or hold racistic believes you have to hold certain race/races in contempt and actually think of them in different term than other race/races. Not being attracted to certain race is not any of that.

That is like saying that, just becouse you are a dog person, you are racist agant the cats.

 

[VanTesla]

Only if you... refuse to date, say a Chinese woman, who has beautiful looks, is a very nice person, in short someone you do feel attracted to (whatever that might mean to you) but you refuse to date her solely because she is Chinese. That is racism.

Keeping with the example... It is not racism if you don't feel attracted to Chinese women because, for instance, the general Chinese "looks" are not in conformity with your concept of beauty (and in this case we're obviously assuming, as an example, that beauty would be a major factor, but it could be anything else). The difference being, if it was a white girl with facial features you didn't like, you ALSO would not date.

It is not racist to me as long as the person does not believe the other to be inferior or harbor hate towards another race/ethnic group. If the reason of not wanting to date a person based on looks then you are the same as 99% of the human population in that we all have our preferences and some are more narrow or wider than others. I am not attracted to people of heavier weight, same sex, and certain physical characteristics, but I don't have any negative thoughts or think I am better than anyone that falls into those categories and they all should have the same rights to love anyone they want. We are all the same race as in the human race. We all have the right to choose what and who we like, but if you have any malice or negative perspectives that go beyond anything more than prefering one look over the other to the point that you can't even stand to be in the same room with a type of person, then maybe you should try to get someone to help you learn.

 

[LetalisK]

YOUR definition: "the belief that some races of people are better than others"

"I find white women more attractive than black women"

More attractive = better, there is no way around that.

If a person is shallow and bases other's value as a person on their looks, yeah, I guess.

 

[thenoblitt]

i do not find women that are black attractive, i just dont, that does not make me racist though

 

[Easton Dark]

YOUR definition: "the belief that some races of people are better than others"

"I find white women more attractive than black women"

More attractive = better, there is no way around that.

If a person is shallow and bases other's value as a person on their looks, yeah, I guess.

That's what the whole thread is about, so thanks for confirming it again I guess.

You know, that's not fair to be so rude to you. I talked about shallowness before actually, and this topic is incredibly shallow, but that's what the thread's about, so looks are as far as the argument can go.

edit: What the heck's with the Spike Spiegel brigade above me

 

[Shadowstar38]

But neither do I care if someone gets hurt feelings because their "no blacks" policy comes across a little bit racist in casual conversation.

Agreed. Race should just be banned as a conversation topic in general.

 

[AperioContra]

Racism and race relations is sort of a complex subject, and judging a person based on their personal preference in tongue licking partners is usually fairly narrow-minded. For instance, plenty of people prefer skoodilipooping with their own race, not as a judgment of other races, but as a personal preference. I don't understand it, myself, I've been rejected by women of ever race, color, and creed, but that doesn't make it wrong.

On the otherhand, the fact that he felt the need to specifically mention this, and specifically mention one race out of the others is eyebrow raising. For instance, if I wanted an artist to collaborate with me on a project, and I make a specific point to mention "Gays need not apply," It would be fair to assume that I am a homophobe. The fact that I am signling gay people at the exclusion of any other persons is disconcerting.

I guess what I'm saying is that one's choice in face-licking partners is not really a fair issue to judge their opinions on race, but under these circumstances (especially since they were right) I'm gonna side with the feminists.

Plus that site just sounds kind of douchey.

DFTBA

 

[Billy D Williams]

To be honest I am not really that attracted to black and latino women as most other races. Its not me being racist against them or anything, I just don't really feel that attracted to them. GRANTED! That isn't all black and latino women (I cite Naomie Harris as one of the most sexy Bond Girls ever to defend myself) but they usually don't tend to do as much more me. Nothing more to it than that.

So assuming its just because of sexual attraction than sure, its not racist. But once you get racial prejudice than ya, your a racist douche.

 

[LetalisK]

YOUR definition: "the belief that some races of people are better than others"

"I find white women more attractive than black women"

More attractive = better, there is no way around that.

If a person is shallow and bases other's value as a person on their looks, yeah, I guess.

That's what the whole thread is about, so thanks for confirming it again I guess.

You know, that's not fair to be so rude to you. I talked about shallowness before actually, and this topic is incredibly shallow, but that's what the thread's about, so looks are as far as the argument can go.

I haven't seen a whole lot of people in here talking about how they judge a person's value by how much they want to get in their pants. That's what "booth babe" threads are for...though usually in the inverse, I think.

 

[Easton Dark]

I'm not exactly sure how many ways I can adjust the word "no" before it starts to get repetitive, but....no. Just....no.

I will use this quote in just a moment.

One person's personal preferences are in absolutely no way an indication that anything which doesn't fall within those preferences is "inferior".

What... WHAT IS A PREFERENCE THEN. "Oh I like this just as much as everything else" ISN'T A PREFERENCE. You like something more than something else.

I like Oblivion more than Skyrim, though I would happily play both. The fact still is, Oblivion is superior to Skyrim in my mind, and I will want to play it more often.

Except that your definition and your explanation of the definition are in clear disagreement with each other, as far as I'm concerned.

You say that, but where WHERE, point me to the fucker, because I swear to you, it does not.

I'm simply of the opinion that any action as it relates to a person's biological makeup is inherently not racist, because the notion of claiming that humans are born with racist tendencies sounds like an absolute load of hogwash to me, and a good way for people to make excuses for their racist behavior.

Tell me I misunderstand you here.

Are you telling me that your preference in physical features is biological.

No. No. No.

Here's the spot I told you about earlier.

I'm not exactly sure how many ways I can adjust the word "no" before it starts to get repetitive, but....no. Just....no.

I haven't seen a whole lot of people in here talking about how they judge a person's value by how much they want to get in their pants. That's what "booth babe" threads are for...though usually in the inverse, I think.

You haven't seen the "I'm not racist, but I don't date x race because they're not attractive" posts? I see them everywhere, on the walls, in the toilet, in my alphabits.

 

[Vizanto]

If it's purely looks than maybe, MAYBE, it's not racist. Though it still makes a person genuinely shallow as hell. So there's really no positive outlook on this. You're either racist or shallow, pick which one is less worse I guess.

 

[Ian Mantell]

No. It's not racist. Unless preference in the looks of your mate is somehow discriminatory now. Hasn't been for thousands of years at least.

By its nature, preference in your mate is discriminatory. Seems weird to act like this is a sudden thing. That also doesn't equal racism. Though refusing to date black people is probably racist.

The issue here is "who cares?"

You hurt nobody through your actions, so whatever, right? People are still free to self-determination.

It was NOT racism that started the riots in capetown? It was NOT racism that made slaves out of men and women and after they were freed still had to suffer for decades from restricted education and people rights? And then there was germany.

So...Not dating black people...Will lead to the Holocaust?

Yeah, just that you cut my reply to your needs and not in regards of the text it was directed at. So you're misusing my opinion on someone who in my view stated that being racist is not making you a bad person.

To the above. Racism started horrible things, agreed? Worse. It starts right here in such a spot where someone can get away with an ambiguous "my friend says" poll. Stating racism "isn't bad" is a level of ignorance that's beyond comprehension. That's my point. I give less than a dime what someone else likes "in bed". Making it a public thing what someone else DISLIKES "in bed" ( dating used to be more...? ) is something I'd delete from a forum. Just people who think racism is harmless should be reminded. History tends to repeat itself when you start to forget it. And don't you retry discontexting me. Thanks a lot.

 

[LetalisK]

What... WHAT IS A PREFERENCE THEN. "Oh I like this just as much as everything else" ISN'T A PREFERENCE. You like something more than something else.

I like Oblivion more than Skyrim, though I would happily play both. The fact still is, Oblivion is superior to Skyrim in my mind, and I will want to play it more often.

Okay, this long winded paragraph is going to seem really silly and moot at the end of my post, but oh well, screw brevity.

I think you're conflating having a preference and thinking something is superior. While they can both occur at the same time, they're not the same thing and one does not necessitate the other. For example, I prefer the Seattle Seahawks. However, you can't assume what I think about any other team, and only a little bit about what I think about the Seahawks, based on this little bit of information. I may think they are clearly the superior team compared to the New England Patriots. Maybe I'm so sure they're so better than any other team that they're going to go 16-0. I could concede that the Denver Broncos are probably the superior team. I could think the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans are total pieces of shit. Or I could like the Seahawks for no other reason than I like Seattle and it has nothing to do with how I view them as a team. Preferring the Seahawks also doesn't preclude me from also being a fan of other teams, like the Green Bay Packers, nor does it mean I must think less of every other, some, or any team. Nor does it mean I have to get depressed when they lose or get super excited when they win. I could be a fairweather fan or someone who paints their chest at games and "impresses" everyone with my rock hard nipples when it's 10 degrees during the game. There are so many shades of gray(giggity) in there that it's impossible to assume how important that preference is to me, if at all, or how it affects my behavior given the limited context.

You haven't seen the "I'm not racist, but I don't date x race because they're not attractive" posts? I see them everywhere, on the walls, in the toilet, in my alphabits.

I'll do one better and extrapolate it to "...because I'm not attracted to X", because I don't think anyone here is arrogant enough to claim attractiveness is an objective quality in this case. I'll even throw in the comparisons to sex and assume they mean "...because I'm not attracted to X" if they don't further qualify their statements.

Posts: 9, 24(sex), 34, 42(about his own race), 46(generally), 53(waffled between being absolute and qualifying it, but we'll give it), 60(sex), 62(sex), 72, 88(including his own race), 90, 95, 103(sex), 122, 123(repeat from earlier), 142, 150, 151, 167(sex), 188(sex), 198(sex)...and then I stopped here thinking "wtf am I doing?"

So 21 out of 198. Though none of them made an objective assessment, yeah, that's a good handful, so point taken.

Want to know the sad part though? The (probably vast) majority of the rest of the posts were either along the lines of "Depends on why" or "Yes, but it's not bad" and arguments thusly. In other words, most of the posts(including my own) were in agreement of it probably being okay, but we're arguing why it's okay. I need a beer.

 

[Funyahns]

One of my best friends is a black guy. He refuses to date black women. Is he racist? Well there you go.

 

[Vizanto]

Yes he's racist, and kinda weird. Why does he not date black girls? It's probably a weird and neurotic reason. I've met plenty of interesting and pleasant black women. If he's just point blank refusal, than he's got problems.

 

[Headbiter]

Nope, it's not. Sorry to all those political correct people out there, but this is just another case of "let's use words we don't really understand".
Racism describes a philosophy (and I guess here's where the first among you frown), after which a certain race is superior (or inferior, depending on your perspective) based on the fact they belong to that race.

That's it. If you say "all black people are thieves" then that's racist, since you imply a direct connection between being a criminal (a term usually connected with negative attributes) and their race. Same for the other side of the spectrum by saying "Only white men are fit to lead a company." (here you declare a set of positive attribute exclusively to white men, therefore denying those qualities to all other ethnicities and gender...s).

"I find all black people unattractive" however is - in and of itself- not racist. It's a preference of yours, a matter of taste. It might OFFEND people, sure. It's uncomfortable to hear someone say that you could never be attractive to him/her, no matter how hard you try. But unless you go on proclaiming that race's general inferiority, ineptitude or claiming that i.e. "one simply cannot be attracted to these people" you're not in the dreaded "racist"-territory.

Won't stop people from calling you that though.

Funny little detail at the end: If you'd consider the refusal to date a certain ethnicity (based on your personal taste) as racist, then following this logic, that would pretty much make every human who's NOT bisexual sexist.

So yeah, guess the message of the day is "Know your buzzwords."

 

[Arcanite Ripper]

myeeeehhhhh. This isn't much of a question.

Most of these "Is this racist?" topics that plague human concern can be solved by clear analysis of the definition.

In the scenario there's no racial-superiority mistheory, no real discrimination that cannot boil down to simple preference, and not enough evidence provided to say prejudice is a deciding factor in his dating life.

So my conclusion is no. Presumptuously-judgemental maybe, but no notion of genuine racism.

 

[Maldark]

Yes, it is by the very definition racist. If you met someone and immediately though "Oh, I can't be friends with you because you're Brazilian and I don't have Brazilian friends" even if you have things in common, you're a racist.

If you think "I won't even bother meeting that person because they're black, and I don't like black people" You're a racist.

If you judge anyone before you've gotton to know them purely based on race, you're racist.

And if it's just about physical appearance, then you're racist AND shallow.

 

[Jonluw]

If you are attracted to someone, but won't date them because of their race, that's racist.
If you tend not to be attracted to people of certain skin tones and complexions, that's not something you can help. Not racist.