Racism =/= Hate?

[nothinghere]

Due to all the threads talking about racism I've seen a few people say something along the lines -Its not really that racist, theres nothing hateful about it- Racism could involve a "positive" or a "negative" comment. Saying all Asians are smart, or Black people are the best at basketball are both racist comments.

I wanted to ask when you though racism became about hate. Another thing about racism is how everyone uses it whenever you disagree with someone of a different race. I was in class and said I wish we had a different president and now suddenly i'm racist because I don't want Obama in the white house.

Do you think something should be done to clear up these misconceptions (how would you go about it also) and can someone tell me why no ones being tought racist comments don't have to be hateful in nature.

*Not really supporting racism - positive or negative- because all they really are is just plain old generalizations.*

 

[manythings]

I'm not entirely sure what you are actually saying. Do you mean that you think racism should be treated in the same way as a non-racial stereotype, i.e. Nerds are X, Gays are Y, or that it should be treated as something inherently bad and should be treated badly?

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

Hasty generalizations, overall, are considered a logical fallacy. I support both logic, and treating people like human beings, so, no. I'm not big fans of either.

 

[Kavic86]

Meh I'm not racist. I'm an equal opportunity hater. But yes I get at what you mean by people instantly thinking your racist because you disagree with them and they happen to not be the same ethnicity. Usually when people start throwing around the racist stuff I say that there is only one race on this planet that I know of and thats the human race, and all the crap about being separate races is wrong, we have different ethnicities not races. Then I go into discussions about evolution and more or less derail the conversation.

Now to me the reason why a lot of people believe racism is fulled by hate is because all the messed up people (KKK, Nazi's, Black Panthers..ect) raise there ethnicity to the top and think all others are inferior while also going out and doing horrible things to their "inferiors". So basically they ruined it and made it the way it is perceived today.

 

[crudus]

I have been saying this for years. I could be racist and say "I rather dislike black people". That really isn't a problem and is well within my right to do so. I can only associate myself with white people if I so choose. However, it begins being unethical if I start letting it affect my behavior toward black people like insulting them, having it affect my professional life, or what have you.

Spoiler: Just remember

Actually, this sums up my point nicely.

 

[Kortney]

I think you are confusing racism with generalisations. I see the two differently. To me, the term "racism" carries negative connotations. It depends a lot on the context too.

 

[Signa]

Well, racism SHOULD mean hate. That means that any time some one calls another "racist" they are wrong. There are few racist people out there today, and most already joined the KKK, so we know where to point our fingers when we declare some one a racist.

Seriously, calling some one a racist diminishes the meaning of the word for the people who irrationally hate others that were born with a different ethnic background. This shit needs to stop.

 

[Strain42]

I didn't exactly read the whole thing, I just kinda glanced at some important parts, but no, I don't believe racism is the exact same thing as hatred.

For example, I was in wal-mart once and as I was walking past customer service, I saw a large black man eating from a bucket of fried chicken. A bucket of fried chicken that he must have brought in from the outside since wal-mart didn't sell that kind. Some people would call me a horrible person for stifling a giggle over such an event.

If I make a joke about black people and fried chicken, it doesn't mean I have some deep seated rage issues against black people or even chicken for that matter.

I had nothing against that man I saw, in fact seeing him with the chicken made me wanna pick up some for dinner myself on the way home.

 

[Something Amyss]

You know, it's funny. I criticise Obama all the time and nobody calls me a racist.

I always wonder where these people are to brand me as a hate monger for life whenever I criticise someone. It seems like they're out there and ready to strike at a moment's notice, but I always avoid their wrath.

Racism is as it is used in common parlance does refer to hateful concepts. For the purpose of discussion, it generally includes hatred, fear, or the notion of your superiority to other races.

But it's probably more important to split hairs than to look at a serious institutional dictrine.

 

[Nieroshai]

Racism is the belief in the inherent superiority or inferiority of a race. One can believe ssuch things and not be a hateful person, but the lack of hate is different from what we're talking about. Do you hate your dog? You can love a dog, but still never consider it human.

 

[unicron44]

I go to a school with 10 black kids total, give or take a few, and everyone is uber-sensitive about race. When someone asked me about a black kid in my English, I said he was kind of annoying and I didn't care for him. Then I got called a racist. I don't care too much for politics and someone asked me about Obama and I said he's alright, but I thought McCain was a better choice even though I thought Palin was bat-shit crazy. I even said I kind of agreed with Healthcare Bill, but wasn't overly joyed. People can say stuff about how bad he is without stating one of his policies and I'm the racist.

 

[likalaruku]

Some people resent positive racism, like a black kid who excells at science & sucks at sports or a Japanese musician who dropped out of highschool. What about the Irish man who passes out after two shots of wisky?

 

[Hader]

Due to all the threads talking about racism I've seen a few people say something along the lines -Its not really that racist, theres nothing hateful about it- Racism could involve a "positive" or a "negative" comment. Saying all Asians are smart, or Black people are the best at basketball are both racist comments.

I wanted to ask when you though racism became about hate. Another thing about racism is how everyone uses it whenever you disagree with someone of a different race. I was in class and said I wish we had a different president and now suddenly i'm racist because I don't want Obama in the white house.

Do you think something should be done to clear up these misconceptions (how would you go about it also) and can someone tell me why no ones being tought racist comments don't have to be hateful in nature.

*Not really supporting racism - positive or negative- because all they really are is just plain old generalizations.*

Not completely sure what you are getting at here. But there is a fine line between racism and stereotypes. A very fine line, probably negligible in some cases. This seems to apply to what you are saying, I think. Still not sure.

Racism is always a touchy subject. The way I see it (kinda, hard to explain it really) is that racism has to have intent behind it, but because someone hearing it will not know the true intent of the speaker, lines get blurred and hasty conclusions can be made. That's not entirely to blame either party though, but it's part of the nature of such things I guess you could say. People find certain things hateful, distasteful, however you want to put it; its in the 'eyes of the beholder' as much as it is the intent of the speaker.

And if that didn't make any sense, I apologize for staying up waaaay past my bedtime without my contacts in

 

[tyciol]

I wouldn't say racism itself is hatred, but it is a perception that can contribute towards causing it, on the side of both the racist and those they discriminate against. Obviously it's not a guarantee, as in some cases people do not react with rage to their perceptions or the perception of others, yet it is common if people take the path of blaming races or racists and react harshly to them.

 

[Turbo_Destructor]

I agree, in some cases racism is more about misinformation or ignorance than any particular dislike to a race. In Australia, during the Stolen Generation, the white people didn't really hate the black people - they pitied their 'primitiveness' (And I am in NO way agreeing with them or condoning their acts), and wanted to help them by teaching them to act like white people. This despite being a practice that the Australian Indigenous people still mourn to this day, wasn't hatred, this was just arrogance and ignorance. And just let me re-iterate that I do not support in any way the behaviour of the white australians during the Stolen generation - I just wanted to show that even an extreme case of racism can be rooted in something other than hate.