"There is nothing wrong being racist"

[Suijen]

There's probably not much you can say that can change his mind. It's just his frame of mind, so I doubt any dialogue would really do anything. You'll have to accept him the way he is. Considering that he has had colored friends and lovers, I guess it shows that you can be racist and have colored friends.

 

[Scorekeeper]

It's not good to be racist but as long as one doesn't say or do anything that reflects on their prejudice toward a particular race, I don't see a problem. Racism's only a problem if it results in treating others unequally.

 

[scorptatious]

But this guy sounds like more than a "little bit" racist. My advice: never speak to him again.

Quoted for truth.

I am racist myself, but not in the way you think. My racism stems from the fact that around where I live there are very few people from other racial backgrounds. Because of this I find black people intimidating and am not sure how to interact with them.

well thats not racism, but rather bad experience. I bet you wouldnt feel intimidated, if you met a black person in a suit at a university right?

But its basically the same problem here in germany. Most turkish people one would meet act like complete asshats. Of course that doesnt mean turkish people are all asshats, but it would easily lead somebody to say "i dont like turkish people", just from what he or she experienced so far.
But since we all have a brain, we can separate those people from the "decent" ones.
For example by not starting a fight with those 5 black guys with their pants at their knees, but still hitting on the pretty black girl in the library. Just context.

edit:
oh and of course everyones a little racist, but thats how humans are(genetically speaking). Thats why we got rules in society, to tame our evilness.

Ooh and this too!

But yeah, it sounds like your friend isn't exactly the best kind of person to hang around with. To put it lightly.

As for people in my life who are racist? Well there's my dad who isn't too fond of black people. But it's mostly because he has had bad experiences with them in the past. He does know there are always exceptions though.

 

[Vandenberg1]

No, no, I didn't say that, but a good friend of mine did.

So, this friend watched American History X yesterday, a movie which tells about dangers of racism and what it can cause. Today he said something about the movie: "Best parts where those where niggers were killed"
I was shocked... I told him that the movie was supposed to be against racism. After that he said "Well I'm a racist and there is nothing wrong about being racist. I don't like black people"

Of course I started arguing against it, but he just got angry and said that being racist is his choise and I can't start whining about it to him.

But the thing is, he has had a black friend and he has been with one of my black friends. So I asked him "But wasn't she a nice girl?" (referring to my black friend). He responded "Yeah, but she wasn't foreigner", "So you dont like foreigner people?" "Yeah, but most of them are black", "So what about that chinese guy just 2 doors away from us?"(The friend is also my roommate), "Oh yeah, I dont like chinese people either"

I started arguing that you can't judge people just for their skin colour or where they come from, but I could see how he were getting angry so I stopped. He gets angry very easily and I don't want that to happen.

I don't know if I should punch him to the face, laugh at him or just cry because there really are people who think like that. Here you don't really meet any racist people. Yes we might say something racist but it's always said in a sarcastic way so we don't really mean it(Or atleast thats what I do). But my friend is serious...

So, do you have any racist friends and what do you think about them? Personally, I think I can't look at my friend the same way anymore...

I like black people, I like all cultures.. I HATEEEE GHETTOOOOOOO culture and people who fall into its stereotypes because itsthe supposed coolthing to do

 

[Rheinmetall]

How can you be friends with a person that you have disagreement in such a fundamental matter as racism?

 

[blindthrall]

No, no, I didn't say that, but a good friend of mine did.

So, this friend watched American History X yesterday, a movie which tells about dangers of racism and what it can cause. Today he said something about the movie: "Best parts where those where niggers were killed"
I was shocked... I told him that the movie was supposed to be against racism.

As much as people may say American History X is warning us not to be like those naughty skinheads, I think it's actually conveying a much more subtle message, opposite from what most people take away from it. Spoilers,btw. For most of the movie, racists are evil and ignorant, and it takes getting raped by white men and meeting a Magic Negro in prison for Norton to turn around. So he makes amends once released, including turning his little brother away from the path he went down. So far so good, but what happens when his little brother stops trying to intimidate a black bully and approaches him like a human being? He gets shot. Now you could say that this is Norton's punishment(wasn't that the assrape?) but it still has unfortunate implications: treat black threats as if they're a lower form of life, or you'll get shot.

As far as your friends concerned, telling him not to be racist will only enforce it, like telling teenagers don't do drugs. I think all humans are unconsciously predisposed to their own kind, and admitting that and coming to terms with it is the easiest way to ensure it doesn't influence your judgement.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

Well, your friend sounds like an absolutely pleasant person...

 

[Daystar Clarion]

You are a perfect example of someone who adapts easily to what is best with the society at the time. You judge issues based on the society view and of course the society will always shift (even if it is slowly) to what is best for the society at the time.

I can't tell if that's an insult or not...

I suppose it's kind of faulty logic because of how societal norms are always changing, hell, give it a hundred years and our ancestors might see us as uneducated barbarians for eating white bread.

 

[Smackerlacker]

You are what you do. If what you do is put yourself on a pedestal and consider yourself to be superior to other people based on a minor fluctuation of your DNA, then you are a despicable human being.
If you choose to be friends with such a person, that means that you consider this atrocious, irredeemably hideous personality trait to be unimportant, or you share it.
In either case, you taint yourself merely by association.
Maybe my logic is flawed. Maybe an apple sitting next to a piece of dog shit is just as fresh and delicious as any other apple, but I'm not going to eat it.
Are you?

 

[aba1]

I have friends who make racist jibes, but it's nothing serious. Just thing like "The black person will die first in L4D because black people always die first [in films and games; see Scary Movie]" or the "Fried Chicken and black people" stereotype. - Take that the wrong way and it's racist, but really it's not, it's never directed or said with any for of dislike and it's never said to offend.

You should stereotype your friend and then insult the stereotype, if he tells you it's stupid, don't stop until he get the point.

erp just so you know racism is racism whether it is in the form of a complement or a joke or a hateful speech. Racism is judging somebody based on there race.

 

[LordFisheh]

Ugh. Sure, racists should be as entitled to their own opinions and freedom to express them as everyone else, but that doesn't mean we should tolerate them. They should be pariahs; nobody would hire them; nobody would rent them a room; shops would refuse to serve them; friends and family would disown them. If they want to express their own opinions then we should do the same. This is our society and they are no longer welcome.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

You are a perfect example of someone who adapts easily to what is best with the society at the time. You judge issues based on the society view and of course the society will always shift (even if it is slowly) to what is best for the society at the time.

I can't tell if that's an insult or not...

I suppose it's kind of faulty logic because of how societal norms are always changing, hell, give it a hundred years and our ancestors might see us as uneducated barbarians for eating white bread.

It's really not a insult. In-fact someone who is such are more likely to be successful and survive under their times. It is perfectly normal to look at your current society to help make judgements on issues. As for societal normals always changing I think it is clear that within someones normal lifetime things do not suddenly change drastically. Changes are lead up to the civil rights movement for African Americans for example was not a sudden thing if you start history from there it may seem so but really African American rights started even when slavery was happening.

I find it pointless to judge people of the distant past harshly. They at the time did what they felt was needed for them and their society to prosper or even just survive. The actions taken wouldn't be what we would likely do now but if we lived in their times we likely would have done the same as them. There are exceptions to this but those of us who can truly claim that we wouldn't be like them wouldn't fit in and survive in the society. Much like a open racist today stands our like a sore thumb and is shunned.

I actually very much agree with you.

I'm very relucant to judge people from the past based on modern day standards.

 

[Guardian of Nekops]

The most dangerous form of rascism I can think of is one you don't feel guilty about. If you watch black people more carefully than white people because you're scared of them, but feel bad about it and try to compensate, then that's fine. That's your struggle, and I think most people are like that about one race or another.

At the point that you're willing to enjoy watching black people die, because they're black people, and feel no remorse about it, though? Yeah, there's something wrong with that. I'd distance myself from him if I were you.

 

[Genericjim101]

I have oftenly said vaguely racist things,
1)Saying to Thai co-worker who was looking at the 3 inches of snow, "Yes, we call it SNOW!"
2) A letter to a German friend saying "Allied secrets to Axis powers"
3) Joking that research into how young children can't percieve volume well was culturally biased as it used American children
4) That being part gypsy gives my extended family +5 pickpocketing and +10 stealth

But when I come across genuine hurtful things like having seen a curry house splattered with curry all up the windows, and seen a co-worker express distate for "them foreigners" I feel I am actually disgusted.

 

[ms_sunlight]

Because the validity of someones opinion is based on their race? Because white people are willfully ignorant or blind by virtue of being white?

Actually, yes. If you're in a society where white is privileged, you're not going to find it as easy to understand how much racism there is towards those who are not white. If you're not usually on the receiving end of racism, you're unlikely to understand how prevalent and pernicious it is as well as someone who is. This is not a difficult concept. "You can walk a mile in my shoes, but you can't walk a step in my feet."

 

[Char-Nobyl]

No, no, I didn't say that, but a good friend of mine did.

So, this friend watched American History X yesterday, a movie which tells about dangers of racism and what it can cause. Today he said something about the movie: "Best parts where those where niggers were killed"
I was shocked... I told him that the movie was supposed to be against racism. After that he said "Well I'm a racist and there is nothing wrong about being racist. I don't like black people"

*facepalm*

Everyone is prejudiced to some extent. I'll never deny that. But when someone says that their favorite part of a movie was "where those...niggers...were killed," that's a big goddamn problem. I know people who have probably unfair prejudices against others, but I try and draw the line when they take joy in the deaths of others because of their skin color.

Of course I started arguing against it, but he just got angry and said that being racist is his choise and I can't start whining about it to him.

That's another problem: your friend is a retard. If he thinks that he can't be judged by what he views as conscious decisions on his part, I say without exaggeration that he's a monumental retard.

But the thing is, he has had a black friend and he has been with one of my black friends. So I asked him "But wasn't she a nice girl?" (referring to my black friend). He responded "Yeah, but she wasn't foreigner", "So you dont like foreigner people?" "Yeah, but most of them are black", "So what about that chinese guy just 2 doors away from us?"(The friend is also my roommate), "Oh yeah, I dont like chinese people either"

...alright, either you're just making a troll post, your friend is screwing with your (and you're stupid enough to buy it), or he's literally the worst racist ever.

I started arguing that you can't judge people just for their skin colour or where they come from, but I could see how he were getting angry so I stopped. He gets angry very easily and I don't want that to happen.

Maybe it's because he's too stupid to know the difference between being a xenophobe and a racist.

Or, more likely, he's a "self-declared" racist who won't say a word against minorities in the company of others, but bangs on about how big a racist he is in white company. In other words, a pussy.

 

[Olas]

I'm a racististist. I'm not a racist but I believe racists are people too and don't deserve condemnation just for having a particular opinion. I Therefore I descriminate against people who descriminate against racists.

I have a dream, a dream that someday all god's children, racists and non racists, prejudice and non prejudice, anti-immigrants and pro-immigrants will be able to join hands and sing the words

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

So, do you have any racist friends and what do you think about them? Personally, I think I can't look at my friend the same way anymore...

I'm going to assume that when you type "racist", you also mean ethnic prejudice as well. Now then, I have had friends from China, South Korea, Greece, and India, that were prejudice, but I don't think I would respond to them like you did (even though I don't agree with them). The reason being is when I asked them why they felt the way that they did, I learned that they are not prejudice because they like being jerks, it's because there is a long history to the reason that they feel the way that they do. My Chinese friend is from Nanjing and he doesn't like Japanese people, he has his reasons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_nanjing] why. My South Korean friend also has her reasons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93Korea_disputes] for not liking Japanese people as well. My Indian friends are Hindu and they have family that live in Mumbai, so they are not that welcoming of Pakistani and/or Pakistani Muslims because of events [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mumbai_attacks] that have happened, some very recent [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Mumbai_bombings]. My Greek friend dislikes Turkey because of the history that Turkey and Greece have, especially with Turkey invading [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus] part of the island Cyprus. Now all the people that I mentioned have one very important thing in common, while they might not like certain groups of people, they don't voice these views nor do they act violently towards any of the people they don't like unless they are provoked. Because they are, for a lack of better words, civilized about how they conduct themselves with other people, I don't hate them for their views(even if I don't agree with them).

So I guess the question is, given your friends views, are they something he keeps to himself(unless it is relevant to whatever your talking about) or is he in every Black/Asian persons face about his disliking of them?

 

[him over there]

Of course racism is wrong however tolerance is a two way street, you have to tolerate, not respect but tolerate that someone may be a racist or homophobe the same way that you tolerate other races, genders or sexualities because if you don't then you are essentially condemning someone for their beliefs. Of course if they did anything that actually infringed on the groups human rights or committed crimes and antagonized them specifically because of their race/sexuality/gender/religion then yeah who needs them they should receive some kind of response or punishment regarding their xenophobia. The other thing is if you demonize them because it is ignorance, not an opinion like said above science doesn't acknowledge that there are races in the human population at all then it would be the same thing as punishing and demonizing christians who think the world is 6000 years old.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Seeing that I'm Chinese (British born Chinese to be exact), I don't tolerate people who are racist at all (I had a few encoutner in the past). I guess it up to you if you still want to be friend with him or not.

So I have to ask, from what I understand from my friend from Nanjing, would you flip out if my friends parents said something prejudice against Japanese people?