Why is Misanthropy ok but racism taboo?

[Chefodeath]

I think we can all agree that there are few attitudes as taboo in the modern age as racism. Nothing will lead quicker to total social ostricization than to let loose a few racist comments and slurs. We all hate those ignorant, hate filled fucks. My question is why doesn't this attitude carry over to misanthropes, those folks who hate all of humanity instead of just some particular segment? Misanthropes enjoy a much warmer cultural reception. He can be seen as charming and sympathetic, someone fed up with the bullshit of his species. Even at his worst, the general misanthrope is received better than a racist.

Why is this? Shouldn't it logically follow that misanthropes are worse people than racists if they do the racist's job and then some?

Edit: Alright, so everyone is saying that racists are hated more because they discriminate. I still don't see how that makes sense. What exactly is it thats so valuable about equality? Personally I think a man who is in general a kind and just person to everyone but members of a certain group is better than someone who is a dick to everyone.

 

[DailonCmann]

That's a good point. My guess is that the racist discriminates against a specific group and while the misanthrope doesn't. All about discrimination.

 

[Uzbekistan]

Because Yatzee Croshaw is one of the most widely known internet misantrhopes and we love him.

 

[DEAD34345]

What makes someone racist is that they treat people differently based on their skin colour. That is what is generally disliked about them, not some arbitrary measurement of the amount of hate they have for other people.

Also "misanthropes" annoy me a little, but I don't think they really mean what they say anyway. Anyone who really hated humanity altogether would almost certainly have committed suicide or something. At least that's how I see it.

 

[AD-Stu]

It's because misanthropy isn't discriminatory - if you hate everyone then nobody gets left out. Plus the average misanthrope's justification for his/her position is typically a lot more logical than the average racist's.

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

Misanthropy is the general hatred a person has for humanity in general. That person is, more or less, human. Therefore, the hatred they feel is in some way a form of self-loathing.

The instinctive reaction for such a person tends more towards pity rather than reactionary scorn.

 

[Shadowstar38]

Misanthrops hate everyone equally. That doesnt have prejudice connected to it. Also you can just say they're a-holes and move on, where as racist comments are hurtful to some people.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Because the people you describe judge people on things they've actually done rather than the color of their skin/place they were born.

I guess.

Personally, I don't enjoy misanthropes, so that's just my theory.

 

[AplChild]

I get your point, but I think taboo comes from the gravity attached, not the actual... "Thing" (?) Racism has caused a lot of death and misery. The only misanthrope I can think of that tried to actually kill the beings of his hatred is Sephiroth.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I think we can all agree that there are few attitudes as taboo in the modern age as racism. Nothing will lead quicker to total social ostricization than to let loose a few racist comments and slurs. We all hate those ignorant, hate filled fucks. My question is why doesn't this attitude carry over to misanthropes, those folks who hate all of humanity instead of just some particular segment? Misanthropes enjoy a much warmer cultural reception. He can be seen as charming and sympathetic, someone fed up with the bullshit of his species. Even at his worst, the general misanthrope is received better than a racist.

Why is this? Shouldn't it logically follow that misanthropes are worse people than racists if they do the racist's job and then some?

All the "misanthropes" you hear from over the internet are faking it. Always. They wouldn't hurt a fly. They're all just miserable or trying to sound cool and edgy.

Real Misanthropes, i.e. murderers, are usually dealt with pretty harshly through jail time, so I don't see how you got the idea that society thinks they're charming or sympathetic.

 

[kickyourass]

I've never seen this happening, ever time I've encountered someone acting like a misanthrope (Or just an anti-social twat) they've been more or less entirely regected by those around them.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I've never seen this happening, ever time I've encountered someone acting like a misanthrope (Or just an anti-social twat) they've been more or less entirely regected by those around them.

Yeah, this too.

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

Because misanthropy does not discriminate

 

[Texas Joker 52]

That's a good point. My guess is that the racist discriminates against a specific group and while the misanthrope doesn't. All about discrimination.

Exactly this. It's the discrimination that makes racists so loathsome, whereas a misanthrope simply holds equal disdain and disgust for everyone. At least, until you manage to worm your way into their heart, that is.

As something of a misanthrope myself, I will say this, (Though I won't say that this counts as speaking for ALL misanthropes in general: This is purely my misanthropic stance, someone elses may be completely different.) and it's that while I despise humanity as a whole, that's because people, as a group, tend to be ignorant and intolerant, prone to overreaction and jump to conclusions at a drop of the hat. A singular person however, I take as they are. They have to do something to deserve my ire first. However, that's just me.

 

[Giest4life]

As something of a misanthrope myself, I will say this, (Though I won't say that this counts as speaking for ALL misanthropes in general: This is purely my misanthropic stance, someone elses may be completely different.) and it's that while I despise humanity as a whole, that's because people, as a group, tend to be ignorant and intolerant, prone to overreaction and jump to conclusions at a drop of the hat. A singular person however, I take as they are. They have to do something to deserve my ire first. However, that's just me.

That, in a nutshell, is exactly what I think. Individuals can be awesome, but people always suck.

 

[Olivia Faraday]

It's called equal opportunity.

Say there's a dude you know. This dude is really really nice to everybody and never has a bad word to say about anyone. However, he is always make a lot of really hilarious but pretty douchey comments to you in particular. Nobody else, just you. To everybody else, he's a gentleman and a scholar. You're constantly the butt of his jokes.

Obviously, you have a right to be offended. You're being singled out. He's being a dick.

Now there's another dude you know. He's sort of an asshole and he's constantly up in your jam, but he does it to everybody. Everywhere he goes, he's ribbing somebody. No one is free. He never lets anybody get away with a mistake without throwing out a little jibe about it and his douchery is all pretty evenly distributed.

Now, you can not really LIKE that dude, but getting offended over his crap is sort of being a little bit of a baby. It's not personal, it's not that he doesn't like you and he's singling you out. He does that with everybody. It's not offensive, it's just a personality quirk.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Speaking as a misanthropic, nihlistic autistic with bipolar depression and eating problems, the reason no-one calls me out on it is that I mostly keep it under wraps until I see something particularly stupid.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Because misanthropy doesnt single anyone out and make them feel bad, instead it just makes everyone (Bar other misanthropes) get sick of the misanthropes whiny shit, therefor leading to them having no friends, which leads to them hating people more, its a cycle people