Is being a racist really a big deal?

[Noomz]

I've done the forums things before on other sites and usually somewhere along the lines somebody will try to label me a racist. Over the years I've grown to accept it (dont really think I am though). I've never hurt somebody over race, hell I still hold a door open for somebody other than my race, I treat them absolutely the same irl but I am a lot more wary of some races compared to others. I guess what it stems down to is being a realist that acknowledges some races are prone to violence, drugs, and general mayhem. Don't really know what I'm trying to get out of this but I'm tired of others thinking racist people are bad. There is many degrees of racism, please don't lump all of us together and dismiss an individual so easily because he/she doesn't think like you.

As someone with friends from many different nationalities that I always make racist jokes with and about and recieve a fair amount of them back, it's all about having a sense of humor. If you want to talk shit about someone else, you gotta be able to take some shit too. That's what I go by.

I call a dutch friend a clogdancing tulip-eater and he calls me a moose-shagging meatball (I'm swedish). It's all fun, and it disarms the seriousness around racism and political correctness.

[devilbesideyou]

The below is a cut and paste from a very interesting article on reverse-racism, as I'm beginning to see some people claim that whites are being targetted yadda yadda yadda:

Replace the \\ with // to make the link work:

http:\\racism-education.tumblr.com/post/20468906876/why-reverse-racism-doesnt-exist

Why Reverse Racism Doesn’t Exist

Let’s start out simple with this post.

Haven’t we all heard it before?

-“I got bullied in school for being white. You can’t tell me that’s not racist!” No, this is called you being picked on by a mean child.

-“Someone called me cracker!” This is someone calling you by your privilege.

-“People can be racist against white people too.”

No, they cannot. There is an inherent logical fallacy in your argument that will never make it true. However, white people can be discrimated against. Discrimination is different from racism.

Let’s start from the beginning. Your first step is to accept that “a hatred or intolerance of another race” is not the definition of racism. The dictionary is wrong. Get over it.

Racism is when intolerance in government laws, attitudes and ideals of a society are ingrained in a culture to the point where patterns of discrimination towards a certain race are institutionalized as normal. If you keep this in mind, you’ll understand that reverse racism doesn’t- and can’t- exist.

There is another saying “Racism (or sexism) = prejudice + power. POC (people of color) can be prejudiced against white people. But they can never have power, i.e. a whole system of structured support that backs them. White people often don’t understand how much power they have. Just ONE white person has more power to do actual harm to a black person than one hundred black people do to that white person. A white person can KILL a black person without any consequences, while if the situation was reversed you can bet the killer wouldn’t see the outside of a prison cell for a long, long time.

When white people complain about reverse racism, they are not complaining about losing their RIGHTS. What they are complaining about is losing their PRIVILEGE.

White people can never call someone else racist against them because that ‘someone else’ does not have the power to OPPRESS them. The person has the power to be mean.To hurt feelings.But not to OPPRESS.

THAT is the key difference. When a POC is mean to you, they are JUST being mean to you. Their entire society is not ACTIVELY discriminating against and oppressing you. Their society is not one where it is difficult for them to not be racist against you.

But yours is. And you need to accept that.

[Wildtree]

I have no problem with Arabs and I hate Muslims. What does this make me?

Why would you hate someone for being a religious believer? Doesn't matter what religion... So why Muslim?
You may not be racist, but a great deal of intolerant. That's often rather worse. Intolerance causes at least as much harm as racism has.

[kouby]

I've done the forums things before on other sites and usually somewhere along the lines somebody will try to label me a racist. Over the years I've grown to accept it (dont really think I am though). I've never hurt somebody over race, hell I still hold a door open for somebody other than my race, I treat them absolutely the same irl but I am a lot more wary of some races compared to others. I guess what it stems down to is being a realist that acknowledges some races are prone to violence, drugs, and general mayhem. Don't really know what I'm trying to get out of this but I'm tired of others thinking racist people are bad. There is many degrees of racism, please don't lump all of us together and dismiss an individual so easily because he/she doesn't think like you.

Change "realist" to "racist" and "acknowledges" to "thinks" and your post will be accurate.
Otherwise your post is pure delusion. And god knows why you're trying to get some sort of approval from a forum on your "racist/non-racist" views.

[Noomz]

An Islamophobe who's probably been watching too much TV and not got out enough in to the real world.

No offense but I find that the word "islamphobia" is quite funny, as if it's somehow irrational to be scared of Islam.
I know that there are a lot of muslims that are just like anyone else, but there are a lot of them that aren't as well. Fear only seems healthy, especially considering that there are a lot of extremist groups that make a lot of threats about silly things and that they often act on such threats. I think that "islamophobia" is a catchphrase conjured up by the left wing and used much much too liberally.

[Austilias]

Why would you hate someone for being a religious believer? Doesn't matter what religion... So why Muslim?
You may not be racist, but a great deal of intolerant. That's often rather worse. Intolerance causes at least as much harm as racism has.

I can hate people for a myriad of reasons and beliefs. If someone believes a certain prophet to be 'the perfect man', despite having been a warmonger and paedophile, I would consider that person to be guilty by association and just as abhorrent as someone who believes Hitler to have been 'the perfect man'.

[Wildtree]

I can hate people for a myriad of reasons and beliefs. If someone believes a certain prophet to be 'the perfect man', despite having been a warmonger and paedophile, I would consider that person to be guilty by association and just as abhorrent as someone who believes Hitler to have been 'the perfect man'.

Is that your opinion about Muhammad?

[Noomz]

The below is a cut and paste from a very interesting article on reverse-racism, as I'm beginning to see some people claim that whites are being targetted yadda yadda yadda:

Replace the \\ with // to make the link work:

http:\\racism-education.tumblr.com/post/20468906876/why-reverse-racism-doesnt-exist

Why Reverse Racism Doesn’t Exist

Let’s start out simple with this post.

Haven’t we all heard it before?

-“I got bullied in school for being white. You can’t tell me that’s not racist!” No, this is called you being picked on by a mean child.

-“Someone called me cracker!” This is someone calling you by your privilege.

-“People can be racist against white people too.”

No, they cannot. There is an inherent logical fallacy in your argument that will never make it true. However, white people can be discrimated against. Discrimination is different from racism.

Let’s start from the beginning. Your first step is to accept that “a hatred or intolerance of another race” is not the definition of racism. The dictionary is wrong. Get over it.

Racism is when intolerance in government laws, attitudes and ideals of a society are ingrained in a culture to the point where patterns of discrimination towards a certain race are institutionalized as normal. If you keep this in mind, you’ll understand that reverse racism doesn’t- and can’t- exist.

There is another saying “Racism (or sexism) = prejudice + power. POC (people of color) can be prejudiced against white people. But they can never have power, i.e. a whole system of structured support that backs them. White people often don’t understand how much power they have. Just ONE white person has more power to do actual harm to a black person than one hundred black people do to that white person. A white person can KILL a black person without any consequences, while if the situation was reversed you can bet the killer wouldn’t see the outside of a prison cell for a long, long time.

When white people complain about reverse racism, they are not complaining about losing their RIGHTS. What they are complaining about is losing their PRIVILEGE.

White people can never call someone else racist against them because that ‘someone else’ does not have the power to OPPRESS them. The person has the power to be mean.To hurt feelings.But not to OPPRESS.

THAT is the key difference. When a POC is mean to you, they are JUST being mean to you. Their entire society is not ACTIVELY discriminating against and oppressing you. Their society is not one where it is difficult for them to not be racist against you.

But yours is. And you need to accept that.

I find your ideas about how much power a white person has to be inherently racist. As if I'm some sort of powerabusing hatemonger for being white. I also find the collective guilt and blame that is being put on white people to be utterly ridiculous and in itself, racist. You make it sound like no-one but white people have power and that seems to suggest that people of other colors are lesser.

[kouby]

No offense but I find that the word "islamphobia" is quite funny, as if it's somehow irrational to be scared of Islam.
I know that there are a lot of muslims that are just like anyone else, but there are a lot of them that aren't as well. Fear only seems healthy, especially considering that there are a lot of extremist groups that make a lot of threats about silly things and that they often act on such threats. I think that "islamophobia" is a catchphrase conjured up by the left wing and used much much too liberally.

Yeah so what do you do about those mad catholics that think burning books brings them closer to god? They aren't as mad as the extremist Muslims who think blowing themselves up will get them some kind of salvation?

In my book both are mad, but that is no reason to classify all catholics or all muslims as bad, which is what being racist is.

ps: and on a theological level, I'm pretty sure both religions prohibit suicide, which just goes to collaborate my belief that extremists are simply incredibly stupid people, wherever they are, and whatever they believe in.

[Cybran]

The below is a cut and paste from a very interesting article on reverse-racism, as I'm beginning to see some people claim that whites are being targetted yadda yadda yadda:

Replace the \\ with // to make the link work:

http:\\racism-education.tumblr.com/post/20468906876/why-reverse-racism-doesnt-exist

Why Reverse Racism Doesn’t Exist

Let’s start out simple with this post.

Haven’t we all heard it before?

-“I got bullied in school for being white. You can’t tell me that’s not racist!” No, this is called you being picked on by a mean child.

-“Someone called me cracker!” This is someone calling you by your privilege.

-“People can be racist against white people too.”

No, they cannot. There is an inherent logical fallacy in your argument that will never make it true. However, white people can be discrimated against. Discrimination is different from racism.

Let’s start from the beginning. Your first step is to accept that “a hatred or intolerance of another race” is not the definition of racism. The dictionary is wrong. Get over it.

Racism is when intolerance in government laws, attitudes and ideals of a society are ingrained in a culture to the point where patterns of discrimination towards a certain race are institutionalized as normal. If you keep this in mind, you’ll understand that reverse racism doesn’t- and can’t- exist.

There is another saying “Racism (or sexism) = prejudice + power. POC (people of color) can be prejudiced against white people. But they can never have power, i.e. a whole system of structured support that backs them. White people often don’t understand how much power they have. Just ONE white person has more power to do actual harm to a black person than one hundred black people do to that white person. A white person can KILL a black person without any consequences, while if the situation was reversed you can bet the killer wouldn’t see the outside of a prison cell for a long, long time.

When white people complain about reverse racism, they are not complaining about losing their RIGHTS. What they are complaining about is losing their PRIVILEGE.

White people can never call someone else racist against them because that ‘someone else’ does not have the power to OPPRESS them. The person has the power to be mean.To hurt feelings.But not to OPPRESS.

THAT is the key difference. When a POC is mean to you, they are JUST being mean to you. Their entire society is not ACTIVELY discriminating against and oppressing you. Their society is not one where it is difficult for them to not be racist against you.

But yours is. And you need to accept that.

This post gave me fucking cancer. This is the most moronic agenda driven blabbering i have every seen. What power does a racist redneck have?

[Austilias]

Is that your opinion about Muhammad?

My thoughts go much further than that I assure you, but those are just a few of the facts about him.

[Deleted]

White people can never call someone else racist against them because that ‘someone else’ does not have the power to OPPRESS them. The person has the power to be mean.To hurt feelings.But not to OPPRESS.

So you say only white people can be racists?

That's racist.

[zorkuus]

pps: and on a theological level, I'm pretty sure both religions prohibit suicide, which just goes to collaborate my belief that extremists are simply incredibly stupid people, wherever they are, and whatever they believe in.

Well there's an argument doesn't make any sense. You don't have to kill yourself to be an extremist, there's lots of other ways to hate on people.

[Noomz]

Why would you hate someone for being a religious believer? Doesn't matter what religion... So why Muslim?
You may not be racist, but a great deal of intolerant. That's often rather worse. Intolerance causes at least as much harm as racism has.

For prescribing to a set of beliefs that you disagree with. Like how some Christians and Muslims have very offensive views on homosexuality and end up hating all homosexuals. Not sure if that's a good analogy.

[Deleted]

I'm racist. I hate Humans, Gnomes, Draenei, Night Elves, Worgen & Dwarves.

For the Horde.

[Noomz]

Yeah so what do you do about those mad catholics that think burning books brings them closer to god? They aren't as mad as the extremist Muslims who think blowing themselves up will get them some kind of salvation?

In my book both are mad, but that is no reason to classify all catholics or all muslims as bad, which is what being racist is.

ps: and on a theological level, I'm pretty sure both religions prohibit suicide, which just goes to collaborate my belief that extremists are simply incredibly stupid people, wherever they are, and whatever they believe in.

I have a lot of colorful opinions about those as well, I assure you :P

Ofcourse not. That's why I clarified that there are many good and many bad. It's a grey scale, not black and white.

And yes, both Christianity and Islam prohibit suicide to my knowledge. Though it's much more clearly stated in Christianity than it is in Islam. The latter lends itself much more to interpretation. Though killing other muslims is a crime, that's not that much of an interpretation.

But yes, you're correct. Religious extremism is rife in regions that have very low or no education at all and little to no infrastructure or law. As you get more education, as government gets stronger and can enforce national laws and infrastructure allows it, you get much less extremism and conflicts.

I think humor is a great way to disarm the taboo about racism, but not everyone has enough of a sense of humor to make jokes on their own behalf.

[Zanno]

I have no problem with Arabs and I hate Muslims. What does this make me?

Just to clarify,

Muslim is a religion, not a race. Arab is a race, not a religion.

[Wildtree]

My thoughts go much further than that I assure you, but those are just a few of the facts about him.

Hey, I would have taken a yes for an answer.... But I have a little problem with the word facts. For the same reason I have a problem with the term when someone refers to the Bible and it's truthfulness... Even tho Muhammad was born a lot later than Jesus was supposedly born. The accuracy of the accounts are highly contested. Because for Islam counts the same. The writings are all from times after the key persons demise..
In his case there's contradiction after contradiction. To evaluate is a tricky thing. What is neutral, what is tainted by jewish and christian fanatics?
We can't get into that now, since religion is a No-Go on this forums, and although related to racism at it's roots, it isn't the topic.
I'm not a Muslim.. I'm just careful with judgement when there's no bullet proof evidence other than written anecdotes..

[Austilias]

I'm just careful with judgement when there's no bullet proof evidence other than written anecdotes..

You are correct about the nature of the facts and how much merit they may or may not have. What matters however, is what people believe to be the facts. I have yet to meet any Muslim who did not regard Mohammad to be the 'perfect man', nor have I met any who repudiated the claims that he was both a warmonger and consummated his most notable marriage with a child.

EDIT: Discussion of religion isn't really allowed however, so I stop there.

[Wildtree]

For prescribing to a set of beliefs that you disagree with. Like how some Christians and Muslims have very offensive views on homosexuality and end up hating all homosexuals. Not sure if that's a good analogy.

Good enough...... yet I see it as intolerance, not necessarily as racism.

Example.... A Christian Extremist may have zero problem with some random person who happens to be black of color, be from a random African Nation, and the person's social status is also irrelevant to that Christian. And the moment he learns that said African is gay he hates him...
It's intolerance in it's purest form.

Just like I know for a fact that many Germans have a problem with Turks, and people from countries behind the former iron curtain, to come to Germany and live there now. That is incredibly ignorant. That isn't racist. Why is it not? Because they don't hate them... They are perfectly fine with them, as long as they stay where they belong to, or if they only visit as tourists. They hate them to stay in Germany, because they believe that the foreigner interferes with their own lives.
Intolerance in it's purest form here too.
In case of Turks it actually pisses me off to a great deal. Because those above all others helped the most to bring the country back out of the ashes and rubble it's been in after the War. They were good enough to help us, and now they're suddenly not welcome anymore?
Only intolerant assholes can think like that. And half those assholes go to Turkey on vacation to get cheap hashish, a nice bath, and hot chicks.. hypocrite morons.. Not racists.