Am I racist?

[lopk]

If it's racist then everyone is racist.

Okay, mostly everyone is racist.

I hardly believe that most of ya'lls wouldn't look twice seeing a white guy and a black girl together.

Edit: Then again, it may just be my middle-upper class, white, bedroom-community town I live in.

[Ragedaug]

Xenophobia:  an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.
Bigotry: stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own.
Racism: a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

The term "Racism" has evolved due to common misuse to include "hatred of another race", however that not the origin of the term. Hatred of another race was originally termed Xenophobia, however that had to be altered as well, as people use the word when referencing a person of one ethic background hating a person of another ethnic background who might be a neighbor, meaning they are neither foreign or strange. And while Bigotry is often manifest in hatred, the term doesn't imply hatred in and of itself.

Personally, I don't understand why we need buzz words. Why can't we just call a person who hates their neighbor based on the color of their skin "Hateful". Now after that, you might further analyze the hatred and find the root of the hatred can be caused by any 3 buzzwords above, and there is area where each of the 3 overlap. I guess my point is throwing out a buzzword without understanding the person can be harmful as well.


@the OP: Are you a racist? As some (but unfortunately very few) may have pointed out, only you can know that. It will boil down to "why" you have a problem with mixed couples. It could be OCD, as has been mentioned, however there could also be racist, bigoted, or xenophobic motives behind it. And while I often enjoy parsing a word/phrase when I get the opportunity, I try to keep my eye on the bigger picture which is whatever of the three buzz words it may fall under, they can all be equally dangerous and harmful.

In any case, no one in this thread can give you an accurate answer to your question. You'll either need some alone time for deep honest internal contemplation or find a really good and honest therapist or psychologist.

[jbombard]

If it's racist then everyone is racist.

Okay, mostly everyone is racist.

I hardly believe that most of ya'lls wouldn't look twice seeing a white guy and a black girl together.

Edit: Then again, it may just be my middle-upper class, white, bedroom-community town I live in.

The only reason I would look twice is if the girl was really hot.

[Siraeyou]

Well the OP of the thread wasn't talking about his preferences in his own relationships, he was talking about being bothered by seeing couples of different races.

And the person I quoted defined racism as, "Racism is simply the belief that one ethnicity is superior to other ethnicities, or the belief that a particular ethnic group is inferior to others."

By that definition, segregation, or people who believe each race should stick to its own kind, is not racist. Seems like a pretty shitty definition to me.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/racism

Kinda tough to argue with the oxford definition of the word, which is what I am going with, leaving out my emotional opinion on the matter.

Now I could go into detail what my stance is on the idea of segregation, whether it is inherently racist or not and why I believe in my opinion but this thread is not the place for that but I can agree that many cases of segregation occurred because of racist judgments and movements in the past and sadly in some cases the present.

[Travis B]

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/racism

Kinda tough to argue with the oxford definition of the word, which is what I am going with, leaving out my emotional opinion on the matter.

Please tell me you didn't seriously just link a dictionary definition for that. Because two sentences can really encompass a concept like racism, right?

[jbombard]

Please tell me you didn't seriously just link a dictionary definition for that. Because two sentences can really encompass a concept like racism, right?

So everybody should accept your definition instead?

[Ragedaug]

Well the OP of the thread wasn't talking about his preferences in his own relationships, he was talking about being bothered by seeing couples of different races.

And the person I quoted defined racism as, "Racism is simply the belief that one ethnicity is superior to other ethnicities, or the belief that a particular ethnic group is inferior to others."

By that definition, segregation, or people who believe each race should stick to its own kind, is not racist. Seems like a pretty shitty definition to me.

It only seems like a bad definition, because the word has been demonized. Segregating people into sub groups is not, by definition, racist. Though the reason that they are segregated may be (though there can be other reasons that caused the segregation)

I'm also going to make a bold statement that say the part of the underlying reason why all make a big deal about the Olympics every 4 years has to do with the same principals of racism.

[Raintola]

Using that word doesn't make you one of the cool kids, and if you were to say that in front of the wrong person I can only pray for a swift recovery.

Using it also doesn't make you a bad person either. It only means something if you make it mean something. All it is is the English bastardization for "negro."

[jbombard]

It only seems like a bad definition, because the word has been demonized. Segregating people into sub groups is not, by definition, racist. Though the reason that they are segregated may be (though there can be other reasons that caused the segregation)

I'm also going to make a bold statement that say the part of the underlying reason why all make a big deal about the Olympics every 4 years has to do with the same principals of racism.

Nationalism is not the same as Racism.

[Travis B]

So everybody should accept your definition instead?

Where did I present my definition of racism? I didn't.

The person I originally quoted claimed that many people in this thread have no idea what racism means, and then presented his definition as fact. So why don't you get off my back?

[Mongo42]

Psychology has debated Nature vs Nurture for years. Are your preferences learned or are they genetic? The general consensus is that it's a mix of the two. Just as "birds of a feather flock together", in that a given species will gravitate towards their own kind, so too humans naturally mingle more with their own "race". As enlightened as people want to think they are, the human mind / brain is just as affected by genetics. The amusing point to it all is that so many white people are so concerned about seeming racist towards blacks in general. I assure you that the majority of blacks are not so concerned about white people being accepted amongst them. I suggest many of you seek to express your self proclaimed moral superiority on some more credible topic.

[Siraeyou]

Please tell me you didn't seriously just link a dictionary definition for that. Because two sentences can really encompass a concept like racism, right?

Like it or not that is the raw definition of the word and what it means at the core, which is all I claimed for what the word means at its base and anything else people add to it is human emotion and interpretation of "Oh but I think this" in which case words quickly begin to lose their root identity and why so many words are abused and thrown about so easily in the English language. But again I am leaving my personal emotional opinion out of this which is why I can sit here and tell you this is what the word means opinions while you are rejecting this fact because you can't separate your own personal opinion from the matter. But I repeat this again this thread isn't meant to be such a discussion so perhaps we can just drop it here and agree to disagree because at this point further discussion of this specifically brings the OP no closer to solving his social dilemma.

[Travis B]

Like it or not that is the raw definition of the word and what it means at the core, which is all I claimed for what the word means at its base and anything else people add to it is human emotion and interpretation of "Oh but I think this" in which case words quickly begin to lose their root identity and why so many words are abused and thrown about so easily in the English language. But again I am leaving my personal emotional opinion out of this which is why I can sit here and tell you this is what the word means opinions while you are rejecting this fact because you can't separate your own personal opinion from the matter. But I repeat this again this thread isn't meant to be such a discussion so perhaps we can just drop it here and agree to disagree because at this point further discussion of this specifically brings the OP no closer to solving his social dilemma.

Well if you truly believe a couple sentences from the people who write definitions for Oxford Dictionary can really cover all the different nuances of racism, then there is no sense in trying to debate with you. So I agree, let's drop it.

[Chingylol]

Yes it's racist.

[Nos]

You claim it to be how the brain works - i say its culture.

Late response is late.

I agree that it's culture only in the sense the ethnic groups still seem to be most attracted to members of their own groups. Typically. This means there are fewer mixed couples. That means sense there are fewer mixed couples in his culture, he sees fewer of them. I don't think it's that his culture raised him to believe it's wrong or dirty. I believe that it's just his mind recognized patterns. He has become accustomed to one thing. Now that he sees things that break that pattern, it's visually off-key for him.

[Lamoot]

He's not doing any kind of judgement at all? well, at least he didn't write so...

Seriously people, stop seeing crap where there's nothing

How is saying he'd rather see whites with whites and blacks with blacks not judging them? Please explain.