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What isn't racist?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Secrets5, Jan 19, 2016.

  1. Secrets5

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    Hello,

    So it's racist to say X race is ugly, but it's also racist to say all races are beautiful. So what isn't racist?

    I'm really confused.

    Thank-you.
     
    #1 Secrets5, Jan 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2016
  2. AlamoCity

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    Let's say you don't eat carrots, chicken, fish, beef, rice, bread, tomatoes, apples, and anything citrus. You're a picky eater. Let's say you eat everything. You're a picky eater.

    Does that make sense?

    I guess I'm also confused by the way the question is asked.
     
  3. Euler

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    Well, now-a-days whether something is racist or not does not actually depend on what is said but who said it. If you are white then pretty much anything you say could be racist.

    My personal definition definition of racism is the classical definition of it:
    Racism is a belief that some ethnic groups are somehow superior AND because of that superiority the members of the superior group have rights and privileges that the inferior groups do not have.
     
  4. Secrets5

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    So basically I should just shut up and not talk again?
     
  5. Aeolia

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    Words aren't racists, their meaning are.

    How not to be racist:
    Step One: Don't give a fuck about races except for physical characteristics.
    Step Two: Repeat Step One.


    Saying "every race is beautiful" isn't racist, just stupid. Not everyone is beautiful, nor need to be.
     
  6. LakanLunti

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    The best way for you not to be called racist is to avoid talking to super sensitive people... Also know your limitations :slight_smile:
     
  7. Euler

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    I'm afraid it's not that simple. In today's PC madness whites are considered racist until proven innocent. Anything you say, not say, the way you look or don't look, where you go or don't go could be racist. It seems that the only way for us whites to be 100% not racist is to cease to exist. Personally I have solved this problem by not giving a s*it if someone calls me racist. More than half of my FB friends are non-whites and most of my closest friends are non-whites too. I don't need reassurance that I'm not racist or I don't fear the racist card from some random SJW who doesn't even know me.
     
  8. gravechild

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    I see where this is going, and just can't.

    Gen, Aussie, or someone else with more patience, if you're willing...
     
  9. Invidia

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    *is exhausted by the thought* I throw in the towel. Or no, I can produce one sentence. That which does not discriminate against a certain ethnic group based on an ethnic-based structural advantage, is not racist; the rest is.
     
    #9 Invidia, Jan 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2016
  10. Kinky

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    I only wonder who claimed 'all races are beautiful' racist in the first place and why?
     
  11. kem

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    Why do you even have a preference like that? Where did it come from? Have you ever tried to analyse it – I mean, it really makes very little sense... Unless, of course, you're making assumptions about a whole group of people based solely on the colour of their skin, which is kind of racist, at the very least discriminating.
    I'm not implying that you're intentionally discriminating against minorities. A lot of these ideas and tendencies are culturally ingrained.
    Buuuut I'm not really an authority on the subject, I'm just another European white-ish guy whitesplaining.
    While I don't agree with her on everything, Kat Blaque's Youtube channel has A LOT of great material about racism, transphobia and other "social justice" issues. I also really like chescaleigh's videos on those topics. Just check some of their videos out!
     
    #11 kem, Jan 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2016
  12. imnotreallysure

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    Racist: Black people look like monkeys.
    Not racist: Asian men tend to be shorter than white men.

    Saying a certain race is ugly is undeniably racist. Saying that you find certain races more attractive isn't, at least, not in my opinion.

    Personally speaking, certain people are a one-track pony when it comes to racism and can't seem to talk about anything not relating to racism, and that gets a little boring after a while. It's good to bring attention to important issues, but you don't need to talk about it constantly. Developing a well-rounded personality is a good thing too.
     
    #12 imnotreallysure, Jan 19, 2016
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  13. gibson234

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    Words like "racism" and "mysinogist" are good at automatically "winning" arguments. However they are just ad-hominems, they do nothing to refute the arguments themselves. Even if the person is racist, you still have to refute what they are saying, not just character assassinate them.
     
  14. Kinky

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    It's kinda strange to say "X race is ugly" racist while "Y race is more attractive" isn't. With the latter you imply other races are less attractive. Then it shouldn't be racist to say certain races are uglier. "Uglier" is just the non-PC version of "less attractive". Or maybe "ugly" is not the opposite of "attractive"?
    #confusemyself
     
  15. Aussie792

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    The context in which "all races are beautiful" is construed to be offensive is rather understandable. There was a social media campaign (if you can call it that) celebrating black beauty to compensate for negative depictions of black people, particularly black women. It was a movement that grew organically, designed to give black social media users a chance to shine and celebrate the beauty often implicitly denied to exist in their ethnicities.

    As a response to that, too many people decided that this would be the most appropriate moment to derail that programme of positivity by commenting that "all races are beautiful". It was bordering on aggressive and it made those who were very innocently celebrating black beauty seem passive-aggressive. A new, negative and rather misleading light was thrown over the media campaign: if black people are just beautiful as anyone else, why do they only celebrate themselves?

    Once you contextualise it, it ceases to be contradictory. Of course no race is inherently ugly. No group of people is objectively more attractive than others. But to point that out precisely at that moment directly in response to a campaign benignly designed to celebrate blackness did seem inappropriate to a lot of people. Not only was the campaign about the idea that everyone is beautiful (to redress a lack of attention on black people's beauty, you have to refocus attention), but many of those commenting negatively seemed to only bother about the issue when black people were celebrating their beauty. To many people it seemed racist.

    Racism is not the only problem in the world and its solution would surely not make everybody's life perfect, but it is pervasive and seeing racism in a lot of places is not surprising. Of course people go too far; they see racism where it might be negligible or overemphasise race in an issue where there are many factors at play. But acknowledging that there's more to racism than the Klu Klux Klan and the Bosnian Genocide goes a long way to ensuring better racial integration. And just listening to complaints you may disagree with goes a long way in developing mutual respect - and may very well shape a more nuanced worldview in all people involved.
     
    #15 Aussie792, Jan 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2016
  16. imnotreallysure

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    There is a difference. Saying you find a certain race more attractive doesn't imply that other races are ugly. Someone might find Asian men or women more attractive, but that doesn't imply that the person in question finds white or black men/women ugly or unattractive.
     
  17. AtheistWorld

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    Wow, I didn't think this place could be more blatantly racist. The idea that a member would even have to ask if calling an entire race 'ugly' is racist is just mind-boggling.

    As for what's not racist...well not basing attraction on the white supremacist media's notions of what is and isn't attractive because it indoctrinates non-whites into hating themselves, idealizing white features, and it teaches whites to magnify their perception of themselves.
     
    #17 AtheistWorld, Jan 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2016
  18. rudysteiner

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    Couldn't this classed as racist?

    I'm not really assed about it either way, but from the stuff I've seen, physical characteristics are almost always the root of the argument, unless it's based on racial stereotypes.
     
  19. Tritri

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    I do agree that there are double standards about what is considered racist, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that anything a white person says could be labeled racist or that white people are racist until proven innocent.
     
  20. Euler

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    In my opinion the way word racism is used in today's world is way too broad. It include such extremes as KKK and my grandma who finds some races generally "ugly". However, she has not discriminated against anyone and does not advocate discrimination.

    Do you really think it is a good idea to blend two persons who are so much far apart under one umbrella category? Calling both KKK and my grandma racists greatly dilute the racism of KKK and greatly exaggerate the "racism" of my grandma. This is what has happened in my country and around the world. People are being called racist for the most obscure of reasons for so long that the entire word has been diluted to point that smart educated people are now calling themselves racist here as a political statement against PC gone mad.

    I cannot think about a good word to describe those who don't like the looks of some races but still oppose discrimination based on race or physical characteristics. However, it is clear that it makes no sense to lump these people with actual racists.