i have a dream 2.0: should we just admit we're all racist?

ok this is kinda long and crazy and you're going to call me nuts. but hear me out

lately, with all the donald sterling hoopla, i keep reading so many articles from mostly black people but also white people that white people are ALL racist no. matter. what. they even say that they don't mind the fact that they're racist as much as the fact that they hide or deny it. many people of colour are truly convinced that all white people are unbendingly racist.

i as a white person used to feel very uncomfortable reading such articles, thinking "effing HELL I'M NOT RACIST"!!! but not anymore. i have recently come to terms with the fact that i am indeed racist. low level racist, but racist. well actually my individual situation is a little different but more on that later.

i believe that everyone, white black asian mixed, is racist to some degree, even people in interracial relationships, people with biracial children (but towards other people, not towards their own children, but who knows) and people who are self proclaimed "anti-racists". if i remember correctly, science has also shown that we're all racist. some studies or whatever. but i don't need science to know that we're all racist. i just KNOW it. call it intuition if you want to.

racism is relative, let us say it can be expressed as a numerical value from 1-10, NEVER 0, always at least 1, and some are more frank about it than others and express it in extreme ways (right wingers. supremacists, extremists, etc.) = racism level 6-10. but you also have the sterlings who in their private sphere admit that they don't like black people (remember that the guy was allegedly with this mexican/black woman) = racism level 3-5. and yes even people who are convinced that they are not racist and don't even think about racism, are racist as well but on a very low level that they don't notice = racism level 1-2. i am of the latter category.

the human is a tribal animal, always has been and will be, and subconsciously, no matter how much we deny it, we don’t like people of a different race or religion or ethnicity or class. you might now at this point say with 100% conviction "hey man, i truly believe i'm not racist", but i truly believe that at some very deep level, you are racist. racism is really just one form of tribalism. we have always been that way.

and here's a crazy idea. what's the big deal with this deeply embedded racism then? there's nothing we can do about it. why are we lying to each other so much? do we really need all this everlasting tension between us? why don't we all just be frank with each other?

i'm not saying let's now openly call each other n*gger and cr*cker and ch*nk and go at each other throats. or that we should now ignore hate crimes. not at all! racism in everyday life NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH. what i am saying is, why don't we all live our lives EXACTLY as we do now, but with the KNOWLEDGE that we are all racist? no more sneakiness and denialism. that's it.

hey there's a word, denialism. some people deny global warming and we make a big deal out of it. but i believe there is an even bigger denialism going on. racism denialism. don't confuse this with what white supremacists often refer to as 'race denialism'. no, i am saying racism denialism.

being racist...it’s not something we can ever eliminate, however we deal with it in everyday civil society by simply living with each other instead of fighting against each other. it's all a facade really. we tolerate each other, we put up with each other. the thing is, for most of us, consciously and publicly and hell even privately in our own homes we don’t express racism because it’s not all that is on our minds (with the exception of most right wingers, supremacists, nationalists, and other such extremists) and in everyday life we have to get along in a public and professional manner to get stuff done and to survive. racism is always there subconsciously it’s just not the biggest problem in the world.

now, i too won't lie to myself. i too admit that even though i’m white i have this very very low level but undeniable racism/tribalism/dislike towards black AND white AND asian AND mixed people but maybe i’m just a borderline misanthrope. i'm sorry, i see all humans as the same beings and i just don't think we're all that. our fancy science and technology doesn't mean we're some super awesome lifeform. there's nothing inherently miraculous about technology, technology is simply a means to an end. that's all it is. we still can't achieve basic peace and harmony and satisfaction, we're never content, which i admit is hard with 7+ billion people worldwide but hell numbers don't matter, we hated each other back when we were all living in tribes. white tribes killed each other mercilessly. same with black and asian tribes. look at the ukraine situation right now. think about it. not a day goes by that there isn't a conflict, a battle, a war, a whatever somewhere in the world.

but i do interact with people of all races. of course i do. i'm not saying to all you white or non-white people that i hate you. not at all. i talk to you, i hug you, i'll save you from drowning. it's very hard for me to explain this. i simply admit that i am racist at some level, subconsciously.

i truly believe that the sooner we make that worldwide shift in our thinking, the sooner we all openly admit we’re all racist, the better. so many problems would be solved and so much tension would just disappear. racism itself won't. i know i'll still be fighting and condemning racism and bigotry everyday. we can still work together and even be in an interracial relationship together, but there would be no more (conscious or subconscious) facade. we will understand each other much better now. we are much more open with each other. imagine two friends, one white and one black, sitting and talking with each other. they both understand that they are racist and yet they still talk and hang out and are best friends, just like any other best friends, and that is the beauty of their particular friendship. the only difference with them is that they don't deny being racist.

this is pretty radical and it's obviously not going to happen anytime soon but i would like to read what you think about blacks, whites, asians, mixed and misanthropes all admitting that we're all racist but fine, we'll live among each other and we'll work together, exactly like we do now but with the knowledge that we are all racist and that racism shouldn't be the big be all and end all ultimate topic in the world anymore.

this in a nutshell is my "dream" if you will: i have a dream 2.0.

I'm not racist.

a reply to: MeteoraXV

My dream is the terms "race" & "white" be precisely defined. After so-called racists drop from exhaustion trying to agree on the actual definition of the words, then maybe we can seek to understand what is really happening. --and get some more rational words to use.

I believe that re-framing the dialog, as you have done (in long format) is the path to understanding ourselves.

a reply to: Capitalsource

Neither am I. However, I will agree to a certain point with the OP.

I think everyone has been, on at least some level, guilty of committing at least one racist action. Whether that is using a racial slur, or just a negative thought when you see a stereotypical person of any race (i.e an african american male with pants sagging throwing gang signs).

On that level I think we are all partially racist, if only for the fact that the ideas of racism are constant in today's society, and those ideas influence everyone even if only at a subconscious level.

Theres no such thing as "Race" just skin pigment.

Everyone in modern society has been exposed to propaganda and conditioning about differences between ethnicity and culture around the world. Thats by design.

We are supposed to be racist, class conscious, religious persecutors, whatever. Thats the programming. All of us have some element of that buried within us. Some embellish, some go along and some resist it best they can. As far as the media main stream they will always heighten the differences between us and them to have a ready supply of enemies to defeat when we are called to.

Rally around the flag boys! The Infidel, heathen, subhuman, barbarian, extremists are at the gate!

that pretty much sums it up for me

a reply to: MeteoraXV

There is only one race: Homo Sapiens Sapiens so no, I don't dislike my race.

I may dislike some individuals but they don't fit one physical category.

I don't hate people because of their culture or skin color ok!

I hate everybody who exists beyond myself, as you are all a threat to my existence!

It is merely a self defense stance!

When people are no longer naturally existing weapons ... then I may change my point of view!

Until then ... we are all a danger to each other!

a reply to: MeteoraXV


I am not worried about the people who admit they are racist,I am worried about the people pretending they aren't.
At least the ones who admit it,admit they have a problem and can be helped....the ones who don't admit it are living in a dream world that doesn't exist.

We have all made a racist slur,whether it be a bad driver you think might be Chinese or about a Jewish person you know that might be cheap (like most of us)
I worry most about the ones who say they aren't racist...we all are in one way,shape or form and open dialogue is the key to killing it.

The media keeps perpetuating things with political correctness....that is issue number 1.

Rev Sharpton and Jesse Jackson come to mind,if i said they might be racist,I just might hate black people for saying it....pure garbage on tv and in society today....not enough balls and too much political correctness.

a reply to: MeteoraXV

I am and im not afraid to say it. I also have some personal events that have occured that will forever define my outlook on several different ethnicities, specifically the ones that have shot at me, attempted to burglarize my house, and decided i'd be a good canidate for a good ol fashioned 1-on-5 beating. Nothing will ever change my opinions either because the majority of said races play into their steryeotype non stop with the exemption of a few individuals. I also believe there are # bags of every race that deserve every epihtet thrown at them specifically when they start riots, have a horrid tv show on TLC, jump accross a border and rape, or cause accidents because they were racing with stupid looking cars that sound like wead eaters. To flat out deny you're racist, even a little, is a lie you keep telling yourself. You meaning every human on this planet past the age of 10.

a reply to: DrumsRfun

I'm worried about people that declare that everybody must be racist and that those that declare they aren't are lying.

I'm not racist. In fact, I think that the cultural and racial diversity that all the peoples of the earth have to offer can be of tremendous value both biologically and culturally. Homogeneity sucks.

a reply to: DrumsRfun
yes the sooner we accept it the better. now, political correctness obviously definitely has its place, especially in civil and professional discourse but sometimes it is clearly a facade. and the way the media many times pervert political correctness by extending it to the most ridiculous situations ("bossy", "brownbag", hey maybe in a few weeks from now it's gonna be "blackmail" = black male) is absurd.

what i am calling for is not that we all start being openly racist to each other. it's that we don't deny that we are racist, in varying degrees, and that we must normalize and be comfortable with this highly suppressed subconscious emotion. that's all. it doesn't need to be expressed but it doesn't need to be suppressed or denied either. once we do this, our emotions are all out in the open and we have a better understanding of each other and racial tension will massively decrease. i have done this and i no longer feel the discomfort i once felt reading through blogs and forums and articles by black people about racist whites and white privilege and such and such. i simply didn't want to believe it. but now that i know that everyone is racist, my outlook on people on the world and on life in general has changed and i am so much more relaxed and comfortable. i feel no racial tension or discomfort anymore.

a reply to: WhiteAlice

I am not politically correct but the jerk offs who are,they are just like us and have said racial slurs before...its human nature to do so.
I have and yet I have no problems with any person but can admit openly to doing so...thats my issue,people being dishonest.

Why hate people for skin color,there are many more valid reasons to dislike people....skin color and nationality is a weak excuse.
Driving 20 in a 50 zone is,walking and texting like a zombie is,being that jerk pissing everyone off at a sporting event is....letting your dog crap on my lawn without picking it up is.
Skin color and nationality is just a weak ass excuse.

Yes....we have all made a racial slur at one time or another,see where the political correctness comes into it?

I am not saying lets be openly racist...I am saying lets quit acting like children who can't talk about the real issues without getting OFFENDED like a bunch of school children.
Dialogue is key but we will never really be allowed to talk openly about it if people keep ACTING offended by real talk.
Being offended is how we are supposed to act in a sea of idiocy.

The majority of ATSers are not racist.

They just hate back people.

Maybe we should stop call people racists and start calling them tribalists. Or maybe we should find a new words for it as it will never stop anyway. Where ever there has been groups of people they have always been against other groups of people.. Native americans didn´t get well along with other either..
Besides the word racist comes from russian word racistov.. should we now change it to something new like putinist.

the word racists is overused

That's a cheap shot...

I find ATS to be the opposite.

But, thanks for calling all of us that.

You feel superior now?

Everyone has prejudices, it's only natural.

We prejudice food, ideas, colors, people, fashion...we can't do nothing about what's going on in our heads to identify the world around us...

But that doesn't mean we should act upon those prejudices if they are negative.

To notice that we have racist thoughts but never acting negatively is kinda like thinking about sin yet not committing it.
So, that means that we can't all be racist...at least that's the way I see it.

Racism can be perceived very differently from one person to the next.

Personally, I can easily laugh at racist jokes, even towards my own race.
It's not the race part that's funny it's the generalization because frankly, generalization can bring up jokes from about any stereotypes out there. Name it, Police jokes, Douchebags, Blondes etc.

However, some people just can't take those types of jokes and would probably think I'm evil or something.
Well, sad for them! :p

There is a standard we can apply here ... it is called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

And Article 1 complete defines what it is to be human ...

Article 1.
•All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood

Being endowed with reason and having a conscience means that they are perfect beings and NEVER, unless under the affect of tyranny and oppression, hurt another being with words or actions!

Hence it is IMPOSSIBLE for 'Human beings' to be racist at all!

ONLY Monsters can be racist!

You can lose your humanity and it is nearly impossible to get back!

So if everyone is racist then we MUST all be monsters and therefor holding fast to a failed moral/justice/social system, based on humans, would be pointless.

a reply to: MeteoraXV

Don't know about racist, but everyone I have ever met is prejudiced in some way or another. I have met people from many different countries and they all seem to be racist on one level or another.