It's not racism, it's Peniaphobia and Scelerophobia

And also the essence of your OP is the main source of most problems; the problem with crime and poverty, and the existence of crime and poverty.

a reply to: Skyfloating

I refuse to have sexual intercourse with giant spiders.

I would certainly hope not.

Most racism to me seems to come from pre conceived ideology of others. When a young racist grows up all he/she knows of the subject is what they are usually told from those around them and what they see around them. It is usually when they finally get out from under that pre conceived ideology they seem to see that what they were shown growing up is not how the world really is.

The sad thing is there will always be some form of racism no matter what world we live on, be it here on Earth or another planet, or even another galaxy some form will always exist.

a reply to: ImaFungi

The thing is that racism in the truest sense, the dictionary sense, exists independent of the OP's point. All one needs for true racism is the belief that one's race is superior, and that belief can exist independent of the dominant socio-economic status of the ethnicity in question.

One needs only look into the beliefs that Louis Farrakhan and his followers subscribe to in order to realize this.

a reply to: Stormdancer777


But that's exactly what I'm saying. For the middle and upper class, it IS a phobia of poverty and crime more than a hatred of skin color. But for those whites who live with poverty and crime everyday and still hate on blacks and Hispanics - it can't be a phobia of poverty and crime - it's something else entirely. I don't think it's true white supremacy. I think it's just scrambling to be above someone else on the totem pole.

a reply to: kaylaluv

Probably. But you see this in the schoolyard every day. When kids are down, they find someone to pick on so they feel better about themselves. The kid at the very bottom of the pecking order also finds someone to pick on ... or something. He or she has to have an outlet or some reason to find a feeling of self worth somewhere.

When I spent an entire year in school in the social gutter, to my great shame, it was my younger sister who bore the brunt. That year still affects my family to this day.

From my personal experience racism is alive and well. Here in the "land of enchantment" with 50% Hispanic in the majority, there is widespread resentment of gringos and the resentment from Native Americans, also a large percentage of the general population is very apparent. There are very few Blacks or Orientals but being people of color they are assimilated much easier than gringos. It's still largely a tribal cultural split along skin color and language.

We attempt to get along but there is an undercurrent of racism that can't be denied. Still we generally get along very well. intermarriage between gringos and Hispanics is very common but very rare between NA and whites; and business also breaks down the racial barriers. Money is King!!!

The ability of gringos to speak Spanish breaks down at least one cultural barrier.

por favor pase los chichirones....

But even with the racial tension, New Mexico is a paradise in my opinion and Live and let Live is the operating principal and the tension between races actually adds a little cultural spice that keeps us aware and appreciative of our differences.

Paz y amor, amigos

a reply to: ketsuko

My mom and I were just reminiscing about my first experience with racism. I was in the second grade, and there was only one black child in my class. Now, we white kids were no better off economically than she was, but many kids said a lot of bad things about her - calling her the "n" word and so on. But I grew up in the South, where prejudice against blacks has a long, sordid history. Those white kids only knew how to bash her because their parents taught them. My parents never said anything about blacks, so I was clueless as to why they were saying such things.

So was what the kids said true racism? Probably not at that point. It was just kids finding someone to bully, as kids tend to do - and imitating their parents.

Racism itself is probably mostly about cultural than racial differences.

If a certain group appears to have certain traits or behaviours that do not sit well with another's culture, that is a natural part of human behaviour.

If for example a particular group were known for their affiliation to criminal gang activity, would you employ them? It would be unwise to.

Similarly, if a certain group are known for their beliefs and cultural practices, such as misogyny or violence towards women, would you want them to marry your daughter? It would be unwise to.

Calling something racism when it is just human behaviour has caused a lot of disruption in the world. ''Your culture is distasteful to ours'' is a more apt way of describing many accusations of racism.

If some are set in their cultural and religious ways and those ways aren't tolerant of other cultures and that is how they intend on being then they should stay in the countries of their culture.

It should also be noted that racism isn't just a 'white guy' thing, I have heard some black girls shouting at another black girl for ''acting white, thinks she's white'' and Asian men calling white women ''whores'' because they aren't wearing veils and work and drive etc.

Global Earth has to rethink it's ways. Trade is one thing but mixing clashing cultures is another, like oil and water, sometimes mixing it up isn't good for either groups. The current global mixture is volatile and unless some global standard is set and adhered to, which is unlikely due to some group's insistence on their beliefs and culture as ''the only way'', or unless all those groups go back to source ie. where their cultural origins are, it would always be so.

People aren't all the same and cultures aren't all the same. Tens of thousands of years of development has gone into play in shaping the genetics and cultures of the various continents. There are genetic variations within the continents, which explains how some races sweat less, tolerance to alcohol, tolerance to milk, susceptibility or immunity to certain diseases etc that are mutations within the DNA, these are important and should be recognised and used constructively. Scientific and cultural development should be constructively aware of such things, denial is just sticking heads in the sand. It isn't a case of saying some are less equal than others, it is recognition of factors and truths that should be recognised for moving forward constructively.

Sometimes progress has to be reconsidered. The current oil and water chaos isn't working, just like the current political and banking set up, it should all be reconsidered. Things have become unnecessarily complex in everyday lives, from overwork to reliance on money to the lack of community, it all requires rethinking and reassessing if there is to be any sort of global harmony.

www.nytimes.com...

a reply to: Skyfloating
I disagree with this entire post. Most of the racists I've met have had little to no contact with the people they are racist against. They believe in the stereotype that (insert group) is (insert negative adjective) because of this. The racism precedes the generalization. And like your associate once they spend time and get to know whatever group and get their head out of the sand, they realize how group their prejudices were. Some of the most open-minded people I've met, as far as race is concerned, have been those that spent extended periods of time with other races. Often in and out of "high crime areas."

a reply to: olaru12

Really? I'm a whiter than white bread girl married to a NA man, but he was adopted which may have something to do with it.

a reply to: kaylaluv

My experience was quite different. We had only a handful of African-American kids in our hometown in central Kansas, and the one in high school was on our track team. Lychelle was one of us. I don't remember any of us doing anything that could be called any more racist than asking her about how her hair care differed from our own, and that was simply curiosity, not intended to be hurtful.

The most racist things I remember dealing with came from the only track team we competed against that was almost exclusively African-American. They asked Lychelle how we kept winning as a team if she was the only black girl on the squad (our track team went undefeated clear through state my junior year). And when getting ready to run her leg on the 4x400 our anchor leg was informed by theirs that she couldn't possibly be any good with those skinny white girl chicken legs, and Kaley proceeded to kick her butt on that leg. At the time, we took it all as trash talk which is what all good athletes do.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: ImaFungi

The thing is that racism in the truest sense, the dictionary sense, exists independent of the OP's point. All one needs for true racism is the belief that one's race is superior, and that belief can exist independent of the dominant socio-economic status of the ethnicity in question.

One needs only look into the beliefs that Louis Farrakhan and his followers subscribe to in order to realize this.

Yes but I can believe that Im a chicken fairy made of purple moonrocks that exist solely because of disco sauce, anyone can believe anything, and then act on their beliefs; what matters is what can be proven to be true, and even still if one proves that a race is superior or inferior, this says nothing as to how either race may respond or react or behave with one another or view one another.

originally posted by: ImaFungi

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: ImaFungi

The thing is that racism in the truest sense, the dictionary sense, exists independent of the OP's point. All one needs for true racism is the belief that one's race is superior, and that belief can exist independent of the dominant socio-economic status of the ethnicity in question.

One needs only look into the beliefs that Louis Farrakhan and his followers subscribe to in order to realize this.

Yes but I can believe that Im a chicken fairy made of purple moonrocks that exist solely because of disco sauce, anyone can believe anything, and then act on their beliefs; what matters is what can be proven to be true, and even still if one proves that a race is superior or inferior, this says nothing as to how either race may respond or react or behave with one another or view one another.

One's beliefs shape one's actions.

If you believe that you're a chicken fairy made of purple moonrocks then you will act on those beliefs, and it can be proven that you do. No one will dispute it that you cluck like a chicken. It doesn't matter if you are a rich or poor chicken or if there are other chickens in power. You still cluck like it and will behave like it with everyone else regardless of where they stand.

You need to divorce your belief that only a race in power can be racist from what true racism is.

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: ImaFungi

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: ImaFungi

The thing is that racism in the truest sense, the dictionary sense, exists independent of the OP's point. All one needs for true racism is the belief that one's race is superior, and that belief can exist independent of the dominant socio-economic status of the ethnicity in question.

One needs only look into the beliefs that Louis Farrakhan and his followers subscribe to in order to realize this.

Yes but I can believe that Im a chicken fairy made of purple moonrocks that exist solely because of disco sauce, anyone can believe anything, and then act on their beliefs; what matters is what can be proven to be true, and even still if one proves that a race is superior or inferior, this says nothing as to how either race may respond or react or behave with one another or view one another.

One's beliefs shape one's actions.

If you believe that you're a chicken fairy made of purple moonrocks then you will act on those beliefs, and it can be proven that you do. No one will dispute it that you cluck like a chicken. It doesn't matter if you are a rich or poor chicken or if there are other chickens in power. You still cluck like it and will behave like it with everyone else regardless of where they stand.

You need to divorce your belief that only a race in power can be racist from what true racism is.

You missed my point I think. My point was that anyone can believe anything...literally! So my point is, where is the truth? What is the right thing to believe in? Is a racist ever right? If not, then you say racism is always wrong, a racist is always wrong. Then it must be asked what is the proper justice for this wrongness?

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: ImaFungi

The thing is that racism in the truest sense, the dictionary sense, exists independent of the OP's point. All one needs for true racism is the belief that one's race is superior, and that belief can exist independent of the dominant socio-economic status of the ethnicity in question.

One needs only look into the beliefs that Louis Farrakhan and his followers subscribe to in order to realize this.

But what does "superior" mean? It means "more pure" and therefore "less prone to crime and poverty". If you look deeper, that's what you`ll find imo.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: kaylaluv

Probably. But you see this in the schoolyard every day. When kids are down, they find someone to pick on so they feel better about themselves. The kid at the very bottom of the pecking order also finds someone to pick on ... or something. He or she has to have an outlet or some reason to find a feeling of self worth somewhere.

When I spent an entire year in school in the social gutter, to my great shame, it was my younger sister who bore the brunt. That year still affects my family to this day.

....and one can value oneself without putting others down. It would seem that needing to put others down only comes about when I feel inferior or inadequate and need to lift myself up at the expense of others. At least thats been my personal experience. When I am feeling truly strong or free or whatever, there is no motivation to put others down.

originally posted by: olaru12


But even with the racial tension, New Mexico is a paradise in my opinion and Live and let Live is the operating principal and the tension between races actually adds a little cultural spice that keeps us aware and appreciative of our differences.

I like this attitude/mindset of seeing the tension as a spice rather than a poison.

originally posted by: acmpnsfal
a reply to: Skyfloating
I disagree with this entire post. Most of the racists I've met have had little to no contact with the people they are racist against. They believe in the stereotype that (insert group) is (insert negative adjective) because of this. The racism precedes the generalization. And like your associate once they spend time and get to know whatever group and get their head out of the sand, they realize how group their prejudices were. Some of the most open-minded people I've met, as far as race is concerned, have been those that spent extended periods of time with other races. Often in and out of "high crime areas."

This applies if they get to know members of said race closely. But it doesn't apply peripherally or generally. There are more racists in southern states because there are more blacks and whites living side by side...but not really side by side, because they choose to segregate and separate. So while they are in constant view, there is never a "getting close" and "making friends" going on.

I don't know how much I agree with this idea.

I once got into an argument with a racist who kept saying things like "What if a black guy robbed your mom" to justify his views. So he was indeed bothered by crime, but if my mom was robbed I'd judge the individual, i might say i hate thugs and criminals, but I've never condemned an entire race because of some bad apples.

If they fear crime, shouldn't they also realize that their race also has criminals? I think the view that their race is superior, convinces them that their killers aren't as bad as killers of other races. They are civilized killers in their mind.

EDIT: To add some context, both of us are Hispanic, the area we live in is about 75% Hispanic, most of the crimes here are done by Hispanics, but let one of the few black people we have do something and he hates all blacks, and he won't see the flaw in his own people. Something has him convinced the others are worse.

originally posted by: theabsolutetruth
It should also be noted that racism isn't just a 'white guy' thing,

I don't know where this stupid idea came from (probably from "modern Academia"), but its terribly America/Europe-centric. Anybody who has done just a little bit of traveling will quickly realize all sorts of race-bashing...chinese on indians, arabs on persians, persians on chinese, southern Nigerians on northern Nigerians, slavs on western europeans, jews on whites, whites on jews, blacks on whites and jews...the list is endless.