Racial Equality and making the words mean something

There's a lot of hullabaloo over NFL pregame rituals lately. I'm trying really hard to keep politics out of my sports. And then on the BBC America channel I was watching old episodes of Star Trek the original series. I thought this scene was apropos to the discussion of equality in this country:



"Not only the Yangs but the Congs as well. They must apply to everyone! Or they mean nothing. Do you understand?"

You have to hand it to William Shattner and his ability to steal any scene with over the top dramatic emotion.

a reply to: dfnj2015

I love the original Star Trek.

... but did they pass the bechdel test ?

a reply to: dfnj2015

TOS was a groundbreaking show with regard to social issues.

a reply to: dfnj2015

its intrinsically impossible to have racial equality.

racism, however it manifests itself, is part of our physiology.
just like other species when they exhibit a level of (race) 'ism' toward one another, we are quick to say its nature.

the idea is thus, if theoretically we took 2 children of every race and put them on a deserted island to start a new society, and completely alienate them from today's society, at some point a form of racism would emerge.

if we all looked the same and our only differentiating factor was the length of our pinky's finger nail, there would be a form of social 'ism' based on that fact.
its completely incidental that our differentiating factor is our skin color, and an 'ism' emerged from that.

our indifference is a part of us, good or bad, and its not up to us to dictate what characteristics we should or shouldn't possess, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves of what's right. its ultimately out of our control. we don't know why ideologies are formed as a species, its assumed its part of our evolution.

we were nomads, hunters, gatherers, then what we are today.

to rid 'racism' and put all races on the same plateau, we would need an 'evolution' , not a 'revolution' ; they don't work, it doesn't matter how many great speeches or peaceful demonstrations or other... its up to evolution.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Someone once said they can read any science fiction story and identify the decade it was written in to within a few years. Pohler or Asimov iirc. The rest of us can do it by dating Shatner's hairstyle

Star Trek was filmed when protests for racial equality and peace became riots or were suppressed by a different brand of policing. Domestic uproar against the backdrop of the Cold War were reflected in the stories of Star Trek. Good times, bad times...

a reply to: odzeandennz

And I still believe that , if not the main reason for schools being integrated, it is a welcomed byproduct by certain politicians of that era. Evolution = integration and mixing of the species.

a reply to: odzeandennz

racism, however it manifests itself, is part of our physiology.
just like other species when they exhibit a level of (race) 'ism' toward one another, we are quick to say its nature.

Are you admitting to your own racism?

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: odzeandennz

racism, however it manifests itself, is part of our physiology.
just like other species when they exhibit a level of (race) 'ism' toward one another, we are quick to say its nature.

Are you admitting to your own racism?

yes. i am by definition a racist. i have said racist things, i have assumed things based solely on ethnicity, i have said 'damn those ***' at some point in my life, i have sided or leaned toward a side or another because of no more than the hint of race. to say that I am not susceptible or capable of thinking based solely on chemical balances in my brain or simply biology would be an utter lie.


it is however the varying degrees of those chemical balances (or imbalance) where we, as a species begin to differ.
for some racism equates to a superior vs inferior model, to others its just associative memory, aka prejudices.
and there are others who allow actions to represent their emotions, not all of us do this.
in fact the 5% who choose to commit 'acts' based on race are outweighed by the 95% of our species who don't.

if you say you have never uttered a racial epithet or slur, either under your tongue or shouted something while driving when someone of a different racial persuasion cuts you off, or etc. ill call you a liar.
we would be robots if we didn't.

a reply to: odzeandennz

I think the claim that everyone is racist is more an admittance of guilt than a statement of fact. For instance, you admit that you're a racist, then claim I am the same without any evidence to do so. It's the height of projection.

Racism, or racialism, the notion that the species can be divided into races, is a superstition. Do away with that and you can do away with your own racism.

There is no hope for peace now. The victims will not allow the transgressors to apologise. There is no way to rectify this because it isn't about rectification, it is about revenge.

Sadly, this will lead, once again, to more and more accepted racism on both sides.

In majority caucasian/white countries this means bad news for non-whites just as it has in South Africa for the minority non-blacks.

We simply can't just get along because it isn't in the agenda.

At some point, we are ALL just people without any labels. We have much more in common than we have differences. We all have the same hopes and dreams. We all have the same shortcomings. It's all good.

originally posted by: odzeandennz
a reply to: dfnj2015

its intrinsically impossible to have racial equality.

racism, however it manifests itself, is part of our physiology.
just like other species when they exhibit a level of (race) 'ism' toward one another, we are quick to say its nature.

the idea is thus, if theoretically we took 2 children of every race and put them on a deserted island to start a new society, and completely alienate them from today's society, at some point a form of racism would emerge.

if we all looked the same and our only differentiating factor was the length of our pinky's finger nail, there would be a form of social 'ism' based on that fact.
its completely incidental that our differentiating factor is our skin color, and an 'ism' emerged from that.

our indifference is a part of us, good or bad, and its not up to us to dictate what characteristics we should or shouldn't possess, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves of what's right. its ultimately out of our control. we don't know why ideologies are formed as a species, its assumed its part of our evolution.

we were nomads, hunters, gatherers, then what we are today.

to rid 'racism' and put all races on the same plateau, we would need an 'evolution' , not a 'revolution' ; they don't work, it doesn't matter how many great speeches or peaceful demonstrations or other... its up to evolution.

I think you're confusing "racism" with "tribalism."

Racism is taught, so is tribalism...but a tribe can have people with different color skin, different types of hair, different colored eyes. I think your bubble of "racism" is more inclusive than the real meaning. But it's not intrinsic to our physiology...perhaps you meant "psychology?"

As far as animal troops/herds/gaggles/prides or other groups: that is a competition for resources. If you compare the competition for resources to racism, you're off base, IMO.

As far as the OP goes; Shatner did a good job at over-dramaticizing most things, but I think he did a good job there, considering the events of the era...then and now we should all take a few moments to re-read some of those historical documents.

a reply to: kelbtalfenek

no i meant physiology, not just psychology. example,
a wasp and a cricket do not have to kill each other when they meet, the earth is big enough for all wasps and crickets to live peacefully. this is hypothetical. but biologically, the wasp must attack the cricket. it wouldn't matter if that wasp developed consciousness and began to realize they can live in harmony with all crickets. their interactions are bound by more than psychology, if we so try to be hypothetical.

its our nature to be a certain way as a species as a whole.
there's no speech, no great thinker or psychologist who will be able to decipher why we feel the way we do towards each other.
no books, gestures, kneeling, hold arms, laws, new bills, money, or weed strains will ever change our psychology.

we are as much an animal as the wasp and cricket
in 10000 years, racism will exist. the context may vary, or it may be called something else. but our actions or words we say as a result of said racism will remain the same, even in 10000 years...

and no, i meant racism, not tribalism. you can have different races in the same tribe, but any objective differentiation will lead to a form of racism.

LANDRU(banks): is STILL in charge here

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: odzeandennz

I think the claim that everyone is racist is more an admittance of guilt than a statement of fact. For instance, you admit that you're a racist, then claim I am the same without any evidence to do so. It's the height of projection.

Racism, or racialism, the notion that the species can be divided into races, is a superstition. Do away with that and you can do away with your own racism.

i think the claim that every one has said something racist at some point is cold truth, a truth which cannot be proven, a true which also cannot be admitted by most.
you're trying to associate what i view as human nature into something you're trying to project unto me.

ill reiterate, feeling disdain toward another race isnt a choice.
by definition, being the only species of homo sapiens left, leaves us no where else to turn to to let out an emotion we are all blessed with. we must turn on ourselves. we have no natural predators.

and if you're trying to insinuate my 'racism' is the same as say, a neo nazi, the you couldn't be more wrong.
what racism is to me or you, will definitely be defined differently.

i have no political or personal agenda. i know the nature of man.

a reply to: odzeandennz

Children are not born racists. It's cultural.

Why do the right find it so hard to believe that there is racial inequality in America?

originally posted by: ShawnTBear
Why do the right find it so hard to believe that there is racial inequality in America?

I imagine it is probably because most of them don't spend their days obsessing about race and dreaming up machinations on how they can attain & keep power through the manipulation of minority groups. And there is also the deep rooted belief that in most instances the only person that is going to truly stand in your way is you.

Now why are we fighting a war that was already won? All this identity politics B.S. is doing is re-animating a dead corpse in the form of white nationalism and setting the entire world back many decades.

a reply to: odzeandennz

The difference is speciation. We are not a different species than any other human being. Our basic needs and physiology are the same. Racism is not part of our physiology sir.

We are not wasps and crickets. We are not apples and oranges. We are homo sapien sapiens. All one species.