What is "racism"? Really, I'm confused.

[Psychoblues99]

What is your definition of "racism"? Apparently mine is considerably different from the demonstrated and verbalized definition here in DU. I guess I should have mentioned that I think * is a cracker. Would that have made the subject more palatable?

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,,.,.,,,.,,.,,.,,.,.,.,,,.,,.,,.,.,.,.,,.,.,,.,.,.,

[uptohere]

1. I always thought it meant a perception of inate superiority

of one's own "race" over another or others. Sometimes the definition of "race" is different. Sometimes latinos are "white" that sort of thing.

Mostly the notion of inate superiority or inferiority if you prefer that angle.

[CosmicVortex10]

43. The specific definition is....

Racism: The belief or ideology that one race is genetically superior and deserves to rule.

This is to be differenciated from

Prejudice: Pre-judging of a situation -- (which could be as simple as changing lanes in traffic because you have "pre-judged" the position of cars and you think youll have an opening to pass in a particular lane in 5 seconds) note: humans have to have the ability to pre-judge situations to survive... if one didnt pre-judge the intentions of a lion staring at you and licking his chops, it wouldnt take very long to realize your error.

Bigot: Someone who favors or disfavors a particular race. I would put everyone in this category at some scale, however microscopic.

The main problem is when people scream racism in every case. It diluted any examples of REAL racism (which doesnt exist in the US too much anymore - noone suggests that whites "should" rule blacks or the inverse except nuts). Now, theres a lot of innapropriate prejudice and bigtry, how we untangle that, Id like to know.

[The Backlash Cometh]

45. Welcome CV10

:hi:

[CosmicVortex10]

46. Thanks a ton!

Looks like a lively place so far :)

[The Backlash Cometh]

51. Lively is an understatement.

I think you're a step ahead of the game by coming in with defined terms. But, stick around a while and you might find some discussions that will provide evidence that will challenge your final conclusions. DU is an eye-opener, if nothing else.

:)

[angee_is_mad]

48. bull shit

Most racists are prejudice also. Most bigots are racists. The only difference is a racist will admit to it and a bigot is unaware of his or her racist actions. Corporate America is full of bigots and racism is definitely alive. The victim just sweep it under the rug,because it makes the powers that be uncomfortable and defensive and it could affect their position in the work place. When it is highlighted the victims are made to feel like a whiner and not a teamplayer and making mountains out of molehills and are just using the race CARD to get what they want without having to work for it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

50. Concentric Circles

Remember back in our school days when the Math teacher would draw two circles on the blackboard with parts of the two circles sharing the same space? It is important to understand the subtle differences between the definitions of racism & bigotry. (Although they're not so subtle once you understand them.) It's important because, if you don't, you won't be able to see the inherent flaw in freeper's arguments. If you can see the two terms as circles, you can make the point that all racism is bigoted, but not all bigotry is racist.

[mitchum]

2. For me, racism is institutional...

while bigotry and prejudice are individual(istic)

[noiretextatique]

3. i concur with this definition

some forget about the power component. the republican party's racism (not talking about individual republicans, so don't correct me) is a perfect example.

[uptohere]

5. not disagreeing but how do you see this ?

I see bigotry and prejudice as endemic of dislike (possibly ignorance) more than a sense of inferiority.

I think there is a difference between 'I don't like you because you are different from me' and 'you are not as good as me and you never can be'. These two can and often do co-exist but are seperate in my mind.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

4. rich white liberals are uncomfortable talking about black people

or to black people for that matter.

don't worry about it Psychoblues :) Some of us have actually lived with black people all of our lives. Some of us are even black ourselves! The rich white limosine liberals will never understand.

[uptohere]

6. so does that make them racists or bigots ?

n/t

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

8. it doesn't make them bigots

Not at all. It does perpetuate racism, though.

[uptohere]

10. yes I agree with that, but what then does that make them ?

they would be horrified to be seen as racist yet they're something. Ignorant ?

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

12. culturally separate?

Ignorant, in the strict technical sense, of black people, perhaps. What do you think?

[uptohere]

15. yeah I guess thats it, see #14

and I do mean ignorant as unknowledgable of as you suggest

[Psychoblues99]

7. You can bet your butt that Psychoblues ain't worried about all that, WCTV

I've got enuff probs of my own but I still wonderwhat is on the minds and in the perceptions of others. Can you dig it?

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,,...,.,..,.,.,,.,.,.,.,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,.,,,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,,,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,

[VermontDem2004]

11. Do you have a problem with rich people?

I know quite a few rich white liberal people who talk about racial injustice such as Ted Kennedy for example, I don't know what you mean by "talking about black people"?

[uptohere]

14. I know exactly what he was talking about, I see it daily

its not a problem with those individuals its how it is with them.

They know what is right but a simple lack of contact (I believe) renders them unable to know how to interact. They fear offense, there can be cultural differences that are uncomfortable.

Not that I'm rich but when I just interact with my black friends in the only way I know how (like I do with anybody) it seems to make none of that matter. I don't know how universal this is with folks.

I guess I was lucky to grow up in the south and not well to do. Immersion technique, sink or swim. On the other hand, my brothers are racists and bigots and prejudiced. Go figure...

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. Rich White Limousine Liberals-Who needs 'em!

We don't want them in our party. They contribute nothing to society. They don't know how to deal with blacks and other minorities. Why don't they join the Republican party? <sarcasm on>

:eyes:

[uptohere]

20. glad I spotted that scarcasm flag !

as we all know, the Dem candidate will need their money if he hopes to win in 2004.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

25. they can give money and vote

after that, I don't care what they want! :) /sarcasm?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

22. I'm a rich white liberal and I talk to black people all the time

even fucked a few.

What a dumbass thing to say

[Psychoblues99]

26. I'll buy that. Dumbass things to say run rampant through these threads

don't they, nsma?

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,,,.,.,.,.,.,,.,,.,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,,.,,.,.,.,,,,.,.,,.,.,,,.,.,,.,.,.,.,.,,.,..,

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

28. you're a rich white liberal that fucked a few black people?

I can't say that I'm surprised :)

--------------
"I'm a rich white liberal and I talk to black people all the time"
Posted by nothingshocksmeanymore
even fucked a few.

What a dumbass thing to say

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

39. In fairness...they fucked me

[angee_is_mad]

47. or did u fuck over them?

[Mass_Liberal]

40. do you realize what you just said is racist

you just made a generalization of a race. I have lived among black people and have no problem whatsoever talking about them. That was pretty hypocritical, what you just said.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

42. you are wrong

I did not make a generalization of a race. Perhaps you misread? Perhaps I misread?

[CosmicVortex10]

44. This isnt racism, it might be prejudice, but not racism

See my post above. When you scream racism in all cases, it dilutes the real meaning.

[VermontDem2004]

9. racism to me

is when one thinks his/her race is superior to other races.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. Rascists are scared and lonely people.

Fear of differences. Fear, pretty much. Poor souls are losing out on a lot of cool people, ideas and experiences. Oh well, their loss. Fuck 'em.

[uptohere]

18. shoot, not the ones I know

they're not scared of anything (well armed and practiced) and they have LOTS of like minded friends.

But yes they are missing out on a lot.

[Solomon]

31. Yes They Are. They Fear Genetic Annihilation of White People

from the planet.

Some whites have a serious problem with the fact that white people constitute a minority on the planet and birth rates are not keeping up with non-whites. If there were true integration of the "races" some fear, white skin color would melt into the gene pool. In order to prevent this melting into the gene pool, a substantial number of white people believe that the non-white populations of the world must be controlled.

This is why white males love guns and bombs so much. Spend so much time and money on them. The bullets and the guns, is an attempt to counter-act against the "bullets" in the semen of non-white males.

I know it's raw folks. But sooner or later we gotta deal with it. There's nothing wrong in having that fear. Its very natural. Where the wrong comes in is how we deal with this fear. I think there are better ways of dealing with the fear.

Right now this fear is what's driving the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, the War in Afghanistan. White America feels it must control the world "in order to preserve our way of life." Just think about that for a moment. Why is it that our way of life so imposes itself upon others that we have to kill people half-way around the world?

There is a better way of dealing with the fear.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

33. The better way:

No fear.

[Psychoblues99]

23. Racists are not scared and they are certainly not lonely, RiF

Why would you make such a statement? Racists are empowered each day through the media and will continue to be in any so-called "conservative" administration. Forget the environment, forget globalization, forget fair wages and decent working conditions. The powers that be whip up the racism issue and quell everything else. Call me racist or sexist or whatever. I think that any man or woman that works for a living, any veteran, any environmantalist, any fair minded person that votes for a repuke is just plain stupid, unthinking or just misinformed altogether. And that includes all of the maladjusted jerks that claim leftist ideals but vote otherwise. I guess that's too deep for most here, don't you agree?

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,.,.,,.,,,,.,..,,.,,.,,.,.,,,.,,.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,.,.,,,.,.,,,.,..,..,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. I'm talking about the individual, not the group.

As for the group, they will always be weaker than that which they protest. Give me a righteous, fair-minded person who has been aggrieved over a close-minded, scared person any day. I've seen many a bully get their come-uppance in this situation.

There's more of us. We are stronger. And, more importantly, we are right.

[Psychoblues99]

34. I agree, but our elections indicate otherwise or do you have more accurate

numbers?

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,.,.,,,.,,.,,.,,.,,,.,,.,.,,,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,.,.,,.,,.,.,.,.

[noiretextatique]

17. the problem with not addressing racism as institutional

vs. the problem of sad, lonely, ignorant INDIVIDUALS:
indovidual racsim does nothing to explain the wage gap between white men and black women, or latino women or indian women. it does not explain the gap between sentencing for powder and crack cocaine. it does not explain redlining or "white flight." nor does it explain why the rw successfully manipulates people who should know better by playing the race card...whether in covert and subtle ways (like it did to ustify the war on iraq) or in more blatant ways (like using images of willie horton...or louis farrakhan, as symbols).

[shugah]

49. those sad, lonely INDIVIDUALS

is just another copout.

as usual, noiretblu, you have hit the nail squarely on the head.

if we can find a way to remove racism as an institution, then those sad, lonely individuals will cease to have relevance.

until we are willing to admit who benefits from racism, we will never solve the problem of racism.

[Dirk39]

19. To take empirical facts, mostly visible, and construct a

hierarchical order between them. It's even a kind of metaphysics. It's not about seing the differences, it's about the lunatic order racists create between them. You take the difference and make it the "secret" principle, that establishs the otherness of the other. It's o.k. for me to use this term in a critical way, but it's use is still implying that there are "races" and this is crap as long as you don't talk about the mixture of more than 80 "races" all of us fortunately are.
And from another perspective, the otherness of some others allows the others to resemble one another. I guess one of the reasons for the ongoing racism against afro-americans in the USA is that compared to them, all others are "white", what creates a somehow unstable peace between the other people, but this is not for real.
Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[Solomon]

21. Glad You Asked That Question.

"No persons who classify themselves as white living in the area of the world referred to as the United States of America (or for that matter, in any other area of the world) should presume to tell any Black person (or other non-white person) what racism is or is not, until they have read completely Kenneth O'Reilley's Racial Matters: The FBI's Secret File on Black America, 1960-1972."

"No Black person living in the area of the world referred to as the United States of America should discourse on racism or deny the conspiratorial dimensions of the local and global system of racism until he/she has read Racial Matters completely."

Dr. Frances Cress Welsing . (1989)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

24. Wait. let's clarify...are you asking what a racist is or are you inquiring

because you started a thread with a title filled with racial slurs and think you did nothing wrong by doing so?

[noiretextatique]

27. i was wondering about this myself

though i missed the thread in question. i was wondering about psychoblues's definition.

[Psychoblues99]

32. You have nothing to wonder or worry about here, noiretblu

You have my personal guarantee. My comments on the deleted thread were designed to open an eye or two. I at least identified an overly zealous segment of our population not to mention administration. I hope you can dig it.

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,.,.,,.,,.,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,,.,.,.,,.,,,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,.,.,,.,,,.,..,,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,.,,.,.,

[noiretextatique]

35. actually, i wasn't worried, dear...just curious

:hi: but from your comments here, i think i have the general gist of your views. peace.

[Psychoblues99]

36. Sweet, sweet, peace. I love you, noiretblu!!!!!!!!

:loveya:

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,,,.,,.,,.,.,,,.,.,,.,,.,,.,.,,,.,.,.,.,.,,,.,.,.,.,.,.,,,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,.,.,

[noiretextatique]

37. back at you, sweetie

:loveya: you've been on a little terror of late...keep it up! :D

[Psychoblues99]

29. See post # 26, nsma.

Psychoblues

Dems Gotta Keep On Truckin'.,.,.,,.,,.,,.,.,.,,,...,,.,.,,..,.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,,.,.,,.,..,.,.,.,,.,.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

38. Post 26 does not answer my question

You posted a thread title with racial slurs...granted you forgot about minstrels, athletic and sexual prowess maybe even forgot to say that Al should call Joe MASSA and a few other choice slurs but the point was...you posted a thread title filled with racial slurs about Al Sharpton.

Then you have the nerve to ask what racism is?

[Forkboy]

41. You must hold the record for locked and removed threads