Racism: the Dying Regime

[Vineyea]

Racism is just as real as any other social contrivance you want to name. Some of the people here are going to make it a point to be antagonists out of spite and mean spirit. In America it's a right of the people to have their speech uncensored and to that regard you can expect that if there's a volition to be the bearer of preconceived notions, disagreement, and malice one person or another is going to stand up and fill that role.

Your internet alias has more to say about you than does the color of one's skin to say about what they are.

[Kagatob]

Originally Posted by Vineyea [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Racism is just as real as any other social contrivance you want to name. Some of the people here are going to make it a point to be antagonists out of spite and mean spirit. In America it's a right of the people to have their speech uncensored and to that regard you can expect that if there's a volition to be the bearer of preconceived notions, disagreement, and malice one person or another is going to stand up and fill that role.

Your internet alias has more to say about you than does the color of one's skin to say about what they are.

If this were true the word "******" wouldn't be strictly associated with "black" people in the year 2013.

I know more white ******s than ******s of all other races combined and it has nothing to do with their taste in music.

[Vineyea]

That's irrelevant to the ontology of the judgment. Racism isn't an empirical fact, it's an agreement between peoples. Much like the English language is a social institution on a very fundamental level. We've got this background commonality that's essentially the product of agreement and even though there's no universal law suggesting English ought to be the spoken language of any and all rational beings it has a very real existence in our everyday lives.

[Malice_Mizer]

This thread is beyond hope.

How have you all gotten this far in life with such simplistic attitudes about the world around you? Good Christ, you act like the world came into existence when you were born, and that everything that came before us is just a figment that "mean people" keep alive because it benefits them somehow.

It is baked into the cake of the American experiment. No slate is wiped clean, as you all suppose for some reason. History does not go away, and collective memories run deep and painful.

You're all too proud and too ignorant to have an honest discussion about this.

[myriverse]

It's not racist to acknowledge the differences. It's just racist to think one is better than another.

[Rhuma7]

Originally Posted by myriverse [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It's not racist to acknowledge the differences. It's just racist to think one is better than another.

There isn't suppose to be any differences lol

You're reply is exactly what I was talking about, how the general consensus of america is there is a race difference which = racism.

[Malice_Mizer]

Originally Posted by Rhuma7 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

There isn't suppose to be any differences lol

You're reply is exactly what I was talking about, how the general consensus of america is there is a race difference which = racism.

You're putting the cart way ahead of the horse, friend.

First of all, racism in America is the expression of a racial supremacist ideology through power and force. In this way, only white people (being the dominant group for multiple centuries) can actually be racist. You're claiming that everybody is prejudiced and holds unknown bias deep in their hearts. That's not racism. A "black person" being distrustful of white people because they've been marginalized their entire lives and their parents were victims of systematic and institutional racial violence by the police during the Civil Rights era is not "racism." It's just not. We're all participants and victims of a racist social order. Individuals are not "racist." We all contribute to it in our own ways.

That being said, the way a society progresses is not to jump from one generation of being attacked by the police for wanting the right to vote into the next where nobody recognizes or sees skin color. That's naive and deluding yourself if you actually believe anybody can actively not see skin color. It is intimately tied into our socialization and how we categorize our world and understanding of it, especially as Americans. Our entire national history is a story of race and struggle, almost entirely.

We can't simply go from centuries of enforced white supremacy to saying, "Oh, well shit, sorry about that guys! Let's just not see race anymore because that's easier for us to repent for the past and not own up to the horrors this country was built upon."

To pretend skin color doesn't exist is an egregious crime because it denies people the ability to reconcile the past, come to terms with our collective history, and move onward from it. We're not there yet, and to jump into color-blindness would do everyone, especially the victims of racial injustice, a grave disservice.

[Rhuma7]

Originally Posted by Malice_Mizer [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

You're putting the cart way ahead of the horse, friend.

First of all, racism in America is the expression of a racial supremacist ideology through power and force. In this way, only white people (being the dominant group for multiple centuries) can actually be racist. You're claiming that everybody is prejudiced and holds unknown bias deep in their hearts. That's not racism. A "black person" being distrustful of white people because they've been marginalized their entire lives and their parents were victims of systematic and institutional racial violence by the police during the Civil Rights era is not "racism." It's just not. We're all participants and victims of a racist social order. Individuals are not "racist." We all contribute to it in our own ways.

That being said, the way a society progresses is not to jump from one generation of being attacked by the police for wanting the right to vote into the next where nobody recognizes or sees skin color. That's naive and deluding yourself if you actually believe anybody can actively not see skin color. It is intimately tied into our socialization and how we categorize our world and understanding of it, especially as Americans. Our entire national history is a story of race and struggle, almost entirely.

We can't simply go from centuries of enforced white supremacy to saying, "Oh, well shit, sorry about that guys! Let's just not see race anymore because that's easier for us to repent for the past and not own up to the horrors this country was built upon."

To pretend skin color doesn't exist is an egregious crime because it denies people the ability to reconcile the past, come to terms with our collective history, and move onward from it. We're not there yet, and to jump into color-blindness would do everyone, especially the victims of racial injustice, a grave disservice.

Racism will never be obsolete. The words white/black/african-america/hispanic in itself is racism.

Did you even read the post or just make wild assumptions? My post wasn't a "if we do this and that there wont be any racism" I'm telling you that the way we have learned to "categorize" skin color is inherently racist and saying only negative racism is racism is silly.

Whats the difference between saying "That ****** is smart!" and "That african american is smart!" Their both a name for a race, which is redundant, when the same can be said as "That guy/woman is smart!" with the exception one is clearly "racist" as you would put but as a whole, their racist on the fact that the color of his skin was brought to a point and somehow had any relation to the compliment.

[Malice_Mizer]

Originally Posted by Rhuma7 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Did you even read the post or just make wild assumptions? My post wasn't a "if we do this and that there wont be any racism" I'm telling you that the way we have learned to "categorize" skin color is inherently racist and saying only negative racism is racism is silly.

Whats the difference between saying "That ****** is smart!" and "That african american is smart!" Their both a name for a race, which is redundant, when the same can be said as "That guy/woman is smart!" with the exception one is clearly "racist" as you would put but as a whole, their racist on the fact that the color of his skin was brought to a point and somehow had any relation to the compliment.

How is that even racism? It's not. It's a stupid thing to say, and not coming from the right place ultimately, but it's simply not racist. If you're saying that there is no substantial difference between the word "******" and "African-American," I'd say you're really out of touch with reality. "African-American" is an identity to which many black people in America subscribe. "******" is a historical racial slur used by white people for centuries with a shit-ton of baggage, all of which you apparently don't understand.

"There isn't suppose to be any differences lol

You're reply is exactly what I was talking about, how the general consensus of america is there is a race difference which = racism."

I don't think you understand the debate going on in the real world about race in America. We all have different histories. We all participate in the American story in a vastly different way. Our cultures have developed differently because we've lived almost entirely separate lives (enforced by the white establishment) for centuries. Our historical and cultural reference points are different. Our relationship to the government and authority is very, very different. The way we understand our place in the world is also very different. To say that there are no differences is another lie you're telling yourself to diffuse a heated topic. I think I understand your intention and ultimately believe you're coming at this from the right place. I used to think like you, too, and idealistically I do. But there is a path to get there, and it's not something we can all just jump into, pretending that skin color doesn't affect the way we understand society and our place in it. That takes generations to overcome, not just high-theory about what's technically right.

[myriverse]

Originally Posted by Rhuma7 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

There isn't suppose to be any differences lol

You're reply is exactly what I was talking about, how the general consensus of america is there is a race difference which = racism.

Bullshit! There has to be differences, and they are lovely! To deny there are differences is racist.