the liberals are imploding on themselves. they have changed the definition of racism to something so trivial people don't even take it seriously anymore. it's sad
Oh yes. For almost six decades I was never a "racist". Now suddenly I find I am regarded as a "racist". Why? Because I believe in personal responsibility and do not support costly liberal social engineering schemes. And have become quite used to being myself and happy with myself however they choose to think of me and whatever they choose to call me.
No. Not at all. But, I think this hits home one of the biggest challenges we face as a society today. Discussing race is incredibly difficult in this day and age. Really difficult.
Mentioning race does not make one a racist. Not by any means. I think the problem that occurs is a mixture of lack of understanding paired with linguistic challenges.
Racism, by definition, is showing prejudice against one group of believing that a specific race is superior. I think many people confuse this with bias, which isn't a belief system, but rather subconscious thought processes which can cause us to behave in a certain way toward a certain group.
So, if for example, a member here mindfully chose not to interact with black people because they believed doing so was beneath them, that would be racism. If that member gladly interacted with all people, but didn't answer the questions of black people very often because they didn't identify with the questions, that would be a bias.
If a member said there were too many white people here, that would be racism. If a member refused to interact with white members because they thought white members were beneath them, that would be racism. If a member simply didn't answer the questions of white people (perhaps not even knowing why, but not feeling a connection to them), that would be a bias. If a member said there was a disparity in races or a lack of diversity, it's an observation. It's not choosing one race over the other. It's not even showing a preference for one race over the other.
Unfortunately, racial discussions also tend to come with heated emotions. When we pair that with the notion that discussing race is still a bit of a societal taboo, we've got a whole population of people who don't have the experience they need in order to communicate effectively.
I cannot see the world through a black person's eyes, or a Latina's, or an Asian's. Far be it from me to say what is a normal and natural reaction for anyone. But, I do see the value in open communication and tearing down the misunderstandings that plague our society, and the only way that's going to happen is if we all choose our words and mindfully as possible and attempt to see things through the other person's perspective.
It is difficult to experience what others experience - I agree. But I think it helps a lot to listen to what one another have to say about experiences and feelings - listen carefully, deeply and with empathy. There are lots of YouTube clips and TED talks which do a great job of explaining how differently people of the non-dominant cultures and/or races are treated. One can look up "micro-racism" - the list is very telling of the countless minute slights people experience everyday, many times a day, through both conscious and unconscious racism. Imagine what that would be like to live with.
There is another problem that is now increasingly being recognised and understood: intergenerational trauma. Think of a slave who was born into captivity and raised with little or no education, inadequate nutrition and shelter, constant over-work and exhaustion,, frequent rape, and forced breeding of children, treated less well than domestic livestock, frequent ill-health and early deaths, whippings that leave huge welted scars, chains, small box-like prisons, mutilations and the burning alive of her own loved ones. Now think of her escaping across the river, able for the first time to earn a meagre living, rent a share-house, grow her own vegetables and raise her very own children born to be free - but in an area where the whites still have the majority of the wealth and the power. This woman has PTSD. She has a level of anxiety that cannot be quieted. Will the slave-hunters find her? Will someone dob her in? She will unconsciously transmit this anxiety to her child so the child grows up feeling anxious. Then another horrific and barbarous atrocity happens, the KKK go on a spree and lynch one of her children. Now the trauma is increased and the new generation inherits it. Down through every generation, new atrocities keep occurring, even though overall the conditions are slowly improving - and so now the populations are mixed. Not all grow up with the same experiences. Some become good solid tradesmen and successful, others become lawyers, doctors, preachers, university professors, politicians etc and they flourish in affluence - they are less vulnerable to the old abuses still suffered by those who live in barios or ghettos. While history does affect the character development of all those affected, at the same time, we cannot expect that just because someone is of a certain background, that it necessarily determines that they feel, think or behave in certain ways. There are many different ways we respond to trauma in childhood. How we adapt and survive forms the patterns we later live by - but also we are adaptable. All of us can change and choose better ways.
Surely it is not hard to meet any new person with a blank slate - and learn about them as we get to know them - who they are as an individual - not what we imagine they might be based upon their appearance.
Not at all. If a white person mentions race, they get the same feedback. We're all supposed to pretend that we don't notice race (even though we do). Believing that one race is better than another or that certain races have certain characteristics is is not the same as acknowledging that there are ethnic differences.
Nup. Just mentioning or discussing race doesn't mean a person is a racist. But if someone thinks their race should have greater rights over another's or their race has intrinsically greater or lesser abilities than another's or sterotypes a person on the basis of their race and adjusts their expectations of that person accordingly then that definitely is racism. And racism is bad for everyone, the despiser, the despised and all their loved ones. There is no justification for it.
Seems to me these days the way so many think is that black people can not be "racist" since they are regarded as just victims of racism. Like women cannot be "sexist". While other people are not allowed to even imagine that race or sex exist. Very tough waters to negotiate involving a lot of bitterness and guilt.
~ 
Benedict Arnold 