4 ms·

Racism is the unequal distribution of privilege, and goods dependent on race. It does not deal with race distribution in a population. However seeing racism sho

Racism is the unequal distribution of privilege, and goods dependent on race. It does not deal with race distribution in a population. However seeing racism should even be more apparent when the race with power is in the minority population. A good example would be South Africa in apartheid; or the south during segregation. But basically if this kid was white, and was named Chris(the christian equivalent of Mohamed).. He would not have been subjugated to any of this. That is privilege that is racism.

jmorphy88 11y ago
Since when does "the distribution of [whatever]" have anything to do with the definition of racism?
powertower 11y ago
The problem with that definition is that it assumes all groups contribute equally to the larger collective. Or at least that if one group contributes less, it is entirely because the other groups have already disadvantaged it in some way. There are a large number of examples where this is simply false.
- rootedbox 11y ago
  That definition makes no assumption about a groups contribution; as the definition is indifferent of the socio-economic system at hand (free-market, closed market, communal, etc) if the distribution of privilege and goods is different for individuals depending on race then there is a system of racism at hand.
  - powertower 11y ago
    So if 1 racial demographic group does better than another group, and they profit (in some way related to privileged) from this, while the other group does not, how is this racism?
webXL 11y ago
Racism is the individual or collective act of blindly favoring one race over another, or hurting one race over another. There's this thing called the dictionary. If you don't like the definitions in there, come up with a new word and definition! You have no evidence that this wouldn't happen to a white kid, but that's the most likely outcome. If this were pre-9/11 (pre-Patriot Act BS), I'm not so sure. Racism and prejudice to some extent is just part of the human condition. Perhaps one day we'll advance enough to make it a non-issue, but we need to stop the hysterics about "only in America" and "whites always get favored" without some concrete evidence and historical context.
- rootedbox 11y ago
  1. I never said "only in America". Racism, and classism are prevalent all over the world. My example even lists both a US and Foreign example. And racism isn't only with whites. 2. There is tons of evidence that whites get favored in pretty much everything from home loans borrowing rates, being accepted to rent a house, pay, and the number of times they get pulled over by a cop. http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2015/05/06/among-favored-renters-whites-preferred/70907340/ http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2015/05/06/among-favored-... http://mije.org/mmcsi/criminal-justice/white-crime-victims-favored-mainstream-media-reports http://mije.org/mmcsi/criminal-justice/white-crime-victims-f... http://ndsn.org/march93/favored.html http://ndsn.org/march93/favored.html
  - webXL 11y ago
    Fair enough. I was alluding to some other comments I had seen. As for your evidence, I think you're going out on a limb with "whites get favored in pretty much everything". While that may have been true up until the 1960s, we've progressed to Barack Obama and Oprah. Still a very long way to go with regards to the specific things you mentioned (some of which may be more socioeconomic factors rather than skin color), but your claim just doesn't hold water.
- 7Z7 11y ago
  Are you conflating the phrase "whites always get favoured" with the notion of "white privilege"?

jmorphy88 11y ago

Since when does "the distribution of [whatever]" have anything to do with the definition of racism?

powertower 11y ago

The problem with that definition is that it assumes all groups contribute equally to the larger collective. Or at least that if one group contributes less, it is entirely because the other groups have already disadvantaged it in some way. There are a large number of examples where this is simply false.

rootedbox 11y ago
That definition makes no assumption about a groups contribution; as the definition is indifferent of the socio-economic system at hand (free-market, closed market, communal, etc) if the distribution of privilege and goods is different for individuals depending on race then there is a system of racism at hand.
- powertower 11y ago
  So if 1 racial demographic group does better than another group, and they profit (in some way related to privileged) from this, while the other group does not, how is this racism?

webXL 11y ago

Racism is the individual or collective act of blindly favoring one race over another, or hurting one race over another. There's this thing called the dictionary. If you don't like the definitions in there, come up with a new word and definition! You have no evidence that this wouldn't happen to a white kid, but that's the most likely outcome. If this were pre-9/11 (pre-Patriot Act BS), I'm not so sure. Racism and prejudice to some extent is just part of the human condition. Perhaps one day we'll advance enough to make it a non-issue, but we need to stop the hysterics about "only in America" and "whites always get favored" without some concrete evidence and historical context.

rootedbox 11y ago
1. I never said "only in America". Racism, and classism are prevalent all over the world. My example even lists both a US and Foreign example. And racism isn't only with whites. 2. There is tons of evidence that whites get favored in pretty much everything from home loans borrowing rates, being accepted to rent a house, pay, and the number of times they get pulled over by a cop. http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2015/05/06/among-favored-renters-whites-preferred/70907340/ http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2015/05/06/among-favored-... http://mije.org/mmcsi/criminal-justice/white-crime-victims-favored-mainstream-media-reports http://mije.org/mmcsi/criminal-justice/white-crime-victims-f... http://ndsn.org/march93/favored.html http://ndsn.org/march93/favored.html
- webXL 11y ago
  Fair enough. I was alluding to some other comments I had seen. As for your evidence, I think you're going out on a limb with "whites get favored in pretty much everything". While that may have been true up until the 1960s, we've progressed to Barack Obama and Oprah. Still a very long way to go with regards to the specific things you mentioned (some of which may be more socioeconomic factors rather than skin color), but your claim just doesn't hold water.
7Z7 11y ago
Are you conflating the phrase "whites always get favoured" with the notion of "white privilege"?