4 ms·

Man, I grew up in a third world country where race was a complete non-issue (unless your color made you stick out like a sore thumb, in which case, you'd be a c

by NTDF9 8y ago

Man, I grew up in a third world country where race was a complete non-issue (unless your color made you stick out like a sore thumb, in which case, you'd be a celebrity, not get picked on). Coming to the US is what made me encounter racism. American society really is broken from within when third world countries can get around this but America can't.

cdubzzz 8y ago
I think this is a bit of apples and oranges. There are vast differences between pretty much any two cultures. I spent three years living and working in a third world county where I “stuck out like a sore thumb”. Most people I met assumed I was rich, despite living and working on the equivalent of a local secondary school teacher’s salary. And this was still a hell of a lot more than most people in the country were making, but my local counterparts did not have to constantly deny requests for money and things from strangers. Perhaps a more apt comparison to racism in the US would be sexism in the country I worked in. Men would cat call women constantly to ask for (or demand) sex and marriage. This was just an accepted and normal part of the culture there. It was crazy.
- NTDF9 8y ago
  Well, the question is specifically discrimination on the basis of race, so apples to apples there. Maybe other countries score lower in sexism. (btw America does too, we all know that :) ) However, it still doesn't take away the fact that the extent of racism in America is far too high for a first world country. As much as it pains me to say this, at a societal level, I don't see any difference between my third world country of birth and America. The only difference between my home country and USA is interstate highways.
  - komali2 8y ago
    Do the people downvoting this disagree that America has too much of a racism problem for a first world country, or what's going on here?
    - NTDF9 8y ago
      > Do the people downvoting this disagree that America has too much of a racism problem for a first world country, or what's going on here? Unfortunately, that has been my experience. A lot of seemingly well-intentioned Americans refuse to accept their follies. They are completely unaware/unwilling to admit that the rest of the world is watching what's happening in America. This is possibly due to the ingrained, "American exceptionalism" belief but I am willing to be proven wrong. As a comparison, see this Brazilian admitting flaws in Brazil: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17735229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17735229 But Americans admitting racism? Nope.

by NTDF9 8y ago

cdubzzz 8y ago

I think this is a bit of apples and oranges. There are vast differences between pretty much any two cultures. I spent three years living and working in a third world county where I “stuck out like a sore thumb”. Most people I met assumed I was rich, despite living and working on the equivalent of a local secondary school teacher’s salary. And this was still a hell of a lot more than most people in the country were making, but my local counterparts did not have to constantly deny requests for money and things from strangers. Perhaps a more apt comparison to racism in the US would be sexism in the country I worked in. Men would cat call women constantly to ask for (or demand) sex and marriage. This was just an accepted and normal part of the culture there. It was crazy.

NTDF9 8y ago
Well, the question is specifically discrimination on the basis of race, so apples to apples there. Maybe other countries score lower in sexism. (btw America does too, we all know that :) ) However, it still doesn't take away the fact that the extent of racism in America is far too high for a first world country. As much as it pains me to say this, at a societal level, I don't see any difference between my third world country of birth and America. The only difference between my home country and USA is interstate highways.
- komali2 8y ago
  Do the people downvoting this disagree that America has too much of a racism problem for a first world country, or what's going on here?
  - NTDF9 8y ago
    > Do the people downvoting this disagree that America has too much of a racism problem for a first world country, or what's going on here? Unfortunately, that has been my experience. A lot of seemingly well-intentioned Americans refuse to accept their follies. They are completely unaware/unwilling to admit that the rest of the world is watching what's happening in America. This is possibly due to the ingrained, "American exceptionalism" belief but I am willing to be proven wrong. As a comparison, see this Brazilian admitting flaws in Brazil: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17735229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17735229 But Americans admitting racism? Nope.