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I may be poking the bear, but what if we stopped looking at racism as a moral thing and more of a (possibly) natural psychological occurrence? Although I think
by JoblessWonder 5y ago
I may be poking the bear, but what if we stopped looking at racism as a moral thing and more of a (possibly) natural psychological occurrence?
Although I think the big issue is that there isn't a definition of "racist" that everyone agrees on. Is it only being antagonistic towards someone? Does it include unconscious bias? Does it include ignorance? There is a wide spectrum of racism.
- ghoward 5y agoAll of what you said is a fair point, and for that, you get an upvote from me. However, if we were to think of racism as a natural psychological occurrence, that doesn't eliminate the moral part. After all, the desire that men have to spread their seed is also a natural psychological occurrence, but we also consider it a moral imperative that they don't do that without consent from females. But apart from that, even if it's a natural psychological occurrence, saying "all whites are racist" _also_ implies that whites cannot overcome that, which is the opposite of the fact that we all agree that men can overcome their desire to spread their seed. And once again IMO, to imply that an entire race cannot overcome what we would consider a "moral deficiency" is racist. In fact, that's the same thing that a lot of whites believed about blacks back in the day, that black men could not overcome the desire to spread their seed and thus, needed to be controlled, an entirely wrong view, of course. And for the same reasons, "all whites are racist" is racist and wrong.
- beerandt 5y ago>to imply that an entire race cannot overcome what we would consider a "moral deficiency" It's a bit more subtle but in an important way: they say that no one can overcome it who posseses it. Which is why it's so important to define it in terms of "whiteness."
- JoblessWonder 5y agoI think we just fundamentally agree on whether or not it is a "moral deficiency" to be racist. I believe it is a moral deficiency to treat someone differently because of their race. I don't believe it is a moral deficiency to have fleeting thoughts that might be racist and acknowledging that those thoughts exist but they don't make you an immoral person unless you let it dictate your behavior. And I do believe that many white people struggle to not get defensive because they have (possibly minimal) racist thoughts even if they don't act on them. In my mind having those thoughts doesn't make them immoral. It makes them human. I believe that I (and literally everyone) can be a racist by landing on SOME level of the continuum. But that my racism (which i believe i literally can't avoid through no fault of my own) can be overcome with being thoughtful, empathetic, and moral. I also believe that literally everyone is racist, so that might be clouding the conversation further. (I don't subscribe to the "minorities can't be racist" theories.) (Also, I'm just an IT guy. I'm by no means an expert on this and probably shouldn't even be commenting on this.)
- ghoward 5y agoThank you for the nuanced reply. I just want to address your opinion that everyone is racist on some level. Do you likewise believe that all men are rapists on some level? If so, then I can commend your consistency and accept your view. If not, why not? What makes racism different?
- JoblessWonder 5y agoHeading home for the day but that is an interesting point. I'll try to respond tomorrow!
- HKH2 5y agoHaving racist thoughts is not committing an action, whereas raping is.