6 ms·

I’ll take a stab at it. A racist is somebody who believes in race.

by dqpb 5y ago

akomtu 5y ago
It's the belief that you are your body and that one body model is better than another body model. The first belief is considered a self-evident truth today because questioning it is "unscientific". The second isn't really wrong, but when it's mixed with the first idea, it turns into racism.
- lambertsimnel 5y ago
  I understand your comment as suggesting that body models are races, but I take a different view. Maybe, other things being equal, some heritable traits are good. People possessing them might have superior body models. However, I think racism needs two more beliefs: 1) that race objectively exists 2) that race correlates with superior/inferior body models
  - akomtu 5y ago
    Race as the body type exists in the same sense car models exist. Some could argue that SUVs are superior to sport cars. Whether race exists objectively is another question. Per some schools of buddhism, material things don't exist objectively because they lack their own substance.
    - dqpb 5y ago
      > Race as the body type exists in the same sense car models exist Really? How many body types are there?
      - akomtu 5y ago
        Many. Asians, Africans and Europeans are three notable subtypes. But again, if this makes you feel agitated, that's because of the belief that body is a permanent extension of the human's true self. Once this "scientific" idea is analysed and rejected, the clouds of emotions will clear.
vehemenz 5y ago
Can you elaborate? You seem to be invoking "race" in a metaphysical sense. Implicit in your statement is that you do not "believe in" race. What is it that you do not believe in? Or are you suggested "race" does not denote a category of superficial predicates relating to extended family, genotype, phenotype, ethnicity, etc.?
- dqpb 5y ago
  Wikipedia has a reasonable summary: > Modern science regards race as a social construct, an identity which is assigned based on rules made by society. While partially based on physical similarities within groups, race does not have an inherent physical or biological meaning. I don’t believe in race. I think it’s a dumb and harmful social construct detached from reality. I consider anyone who does believe in race a racist.
  - jessaustin 5y ago
    While massive structural disadvantages for those who aren't perceived as "white" still exist, your attitude might not be "racist" per se, but it's still privileged and shitty.
    - dqpb 5y ago
      Are you suggesting I don’t believe racism is real? I think you’re confused.
      - jessaustin 5y ago
        Your idiosyncratic definition is fine-tuned to capture both KKK and BLM as "racist". Clearly you haven't suffered the racism of modern American life that gave rise to BLM [0]. If anyone other than yourself used this definition, it would prolong that racism. You have only "confused" yourself. If you meant something else, you should have said something else. [0] https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/ https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/

I’ll take a stab at it. A racist is somebody who believes in race.

by dqpb 5y ago

I’ll take a stab at it. A racist is somebody who believes in race.

It's the belief that you are your body and that one body model is better than another body model. The first belief is considered a self-evident truth today because questioning it is "unscientific". The second isn't really wrong, but when it's mixed with the first idea, it turns into racism.

lambertsimnel 5y ago
I understand your comment as suggesting that body models are races, but I take a different view. Maybe, other things being equal, some heritable traits are good. People possessing them might have superior body models. However, I think racism needs two more beliefs: 1) that race objectively exists 2) that race correlates with superior/inferior body models
- akomtu 5y ago
  Race as the body type exists in the same sense car models exist. Some could argue that SUVs are superior to sport cars. Whether race exists objectively is another question. Per some schools of buddhism, material things don't exist objectively because they lack their own substance.
  - dqpb 5y ago
    > Race as the body type exists in the same sense car models exist Really? How many body types are there?
    - akomtu 5y ago
      Many. Asians, Africans and Europeans are three notable subtypes. But again, if this makes you feel agitated, that's because of the belief that body is a permanent extension of the human's true self. Once this "scientific" idea is analysed and rejected, the clouds of emotions will clear.

vehemenz 5y ago

Can you elaborate? You seem to be invoking "race" in a metaphysical sense. Implicit in your statement is that you do not "believe in" race. What is it that you do not believe in? Or are you suggested "race" does not denote a category of superficial predicates relating to extended family, genotype, phenotype, ethnicity, etc.?

dqpb 5y ago
Wikipedia has a reasonable summary: > Modern science regards race as a social construct, an identity which is assigned based on rules made by society. While partially based on physical similarities within groups, race does not have an inherent physical or biological meaning. I don’t believe in race. I think it’s a dumb and harmful social construct detached from reality. I consider anyone who does believe in race a racist.
- jessaustin 5y ago
  While massive structural disadvantages for those who aren't perceived as "white" still exist, your attitude might not be "racist" per se, but it's still privileged and shitty.
  - dqpb 5y ago
    Are you suggesting I don’t believe racism is real? I think you’re confused.
    - jessaustin 5y ago
      Your idiosyncratic definition is fine-tuned to capture both KKK and BLM as "racist". Clearly you haven't suffered the racism of modern American life that gave rise to BLM [0]. If anyone other than yourself used this definition, it would prolong that racism. You have only "confused" yourself. If you meant something else, you should have said something else. [0] https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/ https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/