4 ms·

Maybe racism isn't just a US thing

by hanniabu 4y ago

hanniabu 4y ago
I'm amazed this is being downvoted. Do people really think that racism only exists in America?
- pb7 4y ago
  Yes, many Europeans think that because they don’t talk about it and refuse to collect statistics to show it that racism doesn’t exist within their borders. Europe is just as, if not more, racist than the US. Just ask them what they think of the Roma people.
  - gbrindisi 4y ago
    Racism is everywhere, what I think eludes americans is that in Europe identities are way more tied to nationality rather than ethnicity.
    - pb7 4y ago
      It doesn’t elude us. Anyone that looks outside of the country knows that but hate is hate. You don’t choose the color of your skin any more than you choose where you are born.
  - pkaye 4y ago
    Interestingly US has a large Romani diaspora (1M) but I think they have integrated into the US culture over time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_Americans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_Americans
- TulliusCicero 4y ago
  Some European countries are behind the states on accepting that racism exists there, yes. E.g. in Germany there's still a very common attitude of, "well, we're not racist here" even as anyone with a non-German name and especially anyone not white struggles to rent an apartment. At this point in the US, acting like racism isn't a big deal or isn't common at all has become somewhat of a far-right position. Now, in some ways the impact of racism is lesser in Europe, because there's less police violence generally and typically a much stronger social safety net.
- luckylion 4y ago
  People probably don't mix up BLM (which was a movement protesting police brutality against black Americans) with some vague claims for racism ("Europe is much more racist than America").
- patmcc 4y ago
  If you ever want to suddenly hear a lot of racism, ask any European about the Romani. I've literally heard many people, after stridently arguing against racism and discrimination, say "oh well gypsies are different, they actually are that bad".
  - tim333 4y ago
    It's debatable if they are actually a race.
    - slim 4y ago
      they certainly are not because the only stupid definition of race within the human race is by US administration and they're not in the list https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/race-ethnicity-definitions https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/race-ethnicity-de...
onethought 4y ago
But BLM is targeting a very specific type of racism, that is almost not applicable in Sweden. It would be like them protesting Asians being treated unfairly on University acceptance, another American form of racism, that is also not applicable to Sweden. Protesting your government on issues that don’t exist and they therefore cannot address is odd, and unless I’m missing something, extremely stupid
fomine3 4y ago
Racism is global problem. Killing black people by white police is a US specific problem. I feel weird to see BLM outside of US, rather than other anti-racism campaign.
- justrealist 4y ago
  This is only true if you have an extremely narrow definition of "white".

Maybe racism isn't just a US thing

hanniabu 4y ago

I'm amazed this is being downvoted. Do people really think that racism only exists in America?

pb7 4y ago
Yes, many Europeans think that because they don’t talk about it and refuse to collect statistics to show it that racism doesn’t exist within their borders. Europe is just as, if not more, racist than the US. Just ask them what they think of the Roma people.
- gbrindisi 4y ago
  Racism is everywhere, what I think eludes americans is that in Europe identities are way more tied to nationality rather than ethnicity.
  - pb7 4y ago
    It doesn’t elude us. Anyone that looks outside of the country knows that but hate is hate. You don’t choose the color of your skin any more than you choose where you are born.
- pkaye 4y ago
  Interestingly US has a large Romani diaspora (1M) but I think they have integrated into the US culture over time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_Americans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_Americans
TulliusCicero 4y ago
Some European countries are behind the states on accepting that racism exists there, yes. E.g. in Germany there's still a very common attitude of, "well, we're not racist here" even as anyone with a non-German name and especially anyone not white struggles to rent an apartment. At this point in the US, acting like racism isn't a big deal or isn't common at all has become somewhat of a far-right position. Now, in some ways the impact of racism is lesser in Europe, because there's less police violence generally and typically a much stronger social safety net.
luckylion 4y ago
People probably don't mix up BLM (which was a movement protesting police brutality against black Americans) with some vague claims for racism ("Europe is much more racist than America").
patmcc 4y ago
If you ever want to suddenly hear a lot of racism, ask any European about the Romani. I've literally heard many people, after stridently arguing against racism and discrimination, say "oh well gypsies are different, they actually are that bad".
- tim333 4y ago
  It's debatable if they are actually a race.
  - slim 4y ago
    they certainly are not because the only stupid definition of race within the human race is by US administration and they're not in the list https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/race-ethnicity-definitions https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/race-ethnicity-de...

onethought 4y ago

But BLM is targeting a very specific type of racism, that is almost not applicable in Sweden. It would be like them protesting Asians being treated unfairly on University acceptance, another American form of racism, that is also not applicable to Sweden. Protesting your government on issues that don’t exist and they therefore cannot address is odd, and unless I’m missing something, extremely stupid

fomine3 4y ago

Racism is global problem. Killing black people by white police is a US specific problem. I feel weird to see BLM outside of US, rather than other anti-racism campaign.

justrealist 4y ago
This is only true if you have an extremely narrow definition of "white".