3 ms·

No, racist words/talk is talk that openly or subtle re-enforces existing power inbalances between people of different races. Since black people have very little

by rmc 14y ago

No, racist words/talk is talk that openly or subtle re-enforces existing power inbalances between people of different races. Since black people have very little power (statistically as a group) compared to white people (statistically as a group), then it's not racist for them to make comments like "dumbwhite", "white privilege" etc. Note this can work the other way in some cases, in a very female dominated work place & profession (e.g. floral shops, nursing etc.), then there can be many comments that could put down male workers etc., Maybe if you're a (white) rapper you might experience (black) people putting you down, etc.

yummyfajitas 14y ago
Since black people have very little power (statistically as a group) compared to white people (statistically as a group), Explain it like I'm 5. Specifically, what "power" do white people have that black people lack? Also, how is it meaningful or useful to bring up statistical generalities when discussing individual behavior? Are you taking as an unstated premise that if certain statistical properties hold for a reference class, then all individual members of a reference class are bound to act in a certain way? (I.e., some sort of collective guilt/responsibility?) For instance, if group X were statistically disproportionately likely to commit violent crimes, would all members of X be obligated to behave in such a way as to avoid scaring members of Complement(X)?
- rmc 14y ago
  Explain it like I'm 5. Specifically, what "power" do white people have that black people lack? Mostly it's not having to worry about certain problems, since they are out of your mind, one can forget about them. This is a great analogy to video games, "white people" is one of the lowest difficulty settings for Real Life™ ( http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-th... ) For some examples of "things that usually easier for white people" (aka privilege) for white people, look at this list ('Daily effects of white privilege'): http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html
  - yummyfajitas 14y ago
    Your first link is just a bunch of vague content-free assertions. Life is like an RPG - so as a white guy, it takes less practice to unlock the "computer programming" skill? And blacks just get less Str, Int and Dex? Your second link claims that if you are a collectivist with niche tastes who's collective is poorly represented, you won't be too happy. True - if you assign high utility to being around others of the same race, being a minority will suck. I lived for over a year without the benefits of "white privilege". I didn't speak to a single person of my race, quite a few housing societies wouldn't let me in and people ascribed many of my choices to my race/nationality. Basically I lost every single "privilege" listed at your second link. It wasn't a big deal, probably because I don't really care about having white friends.
gavanwoolery 14y ago
Racism is not defined by numbers or power (it has nothing to do with social standing, wealth, or whether or not you are a minority). Definition: 1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. 2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race. 3. Abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief One reason that MLK's campaign was successful was that he did not promote hatred, but rather peace. This author's aggressive behavior and tenseness towards white people does not help his cause. He ended up getting 4 people fired when he could have just talked to them about his problems.
- rmc 14y ago
  He ended up getting 4 people fired when he could have just talked to them about his problems. Did you read the original story? He did talk to them. They ignored it and mocked him complaining. Talking to them didn't help, what else should he do? Racism is not defined by numbers or power… There are several definitions of racism, one is essentially "making references to someone's race and implying everyone in that group is the same (in some attribute)". Lots of people like this definition because it's nice and simple and it means black people in the USA can be racist to white people if they say things like "Dumbwhite". There's another definition, which is talk that's designed to maintain & reinforce the institutionalised power structure among races. Right now, if modern USA life was a video game, "white male" would be an easier difficulty level than "black male". There are statistically less problems for the "white male" group. Racist talk is talk that re-enforced that imbalance. This definition is harder for some people to accept because it means that you need to look at yourself and think about what power imbalances you might be benefiting from, and it means you can't just do s/white/black/g and make it just as racist.

by rmc 14y ago

yummyfajitas 14y ago

Since black people have very little power (statistically as a group) compared to white people (statistically as a group), Explain it like I'm 5. Specifically, what "power" do white people have that black people lack? Also, how is it meaningful or useful to bring up statistical generalities when discussing individual behavior? Are you taking as an unstated premise that if certain statistical properties hold for a reference class, then all individual members of a reference class are bound to act in a certain way? (I.e., some sort of collective guilt/responsibility?) For instance, if group X were statistically disproportionately likely to commit violent crimes, would all members of X be obligated to behave in such a way as to avoid scaring members of Complement(X)?

rmc 14y ago
Explain it like I'm 5. Specifically, what "power" do white people have that black people lack? Mostly it's not having to worry about certain problems, since they are out of your mind, one can forget about them. This is a great analogy to video games, "white people" is one of the lowest difficulty settings for Real Life™ ( http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-th... ) For some examples of "things that usually easier for white people" (aka privilege) for white people, look at this list ('Daily effects of white privilege'): http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html
- yummyfajitas 14y ago
  Your first link is just a bunch of vague content-free assertions. Life is like an RPG - so as a white guy, it takes less practice to unlock the "computer programming" skill? And blacks just get less Str, Int and Dex? Your second link claims that if you are a collectivist with niche tastes who's collective is poorly represented, you won't be too happy. True - if you assign high utility to being around others of the same race, being a minority will suck. I lived for over a year without the benefits of "white privilege". I didn't speak to a single person of my race, quite a few housing societies wouldn't let me in and people ascribed many of my choices to my race/nationality. Basically I lost every single "privilege" listed at your second link. It wasn't a big deal, probably because I don't really care about having white friends.

gavanwoolery 14y ago

Racism is not defined by numbers or power (it has nothing to do with social standing, wealth, or whether or not you are a minority). Definition: 1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. 2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race. 3. Abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief One reason that MLK's campaign was successful was that he did not promote hatred, but rather peace. This author's aggressive behavior and tenseness towards white people does not help his cause. He ended up getting 4 people fired when he could have just talked to them about his problems.

rmc 14y ago
He ended up getting 4 people fired when he could have just talked to them about his problems. Did you read the original story? He did talk to them. They ignored it and mocked him complaining. Talking to them didn't help, what else should he do? Racism is not defined by numbers or power… There are several definitions of racism, one is essentially "making references to someone's race and implying everyone in that group is the same (in some attribute)". Lots of people like this definition because it's nice and simple and it means black people in the USA can be racist to white people if they say things like "Dumbwhite". There's another definition, which is talk that's designed to maintain & reinforce the institutionalised power structure among races. Right now, if modern USA life was a video game, "white male" would be an easier difficulty level than "black male". There are statistically less problems for the "white male" group. Racist talk is talk that re-enforced that imbalance. This definition is harder for some people to accept because it means that you need to look at yourself and think about what power imbalances you might be benefiting from, and it means you can't just do s/white/black/g and make it just as racist.