Racism: Why?

Bradylama

Bradylama

So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
This is a statement I posted in a forum journal. Thought it might make a fairly interesting thread:


Yesterday's update of Something Awful featured a Weekend Web on racist forums. Though comments like this kept me from breathing for 5 seconds, I couldn't help but think of why people would hold such an irrational hatred for people of different races. Was their mother raped by a negroe? Did a Jew kid loan them $5 for lunch money with compound interest?

The only means they have of justifying their claims are hip-hop and welfare, things which don't nearly embody the majority of Negroes. Their hatred of the Jews apparently stems from them controlling all the money and acting as parasites. Though if they knew anything about economics, money lenders and banks are the building blocks of a succesful economy, especially when it comes to business.

So is it a disenfranchised sense of identity? Or has it merely been something ingrained into them by their two-bit parents? Several of them seem fairly educated, so why haven't they thought about their hatred as much as they think about NetBEUI or FAT32?
 
Why? Because they feel the need to be part of something, or because they feel the need to feel superior, or because they are just misguided people pissed off about something. Reasoning won't help much with those people. I once hgad to do a paper about fascism. So I visited some of those websites. It's unbelievable how stupidly unfounded most of those "thoughts" are.
 
I've experianced pretty much of what you just said. To tell you the truth, those who lower down the others, are those who are lower, and wasting your time with them, is just letting yourself into their game.

(Ps: maths wont save this thread.)
 
One could make a couple of arguments-
(1) systems of domination and subordination are recurring phenomenas, and people seek to use racial or ethnic or religious cues to sustain thoses systems. This would be a structural view that argues that imbalances of power within a society will create contests between the haves and have nots. I would argue that much of the racism found in the US has to do with keeping African-Americans and other ethnicities out of areas in which dominant majorities feel privileged- Schools, neighborhoods, jobs, opportunities, etc.

(2) Individual causes- people raised by such notions perpetuate them in give them to the next generations. People are taught that way, and sometimes taught fear of others.

(3) Social level issues in which conceptions of "US" vs. "Them" perpetuate group identities and therefore accent the notion of self.

(4) A communication impact- more based on process. I call this the asshole theory. People make generalizations based on what they experience and often blow things out of purportion. One might experience a few assholes out there, and think that there are more assholes than there really are, making the issue seem graver than it really is. Based on this a few zealots or idealogues (such a members of the Klan) might make such ridiculous statements which creates an impression that more people are thinking that way then really are.
 
My best friend is jewish - whenever someone would say something stupid about jews controlling the world, he would say "You know what the best thing about being jewish is? There's this big bank I can go and grab all the money I want. They just have big piles of it, and every jew can just go in and grab handfuls of cash! It's great, I haven't worked a day in my entire life!" I think he borrowed it from some comedian, but it's pretty funny. The bad part is some people would think that he wasn't joking.

Anyway, most of the people I've known who were really racist were in one or two catergories. (1) Either they had a bad experience with an individual from an ethnic group/religion/race and were unable to differentiate the individual from the group as a whole, or they heard so many bad stories about a particular group that they developed a prejudice without ever having any contact with that group. (2) It was just easier for them to focus their anger on a nameless, faceless group than the things in their life that they couldn't change.
 
I think racism is a big bag in which they throw in a lot of things.

Here is the basis od my thinking not based on race: If i'm working with older people and i make a mistake, it's because i'm young, if i'm working with younger people and i make a mistake, it's because i'm old.

Now if i'm working with only black people and i make a mistake, it's because i'm white and vice-versa.
Now this doesn't belong into racism.

A black man can can another black man Nigger, since i'm white i can't it'd be racist.
this doesn't belong into racism either

My brother in law (my sister's husband) is Mexican, of course we tell him on occasion to get off his lazy mexicano's ass, thrut is i've worked with the guy, and he can outwork me by alot. He'd work height days a week if there was eight. But we still call him lazy (as a joke), because when he doesn't work he sleeps.
That doen't belong into racism.


I had to hire a new employee, one applicant is white the onther one is black, the white one is more experienced so i hire him "it's a racist thing, it's because i'm black!" I could have slapped him... but if i did it'd be because i'm a racist...of course.


These are the kind of assumption of racism that i hate.

Thru racism is like thru homophobia, it's being scared that you might like the "different" peoples that you meet.
When i don't like a person, it doen't matter what he is, he could be young, old, black, white, yellow, lazy, man, woman, gay , orderite, or straight, i don't like th eperson and that's it.
The person i most hated in my life was a drag queen, not because it was a drag queeen, but because i could not stand that person's reasonning, thinking, acting and so on, he could have been a tall blonde with big hooters and it would not have made a difference.
 
Racism today is a joke. In most places in America, a white man will only call a black man a 'nigger' out of anger. Not because he hates black people but because its the easiest thing to say to offend the black man.

90 percent of the people who think they've been oppressed in their lifetime because of race are full of shit..
Try groing up as a fat kid and see who takes more shit from people.
 
Yeah, but it's still not a good idea. Most black people I know consider that fighting words, and I believe rightfully so. It is an extremely hurtful word to them.
 
Praz, you were a fat kid??? Kick ass.. i used to harass fat kids all the time... Easy target's (and hard to miss at that) j/k
 
Well it's human instinct to be afraid of the unknown, hence alot of racism..
 
Praz, you were a fat kid??? Kick ass.. i used to harass fat kids all the time... Easy target's (and hard to miss at that) j/k
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oh yeah i was a fat kid. I wasn't THE fat kid but i was pretty bad. I didn't take TOO much shit as a kid because im a pretty charismatic person but i definately took more shit than any black kid at my school.
 
Ok, I split the sexual discussion off to a seperate topical thread.

I agree with El Prez- fat kids take a lot of shit. But I have also known a lot to get by with just strong charismas.

What I find interesting are the organizations that are based on the notion of racism or racist hatred.

Look at the Skinheads, are they offensively racist- in otherwords a group of people who got together because they have similar racist feelings, or are they defensive in that they feel oppressed by other nationalities to which they respond with animosities of their own?

One interesting idea is that the skinhead movement began from the "hard core" side of the punk scene and only later became racists.
 
welsh said:
I agree with El Prez- fat kids take a lot of shit. But I have also known a lot to get by with just strong charismas.
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Heh, works for me. Being self-depricating in the humorous sense also helps, since it gives people the impression that fat jokes won't affect you.
 
Fat kids to take alot of shit in school.


But on the other extreme... Skinny-assed kids.... not like normal skinny, but i'm talking deathly looking skinny (yeah, me, still am) take a good deal of shit too... Although, that usually stops wonce you start wearing all black, carry around a satanic bible, and just stare at people who try and tease you.


I guess they get nervous or something.


anyway, that's junior high for ya.
 
once i hit sophmore year in high school I started lifting weights plus i was already a big kid... so thats where the fat jokes stopped.
 
Yeah, the rest of the jokes about me stoped, at least openly when I started just stareing at the people as they would walk by me... that and everyone knew i have plenty of guns and i can shoot quite well.

heh... now that i think about it.. i must have been a creepy little shit... What the hell did any of my girlfriends see in me?
 
Elissar said:
Although, that usually stops wonce you start wearing all black, carry around a satanic bible, and just stare at people who try and tease you.
.
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I did that! Exactly that. I figured I'd rather be feared than teased -and I was right. The teasing stopped completely.

I didn't exactly know what "goth" was at 12, but I decided to dress in all black (long skirts, dresses, etc), eyeliner, combat boots (feminine combats), everything (except black lipstick and black hairdye - I knew what didn't look good on me). It went on for years. People just thought I was a witch at that age.

That style became a big part of me during my teenage years. Much much too shy to do any of that now, but eh. I miss it - even still. And despite the creepiness, I still managed to get my share of boyfriends.
 
Katja said:
And despite the creepiness, I still managed to get my share of boyfriends.
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I'd have certinly tried, though probally would have been to shy to ask. Was a bit too cowardly back then to easily ask a girl out.

Hell, i'm still about as suave as a birck.
 
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