What are your thoughts. I think (just a little philosophical theory) that everyone is racist to some degree. The human mind finds differences. When we perceive anything with our senses, we use our ability to differentiate in order to make sense of things.
Differences in race are quite pronounced. Physical/visual differences, cultural differences, language/auditory differences...
To be truely non-racist, one would have to detect these differences but not use them to form a judgement (in my little theory, anyway). And for us, that is an impossibility as these judgements can be positive, negative or neutral. The fact that they exist is (in my book) racism.
The closest we can come to not being racist, I think, is to not act upon the judgements that are made, or to temper those judgements with reason, conscience, etc.
OK, tell me I'm full of crap. Flame me, whatever. I can take it.
If you feel that you are not racist at all, I'd really love to hear from you.
Is it racism in a evil way or does something in your mind that tells you to beware of "The Gangstta rap guys" on an evening trip to town? What responce does the hat on sideways, jeans large enough to hide a small child,the dew rags & tattoos deserve?
When I am at the hospital and see professionals I don't see color ,I see people that are there to help me.When I am on the street andI see the others I am glad for my carry permit.If thats racism then yes I am a raciest.
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
Posts: 24,185
RE: Thoughts on racism...
I agree with your summation but would like to add, I think it has to do more with image rather than race. Puta person in a group of people that are wearing clothes associated with certain intimidating mindsets, as well as attitudes, and color doesn't matter. Said person will be more intimidated by the image rather than skin color. It can be the gangster rapper or the tattooed biker. I feel it is an image thing. I will not refute that some people can not get past color of skin, but I think that is starting to give way toward the over all image. Yes, some races tend to have more people associated with certain images, such as blacks with the gangster rapper, whites with the redneck or biker image, and Hispanics with the cholo image. But I do agree, we all have a prejudice of some sort.[/align]
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kaafir mushrik
Unintended consequences and God have one thing in common: Liberals don’t believe in either of them.
Location: On an Island in the west coast of New England
Posts: 13,132
RE: Thoughts on racism...
No prejudice here. I live in the second whitest state in the union but I feel minorities are welcome. Before I retired one of my fellow workers was black and it never mattered to any of us.
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Too busy with fishing to spend much time here.
The free market does more to eliminate racism than any other force I know. When I sell a service to a client, I don't care what racial background they have...it's not improtant. I call them all sir or 'mam, and I mean it. These people PAY ME to fill a need, percieved or otherwise. That is the important part.
Likewise, when I hire, I want the best person...I don't care about race. WE've got mexicanos, anglos, and blacks working together, and nobody much cares.
I sincerely HOPE my competition is racist, and won't hire good people based on race. Likewise, I hope he won't service clients who are of another race. More money for me, more money for my employees. Racism is ignorant, racism is stupid, and most important, racism is EXPENSIVE!
Thoughts on racism...
