Racism sucks

If racism is so bad
why does it still happen?
why do we still allow it to happen?

thoughts plz~

[PETA]

the more foreign something is the more suspect it will be received - sometimes its rational and othetimes not

irrationally suspecting or despising another due to race without any additional info, criteria etc is just an example of lazy or lack of thought

[GLopez]

I judge a person by the contents of their character... and keep in mind that Mohommad is Jesus is Buddha is Love.. it's the way I see it.

[pejays]

racism is a learned behavior. babies don't know the difference neither do they care. as you can see now there are more mixed couples then ever before because the cycle is being broken. it is not taught as much as it used to be. it is still up to us to continue to operate as one race. human race. as long as that can happen racism will be a little known word in the near future.

[Funkenstein]

Originally Posted by GLopez

I judge a person by the contents of their character... and keep in mind that Mohommad is Jesus is Buddha is Love.. it's the way I see it.

Thank you Mr. Deep Dish.



In all honesty, racism lives because ignorance never dies. Sad, but true.

[Satchel]

I think it is somewhat natural to be more comfortable with people who are more like you. Looking at racism as simply ignorance isn't seening the whole picture imo. There ARE people out to get you just because you aren't like them. Some people enjoy hating other people. We are not all the same and it is going to be an ongoing challenge just to get everyone to tolerate the differences.

[Funkenstein]

Originally Posted by Satchel

Looking at racism as simply ignorance isn't seening the whole picture imo. There ARE people out to get you just because you aren't like them. Some people enjoy hating other people. We are not all the same and it is going to be an ongoing challenge just to get everyone to tolerate the differences.

The bolded statement isn't tough for me to grasp, but it really does boggle the mind that these folks believe their sole existence to be driven by the need to hate.

I guess my nature doesn't allow me to try to understand it, but it has kept me alive thus far. Knowing about places like Hico and Vidor (both historically known racist Texas towns, the latter one that I grew up less than 15 minutes away from) forces you to deal with culture clash. I just made the best out of it and learned to not let it rule me or cloud my understanding. A lot of the kids of my generation grew up with different relationships than their forefathers did (which fostered the better climate that is the Golden Triangle today).

I do see what you are saying, though. Difference is just that.

Difference.

[Satchel]

Originally Posted by Rufus P. Funk

The bolded statement isn't tough for me to grasp, but it really does boggle the mind that these folks believe their sole existence to be driven by the need to hate.

I guess my nature doesn't allow me to try to understand it, but it has kept me alive thus far. Knowing about places like Hico and Vidor (both historically known racist Texas towns, the latter one that I grew up less than 15 minutes away from) forces you to deal with culture clash. I just made the best out of it and learned to not let it rule me or cloud my understanding. A lot of the kids of my generation grew up with different relationships that there forefathers did (which fostered the better climate that is the Golden Triangle today).

I do see what you are saying, though. Difference is just that.

Difference.

I've always tried to understand it, but it is mind boggling. I come from a town that was equally racially divided between blacks, whites and hispanics and there was always racial tension/riots etc. The one thing I noticed that fuels it on all sides is the pack mentality, showing off for your friends etc.

Everyone above has pretty much pointed out several basic truths on the topic, but oftentimes the race card is played when it is inappropriate to do so. A prime example would be Mexican president Vicente Fox's recent comments about blacks in the working world, and how Americans should tolerate his people jumping our borders...not to bring up that old argument again, but its a prime example for our purposes here of how even world leaders can prey on the ignorance of others to push their own agandas.

Also, perhaps many people all over the globe see it as funny to demean those from different ethnicities. Its almost comedic to interpret others' behavioral patterns whilst not having a clue as to how hurtful it may be to the subject in question.

In other words, many probably see racism as a cheap haha.

[Satchel]

Originally Posted by Luxe

Everyone above has pretty much pointed out several basic truths on the topic, but oftentimes the race card is played when it is inappropriate to do so. A prime example would be Mexican president Vicente Fox's recent comments about blacks in the working world, and how Americans should tolerate his people jumping our borders...not to bring up that old argument again, but its a prime example for our purposes here of how even world leaders can prey on the ignorance of others to push their own agandas.

Also, perhaps many people all over the globe see it as funny to demean those from different ethnicities. Its almost comedic to interpret others' behavioral patterns whilst not having a clue as to how hurtful it may be to the subject in question.

In other words, many probably see racism as a cheap haha.

I think you can look to Europe as an example of this. Xenophobia seems to be an essential part of their culture. I know in the UK especially they seem to hate the poeple across the street until it comes time for them to join together and hate the people down the block.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by Satchel

I know in the UK especially they seem to hate the poeple across the street until it comes time for them to join together and hate the people down the block.

this goes to the point that the further one moves from one's self (as ground zero) the more inherently suspect the "new" or "foreign" thing will be

[Funkenstein]

Originally Posted by Satchel

I think you can look to Europe as an example of this. Xenophobia seems to be an essential part of their culture. I know in the UK especially they seem to hate the poeple across the street until it comes time for them to join together and hate the people down the block.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

The old Britcom "Chef" comes to mind.

Originally Posted by Luxe

Also, perhaps many people all over the globe see it as funny to demean those from different ethnicities.

this is true. When working for France I learned that the French are very racist towards Arabs... this was WAY before 911. The Spanish have their group. The German's have theirs. It's everywhere, and it's ignorant.

sometimes I think that just ignoring it is a better option than confronting it. There are only a couple things that REALLY get me pissed off, and racism is one of them... but lately I have turned my back and not even acknowledged when I hear something racist. why give ignorance the pleasure of a forum to spread itself?

[Left]

stereotyping is a natural behavior employed by all humans in order to better predict occurences and more readily prevent anxiety as we steadily plummet into the future.

For example, all of our lives we believe that rocks don't move by themselves. we learned this by experience, therefore we create a stereotype that rocks are inanimate. If we didn't have this stereotype, we would get nervous evertime we went outside (anxiety). Humans are not like rocks, although they do tend to behave in predictable groups (cultures). It is thus natural (not necessarily moral) for us to mentally classify groups of people due to their appearances and behavior, and natural for us to gravitate to some groups rather than others. Stereotyping is the first step to racism, we indeed must make a conscious decision NOT to be racist rather than to be.

i'm not sure i believe that but i felt like writing it. :neutral:

[randomgrl]

I know that racism is a touchy subject...but the lyrics to this song are funny and true. Its from a Broadway play called Avenue Q. Think of it as adult Seasame Street, with puppets and people and cheesy music...but its funny as hell, and if you pay attention you actually get something out of it. So yeah, the title of the song is "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist"...click if your interested, or copy and paste. Whatever.

http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/av...ebitracist.htm