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Subject: Your take on racism/anti-semitism

Below is a conversation I recently had with one of my (if not, my best) best friends on facebook chat. I discussed with him something that happened at my university that I thought was shameful and moronic.


Me:
cool
so apparently at my school, kids were dressing up for halloween in explicit racist costumes
ffs
"How any constituent groups or individuals in the University could behave with such insensitivity or unawareness is a question we must both ask and answer. Our University is a place of learning and discovery, and there certainly are lessons to be relearned, or even discovered for the first time, from these incidents.

The simplest of those lessons is that costumes that include blackface, or that parody or imitate a person or groups of people, are always offensive to someone."
basically the important part of what I read

Shawn:
mmmhmm
Me:
llol
not at all shocked
really shawn
Shawn:
i dunno, i think people are so serious about race
like sometimes, if u make it funny
its not offensive
Me:
elaborate?

Shawn:
i joke with some people on my floor about them being indian
u could say is racist
but its funny, and nobody gets offended
Me:
It's the same thing as calling a black guy (whom by the way you do not know) a -blam!-. You calling me a dirty Jew or me calling you out for being asian is on a completely different level
Shawn:
like if people didnt take it so seriously, it wouldnt be a big deal
Me:
and the president said it well, as well
Shawn:
said what
Me:
They convey either a lack of awareness about the human condition and human sensitivities or, worse yet, disdain for the thoughts, feelings, histories and experiences of others. They suggest a failure to empathize or even a failure to think. They make all of us small.

Like sorry
Shawn:
lmao
Me:
dressing up as another race is not funny and it tends to exemplify the stereotypes of races

?
Shawn:
i guess
but im jus saying people get way too offended sometimes
Me:
well what does that even mean?
Shawn:
meaning people are too -blam!-en sensitive about race
when it wouldnt be such a big -blam!-en deal
if we all just CALMED DOWN
the more u make a big deal about it, the more u create a divide
Me:
right, but there are two ways to go about in describing and/or presenting your feelings towards other races.

For example: One choice is calling the guy a black person whereas the second choice is calling him a -blam!-. Depending on what you say, you signal to that person how you view them as a person (and their race)
which then in terms describes who you are as a person: disrespectful, etc (the part the president said)
I mean... it's how people make friends and how people make enemies
Shawn:
see thats the thing, if people make it offensive
Me:
it's really quite simple
Shawn:
its offensive
like if its a white power mother-blam!-
screaming -blam!-
then yes, its offensive
but for some kids that are just trying to joke about it
i dont get why people get so offended
Me:
Friends among friends who understand each other
why would it be offensive in the first place?
You're right about that, but that's not at all what the matter is
Shawn:
ok, so whats the matter
the fact that people are insensitive people are?
towards race?
Me:
If you present yourself to people you don't know the way you do with people you "joke around" with, you're sending a negative signal to those people. The way you present your thoughts are perceived in the exclusively denotative form of the expression. Again, call a random black person a -blam!- and something's going to go down. Tell your best pal "you damn -blam!-" and they'll KNOW it doesn't mean anything. The person knows who you are, how you feel about blacks, and is clearly comfortable being with you.
Shawn:
right
i get that
Me:
ok then you should be able to see why parading around the streets dressing up like a black man is NOT something appropriate


--------------------------------------


What is your take on racism and the like? How do you go about it? What do you think is the right way to approach differences? Keep this thread clean; coherent replies, no trolling, off topics, etc. Be respectful.

Thank you

  • 12.06.2012 1:44 PM PDT

The human element always mucks things up.

"Some say Mexicans are a drain on our resources while others say they are essential to our economy. All I know is that tacos are delicious."-George Bush

[Edited on 12.06.2012 1:46 PM PST]

  • 12.06.2012 1:46 PM PDT

Who am I?

mah twitter

Short answer: racism is bad. Racists are stupid.

  • 12.06.2012 1:46 PM PDT

If we disagree, it's nothing personal, opinions are opinions.
Antagonizing me to build a false sense of worth is so damn cute.

Brighten your day with science.

Posted by: Drunky1993
Keep this thread clean; coherent replies, no trolling, off topics, etc. Be respectful.

By telling us to do this you made it 10x more unlikely.

  • 12.06.2012 1:46 PM PDT
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How come anti-Semitism is in a league of its own? Doesn't it just fall in with racism? Or are Jews somehow special?

  • 12.06.2012 1:47 PM PDT

It's so weird that you bring this up because just the other day, I had a similar conversation with my friend. I discussed with him something that happened at my university that I thought was shameful and moronic.


Me:
cool
so apparently at my school, kids were dressing up for halloween in explicit racist costumes
ffs
"How any constituent groups or individuals in the University could behave with such insensitivity or unawareness is a question we must both ask and answer. Our University is a place of learning and discovery, and there certainly are lessons to be relearned, or even discovered for the first time, from these incidents.

The simplest of those lessons is that costumes that include blackface, or that parody or imitate a person or groups of people, are always offensive to someone."
basically the important part of what I read

Shawn:
mmmhmm
Me:
llol
not at all shocked
really shawn
Shawn:
i dunno, i think people are so serious about race
like sometimes, if u make it funny
its not offensive
Me:
elaborate?

Shawn:
i joke with some people on my floor about them being indian
u could say is racist
but its funny, and nobody gets offended
Me:
It's the same thing as calling a black guy (whom by the way you do not know) a -blam!-. You calling me a dirty Jew or me calling you out for being asian is on a completely different level
Shawn:
like if people didnt take it so seriously, it wouldnt be a big deal
Me:
and the president said it well, as well
Shawn:
said what
Me:
They convey either a lack of awareness about the human condition and human sensitivities or, worse yet, disdain for the thoughts, feelings, histories and experiences of others. They suggest a failure to empathize or even a failure to think. They make all of us small.

Like sorry
Shawn:
lmao
Me:
dressing up as another race is not funny and it tends to exemplify the stereotypes of races

?
Shawn:
i guess
but im jus saying people get way too offended sometimes
Me:
well what does that even mean?
Shawn:
meaning people are too -blam!-en sensitive about race
when it wouldnt be such a big -blam!-en deal
if we all just CALMED DOWN
the more u make a big deal about it, the more u create a divide
Me:
right, but there are two ways to go about in describing and/or presenting your feelings towards other races.

For example: One choice is calling the guy a black person whereas the second choice is calling him a -blam!-. Depending on what you say, you signal to that person how you view them as a person (and their race)
which then in terms describes who you are as a person: disrespectful, etc (the part the president said)
I mean... it's how people make friends and how people make enemies
Shawn:
see thats the thing, if people make it offensive
Me:
it's really quite simple
Shawn:
its offensive
like if its a white power mother-blam!-
screaming -blam!-
then yes, its offensive
but for some kids that are just trying to joke about it
i dont get why people get so offended
Me:
Friends among friends who understand each other
why would it be offensive in the first place?
You're right about that, but that's not at all what the matter is
Shawn:
ok, so whats the matter
the fact that people are insensitive people are?
towards race?
Me:
If you present yourself to people you don't know the way you do with people you "joke around" with, you're sending a negative signal to those people. The way you present your thoughts are perceived in the exclusively denotative form of the expression. Again, call a random black person a -blam!- and something's going to go down. Tell your best pal "you damn -blam!-" and they'll KNOW it doesn't mean anything. The person knows who you are, how you feel about blacks, and is clearly comfortable being with you.
Shawn:
right
i get that
Me:
ok then you should be able to see why parading around the streets dressing up like a black man is NOT something appropriate

  • 12.06.2012 1:48 PM PDT

Life passes most people by while they're making grand plans for it. Throughout my lifetime, I've left pieces of my heart here and there. And now, there's almost not enough to stay alive. But I force a smile, knowing that my ambition far exceeded my talent. There are no more white horses or pretty ladies at my door.

I was going to make a Mexican and Black joke but they're all the same. Once you've heard Juan, you've heard Jamal? Don't you agree?

  • 12.06.2012 1:49 PM PDT

Per Audacia Ad Astra

Racism is discrimination simply because of what part of the world we started in.
Anti-Semitism is the same but towards different beliefs.

  • 12.06.2012 1:50 PM PDT

Hate it. The worse is when they are racist, and then say 'but my friend is a so-and-so, so I can't be racist'.

-blam- yes you can.

  • 12.06.2012 1:50 PM PDT

Circle Jerkin' I got my wiener workin'

Whoa son, do you really expect me to read all that?

OT: Who cares? If someone is not harming you then what does it matter if they're racist?

[Edited on 12.06.2012 1:53 PM PST]

  • 12.06.2012 1:52 PM PDT

On the Left

Godshatter: I can go all the way with someone without being attracted to them.
CamCamm: How does that work?
Godshatter: I'm easily aroused by anything that moves. It's a curse.
Brain says 'No, that's ugly', body says 'ugly is fine with me'.


Posted by: Synyster Snipez
I was going to make a Mexican and Black joke but they're all the same. Once you've heard Juan, you've heard Jamal? Don't you agree?

Thats not being racist.

[Edited on 12.06.2012 1:55 PM PST]

  • 12.06.2012 1:53 PM PDT

My Brahman is ready.

"The only way to get rid of racism is to stop talking about it."

-Morgan Freeman

  • 12.06.2012 1:53 PM PDT


Posted by: Empty Carecup
Hate it. The worse is when they are racist, and then say 'but my friend is a so-and-so, so I can't be racist'.

-blam- yes you can.


I totally get this. Relatives of mine fall into that category. Though clearly the extent of their racism, in most cases, is lower than a blunt racist.

  • 12.06.2012 1:54 PM PDT
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Posted by: Bungie Sam
Racism is discrimination simply because of what part of the world we started in.
Anti-Semitism is the same but towards different beliefs.
I assume this was in response to my post? Forgive me if that isn't the case.
Anti-Semitism is bias/hatred against Jews. Why does OP specifically mention Jews?

  • 12.06.2012 1:56 PM PDT


Posted by: Rokklaggio
"The only way to get rid of racism is to stop talking about it."

-Morgan Freeman


I don't think that will ever ring true. Not 300 years ago and not in 200 years from today. Silence, at its best, is only a message of dissatisfaction. Nothing more.

  • 12.06.2012 1:57 PM PDT
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Yup.

I think people take those concepts too far. In these days, simply stating facts and statistics, is racist. If someone said I am a cracker I'd say ok cool and very few people would think it's a problem, but if I say black girls look ugly, I'm worse than Hitler.

  • 12.06.2012 1:57 PM PDT


Posted by: Snake Plissken

Posted by: Bungie Sam
Racism is discrimination simply because of what part of the world we started in.
Anti-Semitism is the same but towards different beliefs.
I assume this was in response to my post? Forgive me if that isn't the case.
Anti-Semitism is bias/hatred against Jews. Why does OP specifically mention Jews?


I'm Jewish. I get cracked on for being Jewish with him. And my friend is Asian. I crack on him for being Asian.

  • 12.06.2012 1:58 PM PDT
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I know an anti-Semite who is best friends with a Jew. And the Jewish guy knows his best friend is an anti-Semite.

I know a bigot, who is uncomfortable around black people, but has no problem inviting them over to his house for dinner.

Racism is not always clearly defined.

  • 12.06.2012 1:58 PM PDT


Posted by: Murcielago00
I know an anti-Semite who is best friends with a Jew. And the Jewish guy knows his best friend is an anti-Semite.

I know a bigot, who is uncomfortable around black people, but has no problem inviting them over to his house for dinner.

Racism is not always clearly defined.


It definitely isn't, which is why it's very important to be prudent about these things. Making the better choice is the smarter choice.

  • 12.06.2012 2:06 PM PDT
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Posted by: Drunky1993

Posted by: Murcielago00
I know an anti-Semite who is best friends with a Jew. And the Jewish guy knows his best friend is an anti-Semite.

I know a bigot, who is uncomfortable around black people, but has no problem inviting them over to his house for dinner.

Racism is not always clearly defined.


It definitely isn't, which is why it's very important to be prudent about these things. Making the better choice is the smarter choice.
And the better choice would be to stop empowering racial slurs by making them taboo and looking down on anyone who uses it.

And to stop thinking that anyone who uses a racial slur is automatically racist.

  • 12.06.2012 2:08 PM PDT


Posted by: Murcielago00

Posted by: Drunky1993

Posted by: Murcielago00
I know an anti-Semite who is best friends with a Jew. And the Jewish guy knows his best friend is an anti-Semite.

I know a bigot, who is uncomfortable around black people, but has no problem inviting them over to his house for dinner.

Racism is not always clearly defined.


It definitely isn't, which is why it's very important to be prudent about these things. Making the better choice is the smarter choice.
And the better choice would be to stop empowering racial slurs by making them taboo and looking down on anyone who uses it.

And to stop thinking that anyone who uses a racial slur is automatically racist.


Words are meant to describe your impressions and your feelings towards something or someone. Each has a denoted meaning.

That's where things like "The pen is mightier than the sword" originate from. For each circumstance, there's always a smarter choice to make.





[Edited on 12.06.2012 2:18 PM PST]

  • 12.06.2012 2:16 PM PDT

Posted by: Billygoat456
I'll bring the tritium laser cutters if you bring the beer!

Funny story.

I think people should know that Arabs are Semites.

[Edited on 12.06.2012 2:18 PM PST]

  • 12.06.2012 2:18 PM PDT


Posted by: monitor 16807
I think people should know that Arabs are Semites.


?

  • 12.06.2012 2:26 PM PDT

I'm open to it.

  • 12.06.2012 2:40 PM PDT

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