What is your definition of racism?
To me racism is:
The taking of an indigenous peoples land and regulating them to reservations.
The enslavement of of a race of people for centuries.
The lynching of innocent men women and children while the whole town watched in amusement.
The treatment of people as 3rd class citizens or even sub-human for generations.
The confinement and killing of millions in concentration camps.
The bombing of a church that killed 4 little girls in Alabama.
The Emmitt Till verdict
The Rodney King verdict
The Sean Bell verdict
Etc.
Racism is not:
Saying “Typical white woman”
Saying ” God, Damn America”
Saying “U.S. of KKK”
Saying “Insert anything SAID by Louis Farrakhan here.”
Saying ” For the first time in my adult life I’m proud of my country.”
Saying “Hillary Clinton doesn’t know what it’s like to be called a *******.”
Affirmative action
The O.J. verdict (which was still a bad decision. I can’t argue that.)
I’ll admit this is just my opinion. I’m asking to find out what may be others definitions of this word because to me a few people are throwing this word around like they really don’t understand the true EVIL and HATRED that is behind it…….but then again if someone has never experienced it in it’s TRUE FORM, I guess I can’t fault them for it.
I’m putting this question here to break the monotony of all he crazy questions I’ve read today.
So, what is your HONEST definition as/if it relates to you?
Black Liberation Theology is not racism.
Voting for John McCain is not racism
@ asdfjkl
I used examples for natives indians and people of jewish faith also. Not just “my people”.
I’m just saying to me (again TO ME.)that racism is an action. An act to terrorize or harm another because of a feeling of superiority. To others it may well be just words that hurt your feelings like asdfjkl has said but thats his/her opinion and I can respect that.
Thank everyone that answered.
Of course there are no wrong answers because I asked for YOUR definition and thats what you gave me so I gave all who answered a thumbs up. (Even the one I disagreed with.)
Since this is in the electios question, I’ll let you vote for the best answer.
FYI: I read on the internet that The village atheist is a muslim with very little experience and ties to shady characters.
It seems many people think not voting for Obama is racist. Just being honest. To me, basically degrading someone for the color of their skin is racism.
Black Liberation Theology is racism.
This is racist:
“While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism.” Cone
“Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man ‘the devil.’” Cone
“Black theology cannot accept a view of God which does not represent God as being for oppressed blacks and thus against white oppressors. Living in a world of white oppressors, blacks have no time for a neutral God. The brutalities are too great and the pain too severe, and this means we must know where God is and what God is doing in the revolution. There is no use for a God who loves white oppressors the same as oppressed blacks. We have had too much of white love, the love that tells blacks to turn the other cheek and go the second mile. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power, which is the power of blacks to destroy their oppressors, here and now, by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject God’s love.” [A Black Theology of Liberation, p. 70
Racism is basing your judgement of a person or a decision or choice you are making solely on the race of a person.
Example: I do not think a person NOT voting for Obama is racist.
However, they ARE racist if they’re not voting for Obama BECAUSE he’s got black in him.
Racism is the belief that your race is genetically superior than other races.
Prejudice is when you hear something like “A woman was beat by young teenagers” and you think of a particular race/gender
Bigotry is when you dont like another race’s culture
IMO.
I think of it as, true hatred of another person simply because their race is different, hatred because of their skin color. Wanting harm to come to people who are different than them. Being threatening towards them or making threats about them. Snide, condescending remarks about people of different skin colors. Stereotypes.
Hatred also goes a long way when hating people for their Religion(s), Sexual Orientation, Gender, etc.
To put it simply, racism to me is when someone thinks that they are better than someone else because of their skin color or religion.
It’s all so wrong, but so common.
We’re all God’s children.
Your racist because your definition is very skewed to fit what you think are injustices to your people. What, White people don’t have feelings and therefore aren’t offended by insensitive black remarks? Words of hate are racist no matter whose mouth they come out of, “mr. emcee discriminatory”
You are dead on!
to me racism is *clearly* favoring one nationality as better than another. i’ll admit, it is hard to define because under so many different circumstances and scenarios racism may not actually be “racism”….and it works the other way around as well.
good question which has a correct answer that few will get right. prejudice is prejudging someone based on stereotypes or some other preconceived notion. (many blacks like many whites are prejuidiced) racism is carrying out behavior based on some racial ideology. ironically most blacks who are racist are racist against their own people! (yes thats possible) think of the corrupt cop or clarence thomas. racism is the sum of what you do unfairly against someone based on race (dwb) ,what you do to help your own race,(unfairly)(neppitism,chronism) what you don’t for someone who is deserving(passed over for promotion) and lastly what you don’t do to someone based on race (not report late payments, warnings instead of tickets) when you add it all up it’s huge and it’s overwhemingly one way
Most of the things you say are “not racist” in fact are. Lets turn the tables a bit.
Saying “Typical black man”
Saying “U.S. of NAACP”
Saying “Insert anything SAID by Trent Lott”
Saying ” Obama is not qualified to be president.”
Saying “Stupid F#@!$^* N*&&^%”
What Racist is: Hiring someone unqualified just to meet some pre set quota. Giving someone of one race a job over an equally qualified person of another race just because you need a “token”.
Voting for someone because of their skin color.
Racism is but one aspect of the greater category of prejudice. That is to prejudge something in a negative way for one and only one reason: it is different than me and what I care about. Typically such prejudgment does not originate from observed fact but from what these people have been taught in order to reinforce their own idea of self worth and the prejudice is only reinforced with examples that it is untrue because they can no longer see themselves as special or superior. In order to reestablish their own superiority rather than admit the “other” is an equal they simply go for an even more extreme version of the same prejudice. What they never seem to realize is that when their prejudice becomes that extreme they are seen as inferior to that which they decry. I have seen this lead to a “death spiral” where the person simply become detached from everything that is real and end up living in their own little world where they and they alone sit at the right hand of god and the real world simply no longer exists.
Ain’t people weird.