Having read through a 37 page thread on a topic in which the word racism was used dozens of times I'm left wondering if every user of that word intends it to mean the same thing. So I am interested in knowing what others here personally believe racism to be.

Admitting that one has an inferiority complex.

The scientifically erroneous belief that

a) minor phenotypic differences between humans in terms of skin color and facial features divide them into identifiable groups of differing geographic origin and ancestry
those differences correlate with differences in intellectual ability, behavioral attributes, or capability for various professions, occupations, or tasks.
c) that those differences result in such groups being definable as superior or inferior, with the person usually assuming their own group is supreme and others are inferior

According to the above (dictionary) definition, racism is the belief that certain perceptible differences and characteristics which are typical of a given race (or sub-species, or variety within a species) are indicative of inferiority or superiority in comparison with other races. In the example of one who does not believe his race to be superior to another race but simply prefers to not associate with those of that other race, can this preference be regarded as racism?

If so, why?

I think there's nothing wrong with wanting to normally associate with people who look like you. Better yet, act like you, dress like you, eat like you, talk like you.

Now, on the other hand, while I consider that normal, I would wonder why you'd actively want to avoid members of other races (or other ethnic groups). There is a difference between behavior one and two.

If you don't consider them inferior (or criminally dangerous by nature), why would you want to avoid association with them?

I agree. Birds of a feather do flock together and there is nothing insidious about that.


I am White. I do not fit into the racist category because I much prefer the company of intelligent Blacks to that of stupid Whites. But generally speaking I've found that I have little to nothing in common with most Blacks I come in contact with, and vice/versa, a circumstance which does not promote active avoidance but rather impedes active pursuit of closer relationships.

I've observed that many Whites who believe themselves to be unconditionally accepting of all ethnicities make the smugly egocentric mistake of assuming that anyone whom they are willing to accept is, in spite of outward appearances, equally accepting of them. But I know this is not necessarily so -- and awareness of that false assumption imposes a subtle barrier, an awkward hurdle which must be overcome before genuine and meaningful acceptance can develop between persons with signficantly disparate backgrounds and orientations.

Slavery in America and the subsequent Jim Crow era were incredibly cruel and shameful social abominations the residual effects of which will take many more generations to fully erase, if ever. In the meantime a significant percentage of American Blacks consciously or pre-consciously harbor feelings ranging from casual resentment to profound hatred for White people. Those Whites who are aware of this tend to be somewhat cautious when coming in contact with Blacks either socially or in the workplace, a response which might easily be misinterpreted as prejudicial rejection.

While much of the emotional transaction I'm referring to here occurs at the subliminal level it is nonetheless perceptible as a "vibe," a subtle, unconcealable radiation from the inner being. I believe the Obama phenomenon, i.e. his amazingly broad acceptance by White voters, derives from the fact that he was raised by White people, whom he loved and trusted, and is therefore totally devoid of this detectable signal, the unconcealable negative "vibe."

So while the dictionary definition of racism is the belief that one's race makes one inherently superior to those of different races, I believe this definition applies exclusively to relatively stupid individuals. Intelligent people know better than this. So I believe a more useful definition of racism would be rejection based on conscious or pre-conscious hatred of the entirety of a different racial category.

No, what they harbor hatred for is white racism, not white people. There is a difference.

I've worked with Palestinians as a Jew and Native Americans as a washichu. Tense moments are the norm. I find if you're honest, forthright, and treat people as people, they do the same to you, it's kind of as simple as that.



I believe you are mostly correct. Largely because he was raised primarily by a white mother, he doesn't normally use Black Vernacular. This makes him less threatening to white people because he doesn't "sound" black, or at least what they think of, as black.

There's no question that his campaign decided early on to eschew the kind of confrontational message used by Sharpton or Jackson when they ran for president, largely IMHO because white people are mostly still unready to listen.

Ok my take is going to be a little more simplified. To me racism is both the act of crimes against people based on skin color and/or ethnicity. It is also the belittling treatment or suggestive stereotypes linked to... Once again race/ and or ethnicity.

Here in Los Angeles, you grow up with all types of ethnic backgrounds, but they are Americans. My neighbor was in WW2, his ancestry is Spanish, but you would never know talking to him. I have many friends like this, of all backgrounds. What I see lately is the rule of law being abandoned due to politically correctness. I take a back seat to people illegally in my country, that is perpetuated by racism. I see large corporations working the black market, paying these people substandard wages, no benefits, who are they going to complain to? Say anything about it, you are a racist, what a bunch of crap. Slavery is slavery, black market is black market. Our officials pass edicts and the citizen has no voice. I want these establishments upheld to the law. When I get a different standard than someone else, whether good or bad, based on ethnic background, that is racism. If you cannot see past the skin to a person's character, then you might be a racist.

Racism is actually an action.... people often juxtapose the term racism in the place of prejudice or discrimination. Prejudice and discrimination is a big part of racism. The original context of racism meant to keep a group of people down hierarchically due to prejudices based on the groups race. The term usually had economic connotations connected to the actions of the dominant group that carried out the racist acts on the subjugated group. (i.e. slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings-- and Willy Lynch's divide and conquer technique, minstrel shows, cartoons [really gotta hate that old Bugs Bunny], unjust legislation, all the collectibles and food brands... ) These all have economic effects on the group depicted; whether it be getting hired for a job, the threat of sudden death, or fear of participation in the democratic mediums afforded to citizens.

Racism has more to do with physical characteristics (race) than cultural backgrounds (ethnicity.)

I live in a community where being white I am in the minority. My husband is bi-racial, although most people would see him as black - although he has features that give away the fact that he has a mixed heritage. People in the Bahamas still have a lot of deep scars going back to slavery and segregation. My husband is 65, and still bears some of those scars. He can still remember going to the movie theater in Nassau with his white friend, and although he paid for the tickets, only his friend was allowed in. He still remembers the water fountains that were for whites only, etc. When I met him, we were attracted to each other's personalities first. Colour was not in the equation. But over the years we learned a lot from each other about how we see people of colour and vice versa. Perception has so much to do with it. Although his grandfathers were French and Scottish, he had the perception that ALL British and Europeans were prejudiced, because the wealthy people who were seemingly "in charge" in his younger days were mostly white Europeans. The younger generation here who did not go through that have a much more open minded attitude.

I am the kind of person that will tell you straight and plain if I think you are rude, stupid or whatever. But I have found that being white and in the minority makes it harder for a black person to accept that I am telling them this not based on the colour of their skin, but on the simple fact that they have done something that genuinely offended me. I've also found that there is a great deal of what we call here "reverse racism" - black people being prejudiced towards people of their own race based on the lightness or darkness of their skin colour. It is considered to be a social feather in the cap for a really dark skinned man to marry a woman who is lighter skinned than himself, he is said to be trying to "lighten his colour" - a reference to the possibility that his children will be born lighter than himself, although this is not always the case of course. Some of the kids may be darker some lighter. And of course, it is the coup de grace if a black man marries a white woman!

I don't think these problems will ever go away - being prejudiced is a part of human nature and applies to many things other than the colour of someone's skin, but prejudice and hatred are different things, and hatred is taught.

While this certainly is true in some (possibly most) cases it certainly isn't universally true for the collective Black disposition toward White people (see, Soul On Ice: Eldridge Cleaver, Manchild In The Promised Land: James Baldwin, The Autobiography of Malcolm X: w/Alex Haley). Also pay attention to the reaction of audiences during performances by such Black comedians as D.L. Hughley, Paul Mooney, Chris Rock, et. al., when comments which negatively stereotype and are (often exaggeratedly) critical of White people are commonly made. The profound collective resentment of Whites in the audience response to these comments, which refer to White people -- not White racism, is unmistakably clear and while most of it does not rise to the level of hatred and is presumably negotiable pending closer assessment of individual Whites, the existence of this collective resentment is sufficient to discourage Whites who are aware of it from pursuing closer relationships with individual Blacks.

I think Chris Rock is funny as hell, I love his comedy performances, I think the observations he makes about white people are no different than the way old time comedians like Don Rickles or Henny Youngman poked fun at other ethnic groups, he also makes fun of his own group as well ("CR: 'if you call your grandma mommy and your mom Pam, you're going to jail'), and I don't think I would ever be uncomfortable at a live performance.

Whatever, Mike, I believe you have said you are in your 70s, yes; I gather this is a generational thing, we might just have to chalk it up to that.

And the legend of Willie Lynch persist to this day. He originated the divide and conquer hierarchy of slaves. Put the lighter skinned slaves in the house and leave the darker ones in the shed. It was also demonstrated by many scientist around the word (from European ancestry) through their pseudo-science in an attempt to prove white superiority. It is seen throught Latin America as well... lighter (fair) skin versus dark (unfair) skin. It plays in the good (straight) hair versus bad (kinky) hair perceptions. Because of all this, a lot of black people are constantly on the defense (conscious or subconsciously) knowing their skin color has been leveraged against them. It often resonates in defensive interactions with the other believing that negativity coming from the other might be due to skin color (race).

So, that obstacle is usually overcome after friendship is established.



It is not a resentment of whites... it is a resentment of the unjust treatment experienced in white dominant culture. Only in a white dominated culture do you have "ethnic" aisles in a supermarket, magazines covered in perceived white beauty and a borrage of negative depictions night after night of ethnic/racial minorities on the news without any explanation of the injustices that cause such behavior. I hate to say it, but people enjoy listening to a person that can flip a painful situation into a funny situation. Dave Chappelle was a supreme intellectual at acheiving this through his stand-up and comedy sketches... The problem is that "outsiders" often don't see what the underlying corollary is to interaction with dominant society.

We have jokes about how white people dance, etc. which in the end perpetuates rhythmic stereotypes about black people... but also is a chance to hear somebody say on a loud speaker "Hey, there's something positive about us... even though all we see is negative everyday."

Chappelle would do a standup sketch about driving around in his car with his white friend Chip and telling all the crazy stuff Chip gets away with around the police. He also did a sketch about how the media (factually) proclaims the genius of a white kid that escaped from her attackers after a couple of weeks, but the story about the black child that was kidnapped and escaped that same day was burried. Or a (fact-based) sketch about the black kid that was play wrestling with a friend and the friend died and they wanted to lock the kid up for years.

Paul Mooney is an especially racially conscious comedian. Comedians are comedians because they take you to the edge of acceptable dialogue and see how far they can push the envelope. He had a stand up joke where he would say "I say (n-word) every day, it keeps my teeth white."

This comedy could be considered racist if by any means it did keep down white people... but its actually a form of coping with dominant culture. If a gay person was telling jokes about heteros, this same characterization you attribute to these jokes would be lost. Any white person that claims a comedian's joke about white people makes them not want to interact with blacks on an individual basis is creating excuses. I would attribute it more to the characterization of blacks in films, "journalism," and music. Corporate America loves the Buck/Brute stereotypical illustration of black males; dangerously black and overly sex crazed.

What is Racisim?

Not likeing someone because of their race.

Allthough I am a cracker I cringe at 'white trash' so I'm not sure if I'm racists or elitist..........

Racist attitudes often lead to racist behavior - we can and must regulate behavior, and can with luck influence the attitudes.

Love the pink robes - they must be LBGTA-KKK!

Do you consider this racist? This is the letter my mother-in-law gave me a month ago:

"You have traded me for the Porters who never gave a royal rat's ass about you and never will. You are a fool. Cathy called here last night, I didn't talk to her as I was bathing Marie. If you tell ANYONE in the family my and Marie's business I will never speak to either of you again. TEll that to your troublemaking wife. Marie and my business is our own. Even without you and the puerto rican's distortions. I am protecting Marie from gossip and insults. The Porter's are troublemakers so they and the Puerto Rican ought to get along real well. But her great hope of getting something from them, and yes she did ask Nellie for money, call her and ask her yourself, you'll find out the truth, will be dashed against the rocks. They are using her to divide my family and she is such an ass she will go to any lengths to make trouble for me. Hey, she's the one who tells everyone she is not white, and the puerto's are a mixture of escaped slaves and so. amer. natives. The spaniards did not breed with them, that is a historic fact. Well,at least they never married them. Your life is your own, I encouraged independence in all of you. Talk to your siblings about why they don't come to D.C. and you will know why Marie doesn't want to come down either. It was not me who would not come back, it was Marie. I don't lie. I don't have to. I have tried all my life to bind this family together, as I tried to bind my siblings. But that didn't work, I tried to keep all of you children in touch with your fathers and their families. You chose, correctly, not to. But I wan never going to hear, "You kept me away from my father". And I will never hear, "You kept me away from my family". The burned hand teaches best. You must learn the hard way, as I did. So I will never tell you any family business again, because of the trouble-maker you married. END of case. As with her lying letter, no answer to this will be acknowledged."

Any pointers will be of great help.

The Rich 1% And The Lower Class 99%
And The Pathetic Rhetoric To Even The Vote.

Irrational fear. I really think it is that simple. Fear, after all, is the primary motivator of human behavior. A concept not lost on Republicans.

"That guy is so uppity. I can't voter for him, he's not like reglar folk."

That's not racist. It has no bearing (with emphasis on economics) on that community and a "white trash" person can invariably go unnoticed as white trash. I think that's more of a class issue if anything.

I'm black... If I have issues with a certain sect of black people, it has nothing to do with their race... and I do not take action that negatively impacts that sect.

To complicate things... there is a such thing as "reverse racism" where a black person is racist to their own people because they have fallen prey to the propagated stereotypes. "I won't hire that black person because they're lazy..." is a racist act, assuming a person has a certain social characteristic based on phenotypic expression. It happens all the time with black police. Of course, if a person knows that a specific person is lazy because they've witnessed the person being lazy... and they say I won't hire them... then they're not being racist.

I was a coordinator for an afterschool program for economically disadvantaged youths when I was in college. The majority of the volunteers happened to be white while the majority of the economically disadvantaged in the area were typically black. These mentors were well-intentioned people; yet, they didn't realize the racist interactions they would have with the kids at times. Not because they were racist, but because they were acting on stereotypes subconsciously. All the kids would play rough, yet I would continually hear the adjective "aggressive" being used to described the black children and not other children. It affected how they interacted with the children; punishing the "aggressive" black children while telling the mexican/white children to "be more careful." I didn't think the mentors were aware that they were attributing stereotypes to the children... it was the prism that they were looking through. I addressed my mentors when we were back on campus, and of course they didn't realize their err. (Non-racist doing racist things due to lack of awareness.) They learned, they changed.

Calling yourself a "cracker" implies that you're an old-school southerner, which imposes certain social constraints on you where associating with Blacks is concerned. If you were to meet a Black person whom you find to be trustworthy, interesting, likeable and easy to communicate with, becoming too closely involved with that person might tend to alienate some (or all) of your White friends -- presuming they are "crackers" too. Social constraints also affect some Blacks, causing them to avoid close association with Whites.

I imagine that residual orientation from the Jim Crow era causes many southerners, White and Black, to think they dislike members of a different race because they are expected to by their peers. This social conditioning is much less imposing today than it was in the past but I believe it will take several more generations to fully dissipate.

racism is applied racial bigotry.

People are free to believe that their race is superior. It's when the bigotry is applied either directly by an individual or systematically by a powerful racial group that it raises to racism.

That's not to say that bigotry is fine, just that racism is different and much worst a "creature".