Racial stereotyping = racism?

[fredv3b]

a man or woman who unwittingly becomes an object of someone else's lust simply because they belong to a particular ethnic type.

Speaking entirely personally, becoming the object of someone else's lust would be a welcome novelty in my life.

[marshlander]

Speaking entirely personally, becoming the object of someone else's lust would be a welcome novelty in my life.

Fred, darling, PA and I would be pleased to lust after you (from our safe distance), but you know full well the difference between lusting after a person one fancies and objectifying a whole race

If it helps ...

[fredv3b]

Fred, darling, PA and I would be pleased to lust after you (from our safe distance), but you know full well the difference between lusting after a person one fancies and objectifying a whole race

You are beginning to scare me now :eek:

[marshlander]

You're safe

[Lightshade]

You're safe

'Safe' and 'too far away' have the same meaning here :biggrin:


Just kidding, sorry marsh ^^

[peterinmalaga]

Hi all, My understanding is that racism is about the abuse of power which you have because of your ethnic origins. You are not racist just for the fact of being white, American or a teacher, though being these things gives you the potential to be racist in a western society. The law can be used to redress the balance of power a little but it is a crude instrument. Education is far more effective. Black people sometimes use the race card when it is not appropriate but, though they are wrong to do so, it is nevertheless understandable that some of them behave in this way sometimes: it is more a question of them expressing their disapproval of their lack of power in a given situation. I think it is more important to be honest than to be PC. If you are honest about your opinions and are wrong, somebody is going to correct you in the end and you can learn from that. If you are always PC, regardless of what you are really thinking, you will learn nothing, because you will never be challenged. I believe that it’s perfectly OK to make a mistake or express an opinion which is wrong: by doing so you are more likely to grow as a human being. What is really bad in my book is to shoot someone down in flames when they risk stating an opinion which is contrary to your own. Nobody learns from that.

[boxerdc]

I've noticed on other sites that this seems to be on the rise in Great Britain. Not racism itself, but people using the racism card. It's my experience that everyone is a little bit racist (like everyone is a little bit bisexual), and it's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm white/Caribbean black/latino, but can pass as white until I open my mouth, and I know that I sometimes have racist thoughts..
I've just learned to think on things before acting on them. When I see a group of young black kids on the Metro, and they're behaving badly, I'll take the time to look around at all the young black kids who are not behaving badly, before saying that all young blacks in DC are thugs.

It's easy to see people who act badly, because they stand out in our society. It's much harder to see people who are doing the right thing, because they blend in. Remember that there are far more people doing what's good and right, regardless of race, and try not to judge everyone based on the actions of a few.

Good luck, I know it's hard for me to do

[peterinmalaga]

I think you are absolutely right boxerdc. Using the racist card is on the increase in the UK but unfortunately so is racism. But the situation is complex. White Brits accept Afro-Caribbeans, who now have integrated quite well into our society and have adopted our norms and values mostly. But white Brits are much more reluctant to accept Muslims, whatever their ethnic origins. There is a serious clash of cultures with the Muslims, who in some cases feel justified (by virtue of their religion) in taking the law into their own hands. Terrorism is one aspect of this but there are also too many crimes of honour, where a Muslim family will kill a member of their own family who has brought shame on the family. This is a particularly sensitive issue among gays, who are not accepted within Muslim society. But heteros who do not conform are also victimised. Not long ago a Muslim man in Leytonstone was attacked by other Muslims with knives, had sulphuric acid poured down his throat and over his body. He suffered skull fractures and the acid caused 50 per cent burns to his body. His tongue was destroyed. I don’t know if he survived. Brits don’t like this sort of thing and the fascist BNP party has gained a good deal of support as a result. The same thing is happening in Germany, Spain and France too. And obviously fascists do not have a positive attitude towards gays. This is why I think it is important to keep racism high on the agenda. Unfortunately the BBC take a very PC attitude and, for example, the incident in Leytonstone was not reported on BBC TV. They focus on safer controversial issues like disturbances at football matches.

[marshlander]

This awful incident was reported here as it was in many other places. I don't know about the BBC not broadcasting it, but Sky News certainly did:

This kind of behaviour and sadly, many examples like it, cannot be condoned under any circumstances.

It is one thing to relocate to a place where one hopes to be better off. It is quite another to bring the customs that made the place of one's family's origin such a hell that relocation was deemed necessary.

There is no interpretation of the term "honour" that I recognise in these disgusting actions. :mad:

[fredv3b]

But the situation is complex. White Brits accept Afro-Caribbeans, who now have integrated quite well into our society and have adopted our norms and values mostly. But white Brits are much more reluctant to accept Muslims, whatever their ethnic origins.

A very good point. Frequently, discrimination is branded racist when it isn't, that's not to say that if it isn't racism it is acceptable. However there is a general acceptance in the UK that racism is unacceptable in all circumstances but there is no similar general prohibition against, say, religious discrimination. It gets even more complicated if you consider groups that are both religious and ethnic, for example, the Jews, for whom, at least in the eyes of the Law, religious discrimination is, often, also racial discrimination.