"Racism"

Racism Forum

Do you think "racism"is still alive and well in the good old USA?

I can guess how this question might relate to Married By America - but, I'd rather you explain what you are implying....

....?

Racism is alive the world over, not just in the USA. It seems to be a natural instinct.. "birds of a feather" kind of thing, you know? I just wish more humans were able to moreeffectively utilize their human skills that separate us from the animal kingdom and rise above that kind of animalistic behavior. It's disgusting.

I hate to say it, but I'm filled with a sense of pride when I think of my own views against racism.. and when I watch a show or movie that portrays people overcoming racial boundaries and befriending, etc - the reason that I hate to say it is because I'd much rather it be a NON-issue than to be an issue to be proud of rising above..

There are too many people in the world to reach them all.. too many bad experiences, too much hatred, generations of angst, emotional connections to blood ties and revenge.. it'll never end until the cataclysmic destruction of life as a whole.. then the few remaining would probably find some sense of brotherhood amongst themselves.

But this is, indeed, a rather negative topic for a reality TV show If you use something like Joe Millionaire as an example where rather quickly all but the white girls were eliminated from the competition - maybe some would like to pint the finger at racism, but others would argue that it's just, plain preference. Not everyone has "exotic" preferences... could go either way I suppose

How does this relate to Married by America? but to answer your question, yes there is racism and there will always be racism, but it is not a bad as it used to be

who's talking about racism relating to Married by America
not me I'm talking of RACISM and how it relates to life!The one your living not watching on TV!

Well that being the case, we'll move this conversation on over to a place where it's relevant: in Cultural & Societal Issues.

Racism is the most over used word in america today. Racism is not as prevelant as it once was where as one thinks he is superrior because of the color of skin. now prejudice on the other hand is alive and well , and always will be. To prejudge someone based on sterotypes is comon, and will never go away. Now in our new politically correct world we live in we pretend these stero types dont exsists, but lets face it cultural divide is the main thing. I am not going to associate witha group of people i have nothing in comon with. But as long as i dont infringe on their rights what does it matter? Im sick of this word and the Minority groups who abuse the word everytime they dont get their way. I am sick of certain groups attacking historical symbols and historical figures because of something they did 150 years ago. You know what i mean. It is the minority groups who force this divide. Attacking white historical symbols is not going to win them any freinds. I will not pretend like we are a global village. There are simply certain cultures i find backwards and have no desire to associate with them. I know thats insensative in these politically correct times, but im not from these times. Thanks

I'm new to this and you could say virgin so be nice I'll learn to keep up!Pulp Fiction ,Nana

I agree with everything that Rebel said. I would also like to add something else.

There are a lot of good people out there that are working to bring the races together in peaceful harmony and to create an understanding between the races. These people are saying "Look we shouldn't be seperated from each other just because our skin color is different." But we never hear about this in the news all we hear about is how crappy race relations are. I read an editorial in Newsweek about this once.

The guy wrote about a black man that was dying from cancer in the hospital. Every week he looked foward to hearing one of the white volunteers come into his room and play his guitar and sing to him. This was one of the few happy moments the dying man enjoyed in life. The two became ended up becoming great friends.

This is a great example of how race relations in this country aren't as bad as people make it out to be. The two men didn't care about the others color, they shared one thing the love of music and with that they were able to break down the color barrier.

I believe minority groups keep racism alive because they benefit from keeping it alive. They get special rights that whites don't get. They get financial rights and grants, and can reverse discriminate all they want without fear of legal consequences.

Why should they stop racism themselves when they get paid to be victims?

I don't buy the minority laws one bit. I cannot have a conversation with a minority without them complaining about something that happened 200 years ago. And they seem to end up somewhere in their conversations saying "you know how it is for us....."

I was not there 200 years ago, and neither was anyone alive today, so get over it.

It's all a crutch to get benefits and sympathy. And as for racism against whites, you can bet it exists. If you want to be a victim and get benefits and complain about something a generation did years and years ago, then don't expect to maintain friendships very long (except by those who also complain) as it is sickening to hear about it every single day.

I would rather associate with people who are able to overcome obstacles and quit harping on it. It's like asking a hypochondriac how they are doing....only you don't they are one until you ask them. They never stop with their aches and pains. That's what minority groups remind me of. They don't want things to get better. If they did, they wouldn't keep suing people who don't give them their way on everything.

I got tired of being politically correct. I speak bluntly to them now. I tell them I wasn't there when slavery existed, and I'm not a part of it today. We could all be victims of something and have crutches.

Racism is still a problem in our society, so is any type of discrimination. Listening to the press is not a way to form one's opinion. The press is biased against anything they can sensationilize.

People routinely judge bad behavior by the first thing they can see, skin color, nationality. That is what people do. I have met people from many countries and cultures.

The one fact I have found to be true is, a jerk is a jerk regardless of their color or culture.

There are many wonderful people who are minorities and they get lumped into the category of the jerks who are minorities. That is so wrong.

So the next time you meet someone who is a minority, or a foriegner, a surly bank clerk, an annoying government employee, a bratty kid. And they do something rude. Remember there is always a nice minority, or foriegner, a helpful bank clerk, a nice government employee, and a respectful kid.

Don't interact with individuals you don't like, and don't judge an entire race on a handful of people, you loose out on wonderful life experiences.

Racism: Definition

racism

n

1: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

2: Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

racist adj. & n.

racism

n

1: the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races

2: discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race

[syn: racialism]

.....................

I think the edges of things may be blurring a little here. We may be confusing actions and activities, organized or otherwise, of some so-called minorities with racism.

Defined as per above, racism is making judgements and decisions about someone of a given race based strictly on race.

That being the case, and based on what many of you have said, most people don't automatically make judgements based on color of skin. I also don't think that most people feel superior or are abusive to others just based on their race.

I do think some people might still have initial emotional reactions, especially in an unfamiliar environment. They range from the negative, such as fear or distrust, to positive such as relief or confidence depending on the circumstances.

I do think that certain references and reminders as well as the media may perpetuate the idea that some rampant racism exists ... and at the very least they DO accentuate differences rather than similarities.

Fairly recent examples are Jeff Probsts "the first Puerto Rican Sole Survivor" ... and Ruben Studdard saying "a black man from Alabama is the American Idol".

Um ... why put THAT forward ? Such statements attempt to steer us towards a racist conclusion that these wins are in spite of their race, rather than based on just their skills or talent.

Anyway, I could be very wrong and the answer to "does racism exist" may be somewhat skewed by geography, but I say in the true sense of the definition, probably not.

I do however, agree that the demeanor of some who act and feel as if they are slighted, entitled or something else based again strictly on their race certainly ticks ME off. This might sway others into believing that this behavior is common to the race rather than the individual. No ?

I'm a white male and I've experienced little bits of racism here and there growing up. In school, there was a black kid who was passing out papers for the teacher. He came to me and walked by, saying he's hooking up his 'brothers' first. Sometime later me and this kid fought (because of a different matter). When we were in the principals office, he told them I called him the 'n' word. That was totally false. Just a ploy because he started the whole thing. He turned it into a race issue so spin it on me. So neither of us ended up getting in trouble.

These hispanic kids in my neighborhood wouldn't socialize with me or my friends because they believed white people were evil or something. This dumb ass girl actually said that to my face. Odd.

And in the literal since of the word, a major supermarket chain discriminated against me because I was white. In high school, this supermarket manager flat out told me he could not hire me because I was white. They had to hire a minority. He said my only shot was to put down I was hispanic or 'other'. I told him to shove the job up his pooper.

Again, nothing too bad, but even subtle racism bugs.

-HECK!

It's like that here too Heck. I see it as racism. I know there are posters that don't experience stuff like that, but I do too. There was a NY police applicant that scored 100% on his test, and the other applicants were less. When he asked why he wasn't hired, he was told because he's white. The police department told him when he can change the color of his skin, he can come back.

When I tried to get a job with the government, I was told the same thing.

I'm fed up.

And to answer your question oldbutafan, no, women are not considered minorities. Only Black women owned businesses are. I think the government application reads:

African-American, Asian, Indian, and Hispanic

If you are a woman owned buisness, you are out of luck. The preference for government contracting is 8(a) first, which is miniority owned, and then Hubzone, and then small business if needed, but small business does not have any set-aside preferences with the Air Force. In fact, I was told they didn't care about small businesses. No joke!

That sucks. But, I guess minorities got the shaft for a long time so Big Brother is making it up.

-HECK!

You know....I hate to be the one to disagree (again ), but there are PLENTY of grants out there for women to open up businesses...all you have to do is look for them....they arent hard to find.

They dont state that it is only for blacks, hispanics, etc.

I happen to know that because a friend of mine was granted money to open a business, and lo and behold....she's white.

It's about time! Why should men be the only ones allowed to make the most money? How come dad can't stay at home and raise the kids, mom had to endure the pregnancy?

Have you ever noticed (at least in my experience) that men are more racist than women?

Racism, sexism. I think this thread should really be entitled "ism's".

I understand all too well what happens when a protester loses. The government made a serious mistake in writing here. They put their race discrimination in writing, and it has provoked a very strong lawsuit against them.

The same government entity put it in writing (and verified with witnesses) that a minority company will receive stolen plans from another company. When that company protested, the minority company offered a $50,000 bribe to the company to drop the protest and help them fix the government bid so it could go to a minority company.

When the company refused the bribe, and reported the bribe to the government, the government dropped the company's protest, and awarded the contract through a back door.

Needless to say, there is a lawsuit against the government for this too. As for grants, it does not do a company any good to get a grant if the government (whom the company exists for in the first place) continually violates laws in order to contract with whom they want.

It is MUCH easier for the government to use a minority contractual vehicle (actually lazy government) than it is for them to award contracts to non-minorities. They have a system set up (8a set-aside) which the government abuses so bad that they will take plans from a small business and award them "in good faith of course" to a minority company.

This too is in litigation.

Something needs to be done to stop whatever you call this. If it's racism, discrimination, whatever label you want to put on it.

Or really, perhaps the non-minorities should form a group much like the ACLU and attack back.

You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You call me "Cracker", "Honkey", "Whitey" and even "The Man" and you think it's OK.
But when I call you, "******", "Kike", "Towelhead", "Sand-******", "Camel Jockey", "Beaner" or "Chink" you call me a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live


You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi
You have BET.

If we had WET(white entertainment television) we'd be racists.

If we had a White Pride Day you would call us racists.

If we had white history month, we'd be racists.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights.
If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You call each other "*****s", but when we call you that, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.
But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.


I am white.
I am proud.
I am an American.

But, you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?