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Where is racism today?

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The following is my inspiration for this thread:
Spoiler:


...how is racism expressed today? How has it changed over the course of the past generations? Is the explicit expression of racism going underground? What do you think of "subliminal" racism? Feel free to ask your parents or older people you know about the things they've heard, said, had said to them, participated in ... you know, sticky stuff.

Also for bonus points, what do you think of anti-racism activists? For their loudness and the space they occupy in the media, education system and university campuses, are they still relevant?

Happy discussing!
 
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Racism is expressed as openly and widely as it has always been. Even more so, now, I think, with advent of the internet. That is because racist comments have been moved from the public arena, where it is roundly condemned, and moved into the cyber arena, where every voice can be anonymous and so those sentiments can be aired freely. Racism, like all prejudices, never truly goes away. It just moves to a medium that is more friendly to such comments.

I've heard my share of racist comments, from co-workers to acquaintances, and even family. It's not overt racism, but it's racism nonetheless. I doubt they even realize they're being racist when they make these comments, until it is pointed out to them and they are shocked and at once apologetic.

As for the anti-racism activists, the louder they get, the better off we are, I think. That is because it drowns out the message of intolerance, which is always a good thing. Everyone has the right to speak their mind, but that doesn't mean the people around them can be forced to listen.
 
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I can only really speak for American, but here racism is still pretty bad since you still have disproportionate numbers of white and non-white people in lots of places like government (more whites), prisons (more non-whites), and so on.

Just look at the reaction in 2008 when Obama was elected and you can see that there's still a lot of racial prejudice out there.
 

OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire

10000 year Emperor of Hoenn
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Racism is expressed as openly and widely as it has always been. Even more so, now, I think, with advent of the internet. That is because racist comments have been moved from the public arena, where it is roundly condemned, and moved into the cyber arena, where every voice can be anonymous and so those sentiments can be aired freely. Racism, like all prejudices, never truly goes away. It just moves to a medium that is more friendly to such comments.

I've heard my share of racist comments, from co-workers to acquaintances, and even family. It's not overt racism, but it's racism nonetheless. I doubt they even realize they're being racist when they make these comments, until it is pointed out to them and they are shocked and at once apologetic.

As for the anti-racism activists, the louder they get, the better off we are, I think. That is because it drowns out the message of intolerance, which is always a good thing. Everyone has the right to speak their mind, but that doesn't mean the people around them can be forced to listen.
That's very true, I've seen plenty of racism comments around the internet, ones that I can say for sure the majority wouldn't say in public. Also you're right about the shift to different mediums, as long as we don't confront Racism in all mediums I don't think we'll be able to root it out.
 
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I can only really speak for American, but here racism is still pretty bad since you still have disproportionate numbers of white and non-white people in lots of places like government (more whites), prisons (more non-whites), and so on.

Just look at the reaction in 2008 when Obama was elected and you can see that there's still a lot of racial prejudice out there.

Blacks were more impacted by race in their vote than were other ethnic groups. According to exit polls, 95% of Blacks voted for Obama in 2008 and 93% voted for him in 2012.

Whites who voted for opponents of Obama did so 55% and 59%, in 2008 and 2012 respectively, less polarized.

The point being, racial preferences are not exclusively a white thing. People usually trust those within their own ethnic groups more than those who are not within their ethnic group. Additionally, remember the response to both Bush elections? People were very frustrated that he was elected, especially the second time. Just because a few people, very few, were upset about the color of his skin, doesn't mean the majority of dissenters were not upset about substantive issues such as disagreements over the instituted policies during his first term.

Further, very few blacks run for Congress due to financial constraints, less opportunity from education and family background as statistically speaking they are likely to come from indigent families. Thus, white people are not voting for them, since they are not running as often. The electorate is not responsible for ensuring black candidates run or voting in order to make racial representation proportional.

Beyond racial preferences, racism and persecution is a fabricated issue in the United States.
News Media has blown out of proportion cases like the Trayvon Martin Case as racially charged, exemplifying how white men are able to get away with murdering an ingenuous black youth. When in fact, Zimmerman is a racial minority, a Peruvian Hispanic. Further, the preponderance of evidence indicates that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor in the scuffle, and the innocent portrayal they continue to broadcast is contrary to his record of being suspended from school several times for drug possession, graffiti, theft, and truancy. Additionally, he had been walking under the eaves of homes, as witnesses corroborate, which made his conduct suspicious and illegal (trespassing). This case had nothing to do with race, if there was a non-black person walking in other people's yards, it's likely Zimmerman would have taken a similar discourse. Though, I don't agree with Zimmerman's discourse in confronting the suspicious behavior on his own. No evidence indicates that there was racial motivation; the FBI's investigation corroborates that as well as the current trial.

In reality, white on black crime is rare; 90% of black homicides are performed by other blacks. Most ethnic groups usually exhibit more violence within their ethnic groups in the united states. This unwarranted attention to this trial creates racial divides and obfuscates real issues such as black poverty and crime rates. Unwarranted attention to racism itself creates more racial tensions given the warped depiction of racial relations in perpetuates.

Blacks do commit more theft, drug-related offense, murder, ect., in comparison to other racial groups proportionately. This is the issue that needs to be addressed, but when it is, self-proclaimed civil rights advocate are quick to pronounce the speaker as racist. Thus, cutting off the dialogue. Social Welfare programs have been the bandages to this issue. The representatives cannot discuss the issue for political suicide, so instead, they throw money to these families, which simply encourages dependency on programs for personal and family sustenance.

So I recapitulate. Racism is not the issue; the issue is the fabrication of racism in America and broken dialogue, of which whites, blacks, and other ethnic groups all suffer.
 
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Further, very few blacks run for Congress due to financial constraints, less opportunity from education and family background as statistically speaking they are likely to come from indigent families.

And that, right there, is a great example of how we still have racism in America. Not the (im)moral view of one race being better than another, but the sociological definition of a system that favors one race. In this case, our education and economic systems tend to keep poor people poor and rich people rich. Since historically lots of non-white people have had to start from nothing, especially black people in the days around slavery, it's been mostly white people who have been able to accumulate wealth over generations. And wealth, as you've said, is tied to political power so the politicians make sure the system favors peoples with the moneys.
 

Cynthia ™

Champion
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I can only really speak for American, but here racism is still pretty bad since you still have disproportionate numbers of white and non-white people in lots of places like government (more whites), prisons (more non-whites), and so on.

Just look at the reaction in 2008 when Obama was elected and you can see that there's still a lot of racial prejudice out there.
If you're referring to why so many people were upset that he was elected: Most of the people were upset of him as a person being elected, nothing to do with his Race.
 
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And that, right there, is a great example of how we still have racism in America. Not the (im)moral view of one race being better than another, but the sociological definition of a system that favors one race. In this case, our education and economic systems tend to keep poor people poor and rich people rich. Since historically lots of non-white people have had to start from nothing, especially black people in the days around slavery, it's been mostly white people who have been able to accumulate wealth over generations. And wealth, as you've said, is tied to political power so the politicians make sure the system favors peoples with the moneys.

I can agree with this point. The focus of racism should place more emphasis on the systematic attributes of our government's operations.

Black poverty is the root of all of the disadvantages including increased criminal behavior and less opportunity.

Some programs, such as affirmative action programs don't quite address that, it's more of an afterthought. This is often the advocated discourse of equal rights groups, when really they should be focused less on entitlements and more upon the education system of their geographical location.

Segregation of the educational system, given the prevalent racial clustering in intercity school districts forces families that were poor in the early 1900's to continue to be poor, as there is less opportunity to break that cycle, as most families are constrained by finances to move from the poorer school districts, and more affluent families have branched out further and further away from the intercity schools, thus taking with them more financial resources. In addition, good education requires some form of stable home environment, but often in indigent households there is a lack of stability. For these reasons, we see more often, non-intercity students from indigent backgrounds breaking out of the cycle of poverty and government dependency on basic finances since there exists more funding from their school district given that there exists more variety in student's socioeconomic background in rural areas rather than ones saturated with poverty.

That is why this is such a sensitive area of public policy. When class warfare is coalesced with racial tensions, any sort of dialogue can quickly become volatile to government stability.

So, I reiterate the point, racism is not necessarily a conscience mindset in public policy, even those who are equal rights advocates unintentionally aggravate the situation. More so, racism is mainly an unconscious residual systemic defect that is bolstered by both aisles of political ideology in order to achieve political goals in the United States.
 

tnfsf11

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Honestly the only racism I see today is towards gays since many religious people don't believe in homosexuality & often hate it so much & everyone having it...
The only other form of racism I saw is slightly mocking Blacks & Asians for their appearances, but I don't see them having a bad time or being treated differently tbh.
 
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From what I see in day-to-day life, Racism in the UK is falling. I live in a large city, very multicultural, and I have not witnessed vindictive racism.

I say vindictive; undoubtedly racism exists. However, rather than being malicious I think that the majority of racism is now integrated into media stereotypes - people may not dislike a race, but they have stereotypical expectation of what that person's job is, etc.

Some might say that's a fine line, but I think it shows great progress. The more multicultural out countries become, the less people will use 'stereotypical' prejudices. Each generation seems generally more accepting than the last - with regards to race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
 

zakisrage

In the trunk on Highway 10
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Racism is very widespread where I live. I'm an immigrant from Lebanon, and my people are dehumanised by the media. Lebanese men are portrayed as criminals and sexual predators of white women. Lebanese women are assumed to be victims of a patriarchal culture. Muslims (like me) get the most of it, but even Christian Lebanese aren't immune. My girlfriend is an Orthodox Christian and a third-generation Lebanese-Australian, and yet she's been bullied for it too. But that's nothing compared to how many times I've been called a "wog" and a "bogan". People like the Sydney gang rapists made the whole Lebanese immigrant community look bad. The problem is, we have bad leadership. Keysar Trad, one of our leaders, is a savage beast who doesn't seem to realise that he's not living in the Middle East. Supposedly he was normal until he visited Lebanon in his youth. Ironically, Lebanon is probably one of the least religious Arab countries (still, you'd be hard-pressed to find an atheist there).

It's a shame because Lebanese immigrants are well-liked in the US, Canada, and Latin America. Due to the sheer size of my extended family, I have relatives who have moved to the US, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina (the last of whom I only recently discovered). They are all Muslim, though most of the Lebanese in the Americas are Christian. (Jews who originate from Lebanon exist too, but I've never met any.)

Even now, I have very few friends of Anglo-Saxon heritage. But I am friends with many other nationalities. My best friend is an Italian, though he looks like a stereotypical Australian with long blond hair and blue eyes. My second best friend is Scottish on his dad's side and Italian, French, and Afrikaner on his mum's side (his maternal grandma moved here during apartheid). My first girlfriend was half Greek and half German. But still, few Anglo-Saxon people. I have met some wonderful ones, but many of the Anglo-Saxons I've met had contempt for me. I know one who proudly boasts being descended from convicts. Some of these people act like they still live in the UK.

Since there aren't as many black people as the US, the black people here (who are mostly from the Caribbean or Africa - just like the ones in the UK) don't get noticed much. Mediterranean people get it a lot, though. People are more accepting of Italians and Greeks because they've assimilated, but there's still racism against them. In Australia, blond hair and blue eyes are considered attractive - for women and for men. But Mediterranean people tend to have brown hair and brown eyes (though they can still be blond), and some people consider that ugly.

Asians get a lot of it too. A lot of people here complain about the Chinese coming to our country. I don't know if we have any model minority Asian stereotypes here - I haven't met any who are exceptionally successful.

There is also a lot of hatred for the Aborigines. The media loves to depict them as savages. People of all non-native nationalities (including mine) love to make fun of them. I think it's unfair to depict the original inhabitants of Australia in such a rude way.

Australia's class system reflects the racial divide. The upper class is mostly Anglo-Celtic people. The middle and working classes are extremely diverse. Most of our internationally known celebrities are Anglo-Celtic (though we do have exceptions, like Natalie Imbruglia and The Veronicas, both of Italian descent). Australia's historical policies towards immigration favoured people from the UK and Ireland. But it is getting better. We're seeing more ethnic people in the media, and more people are accepting multiculturalism.
 
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voltianqueen

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My mom is Laotian and my dad is white, so I'm mixed. I don't really deal with much actual racism, but people do tend to think I'm Mexican and pronounce my last name in a Spanish way for some reason...

My mom gets it worse, though. She was trying to apply to a college a few years back, and the lady was just being nasty to her and not so helpful. Once she found out that her last name was pronounced just plain old Graves and not Gráves, and my mom was Asian, not Mexican, she turned her act around. Hmmm... Then there were the people she told me about that tried to start speaking Spanish to her at work (she's a server). Luckily one of the guys at the table was also Asian and called his friends out on it. It's kinda weird, like, what, my mom has black hair and brown skin so automatically she can't speak English and doesn't deserve to be treated kindly while signing up for college? And that's only because they assumed she was Mexican... That makes me feel bad, too, because then what are actual Mexicans treated like?

Most of the racism I see is stuff like stereotypes or just general bitterness, particularly about black, Mexican, and Middle Eastern people. I wonder if people know that having black friends (or Arab or Latino or whatever) doesn't really prevent you from saying or thinking things that may be racist. That's all I gotta say, I'm not really that informed about other political stuff involving race.
 

twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen
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"Racism," defined as "actions targeted toward other races based on some form of prejudice", is alive in some parts of the world. However, its existence in the first world (at least in the US) is trivial.

"Prejudice," defined as an "irrationally hostile attitude toward a particular group of people," exists plenty in any part of the world. There's nothing inherently wrong with it; it's just a natural development of how some people perceive the world. So long as people recognize that such thoughts are irrational and choose to act based on logic rather than what is essentially instinct, there is no problem. We cannot police peoples' thoughts, nor should we ever desire to do so.
 
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"Racism," defined as "actions targeted toward other races based on some form of prejudice", is alive in some parts of the world. However, its existence in the first world (at least in the US) is trivial.

This strikes me as incredibly odd, considering the amount of public, openly racist Americans there are on the internet (and those that crop up repeatedly in the news, normally hating on Obama with no rational reason).

If anything, the US seems (from the media, and the people I have experience) like the most racist place in the western world.
 

Corvus of the Black Night

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Where's racism? Just go on the Yahoo comments section. Every freaking where, that's where. There's white people who hate black people, black people who hate white people, other races that hate this or that race. I mean I live in Michigan near Pontiac, which has a large black population, so it's mostly black/white bull crap.

But there's also when people use their race to get back at people. I work in customer service/retail and occasionally you get some customer service response where someone is claiming that they were mistreated because they're black, or multiracial, or asian, or whatever. In most of the cases that I know a bit about it's really all just bull crap and it's an attempt to milk money out of a company using their race. I'm sure that there are some legitimate cases but everyone's so scared of upsetting people with PC that it's less than likely to be the case. I've had black women that have acted incredibly rude to me because I don't give them everything they want because they're black, and then I've had black women who are just fine because they realize that just because they're black doesn't mean that, because I'm white, I'm obliged to give them anything.

Also, on PC. Just because I say the term "black" or say that black people have dark skin is NOT racist in of itself. It's ****ing true! Hell, calling someone black can be more accurate than calling someone "African American" because they may only distantly be of african decent, or not from America. I'm white but my decent is not from the Caucus of eastern Europe, but rather almost 100% anglo-saxon, so I'm hardly the raw definition of "Caucasian". I mean really. They're BLACK people because they have dark skin. I'm a WHITE person because I have bright skin.

It's such a stingy subject because half of it is "don't hurt their feewings!" but the other half of it is true hatred.
 

Ozymandias

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"Racism," defined as "actions targeted toward other races based on some form of prejudice", is alive in some parts of the world. However, its existence in the first world (at least in the US) is trivial.

Haha WHAT?! I'm sorry but, this is just... it's really stupid to say that, putting it bluntly

It maybe where you live... or the lifestyle that you've lived but, here in the south racism is pretty damn bad.
 

Khawill

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Of all the places I've been, I have to say racism is in a rather safe place. Despite the stories of "racist" based murders, I don't think I can say I (as a black fellow) have ever felt out of place once. I've been to black schools, and I've been to really (really) white schools (like the town had 2 black families as far as I knew, not including us), and neither make me feel inferior or superior.

Now racism probably does exist on a more dangerous level in the bad parts of the south, though those people are nothing but trash talkers and ignorant humans. (Our racial president has not had a single attack against him at all as far as I know, which pretty much says a lot). I don't know though, maybe I'm just a blind fool
 

Snowdrop

Back and ready to babble!
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I live relatively close to a bad city and there is A LOT of racism towards white people where I come from. I've overheard some terrible things, man D: Racism here seems to be more subtle, not really something of true hatred but more like something that is poked and teased at. Example: "Of course the Asian scored the highest on the ACT", "What do you call a group of Muslim rappers? The Bomb Squad!"

Just light to rather mean teasing, but it generally seems there isn't much of a divider between races here. I see a lot of different ethnic groups hanging out together all the time.

I think it's still a very prevalent force in America and countries across the globe though, in my experience it has not been though.
 
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