Okay, I have quite a few things to say here, so please bare with me, but there is a lot that needs to be said that has not been mentioned.
Similar thing goes for "ironic racism", when you make an ironically racist comment you're more making fun of racist people that the race you mentioned. If this is misconstrued as a malicious remark you should definitely apologise and explain the reasoning behind it and you should be a bit weary about hurting peoples' feelings but making those jokes in no way makes a person a racist either unless they're foolish enough to actually believe what they're saying.
Here's the thing: "ironic" racism is stupid. Don't get me wrong -
I used to make racist/sexist/whatever comments and jokes, and figured it was okay because
I'm an open-minded liberal and don't really mean that stuff! But we live in a racist culture, and I realized that by saying those jokes I only:
- Make anyone who might be the "butt" of the joke uncomfortable
- Continue to propagate really messed-up ideals
- Make people who are genuinely racist think I am on their side
- Make myself look like an inconsiderate jerk
- Give the impression that I don't know what constitutes "humour" or "jokes"
- Contribute to our racist culture
So I had to ask myself: "what's the point of telling racist jokes? To make myself look "edgy"? Who benefits and who suffers when I make these jokes?" I didn't have malicious intentions, but I also realized that saying that stuff wasn't cool, and actually made me seem racist and like I did not care about the feelings of those I was "punching down" on.
My point is: those bullet points above? Those are the impressions you give when you make a racist joke, even if you're doing it "ironically." And frankly, I am willing to believe that people will claim their racist joke was ironic to hide the fact that they actually think those things. There is absolutely no benefit to making racist remarks, so why do it?
Perhaps but people should still remember that irony is a thing. If I make a joke about Asians being bad drivers, white people being racist or black people liking chicken, I'm more likely to be taking a shot at the people who believe things like that than perpetuating the stereotype.
We as a society shouldn't condone or encourage racism, but we also need to chill out a little bit and not scream discrimination every time someone makes a bad joke.
This has been a point of contention in stand-up comedy: if you're going to make a joke about racism or homophobia or rape, then do it in a way so it's
obvious that the butt of the joke is supposed to be the person in power and not the victim (of racism/homophobia/rape). If you just make the same kind of sexist joke that a sexist would make, then
it makes you sound sexist, not like you're making fun of sexist people, because all you're doing is echoing them.
Honestly, racism just isn't funny right now, and it hurts more people than it helps when it comes from the people in power. If you know it's not actually funny or beneficial, why do it?
Just because you're black, you shouldn't propagate words that further racism against black people, nor should a gay man call his favorite gay friend "faggot," or the like, to be funny or ironic. I'm guilty of that one... Intention or not, we're still getting those words out there and it's still hurting people. I'm not saying that by discontinuing the use of racist remarks there's ever going to be a time when people aren't going to make hurtful or racist jokes, even if there was little to no harmful intention behind them. I'm not even saying we should stop using certain words, but we should be aware of the power they hold, even when used jokingly, or in this case, even when said by an older gentleman that may not have known any better.
A white person saying the n-word is not the same as a black person saying the n-word. When black people say it, they are
reclaiming a word that has been used by white people to degrade and hurt that community. Black people saying does not "propagate" racism - that's just an excuse used by white people so they can give themselves a pass when they want to say racist shit.
But yes, white people shouldn't say the n-word, straight people shouldn't say the f-word and so on because those words have a history of being used to hurt those groups. But people from those groups have the right to use them in order to take the power back and empower themselves.
It's racism in a similar way to, say, not finding people of a certain race as physically attractive as others. It's not really something to get upset over. Unfortunately, people often like to be upset and offended, as it makes them feel special or justified in their hatred of another.
Racism is a buzz word, honestly. It's likely that every single human you meet is racist to some degree, but as long as it doesn't result in them actually treating other human beings inappropriately, it's not something that needs to be worried about.
While not being physically attracted to some people is not inherently bad ad doesn't make you inherently racist, the reasons that we as a culture find some people more attractive
is due to racism. The standards of beauty change depending on the culture and time period, and right now beauty = white and skinny. The majority of models are white and skinny, fashionable looks and hairstyles tend to be "white," and even places like India obsess over skin-bleaching so as to look more white. We consider this to be the standard of beauty and see it
constantly, so it's no surprise that the average person is more interested in certain races than others. That doesn't make you a bad person (hell, I'm the same way), but
it does mean that we need to critically examine why we're more attracted to some races than others instead of just assuming it's random or coincidental.
I have to say that I agree to some extent about most people (myself included) carrying racial biases, because we live in a racist world. However, we need to own up to the fact that this means we have subconscious biases that affect how we treat people based on race. You can't assume that "eh, we might be racist, but that doesn't affect how we treat people," because it's simply untrue.
The only way we can overcome these biases is to be aware of them and make a conscious effort to understand why and overcome it.
I really don't appreciate the idea that we're in some "position of advantage." I find that to quite frankly be a crock of shit that's far too often used as an excuse to marginalize and exclude us as people. Thanks to all the progress that we've all made against racism it really doesn't hold as much water anymore. We're all human, right? We're people. Am I wrong about that?
The concern for advantage and disadvantage ironically perpetuates the concept of inequality. So instead of creating issues on ground we've already covered, let's instead fix problems that haven't been solved yet as far as fixing society goes, hm? I notice that a lot of folks take racism back a few steps without meaning to by acknowledging more than need be.
As others have mentioned, racism, like sexism and homophobia, is still alive and well in today's society, and as a result certain groups face serious institutional discrimination. Black people are more likely to be stopped by cops, more likely to receive longer prison sentences, more likely to be considered "violent," and less likely to get a job or receive a promotion, all because of their skin colour. Looking at the facts, it's impossible to deny that white people are in a more advantageous position than black people.
These are issues that still have not been solved. Also, just because we as non-black people do not perceive a problem to be big or important doesn't mean that it isn't so.
Denying these problems is what "takes racism back a few steps."
Hey, here's some trivia for you: Everyone is a minority in some way or another, and everyone is oppressed at some point or another. Yes, everyone - be it interpersonally, intrapersonally, or whatever. It happens all the time, and it's quite narrow to take a sliver of that oppression and analyze it like an independent problem.
I really don't think a systematic and statistical approach to a problem that is clearly rooted in how people feel is a logical methodology at all. Instead of crunching numbers and running papers and, hey, dividing people further in the abstract, why don't we just be kind to each other? Why don't we be nice, and don't discriminate with that kindness? I think that's where the real change comes from - the change we value, anyway. And if someone is mean to you, or someone oppresses you, don't let them overpower you. That's how oppression is perpetuated - people accept it and you can't do that without sacrificing your emotional sanity. You have to remember that emotion is quite evasive of reason! This is why attacking the issue in its own language is far more effective, and... in my opinion is the real way a lot of our problems with oppression were solved. People erroneously attribute it to something abstract and it's not quite like that.
As far as racism goes, it's just hate. And calling someone advantaged or disadvantaged is more hate, so I make my best effort to avoid it all the same. Compassion is the true answer to problems like that.
Er, to say that everyone is a minority is literally false. Everyone is part of a "group" of some kind (white/black, male/female, middle-class/upper-class), but not every group is treated equally or has a history of being treated equally. This is also why intersectionality is so important - we're all members of multiple groups, and we can be members of multiple minority groups that are persecuted. So it's common for a black woman to be discriminated against because she's both black and a woman, while a white woman will be discriminated against for being a woman, but not for being white. White people do not face racism as black people do.
Racism is not rooted solely in "how people feel." It would be great if racism could be solved simply by "being kind to each other," but that isn't the world we live in, and to think that would solve everything is honestly naive and ignores so much of the
systematic and institutionalized oppression that is responsible for racism. If people could prevent themselves from being oppressed by "not letting them overpower you" it would be fantastic, but that is absolutely unrealistic when the oppressors are, for example, the police or the judicial system. If you're going to talk about racism, then please educate yourself about these issues first.
Calling out privilege and disadvantage is not hate - it's telling the truth, and bringing to light something that many of us would happily ignore. I would be a lot more comfortable if I were ignorant about all my privileges, but I have to be aware of my privilege if I want to help people, understand them and create change. You're right that compassion is a part of this.
Um... no. Did anybody actually read the OP? Cricket is BIG in India. That's like going to Canada and saying "oh you people like hockey" (no we LOVE hockey but not me). It's describing what a country, as a whole, finds popular, but that's not exactly offensive nor misleading. I find it a bit of a stretch to interpret that "you X people like/love Y" to mean that "all X people like/love Y", ie a stereotype. I strongly question the judgement that understands "oh you people like cricket" to mean "all Indian people like cricket" (and even then it's a rather non-consequential claim).
Generally speaking, the content of a statement is sufficient to make it racist, but it takes many other factors to determine whether the statement was harmful. People might disagree on whether one incident is considered harmful or not, but I don't think anybody would disagree that certain statements are more harmful than others (for reasons such as content, intent, social context, etc). Making a comment about how a certain sport is popular in a country, however, isn't racist.
How about instead of saying "you people like hockey," we say "I hear hockey is very popular in Canada"? This phrasing makes it less of an assumption, and we should avoid assuming because it "makes an ass out of you and me!" (And I am a Canadian who actively dislikes hockey, and most of my friends and family have little interest in it. To assume we all like it is silly.)
Seriously, this can be easily avoided by just not making generalizations, period.
~Psychic
