milwaukeebeers44

I was talking with a good friend the other day and I was blasting off about people pulling the race card (particularly in regards to Barry Bonds). She told me that she believes that, while not all white people are racist, that white society as a whole is inherently racist. She also told me that if any minority does not like a white person, that that does not constitute racism. I think it's bull****, but I wanted to hear other opinions. . .

So, is white society inherently racist? Yes or no? To whom? And why do you think that?

Is there such a thing as black on white racism or are white people just stupid?

Go.

Pujo

I think racism is part of the bigger "us vs. them" picture - either you're one of us or you're different and scary. Even the worst racists sometimes gerrymander their racist feelings and have one or two friends of the race they dislike ("Well, they're not like the rest of them.") I think people are inherently xenophobic, but I doubt it's any more or less prevelant in other cultures. Some South American countries, where the majority of people are black, are having issues with farmland being taken from white people to be given to black people - that's just as racist and xenophobic. So yes, I think in America white people have more opportunity to be racists because they are the majority, but I don't think it's anything inherent in being black or white, it's just a matter of belonging while not wanting others to belong.

Patters

For many, racism is defined as having to do with power. White racism, which has changed form, is manifest in nepotism, favoritism, and cronyism in the workplace (mostly the private workplace); the allocation of economic resources (road improvements, schools, etc.); the courts (different penalties for different races); entertainment and the media (the Nancy Holloway tory, for instance, but also the lack of opportunities for blacks in the entertainment industry, including Hollywood), etc. A few years ago, a friend of mine told me that whenever he walks home at night, white people often cross the street to get away from him. That made him feel bad. I think most white people are a little nervous if they're among a large crowd of blacks at night, while blacks grow up used to being the minority; therefore, white society does not scare them in the same way.

If one equates racism with power, then black on white racism is less common, because in general blacks do not have the power to discriminate against whites. Of course, you'll always have hate crimes, which are a form of racism, but for some that broadens the definition of racism. For me, the main issue of racism is institutional racism, not the relatively rare loony who wears a white robe. For some, racism equals institutional racism, and I suppose that the attitude of your friend. That's the kind of racism that keeps people down.

We've made great strides towards getting rid of racism, but it is part of the human condition. When I lived in Demark a decade ago, I commented to a colleague how there seemed to be no prejudice in Denmark -- not against blacks, gays, Jews, Arabs, anyone. She said to me, "Yeah ... I suppose that's true ... except for the Greenlanders!" (And she meant it.)

BelichickFan

Races are different, sexes are different, etc, etc. It's just the way it is. Men are better as some things than women and vice versa. Blacks are better than whites at some things and vice versa.

Just look at the bodies - they're different, duh. Anyone who thinks otherwise is being silly. You don't have to open your eyes too much to acknowledge that different groups are inherently better at some things than other groups. That doesn't make me a racist or a sexist, just a realist.

DarrylS

My professional experience was in corrections, spent a lot of time behind locked doors with diverse populations. Corrections tends to be one of the most diverse staff with regards to ethnicity. There are higher percentages of black and spanish people represented in prisons, primarily as a function of political power and money. Time after time I would see minority folks come in on long bids with little chance of getting out, while many times I would seen white folk stop by for a short visit form similar crimes. I also spent a lot of time in Juvenile Court in RI, my classic example was when Bristol used to have a separate court and I had to spend a lot of time there. A judge who is now retired, used to sit exclusively there. I would watch the portuguese kids from Bristol complete with their non english speaking moms, who did their share of crime come before the judge, never gave them their rights and just locked them up. I would then see the kids from a more affluent town, Barrington, come in before the court and I remember the day a bunch of them got drunk on the beach and drove around with handguns shooting out windows. when they came before the bench with both parents and their lawyers, their cases were disposed of quite differently. The judge " counseled" each of them, and essentially gave them a very slight slap on the wrist. To deny racism on both sides severely begs the issue, I think when you work in a microcosm of society for a number of years you sometimes see too much, thus I am somewhat jaded in my view. I do know however, when you spend a lot of time with poor minority folk, you begin to start to understand the whole concept of power, who has it and who does not. One of the most discouraging things I ever had to do, was when I had a temporary assigment of helping recently released poor minority kids get jobs, that was a near impossible assignment. Racism and poverty are real, and go very much hand in hand.

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FreeTedWilliams

Your are absolutely right, in all my experience, I have constantly seen JUDGES inflict very different sentences for white and black defendents, (and that is without going into how easy the NY judges were on Jews) yet it is the Police who are constantly being called racists?????

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DarrylS

Institutional racism, which I described, has nothing to do with the beat cop or corrections officer, but is perpetuated by the powerful classes of the judicial. My experience is most of them just do their jobs in very difficult environment. Most of the responsibility has to do with the judiciary, for which there is no entrance exam, just being a pedigree lawyer who is affiliated with the right party.

__________________
"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Pujo

Yeah, and I suppose those cops that beat a black guy in New Orleans learned to hate from judges.

There is racism among judges - not most of them, but some.

There is racism among cops - not most of them, but some.

There is racism among regular people - not most of them, but some.

Harry Boy

To the babbling fuzzy liberal it is impossible for a minority to be Racist. They do their best to cover up "Black on White" hate crimes, they will twist it make up excuses (poverty, slavery, education, POLICE and "blame whitey" syndrome.

PF1996

They are not uniformly racist (i.e. all believe blacks should go back to Africa, or whatever's currently popular among "white power" groups these days) but the vast majority views and reacts to their environment from a racial perspective. Even though racism is no longer legally embedded in American public institutions, its promotion in American culture means that American society is quite racist. The ingrained nature of this racism is such that Americans act on it even without conscious intent, similar to one performing the habitual action of braking at a red light without a conscious thought of the action.

Any person of any race can discriminate, the ability to discriminate has nothing to do with "having power". Wielding power only affects the relative influence/personal cost of someone's discrimination and the options available to the subjects of discrimination. American society functions on the basis of money. Those who have it are generally treated better than those without, directly and indirectly [i.e. having the ability to access better service). American racism is similarly opportunistic, meaning that it is for the most part not based on cultural values but rather on practicality. It is practical for American individuals to discriminate against blacks and to a lessor degree hispanics due to ease of identification and LOW costs for the discriminatory behaviour. I believe that the effects of societal discrimination experienced by black Americans would be greatly reduced if they attained skills and positions that would raise the costs of discrimination against them. Such actions of course wouldn't affect personal discrimination (i.e. crossing of street) but personal discrimination is largely irrelevant if it is not accompanied by societal or legal discrimination. Well, at least to individuals with normal levels of self-esteem.

P.S.
BelichickFan - I'm afraid " ... just look at their bodies, DUH!" doesn't factually substantiate your racist and sexist claim that "men are better at some things than women and vice versa and blacks are better at some things than whites and vice versa". I'm certainly amenable to the idea since if basic behaviour is primarily the result of biological processes, it would not be illogical that differences in biological processes that express themselves in physical characteristics (such as skin colour) could have other influences. However, since I'm not a racist or a sexist [i.e. I don't currently subscribe to the belief that race or gender determines an individual's abilities and actions], I can't accept your proclamation without adequate evidence. Thus, please provide the evidence that led you to your conclusion that race and gender explains differences among individuals. Helpful evidence would include firstly a specification of these "things" you speak of that men are better at than women and vice versa and blacks are better at than whites and vice versa. Your evidence should show the scientific causal relationship between race/gender and these "abilities" you reference. Lastly, (this is what I'm really interested in) you should be able to provide information about the gene or group of genes relating to physical racial characteristics that influence these differences in abilities.