Does race matter?

[wufan]

Doesn't anyone believe in the rights of the individual to choose vs the egalitarian rights to equity? Doesn't anyone believe in the identity politics of being American vs being whatever race?

[pinstripers]

Some would disagree. Many people believe that in order to be racist you have to have power. Since white people are the only ones with power, then they are the only ones that can be racist.

I am going to assume that you are being serious, but this seems other-worldly to me.

[Dan]

Blacks discriminate against half blacks, Mexicans discriminate against Guatemalans, it goes deep and wide.

[wufan]

Blacks discriminate against half blacks, Mexicans discriminate against Guatemalans, it goes deep and wide.

The only place I ever see discrimination is on the news. It's like the boogeyman.

[wufan]

I am going to assume that you are being serious, but this seems other-worldly to me.

Put this into google and see what you get:

can black people be racist?

[Dan]

The only place I ever see discrimination is on the news. It's like the boogeyman.

You must live in a bubble then.

[wufan]

You must live in a bubble then.

I do not live in a bubble. I work in a multicultural factory. Maybe, based on my beliefs, it's hard for me to ascribe racism to the situations I see.

[shockmonster]

I grew up in the first class with forced integration by bussing black students into white neighborhood school in 71-72. There were incidents of racism but we were learning about each other. In high school, we had incidents that flared up but the large majority of time we were friends even though we went home to segregated neighborhoods. We got together during school activities such as athletic teams (teammates), dances, sporting events, etc. Today, I have black neighbors (Maize schools), and I work in an organization who probably has 20-30% minorities. The segregation that may exist today happens more because of poverty but is much less than the past. I see more middle class minorities than ever before, see more in my church than ever, and see more who shop in my grocery stores than ever. Segregation still exists but strides are being made. Some people will say that racism happens without one knowing it but I do not see outward racism at my job or in my neighborhoods

[wufan]

Some people will say that racism happens without one knowing it but I do not see outward racism at my job or in my neighborhoods

There are some real problems with unconscious bias theory. One, there is no means of measuring it. The tests they have to demonstrate unconscious bias have a near zero correlation. Two, its unconscious, how can you control it? Three, there is no evidence that if unconscious bias exists, and you can measure it, that unconscious bias trasining corrects it; however, there is evidence that unconscious bias training has outward and measurable correlation to increasing racial bias ideas expressed verbally; i.e. people that take the training are offended by being called racist without evidence and begin to speak out negatively towards those that believe this philosophy to be real.

[shockmonster]

There are some real problems with unconscious bias theory. One, there is no means of measuring it. The tests they have to demonstrate unconscious bias have a near zero correlation. Two, its unconscious, how can you control it? Three, there is no evidence that if unconscious bias exists, and you can measure it, that unconscious bias trasining corrects it; however, there is evidence that unconscious bias training has outward and measurable correlation to increasing racial bias ideas expressed verbally; i.e. people that take the training are offended by being called racist without evidence and begin to speak out negatively towards those that believe this philosophy to be real.

I didn't say I agreed with that but you can bet our liberal friends will bring it up. I still rarely see racism flare up.

[Aargh]

Some out here are making this way more complex than it needs to be. Making things overly complex is sometimes done to deflect a conversation. Let me try two examples that pretty much bring it home.

If you need a transfusion, does the race of the donor matter? If so, you are a fairly radical racist.

If your daughter (or sister, or granddaughter) had a mixed-race baby, would that bother you?

[1979Shocker]

Blacks discriminate against half blacks, Mexicans discriminate against Guatemalans, it goes deep and wide.

There's a documentary on the Starz Encore channel called "Dark Girls," which can be seen On Demand. The documentary explores the deep-seated bias within black culture against women with darker skin.

From the Wikipedia entry on the documentary.

Dark Girls is a 2012 documentary film by American filmmakers Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry. It documents colorism based on skin tone among African Americans, a subject still considered taboo by many black Americans. The film contains interviews with notable African Americans including Viola Davis. It also reports on a new version of the 1940s black doll experiment by Kenneth and Mamie Clark, which proved that black children had internalized racism by having children select a white or a black doll (they typically chose white) based on questions asked. In the updated version, black children favored light-skinned dolls over dark-skinned dolls.

[rrshock]

Some would disagree. Many people believe that in order to be racist you have to have power. Since white people are the only ones with power, then they are the only ones that can be racist.

Do you believe this? It just sounds like an excuse for a person to be an asshole. If someone dislikes a race that is different than their own, it is racist. Power or no power. Is it racist for me (a white guy), to say I dislike "white trash"?

[rrshock]

If your daughter (or sister, or granddaughter) had a mixed-race baby, would that bother you?

Married, no.
Unmarried, yes. But that stems from a whole different set of problems.

I guess there are alot of things to look at in this scenario, but race shouldn't be one of them. One of these this wont be a problem in our country anymore (at least i hope).

[wufan]

Do you believe this? It just sounds like an excuse for a person to be an asshole. If someone dislikes a race that is different than their own, it is racist. Power or no power. Is it racist for me (a white guy), to say I dislike "white trash"?

No, I don't believe it, but it is a common ideology preached amongst post-modernists. Because it is an idea written about a lot, I wanted to point it out.