Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystic_Rhythms
But by that statement could you be saying that we are racist....?? If I were truly racist I wouldn't even associate with anyone but my own race, correct? Maybe I'm confused by this statement.
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That's a preconceived notion. Wow, we are nearly 130 posts into this thread and no one has set down a "line" for what racism is. It is hard to say. Like many words dealing with touchy issues, the meaning of racism has been skewed; it has been extremely been mis-used over the past one hundred years.
When I think of racism, I define it as any nuance of thought that someone is beneath you based solely on their race.
As for some published definitions, take the following:
racism
n.- The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
- Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
racist
rac'ist adj. & n.
I believe when most people today use the word racism, they are implying the second definition: "Discrimination or prejudice based on race." At the heart of this is the first definition: "The belief that race accounts for
differences in human character or ability and that
a particular race is superior to others. True racism seems to now only exist in hate groups. I mean by this, most people would not admit even to themselves that they think person X of race X is superior to person Y of race Y simply because race X > race Y. The idea is there, but that's not how we really perceive the word when it is said anymore. We gear more towards the second definition.
So, saying "I have a black friend" or even HAVING a black friend still allows you to be a racist, or have racist thoughts or ideas. I don't understand why so many people think if they can kindly associate with a person of another race/color/ethnicity then they could not possibly be racist. That's the bad thing about racism in the country today -- most of it is veiled in a false self-assurance that one is not racist or prejudicial.