I have been subjected to my share of racism in my lifetime, though I am not sure if I have ever been racist myself. But because I tease everyone equally, making jokes about all kinds of things, it is very possible that someone has indeed been offended by something I have said. However, there is also the intention, or lack of intention behind it - and intention matters. An intended joke can have unintended consequences, but an intentional statement is pretty clear cut, even if it doesn't reach the intended outcome.
For instance, some people have intended to hurt my feelings by saying something racist, but after facing similar after so many years since childhood, they rarely (if ever) land as intended. I see it more as childish and a marker of low-intelligence. Sometimes I am surprised though, so I have to give them credit.
I understand racists.
A lot of people say they don't understand how or why people are racist, because we are "all human" and blah blah. But, that I see this as copout reasoning, as although it is true, it doesn't actually address the reasons why someone would believe or act a certain way. Human nature is pretty predictable and the reasons for racism is pretty predictable as well. In the past it was about superiority and control over others, and yes, that is still the case. But as racial integration has happened over time, it has become more about identity preservation.
This has been further catalysed by the whole identity politics movements over the last few decades, where we have gone from a slow crawl in the right direction toward less racism, to a clawback toward racism due to constant fragmenting of people into group labels of all kinds. Our "identity" is no longer what we do, it is what we say we are, even if the reality of the situation of us is quite different.
For example, here are some photos from a demonstration in Finland the other day, with a few hundred white supremacists, complete with shaved heads, face masks and Nazi salutes.
Do they look like shining examples of upstanding Finnish citizens who want the best for their country? Or, do they look more like damaged and disillusioned children who didn't get enough hugs from their parents? I also find it ironic that they cover their faces with what could very well be described as an ideological face covering.
There was only one image of the counter-demonstrators and even though they are not wearing masks to hide their identity, I can only see four faces - and two of those have nose rings. Which again, whilst not a condemnation of who they are as people, along with their clothes, does point to their place in society also.
They are playing the identity game as well.
Racism isn't going anywhere as long as we keep doubling-down on labelling as a way to differentiate ourselves from others and feel special as an individual, because the colour of skin is the lowest hanging fruit for labelling, as it is visual and hard to hide. But what is hard to see, is people's behaviours as individuals, which means that many will feel unjustly lumped into a visual grouping that they behaviourally don't belong to, which facilitates even more resentment and societal disconnection.
While a meritocracy has many flaws, there should be more emphasis put on the way we behave as individuals, rather than what we look like. But it would also be interesting to see what these people did for work.
While a job role doesn't tell much, it is just another way to label people, but it does mean that two people who are on opposing sides in one ideological position, are simultaneously on the same side in another. Obviously, I don't know if those people are doctors and my intuition says they are not, but who knows. But hypothetically if they were, they might be working together in the same department, helping each other save people's lives each day. Doesn't that matter?
And I think this is where we have an issue as society, as all sides make assumptions about others, and themselves based on very limited information. The racist can do it on skin colour, but there are many other irrelevant labels that people use that are going to change opinions and behaviours of how they treat them.
What is race superiority?
I believe that most of us would be able to define what a functioning member of society is, someone who adds value in some way. However, I would also assume that the colour of their skin wouldn't be part of that definition. It is only after the role has been defined that some preference comes in and says "oh, they should also be X colour". I reckon that most of us want to live in a clean and safe environment, with enough opportunity and the ability to experience some joy. And if we had those things, we probably wouldn't care too much about skin colour. But, those things are continually being chipped away in the quest for corporate profit, and that profit is also enabled by outrage, making racism and division of all kinds, a self-fulfilling cycle.
I believe we should be moving well away from labels as indicators of quality of person and toward behaviours as the defining factor. People shouldn't "feel special" because they belong to a group label, nor should they be treated badly based on that same label. But I do think that we should be treating people based on their behaviour and judging ourselves based on it too.
Act like an asshole, be treated as an asshole.
Skin colour doesn't come into it. Nor does job role, or nationality, or religion, or any other stupid fucking label that people ascribe to in order to make them feel better about themselves. But in a world where people are feeling pretty shitty and increasingly lazy, it is far more convenient to call oneself and others something as a differentiator, than actually do anything meaningful. It isn't an act of making the world better, it is a selfish belief for ego preservation.
Banning protests and symbols doesn't stop the rot of identity prejudice, because they are just symptoms of the underlying psychological problems of an ill society. These people in the pictures above, are all ill. They might not seem it to themselves, but they seem it to each other, right? The other side is ill, because what they believe is flawed. But the fact is beliefs are always flawed. If they weren't, they would be truths. And what that means is that whenever we believe something, it should be a caution sign that we shouldn't act, before investigating further, because our conditioned defaults are trying to take over.
Yet, we all believe ourselves to be correct.
Taraz
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Seems accurate I say because I consider the same thing and am therefore extremely biased. I am always correct after all ;D
I remember being considered judgemental once upon a time because I did preciseely this XD
I say as though I don't still do precisely this
Which makes me correct!!! We are very smart.
Yeah - terrible people judge others on the way they behave instead of what they say.
Coming from a colonized state, I occasionally wonder, if we were colonized by X colored colonizers maybe we would be fantisizing for that color. Even to think this way is the indication of racism, with respect to color and every other thing. But, in my country, beauty products - especially skin whitening creams - are the real profit breaker. From early morning talk shows to late night ads, everything revolves around skin whitening. And the fun part is a "good character" is the last thing which matters. Still, all these folks have the guts to talk about religion which talks about everyone being equal.
Moreover, all these labels come from real experiences people have faced. Like once a label is attached, the person, as an individual, loses its value. And then even “fighting labels” can become another label in disguise.
However, at the same time, I am confused what if we stripped away all labels, would we become more just or just more confused? If we eradicate this thing, almost every problem will be vanished, because there will be no one to judge?
Most likely.
Pretty sick, isn't it? People who want to change their skin colour to fit in with a perceived identity benefit...
Precisely. All these "individuals" are actually mob mentality.
Labels based on how we behave are still valid.
I'm a bit surprised Europeans are considered an aesthetic ideal. Perhaps the skin whitening fad is also related to body image issues manifesting in the western world. People dye their hair, tan their skin, and seek plastic surgery and gym regimens to build certain physiques which meet absurd imaginary ideals, but not because they want to imitate a conqueror.
The idol's idealism is also a thing, but majority is influenced by the colonizers way of doing. From academics to dressing to language, everything still revolves around that era. Even, after 78 years of independence, many of the colonial era laws are still in full hold. Being attractive - character and physically - is one thing, but being white is considered as the top priority. But again, this is my personal observation and some book readings analysis.
I have witnessed and lived both sides of the coin so I have seen racism from all angles and it still exists and thrives today. I am also a light hearted fun type of person and I am sure I have offended people unintentionally. If you cannot laugh at yourself seeing where the fun side is coming from then maybe you are too serious because it is innocent fun. I am sure the people that know you are not offended because they know where the jokes are coming from and that is the important part.
I am sure you are seeing quite a few swings in racism where you are from. How do you deal with it personally?
I think you learn to ignore it as it can escalate in public if you say something and is something that is always going to be there. It is very hard to keep quiet and you have to if you are out with the family.
Banning protests and symbols doesn't stop the rot of identity prejudice, because they are just symptoms of the underlying psychological problems of an ill society.
You nailed it right here. I believe there are better approach than claiming to stop reasonable protest by banning it. Anything relating to racism I take my hands off it, cause I'm talking from experience, it isn't a nice experience though. But yeah I agree with you points stated thanks for the enlightenment @tarazkp
Not a nice experience, but also not the worst in the world.
This is an incomprehensible world, years go by and it still labels people by their skin color. Is that fair? Times have already changed, the mind should too.
When I was growing up in the '90s, it seemed like racism was a thing of the past. Sports stars, actors, musicians, and everything else in pop culture and media was completely unlike the hate and violence we saw in our history books from the 1950s/60s. Times had changed, but if the allegations about the Southern Poverty Law Center are accurate, there was money to be made in beating a dead horse, and the people fighting hate turned to fueling it to keep the money flowing and maintain the illusion of their own importance. It's a bit like how the Soviet Union is long dead, but NATO persists as a vestigial organ.
You make a valid point about institutional inertia. It’s the dilemma faced by any ‘problem-solver’: if you actually solve the problem you were created to tackle, you cease to be needed. In the 90s, we were perhaps overly optimistic in believing that pop culture was the end of the road, but what you mention about the SPLC and NATO points to a potentially more uncomfortable truth: social structures, once they reach a certain size, develop a survival instinct that can end up being counterproductive to the original cause. They become narrative-processing machines rather than engines of change. It’s time for an update.
When my family moved west to the Spokane, Washington and North Idaho panhandle region in the late 1990s, there were still pockets of literal neo-Nazi racists. The Aryan Nations compound near Hayden was notorious, and the local skinhead losers held annual marches in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Their numbers dwindled, and counter-protests grew. Unfortunately, well-meaning people sought legal action which actually garnered a degree of sympathy since it seemed more performative condemnation than pursuit of justice for real wrongdoing. Assholes still have rights, after all, and it seemed like the concept of "due process" was being stretched for ideological reasons. That's the challenge of principle in the face of hate. Don't become the tyranny you are trying to oppose.
Amazing what identity stupidity and economic hardship can do.
Unfortunately, people are idiots.
Tienes razón en que el racismo puede surgir de una busqueda reafirmación identitaria, pero no es la única causa del racismo. También existen otras razones, por ejemplo, puede darse el caso de que alguien se crie en una familia que sea racista, de modo que adopte esta creencia de forma acritica. Y también puede darse en casos donde se ha sido victima de racismo, así como existe el racismo del hombre blanco hacia personas no blancas, también existe el etno-racismo que surge de las comunidades oprimidas hacia a los opresores, en Sudafrica se vieron varios ejemplos de ello. E incluso dentro dentro de los grupos marginados, también puede haber racismo hacia quien tiene algún rasgo distintivo.
En definitiva, el racismo va más allá de la visión de blancos vs gente de otros colores de piel. También puede responder a patrones de crianza, violencia histórica transgeneracional, prejuicios culturales, e incluso venir asociado a prejucios de clase y de religión como ocurre en la India, por ejemplo. Y cada sociedad debería desarrollar sus propios mecanismos para afrontarlo.
Agree on judging behavior over identity.
Thought-provoking perspective, especially on identity politics. Overall, this makes a case for more self-awareness and less blind attachment to identity or belief systems.
Human nature are predictable and the reasons for racism is pretty predictable indeed.
People are very dynamic sometimes and they can intentionally hurt others feelings without realizing.
Wow, i have a personal experience by how someone intended to hurt my feelings during my childhood age. this person is someone I never think of forgiven I thought I can never forget about how bad he treats me, I even thought I will never have peace of mind without revenging back to what he did to me😞,but when it comes to a time that I start becoming matured then I realize all the things happening is just childishness, so I decide to move on and let things go, I let bygones be bygones and now I have my peace of mind by letting it go🙌
Some in the LGBTQetc. movement seem to believe everyone everywhere is performing drag, so to speak. Identity is fluid, and we choose what we want to be, so our clothing is always a costume and every action is performative. I think this is wrong, but not diametrically opposed to reality.
Many people do seem to treat life as a performance where they need to project a specific image. It has no bearing on reality, but it reveals their perceptions of reality to the world. School cliques, leftist marchers, and neo-Nazis all reveal they seek approval and validation externally. Or am I off the mark completely?
Throughout history, masks have been a means of survival in a society that labels everything. Thank goodness we’re not living in the days of the Inquisition, because the LGBTQ PLUS label certainly wouldn’t exist.
They didn't even like the label of "protestant" or "Lutheran," but at the time, any threat to the religious/political status quo was deemed treasonous.
Historically, the Jews were hated in part because their religious allegiance was outside the intertwined structure of church and state, and extended beyond the borders of the feudal societies in which they lived. We see that as a generally good thing now, but then, it was subversive, and authoritarians hate any hint of subversion.
I think if we paid more attention to people's actions instead of just their surface characteristics, perhals we could create a more welcoming community.
This reminds me of the people who stormed the Capitol back during that time. Just straight up whackos who many of them probably have pretty reputable jobs. People are just afraid of things that are different.
It’s curious how we’ve become so accustomed to labels and predictable profiles that, when we come across an ‘unidentified social object’—someone who doesn’t fit the mould or follow the script—the system seems to short-circuit; that’s happened to me countless times at HIVE. I think that friction you mention is necessary; it forces us to stop reacting on instinct and start really observing — something difficult because it’s so well disguised. The most human thing we have is precisely what cannot be easily categorised in a database.