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Spring-Loaded · May 2, 2017

It's something that shows up here routinely, and it deserves it's own topic, lest it take up space in other threads.

If someone talks about racism in response to, say, a "police kill unarmed black youth who was doing nothing wrong" story, it does not:

brand the word "racist" on the officer's forehead
distract people from possible practical improvements that can be made (e.g. better training and protocols for officers)
"cheapen" the terribleness of incidents of more blatant, explicit racism

And many more.

What makes people think the above happens when people bring up racism? Even if these were the case, why would anyone think they're worth mentioning?

evangelion13 · May 2, 2017

White people don't want to talk about race. It makes them feel unconformable.

Bronx-Man · May 2, 2017

People would rather avoid conversations that need to be had instead of confronting them head on. That and somewhere down the line getting called racist was seen as more horrifying to white America than actually doing something racist.

Htown · May 2, 2017

It makes them uncomfortable, so they don't want to talk about it, so they dismiss it.

DJ Incompetent · May 2, 2017

Because "context doesn't matter" is a slogan people frighteningly stand behind.
Single words in a complex thought can end any discussion now. 'Future times!

commedieu · May 2, 2017

In America at least. There has never been a coming to terms with racism. Laws change, but sentiment stays the same.

L Thammy · May 2, 2017

What you fail to realize is that racist is actually an ethnic slur for white people despite what the dictionary may tell you, and it is probably worse than all the other ethnic slurs out there.

CygnusXS · May 2, 2017

Also, white people don't understand the full range of impacts racism has nor the full spectrum of its manifestations. So cognitively, they often just aren't getting how something might be a result of racism because their own experience has shielded them from racialization.

HallucinatingElvis · May 2, 2017

evangelion13 said:
White people don't want to talk about race. It makes them feel unconformable.

That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

Jarsonot · May 2, 2017

I think it might cheapen arguments. Take the young man shot in TX. It's possible that the cop didn't see anyone in the car before he shot him. If we label the shooting as racially motivated and then it comes out that he couldn't even see anyone someone could point to that and say "see, you just call everything racist. Maybe things aren't so bad."

I think discussing racism is absolutely ok and necessary, btw.

Edit: lol at all the racism already in this topic. Tell me more about what white people do and think. =)

Heroman · May 2, 2017

HallucinatingElvis said:
That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

Tell me more

diaspora · May 2, 2017

evangelion13 said:
White people don't want to talk about race. It makes them feel unconformable.

There's the thread I guess.

Spring-Loaded · May 2, 2017

HallucinatingElvis said:
That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

What's a specific example of it being difficult for you to talk about race, and what has been unfairly deemed racist?

TaterTots · May 2, 2017

evangelion13 said:
White people don't want to talk about race. It makes them feel unconformable.

I'm always here talking about race issues. It's the racists that avoid the conversation of change.

NoblesseOblige · May 2, 2017

Jarsonot said:
If we label the shooting as racially motivated and then it comes out that he couldn't even see anyone someone could point to that and say "see, you just call everything racist. Maybe things aren't so bad."

And that person would be an idiot not worthy listening to.

Jarsonot · May 2, 2017

NoblesseOblige said:
And that person would be an idiot not worthy listening to.

Most definitely. But other idiots are listening, ya know? We'd be giving the idiots fuel for their misinformation. And idiots sway elections.

Skellig Gra · May 2, 2017

evangelion13 said:
White people don't want to talk about race. It makes them feel unconformable.

On average yes but most posters on here are perfectly fine talking about it and admitting the failures of our own race.

Haly · May 2, 2017

A lot people understand "racist" = "bad".

What they don't understand is what racism actually is, or the many forms it can take. Outside of extreme cases of open-and-shut racism, they're very reluctant to use the word, which probably for them carries the same severity as "i'm going to fuck and kill your mother".

B-Dubs · May 2, 2017

Bronx-Man said:
People would rather avoid conversations that need to be had instead of confronting them head on. That and somewhere down the line getting called racist was seen as more horrifying to white America than actually doing something racist.

Htown said:
It makes them uncomfortable, so they don't want to talk about it, so they dismiss it.

And thread.

Ponn · May 2, 2017

HallucinatingElvis said:
That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

Go on, give examples to have the discussion you say you don't mind having.

Bboy AJ · May 2, 2017

HallucinatingElvis said:
That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

Since you're happy to talk about race, keep going.

Stumpokapow · May 2, 2017

HallucinatingElvis said:
That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

Is your position that you only want to talk about race if everyone will validate your feelings on the subject? There are safe spaces for that, like therapy or 4chan, but anywhere else people are just as willing, able, and permitted to express their feelings on the subject as you are.

Slayven · May 2, 2017

HallucinatingElvis said:
That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

Examples?

NoblesseOblige · May 2, 2017

Hollywood Duo said:
On average yes but most posters on here are perfectly fine talking about it and admitting the failures of our own race.

That's only a result of our good moderation. Had this place been treated like reddit and such then I'm confident it'd be full of white denial. And I'll go a step further and say it's probably only limited to those who frequent off-topic that are willing to admit fault. Go into any race thread gaming side and it's full of people not wanting to talk about it.

Stumpokapow · May 2, 2017

Slayven said:
Examples?

I agree with Elvis. Here's an example of a GAFfer calling out others as racist if they disagree with him on the subject of race. Why are liberals so fragile that they need to project like this?

EdibleKnife · May 2, 2017

Fear of confronting the fact that modern society and modern people not only aren't perfect but down right aggressively harmful to people who don't fit a narrow parameter(s). That's why there's such an interest in using abolition or the election of Obama as "the end of racism". People are desperate for it to end so they can feel good about themselves and the time they live in and justify their apathy to the continued marginalization of minorities.

Stumpokapow said:
I agree with Elvis. Here's an example of a GAFfer calling out others as racist if they disagree with him on the subject of race. Why are liberals so fragile that they need to project like this?

Savage.

DontBeThatGuy · May 2, 2017

evangelion13 said:
White people don't want to talk about race. It makes them feel unconformable.

Oh, many of those "uncomfortable" folk will talk about it alright, just in the safest of spaces.

BlazinSkatinAxel · May 2, 2017

People (racists) don't want to talk about racism because it would force them to address that they are not as good as they ideally see themselves as.

L Thammy · May 2, 2017

Stumpokapow said:
I agree with Elvis. Here's an example of a GAFfer calling out others as racist if they disagree with him on the subject of race. Why are liberals so fragile that they need to project like this?

Well, that was unexpected.

Skellig Gra · May 2, 2017

NoblesseOblige said:
That's only a result of our good moderation. Had this place been treated like reddit and such then I'm confident it'd be full of white denial. And I'll go a step further and say it's probably only limited to those who frequent off-topic that are willing to admit fault. Go into any race thread gaming side and it's full of people not wanting to talk about it.

Sure but what I'm saying is we can have a real discussion on here. Well at least some of us can.

Heroman · May 2, 2017

White People don't want to think about how much race and racsim plays apart in almost every part of American life

LookAtMeGo · May 2, 2017

Some people dont want to admit others have it harder than them because of the colour of their skin. Makes their struggle in life feel less significant or something.

Bronx-Man · May 2, 2017

Stumpokapow said:
I agree with Elvis. Here's an example of a GAFfer calling out others as racist if they disagree with him on the subject of race. Why are liberals so fragile that they need to project like this?

Nealand Liquor · May 2, 2017

evangelion13 said:
White people don't want to talk about race. It makes them feel unconformable.

L Thammy said:
What you fail to realize is that racist is actually an ethnic slur for white people despite what the dictionary may tell you, and it is probably worse than all the other ethnic slurs out there.

Maybe for some white people, if we are talking about strictly white people here, it might be that comments like these make them feel attacked for simply existing and do more to create an environment of unnecessary hostility then let' say...

CygnusXS said:
Also, white people don't understand the full range of impacts racism has nor the full spectrum of its manifestations. So cognitively, they often just aren't getting how something might be a result of racism because their own experience has shielded them from racialization.

... A comment like this that actually allows for discourse.

MKIL65 · May 2, 2017

Stumpokapow said:
I agree with Elvis. Here's an example of a GAFfer calling out others as racist if they disagree with him on the subject of race. Why are liberals so fragile that they need to project like this?

Holy shit! I'm dying

Jarsonot · May 2, 2017

I like being white, in fact I am proud to be white... Apparently it serves me well. There's nothing fragile about me, if you want to be racist towards me because of my whiteness so be it.

I don't know the context here, but what's wrong with this?

Edit: this:

White People don't want to think about how much race and racsim plays apart in almost every part of American life

is racist, no? Attributing something to someone based solely on their race?

Reeks · May 2, 2017

Rather than being concerned about someone having to deal with racism, many people are concerned with being called a racist.

Amir0x · May 2, 2017

HallucinatingElvis said:
That's completely untrue, I'm happy to talk about race, it is ofcourse extremely difficult now days since the left has branded every fucking thing racist.

Translation: The leftist boogeymen won't let me be openly racist, I wish I could return to a time when my white superiority went unchallenged.

Haly · May 2, 2017

Stumpokapow said:
I agree with Elvis. Here's an example of a GAFfer calling out others as racist if they disagree with him on the subject of race. Why are liberals so fragile that they need to project like this?

l u l

RyougaSaotome · May 2, 2017

NoblesseOblige said:
That's only a result of our good moderation. Had this place been treated like reddit and such then I'm confident it'd be full of white denial. And I'll go a step further and say it's probably only limited to those who frequent off-topic that are willing to admit fault. Go into any race thread gaming side and it's full of people not wanting to talk about it.

They're the loudest, but I'd argue they're still not the majority even on gaming side. They just tend to be the ones posting nonstop in the same thread while everyone else looks at them like they're psychopaths (rightfully so).

Gaming Side could still be a LOT worse than it is if it wasn't for the moderation when it comes to race stuff.

NoblesseOblige · May 2, 2017

Ultimately what I think it boils down to is that the advantaged (in this case white people) don't want to realize/admit they are advantaged. It makes them feel like they are less deserving. That they didn't work hard to get where they are. They want to deny that you can both work hard while also being given preferential treatment. It's harmful to their/our less hardened egos when the ignorance is dissolved.

EdibleKnife · May 2, 2017

Jarsonot said:
I don't know the context here, but what's wrong with this?

Edit: this:

is racist, no? Attributing something to someone based solely on their race?

marrec said:
I like being white too! Nobody here is telling you to feel bad about being white.

Buuut....

You say there's nothing fragile about you, yet you couch your language in defensiveness?

"Apparently" it serves you well? Are you so fragile that you cannot admit to the reality of white privilege?

Are you so fragile that you deflect any criticism as "racism" because of your "whiteness"?

And no that statement is not racist. It in no way contributes to white marginalization. It's a statement confronting the reality of why racism and white nationalism persist in the modern day. Same way saying "Men don't want to think about how much sex and sexism plays a part in almost every part of American life" isn't sexist or misandry in any way.

wandering · May 2, 2017

Jarsonot said:
I don't know the context here, but what's wrong with this?

norm9 · May 2, 2017

There's a risk of being called a racist in a discussion involving race. Nobody wants to be labeled, even if the label fits.

HappyBivouac · May 2, 2017

If you can make everything taboo, then you never have to hear anything that makes you uncomfortable.

Sushi Nao · May 2, 2017

Simply because it's utilized by racists as an effective, "truthy-sounding" deflection.

L Thammy · May 2, 2017

Nealand Liquor said:
Maybe for some white people, if we are talking about strictly white people here, it might be that comments like these make them feel attacked for simply existing and do more to create an environment of unnecessary hostility then let' say...

... A comment like this that actually allows for discourse.

I don't see how what I said - sarcastic as it is - should make you feel attacked for existing. Do you think that "racism" and "racist" are racial slurs as opposed to descriptions of actions and thoughts? No? Then we're fine. If you're aware that other people actual choose to think that and that it's a problem, then we're more than fine, we're in agreement.

If you're feeling guilty when you haven't been accused of anything, that's not really anyone else's problem. That seems to happen quite a bit as well.

BlazinSkatinAxel · May 2, 2017

Being proud of who you are is good until comes at the expense of others.

B-Dubs · May 2, 2017

Stumpokapow said:
I agree with Elvis. Here's an example of a GAFfer calling out others as racist if they disagree with him on the subject of race. Why are liberals so fragile that they need to project like this?

Ran rp · May 2, 2017

Can't even mention racism in passing without people losing their shit. Especially if it's in an entertainment topic with some overzealous fans.

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