This question is not intented to be racist in any way, simply a question..?

Question

Actually I have a few questions and theories that I would like you to address and explain why you say what you say.
First, do you think it is okay for someone to be racist even when they have not experienced a multi-racial environment such as living in a big city or working in a diverse workplace?
Second, do you agree that it is understandalbe , not okay, but understandable that a person is racist based on their own experiences with other races (i.e. a woman who lives in a big city that has been a victim of attempted robbed (offender is black), works at a bank and has been robbed several times (offender was black each time), deals with people that have a bad attitude and are disrespectful(customers are black). I am not saying that it is ONLY african-american s that are commiting these crimes but do you understand if someone develops a sense of racism because of their negative interactions with the opposite race?

So basically, is it okay to be racist if you have substative reasoning to be so? It is not generalizing when the offender is the opposite race each time and it is a known fact that the offender is the opposite race. Again, how can it be considered unprompted racism when there is first-hand expereience to reinforce the racist claim?

Just for more information, this is not judging by 1 or 2, this is judging by 10-25.

Answer 1

No, racism is not okay given your two examples. One can be cautious without being racist. Racism is unfair to those of the race who do not act like the bad ones that you have experienced. Racism causes you to discriminate against everyone, even the ones that never have nor ever will do anything negative to you.

Racism provides you with a self-fulfilling prophecy. You will begin to seek out and attract to you like a magnet, those that prove your case for being racist. You will begin to disregard the ones that don't give you cause to be racist and think that the ones that prove your point are the norm instead of the other way around.

Nothing but bad things can come from being racist. You will treat the race different, they will pick up on it and your interactions will be changed by your negative views.

Answer 2

well, I don't think it's okay, but I think that it is understandable why the person feels so negatively toward this race. It so happens that I have had a few racist interactions with my opposite (white) race - I'm Mexican, by the way. Simply for walking into a restaurant where the majority of the people were white...it was pretty weird. I won't go into the details because it just ticks me off. Regardless of the facts, I have this resentment towards white people because of their actions, even though I KNOW that having these racist feelings are wrong.

Answer 3

Many white people LOOK HARD for an excuse to be rascist BUT, when one of their own kind commits the most VILE (rape, murder, etc) crime imaginable they want to face the criminal, and ask him why and offer forgiveness.

So the answer is, IF you would forgive one of your own race for the same act commited by a black person, then you have to forgive them to.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that you should be EVEN MORE WILLING to forgive a black person. Institutional rascism that is so pervasive in american society has resulted in black people being more hostile, angry, hopeless and filled with despair.

When a black person has gone to college and been denied a job, when a black person is shunned and not considered worthy of friendship just because of his skin, when black people are not invited to activites, when black people are treated like criminals even when they've never commited a crime, and when their children go to school and come home hurt because the teacher is rascist it leaves a pain so deep in your heart that even if EVERY white in the world suddenly began to treat us with the same amount of dignity and respect they do each other IT WOULD TAKE EONS for the pain to heal.

Many say I'm not rascist and yet they sit by and watch rasicst attack black people unmercifully. If you do nothing to support the victim you are just as guilty. This is especially true on jobs. IF A PERSON CANNOT MAKE A LIVING THE RIGHT WAY, THEN HE HAS TO RESORT TO MAKING A LIVING ANY WAY HE CAN. BLACK PEOPLE ARE THE LAST ONES HIRED AND THE FIRST ONES FIRED. THEY ARE ALSO PAID THE LEAST FOR THE SAME WORK.

Answer 4

No, because you are lumping the entire black race in to one singular category. Stereo typing an entire race based on the action of 1 or 2 individuals is wrong.
I am a white woman, as a child I was molested and raped by white men. I did not grow up to hate all white men, because I understand that not every white man I come across is a rapist or child molester.
Being racist may make you miss out on a whole lot of wonderful people in this world. You should never judge someone by the color of their skin, but rather by the content of their character.

Answer 5

As far as I'm concerned if you judge an individual by their race then yes that is being a racist and yes it is wrong. Maybe understandable but wrong.

Everyone should be judged individually and not lumped into a group. I was fortuante to grow up in the San Francisco bay area where it was very diverse and I did not develope any racist attitudes but I can see where someone with limited exposure to different races can develope these ideas.

Answer 6

It may not be acceptable to some people, but it is a completely natural reaction to the circumstances. Some people might call it pattern recognition. The key is to be aware of these feelings.

I was beaten up and robbed by a gang of five black men a few years back. Most black people don't bother me but when they're dressed like gangsters and speak heavily in African American Vernacular English I tend to get very upset on an involuntary level.

As long as I make sure my prejudices don't affect my rational decisions too much I think I am not doing anything wrong.

Answer 7

I don't think that it's ever ok to be racist but can understand why circumstance could condition someone to have certain reactions. For instance I know a young white man who attended a mostly black school. He was abused a lot by the other kids simply because he was white. As an adult he has needed to be aware of his feelings and has taught himself to look at the individual and rethink the stereotypical attitudes that he developed as a kid.

We probably develop this kind of thinking and defenses about a lot of things that we're not even aware of. Racial triggers are easy to recognize but we classify people, consciously or not for many other reasons.

Answer 8

None of those things are justifiable reasons to be a racist. You have every right to hate the people that did those things but not the color of their skin has nothing to do with it.
I don't really know of any town in this country that is not racially diverse any more.
I have worked with the public my entire life, and let me tell you, red yellow, black, white, purple, or green, they are all rude, disrespectful, and have bad attitudes, and I have been treated worse by white people than I have black. (I am white).
I get more yes maam's and no maam's from black kids than I do white kids.
But then again I live in the south, and I think that we teach our chidrenbetter manners than they do up north!

Answer 9

Racism is for cowards and lazy people.
Cowardly for not approach what you have been taught to fear.
Lazy for not putting in the "effort" to learn about some group you have been taught to fear.

My parents experienced real racism. My father had a cross burned in his front yard and when my grandmother died and left children, the children were thrown off the property by the police. They were both shivering afraid of white people (well at least at what they could & were allowed to do).

The best they could do is raise me around white people. Sent me to their schools encouraged friendships.

I turned out ok no better nor worse than anyone else.

Answer 10

You don't have substantive reasoning to excuse yourself for racism.

Can you be pitied for being racist?--probably yes. But don't look for empathy or a free ride.

There are plenty of people who have endured horrible experiences innocently at the hands of others. A small fragment of those incidents involve interracial crime; the vast majority do not. We simply have to grow up and not fall into the easy, seductive (lazy, really) trap of responding to crime with racial hatred. Crime is typically an individual act and involves individual choices and circumstances. If you want to hate, hate the injustice and lack of opportunity that bring someone to crime. I'm not forgiving the criminals--they should be dealt with according to the law. I'm just saying that racism is a stupid response.