I don't think it does.
P.S. I am black. Should a white person have deny this ability to discern black people by their voices because they aren't black?
2006-12-20 13:00:49 · 15 answers · asked by kmm4864990 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
That is, Is a white person racist for being able to tell a person is black by another's dialect?
2006-12-20 13:02:31 · update #1
of course it's not racist. do you know how many people are able to tell someones race just by dialect? A lot of people! it's not a stereotype and it's not racist. so, great question. i mean, i can tell if someone is black or white just by hearing their dialect.
2006-12-20 16:15:37 · answer #1 · answered by Raven's Shadow 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely not! That being said you have to realize that you could be wrong. You'll find out if you ever meet the person. We all do this at some level. So long as we realize that we are just playing the odds and not just making wholesale determinations there is nothing racist or wrong with it. Here's my personal example:
Awhile back driving home from work, I saw a big, nice looking "HOG", a Harley-Davidson, coming up from behind me and going to pass me. I noticed that he was flying a flag on the back of his bike. As he passed, I saw that it was an Israeli Flag. So from this I deduced the following: I could see that it was actually a man. There was probably a real good chance he was Jewish. Now does that make me a racist or an anti-Semite? I think not. It's just something I noticed.
2006-12-20 13:25:26 · answer #2 · answered by jkm65 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've often thought the same thing myself, 'Am I racist if I can tell if the person I'm talking to on the telephone is black or white?".
I think the answer is 'No' for both of us. After all, I can tell the difference on the telephone between a man and a woman, an adult and a child, a person from New Jersey and a person from Georgia and that doesn't really mean anything.
2006-12-20 13:08:43 · answer #3 · answered by Just Me 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will get you a lot of flame and hate. But it probably is possible to guess the general racial stock of a person in some cases.
There are going to be a lot of exceptions to this, naturally, but it's probably possible to make a good guess.
If it was a white person saying this, then of course the hate about this question would be a lot higher, simply for mentioning a characteristic of another race.
I don't think it's racist though.
PS, I am also black. note the 'fro.
2006-12-20 13:05:07 · answer #4 · answered by Neil-Rob 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I doubt I'm racist because I know when a black person is on the phone (sometimes). I have many black friends and I am the furthest thing from racist.
2006-12-20 13:05:11 · answer #5 · answered by BAnne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you can only guess, and to prove whether you're right is harder. Maybe from experience you can detect and point out their race, but many times, you can be wrong. For example, one time I thought this guy with a really hot white voice I talked to on the phone. He was the son of this landlord ...anyway, long story short. I knew his race even before I called about something to complain, but he really didn't sound Vietnamese or Asian for that matter. He sounded like a hot white guy.
2006-12-20 13:11:39 · answer #6 · answered by Suzy Suzee Sue 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not racist but it's a steryotype. When Im working I have to talk more professional when answering phones so some may think that I sound white but Im not
2006-12-20 13:02:19 · answer #7 · answered by oohLa 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's racist if you think it MUST be a person of certain color because of their speech patterns.
2006-12-20 13:05:18 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We are what we are. That doesn't mean that someone is a racist for noticing!
2006-12-20 13:03:26 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, you are not racist. you have a good ear for dialect.
2006-12-20 13:10:15 · answer #10 · answered by Susian P 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋