Why are some people so sensative to racism?

Question

When my friends say something racist to me. Like white trash, or casper. I just laugh. But why are some people so sensative, and offended to the slightest things. They take it out of proportion and to the extreme. Sometimes people are just joking and having some fun with stereotypes, they don't mean anything bad.

I've noticed that Africans are the most sensative. They will lash out at me, and yell like you can hear her from a mile away. I think they are too sensative or still have a feeling of inferiority. I mean I don't believe in races. I'm only saying African american so that you can understand what i'm describing. This is all my experience from my short life, so don't lash out on me.

Answer 1

I know I am sensitive to racial jokes and slurs. Especially because i am middle eastern and the jokes i hear usually hurt me because they are so negative and untrue. But i think everyone jokes around with racial jokes but you got to know who you are joking with. make sure it is someone you know well and knows you don't mean anything racial or are racist. i just heard a racial stereotype in school a couple of days ago in class about middle eastern people and i was about to cry because it was so cruel and the person who said it didn't even know me and everyone was staring at me and the most embarrasing part was that my bottom lips were shaking because i was about to cry and the teacher saw me and felt sorry for me and started yelling at the student. anyways like i said make sure who you are joking with because it can hurt people sometimes.

Answer 2

Because you weren't there you do not remember when African Americans couldn't get certain jobs because they were African American. I am not talking about professional jobs I am talking about being policemen, firemen, and union construction workers.

You didn't see people die and have dogs forced on them for peaceably marching for their rights. And that was for being able to vote and that was in the 1960's. They didn't have the right to go to some restaurants or even public swimming pools.

Yeah, they are sensitive (spelled with an i) because they don't want the issues that made their life bad to come back again.

When I was a child we lived in a restricted neighborhood. The real estate was not sold to anyone unless you were white. Even if someone was Catholic it was said in a whisper. My Jewish friends did not live there.

I am in my mid 50's and I can remember when the schools were basically segregated because the neighborhoods basically were. The only African Americans I knew were the cleaning ladies until I was 15. I went to public schools and this was Denver, Colorado not the South. In the 1930's the Governor of Colorado was in the Klan.

There still are private clubs that won't let them join. There still is prejudice that hurts their job choices - affirmative action or not. There still is prejudice that keeps them out of the main stream American culture.

That is why people are very sensitive because a youth your age has African Americans your age who's father and grandfather remembers that if you didn't do what you were told you could die and nobody could prevent it or help you. The police really didn't care or else they helped.

Answer 3

I think as a Anglo/White/Caucasian person (you take your pick), you are not in the position to claim when any group of non-whites are "too sensitive" given history. If anything your ancestors were responsible for creating that type of sentiment found in blacks. Now you are whining and complaining that they feel offended?

Bottome line is, as a Caucasian, and a non-minority you will never know what that is like.... NEVER.; even if you THINK you know or understand. You will never be able to relate on that level; so the best thing to do is to keep your mouth shut.

Also, you claim "they must feel inferior", but arent YOU treating them as inferior when you call them names or make reference to sterotypes?

Hopefully you are a very young naive little girl, because so far your comments reek of stupidity and ignorance.

PS: I am not in any way implying it is okay for them to say racist BS because you are white. I am saying that infantile behavior is idiotic from anyone side. There are idiots, bigots, and uneducated ignoramuses in all grous of people ;). Interestingly enough, they are usually of the few to find 'sterotypes' and 'racial slurs' funny.

Answer 4

You are absolutely correct. If a cop asked me to describe a thief and I say he was a white male, 6'2, 180lbs, nothing becomes of it. If I say he was a black male, 6'2, 180lbs, I become a racist because I called him black. And all the cr@p about the "N" word and "wet back" being racial, ludicrous. To me they are just other forms of profanity. I'm going to call a white person an @sshole if he's an @sshole. If a black person is an @sshole, call him a ***- ger. They use to call Vietnamese Nationals "zipper-heads" because their ideals were so easily exchanged from socialist to democratic depending on which way the wind blew that day. Racial? No. I hate Rednecks. Am I racist? Hardly. Trailer trash? Same thing. If people would take the time and look up the meaning of "racist" in the dictionary, there would be a lot less publicity of the term. Just today I saw an article in the news. "NEW YORK (AP) - The Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendant of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond - a discovery the civil rights activist called "shocking" on Sunday." Why is this news? And was it a white person who broke the story or was it a black person? You be the judge. And to the people who think whitey will never know what it's like to be on the receiving end of racism, talk to the descendants of the 6 million Jews that were slaughtered by Hitler.

Answer 5

The media shoves racism down our throats so much that we start to believe that all black people are like this. In reality, they are not THAT sensitive. Most people in the minorities (that I know) can joke around about race like it's no big deal. Of course, the problems also begin when you get these high and mighty white people who feel they need to defend all minorities who don't realize how ridiculous they sound.

Answer 6

This is a huge issue in life, alot of it is because of freedom of speech, you hear it with african american's the most, but it's not just them, it every color. Mexican's, caucasion's, oriental's, jew's, irish, every race faces this, and no one seams to realize that everyone has to deal with it in thier lives, regardless of race. The most prime example of racism is in sport though, I think it springs from jealousy and pride myself. I try so hard not to let others believe they are superior to me because they are not the same color as me all the while I'm trying just as hard that I don't think I'm more superior for the same reason. Racism is sad part of life. hope I helped

Answer 7

When I hear the ( n ) or racial words I think of the Black Men and Women who were beaten, mistreated, some r*ped, and many were killed while they were called this, and had bad things said to them, or about them.

To this day I feel pain from that happening then.
It can still happen every now and then, and the Courts do little about it .

I never call or say racial things to people.
Words are something you can't take back.

Answer 8

Are you serious? There is a long history behind the reasons why those people are yelling at you. Those words had a serious meaning behind them when those people were oppressed. You just laugh when people make fun of you because your race never went through the oppression. Its because black people are the minority and that there is and was serious meaning behind those words. It wasnt too long ago that racism was huge, think about when your parents we're growing up. martin luther king jr was fighting for equality. Thats why its so sensitve still.

Answer 9

I don't believe in race either, but I do believe in culture, and I think that black culture has had a continuously evil effect on the advancement of those people who allow themselves to be susceptible to it.

Answer 10

When your isolated because of you race daily you can only take so much. You may be joking, but chances are you arent the only person "jokeing".