To think that no racist ever admits they are a racist

The word “racist” has been so over used it is practically meaningless. The latest example of this is “the countryside is racist/too white”. I’m mean what is “too white”? It indicates being “white” is somehow incomplete, even though the British countryside has survived for Millenia by being almost exclusively white.

The dog friendly nature of the British countryside, with businesses catering to dog owning patrons is now “problematic” because certain groups have an opinion about not liking them and people are calling for dog free areas, bugger off!!!! We love dogs in the countryside, nearly everyone has a dog, if you go somewhere it is up to you to behave accordingly.

The pub with no halal meat is problematic- serving beer and not having halal meat on the menu apparently puts certain groups off. Well, all the pubs I’ve been in serve lemonade and most have a vegan option - so they do serve suitable food to eat and drink.

No doubt some Guardian reader will think the above is racist, well it’s not, it’s about valuing our local traditions and culture. Anyone is welcome, but respect the local traditions and culture, learn the countryside code, put on your hiking boots come for a walk, shut the gates, don’t disrupt the animals (livestock or pets) and join us and have a pint of coke and the vegan option in the local pub. By pushing the trope the countryside is racist, people will dig their heels in and it will become problematic- there’s increasing numbers of flags going up I’ve noticed.

Possibly. But it's fear of difference isn't it. So you think your ways are better as they are familiar to you.

I don’t think all racism comes from people feeling superior. Often it’s just “difference”.
I do think cultural difference is often more divisive than skin colour.

I really admire you for your honesty and for your willingness to reflect and learn. I wish others would follow your lead.

We have all been born into a society where there is deep structural racism. That is not our fault.

It is our fault if we choose to perpetuate it.

Yes this is what I've come to believe as I've got older.

It depends what your 'concerns' are though.

Another honest question, would you include a man, who because of his religion, thinks a woman should behave/dress a certain way. Or who is against men who don't enforce the same rules, as he does? So is against other people who don't follow his religion or culture?
In other words are we just talking about white people being racist?

It’s interesting, because I’m sure they do know, or some of them do. Back in the mid 90s, there was a television programme called People’s Parliament. I was on that show for one series as a liberal/leftie talking about things such as racism, parenting, prostitution, immigration etc. The programme makers often struggled to get more right wing people onto the programme because, in the words of one producers, “they know how stupid they sound”!

No it isn't. Your mockery is from a sense of superiority. Your previous post to this is just a list of grammatical corrections. You are belittling a poster for being less able to express themselves through written communication. It's nasty bullying that allows you to justify your refusal to engage with their points.

What do you think happens when the poster you mocked reads your response? Do you think they retreat with their tail between their legs, realising that your superior understanding of grammar also gives you a superior political opinion? Or do you think that it's more likely that they get pissed off and decide that dialogue is impossible?

Because it's only ever gone the latter route through the entirety of human history.

So we can pick and choose when it’s acceptable to be racist?

In the past I have said racist things. I've been pulled up on it. I didn't think I was being racist because I didn't feel hate or even discrimination in my heart. But it turned out that nonetheless I WAS bring racist because the person on the other end of my ignorance experienced it as racism. So I've come to believe that I was being a racist after all. Ignorance, being part of a world that includes structural racism, has led to my being racist.
I hope I'm not anymore.

This is how I've come to feel about it.

Yes, here we go.

Increasingly some people are quick to tell others that the word racism has lost its meaning because racism is normalised now.

Honest question. You don't care about men who come from a country were child sexual abuse is legal, domestic violence is legal and they think girls reach marriage age when they start their periods? Also were they are homophobic etc because of their culture or religion? Or that they have the right to kill their wives if they are going to leave them? Do you think these men should be able to work any job on arrival?
I know people who are happy to say they are breaking the equality act by holding opinions on religion. I know men, of all colours, who are racist.

Yes. It doesn’t have to be intentional. If you do it through ignorance and have it pointed out to you, a decent person who is concerned with not being racist would reflect and learn from it. Many people though just get defensive and continue to be racist.

If you genuinely didn't know, then I think it depends on how you respond when someone tells you.

If your response is to feel mortified, to apologise profusely and to make real efforts afterwards to go away and properly educate yourself on the issues, then no, I wouldn't personally regard you as being racist.

If your response is to defend yourself, insist that you weren't being racist, refuse to take the feedback on board and/or just shrug it off without trying to educate yourself further on the subject, then I think that confirms that you are actually just racist.

ETA your remarks would still be racist whether you intended them to be or not. But whether those racist remarks would make you a fundamentally racist person would depend on your response imo.

Obviously, there would be certain comments which you simply wouldn't ever make if you weren't fundamentally racist, and ignorance would be no defence. But I think it would be possible for a person who isn't racist to use a racist term without necessarily realising the racist history or connotations of the term. In such circumstances, my judgment would depend very much on their response when they were made aware.

I've got an extraneous 'to' in my third sentence there, so I guess posters can feel free to hurr, hurr, hurr, about my inadequate grasp of my first language and dismiss any other points. That'll put all the racists back in their box.

The mockery is due to their tone rather than the content.

What is Critcal Race Theory? Do you mean Critical Race Theory?

Can you give me an example of a text in critical race theory that you have read from start to finish and find unreasonable? Can you point me to specific passages to explain what you have in mind, with page references?

I'm not really familiar with what you have in mind, because, despite the fact that I work in a university (supposedly ground zero for 'wokeness') I have not read or been required to read any texts in critical race theory, consequently it has not really had any impact on my life, as indeed I suspect it has not had any impact on the lives of the vast majority of citizens, despite being a popular bugbear of the right (who I strongly suspect have not read it either).

Too not to.
You're not your.
I Disagree that there's something wrong not to be concerned about immigration.
I Agree that it's not racist to be concerned about immigration.

Now see there's your problem. Most young men don't rate Farage or Robinson one little bit. Older people have their knickers in a massive twist about those two, whereas to the men who I'm talking about consider them both to be nothing but establishment containment who don't come even remotely close to promising what they want.

In the UK, Steve Laws presents something much closer to what is being looked for and he's just a start. Full remigration is being increasingly called for, with literally the only type of acceptable immigrant being those of Irish extraction. What people in their Millenial and older bubbles really don't get is that the "containment" is only working on them. They are worried about the likes of Farage, angry young men think of him as nothing more than a deeply inadequate start.

And threads like this, started as and loaded with, virtue signalling are a huge part of the problem. We've had literal mockery of the grammar of posters who dare point out that these people have actually got some valid concerns. The damage that attitude has wreaked is monumental and it's very close to being too late to stop what has always happened throughout history when we've come to the type of juncture we're at now. Tbh, I increasingly suspect we've more likely passed that point already.

DD was campaigning doing door knocking around Stoke, plenty of folk were openly racist and said that is why they were voting for Farage’ crew.

DD said it was very shocking how proud they were of being racist.

What the hell does this bloody word even mean. I don't think anyone knows. It's banded about so much now.

I saw a Facebook post where a man was moaning his post hadn't been added in a group. He started spouting off rudely and telling the moderator she was racist. I would have banned him for his unreasonable and rude behavior.

Turns out she had just forgotten to add it, not racist at all. The word can get in the bin as far as I'm concerned.

The most unconscious ism has to be agism. It’s ubiquitous and so toxic to humanity as a whole, and very rarely called out.

Critcal Race Theory hasn't helped.

The thing is, as a society we can have a narrow definition of racism, where there is a high bar for justifying accusations of racism, and it maintains social stigma and people strongly wish to avoid being called racist for any reason

The upshot of that is that black and brown people are expected to put with things that white people aren't because they don't meet the "high bar" you have described.
Who do you think should decide where the bar is?