Are you racist?

[cloudni9e]

Watching a documentary called The Event: How Racist Are You with Jane Elliot.
And it is making me so angry how completely ignorant the white people on it are and it's reminding me of the thread I saw earlier on today on mumsnet. Please mumsnetters, check your white privilege if you are white and remember it's not enough to say you're not a racist. You need to be actively anti-racist or you are part of the problem. Racism IS violence.

There seems to an argument around which says that all white people benefit from their place in the social structure equals all white people being racist. I think this is where things get bogged down. Most fair minded people would have to agree with the proposition that the ethnic majority in this country benefits from their position and doesn’t experience the same issues as people of colour. And I think imaginative empathy is required to try to overcome that to the greatest extent possible. But racism to me and to many implies individual fault/ error. Maybe I am guilty of that but I try very hard not to be and to put myself in others shoes as much as I can.
I personally would like to hear much more about the everyday social experience of black peoples in our society. Not news reports or documentaries but them talking. Because when that happens it’s a real eye opener.

This is an interesting thread and makes me consider what racism really is. For those who say they probably are but try not to be, I wonder in what way?

One example is, I get really intimidated by groups of young black people, especially if they’re being quite loud. I do get intimidated by groups of loud young white people too but not to the same extent, I think this is because I’ve always heard the message in one way or another that black people are bad or up to no good, will rob/attack you etc. I never voice it out loud but I definitely feel and hear it in my head it’s both Prejudice and racist but it’s something I try to suppress.
Another one is that I might make the mistake of thinking two people are together because they’re getting on the same train or bus I assume their together because they’re black but they’re not they just happen to be walking near each other getting on the same bus!
I rarely do this with white people so i don’t know why I do it with black people, it’s racial profiling I think. I hate it.

All the talk of white privilege, can someone explain what that is?

“
Yesterday 23:22 LadyBahBahBah

No I'm not. is that a good enough of a reply OP”

This is so so so rude and dismissive of a serious issue that is impacting people’s lives, experiences and futures.

People who reply like this are THE WORST. If you think this is a joke - please ignore
The thread.
If you dont have anything constructive to say - dont post.

www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/my-white-friend-asked-me-to-explain-white-privilege-so-i-decide/

goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/explaining-white-privilege-to-a-broke-white-person-shesaid/

nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-Texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack

Here's some articles I found to help you understand white privilege but also do some of your own research- there's plenty out there.

There's 3 links there the top 2 are posted together.

Yeah @Eminado that person doesn't deserve a response.

cloudni9e

Why don't they deserve a response?

They have answered your question, it just doesn't fall into to your bias that white people are racist.

Perhaps it's done already (wasn't in my day), but I wish schools would teach unconscious bias. And to have it mandated in workplaces. I know a bit of training won't fix centuries of prejudice, but so many people understand racism as the KKK, segregation etc, yet they don't understand the daily pervasive reality of it. It's not the big actions that perpetuate it, it's all the smaller looks, assumptions etc.

The unconscious bias training you get in parts of the public sector before you’re able to manage or interview people is very good. Thought provoking.

Slightly off topic but I’ve fallen foul on the “stereotype” front. Most recent example: a Pakistani woman told me that she didn’t like watching sport and I replied, “not even cricket?”

Back to the topic, I agree with the OP re that thread. It’s importsnt not to dismiss people’s experiences and valid concerns.

I always remember this episode, if you haven’t seen it before take a look

facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158108885284879&id=264869909878&fs=1&focus_composer=0

This is an interesting thread and makes me consider what racism really is. For those who say they probably are but try not to be, I wonder in what way?

I don't believe in open borders and uncontrolled immigration so I know from various other comments that that makes me racist. It's unfortunate because people that are genuinely not racist in the original meaning of the word just get so irritated at being called racist that they often lose all sympathy with the topic.

I try very hard not to be racist, but I think we are all prone to stereotyping people we perceive as culturally very different to ourselves.

For example, when I visit the Southern United States, I have to actively remind myself that not every uneducated white person I encounter is a right wing, Trump supporting, gun-toting, bible-bashing racist redneck.

Cultural differences are not racist. They are nothing to do with race.

You’re also not a racist if you oppose certain practices or beliefs of a particular religion.

@Soola way to say you're not racist if you don't like Muslims. 😆 erm I guess technically that's islamaphobia but it's pretty deep seated in racism. This thread is getting worse and worse.

@Soola that's exactly what the edl say who are also obviously not racist 😆

I have just come across this thread. I started a thread earlier about my experiences going to shops and being ignored by sales staff.

Some of the defensive and downright rude posts on here tell you so much about white fragility.

Can we acknowledge a difference between overt/blatant racism and ingrained and institutional racism which is in our society and culture and systems and all white people do have and no black people can't be racist because white people aren't an oppressed group it's just not a thing. Prejudice and racism are 2 different things and it's ignorant to ignore the years of ongoing oppression and pretend that they are.

Soola, I am muslim. Do you have a problem with my beliefs?

www.vice.com/en_uk/article/kwzjvz/dear-white-people-please-stop-pretending-reverse-racism-is-real

@twis I’m mixed race, half Chinese (Malay), so please don’t deliberately misconstrue what I wrote and make silly connections to the EDL.

cloudni9e

and no black people can't be racist because white people aren't an oppressed group it's just not a thing.

Just because you choose one definition over another doesn't make you right.

Both definitions of racism are equally correct, its just that one is on a societal level and the other is on a personal level.

@ItReallyHappens

Yes I do. I am against Halal practices. The methods used to slaughter animals is not something I agree with.

However, when I criticise this practice I get the word racist thrown at me which is incorrect as it’s an religious/animal issue not a race one.

Islam welcomes people of all races, I believe?

I hate the ‘white priviledge’ thing, most people in the U.K. are white some are white immigrants, ie Poland. People were mostly white until after WW2. People who lecture other on this are tedious and will make no difference to their beliefs. If I went to live in, say, Nigeria, I would imagine people would be racist to me.