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.

I’m not racist but I also try not to make a habit of jumping to conclusions. If sometime is obviously racist obviously I wouldn’t just go along with it but I do a sense check in my head first.

Soola, do you eat meat?

Yes, I'm racist. I try not to be, but I don't see how it's possible to grow up in this society without absorbing some of the racism that surrounds us, in much the same way that even though I'm a woman and a feminist, I have internalised misogyny. My image of a default human being is white, and the books I've read, films and TV I've watched, history I've studied, journalism I've encountered have mostly been created by and for white people. So I don't always notice when something that I feel comfortable with ignores or excludes or misrepresents or is otherwise shitty to people who aren't like me.

And I try to notice more, and to educate myself, but if part of me buys into prejudice against people who are like me, I think that getting rid of my unconscious racism will be a lifelong job.

Where can I watch this documentary?

@ItReallyHappens no, I don’t eat meat.

You need to be actively anti-X or you are part of the problem that is X

I can't accept that argument.
Just another person ranting that folk aren't activists for their passionate grievance.

My actual point of my original post is that the word racist is often bandied about incorrectly and it detracts from real racism.

There is also an element where it’s not acceptable to make ‘jokes’ about black/African people but ok go make jokes about Asian people.

Chinky instead of Chinese when having a takeaway for example.

Sool, do you have a problem with non-halal meat?

@YeOldeTrout in a society that actively works against non-white people yes I think the least white people can do is be actively anti-racist.

@Soola that word is definitely not ok and is 100% racist. Lucky I'm not around people who make jokes like this but I think most people I know would consider it racism just like other racial slurs.

You are correct Soola. Islam does welcome and include people of all races. You can choose which culture you follow but you can't choose your race. That is the big difference,

What are the indicators to you, Couldni9e, that someone is "actively anti-racist"? What do they have to do or say to be part of that club?

@Soola I'm also against halal slaughter because it is a cruel way of slaughter but you can't kill something in a humane way so I'm against all animals being slaughtered. I'm equally against other things like the egg industry which brutally places male chicks on a conveyor belt to go through a grinder when they are still tiny because they are useless to the industry. But growing up I never heard about the egg industry while halal meat was discussed all the time. Racial bias? Yes.

What a fitting name @YeOldeTrout 😆 I'm not going to engage more as it isn't a 'club' to be calling out racism. Shock horror I know.

@cloud9e

I never heard about the egg industry while halal meat was discussed all the time. Racial bias? Yes.

just out of interest, what race are the people that engage in halal slaughter? The bias against halal slaughter is against halal slaughter regardless of who does it.

Yeah @pusspuss9 let's pretend that islamaphobia isn't rooted in racism.

I don't think there is a single human being free from racism and internal bias towards anyone who is 'other' (be that race, sex, religion)

I also agree that it is something that needs acknowledgement and constant working on for everyone.

I can say that I don't hate or want to hurt anyone for their race, but I think to say 'nope I'm definitely not racist at all' wouldn't be true for anybody.

And it's a clear bias by there's no point arguing with someone who clearly refuses to get it. Why are things within Islam always up for discussion in a way that things from other religions definitely are not? Yes that is a clear racial bias.

In fact following your argument that it is racist not to agree with halal then we would have to agree with other practices which we find abhorent such as women and girls having to cover themselves before going out , and if we did not find that OK then we are racists. This is getting ridiculous.

Because Islam goes against many of our values.

Not intentionally, and that's not me trying to excuse it but i only started understanding what white privilege actually is a few years ago, in my early 20s. Before that i was very much in the "what privilege?! i was born on a council estate to a working class mother" etc camp.

I don't want to turn this in to a halal slaughter thread but the vast majority of halal meat is stunned before slaughter. Equal amounts of non-halal meat is not stunned before slaughter. There's virtually no difference in the slaughter methods.

And why does nobody ever mention kosher meat? That's never ever stunned. (The reason, is racism fyi). Or the treatment of women in some Jewish sectors (denominations?) Again, racism.

Definitely internal bias in my personal racism.

Read "thinking fast and slow". Lots of good examples of quick decisions made based on race - e.g. Police shootings and evidence for black=bad white=good subconscious bias in many people that would explain this.

I personally probably have some ingrained bias but try to challenge. I think the parallel with gender and gender pay gap is a good one.

I do think religion is separate. I disagree with the principles of most organised religion (but not freedom to believe) as an atheist, but some eg Christianity don't have much of an effect on those around me. Islamic attitudes to women and freedom do anger me though - and as most muslims are not white this can come across as racist rather than feminist.

@pusspuss9 you don't deserve a response but if you've read what I've written I don't agree with halal either. The racial bias lies within the fact that Islam is always constantly being discussed in a very disrespectful way most of the time when other equally bad things and practices and religions are not. That is a racial bias and to pretend I'm talking about something else is just making you look stupid. I'm not going to engage with you anymore because it's pointless to engage with someone like you.

Stupid question. What is race? Skin colour? It’s not culture so what is it?