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AIBU?

People of colour/minorities cannot be racist?

172 replies

sundayrose10 · 11/05/2011 10:44

Do you agree with this statement? I was on a different forum where they discussed black people cannot be racist. Many said blacks/minorities could NOT be racist but there were an equal number also arguing that it was impossible. The reason they gave for the impossibility was that whites have the political and economic power to supress minorities.

Do you agree with that statement or disagree?

I know some people have a problem with the term 'people of colour' but I use it to include anyone who is not white. If it is relevant, I am black myself.

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JoanofArgos · 11/05/2011 13:03

But you're not being punished: you're the director of a highly succesful recruitment company!

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rockinhippy · 11/05/2011 13:03

B@ll@cks - I've worked with many people of differing colour, race minority group etc over the years & believe me, IME they can & ARE too often FAR more racist/bigoted than any white British national I have ever known - I could be here all day listing examples

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florencedougal · 11/05/2011 13:05

Rue the very thought of anyone except white people having bad thoughts!!!!

same as lovely ladies cant be sexist

hang your head in shame at the mere suggestion

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frogs · 11/05/2011 13:07

At my secondary school some black Caribbean pupils used to refer to black African pupils as 'jungle bunnies', and tell them to 'f-off back to the jungle', and make chimp noises at them.

Of course it's racist. That scenario doesn't contradict the power dynamics argument either, since most of the CAribbean families had been in the UK longer and saw themselves as 'locals' and the Africans as 'immigrants'.

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sundayrose10 · 11/05/2011 13:10

The dirty dirty bastard, very well stated.

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sundayrose10 · 11/05/2011 13:10

I am still on page 1 and hope to contribute once I finish reading.

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SpeedyGonzalez · 11/05/2011 13:20

MrSpoc...this is NOT at all a criticism of your spelling, I'm just gently pointing out a very funny mistake you made, which made me giggle: take care to write 'Shiite' Muslim with two 'i's.

On the other hand I rather like your word 'Sunny' Muslim, which is rather more flamboyant than the actual spelling 'Sunni'. Perhaps they should change it to your version?

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sundayrose10 · 11/05/2011 13:26

I think I worded my op very wrong. We all have stories about people we know who discriminate, including minorities against other minorities/whites. My question is,(here we go) is it only true racism when it is equipped with the political and economic power to suppress?

By definition, Blacks and other minorities cannot be racist because they do not have insitutional, systemic power. The term Minority doesn?t even refer to a minority of numbers any more (after all, minorities outnumber whites in many places, now), but instead to a minority of power.

So, again: Racism = Prejudice + Power

Reverse racism does not exist. It just doesn?t.

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MrSpoc · 11/05/2011 13:27

Thanks Speedy, I must admit that I did not know the spelling but at least you understood what I meant

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constantlywrong · 11/05/2011 13:27

Barack Obama is a massive racist.

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rockinhippy · 11/05/2011 13:36

Around here the power is held locally by 1 particular minority group, who are known to openly discriminate against others not of that group & get away with it for fear by others of been branded prejudice - so I have good reason to disagree

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survivor12 · 11/05/2011 13:38

Racism linked to institutional power and suppression of race (which Whites historically have done against many non-white races) and racial prejudice is about dislike of a certain race but without the power aspect. Therefore in Britain would agree that blacks and minorities cannot be racist but they can certainly be very prejudice

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MrSpoc · 11/05/2011 13:38

sundayrose10 - I completly disagree with everything you have just said except that there is no reverse discrimination. it is just discrimination who ever/group it is aimed at.

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MollysChamber · 11/05/2011 13:42

constantly What makes you say Obama is racist?

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lololizzy · 11/05/2011 14:02

my boss is polish in England and in a minority in our area yet i cringe to hear her talking about hating 'indian's and 'pakis' so yes anyone can be..

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bubblecoral · 11/05/2011 14:08

Completely disagree with that statement. It is utter bollocks.

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bubblecoral · 11/05/2011 14:12

Reverse racism does not exist. It just doesn?t.

Erm, yes it does! Racism is about disliking someone because of the colour of their skin, not their standing in society!

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VajazzHands · 11/05/2011 14:18

ANyone can be racist of course.

And saying that it doesn't matter/isn't as important/doesn't affect society as much, when a minority does it, is to my mind a racist comment. Like only white people have the power to affect things.

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VajazzHands · 11/05/2011 14:22

Barack Obama is a massive racist.

Is he? He's never made a racist comment.. WHo is he racist against? His white mother or black father?

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Birdsgottafly · 11/05/2011 14:27

When it is 'Black on Black' slaughter such as Rwanda technically it is ethnic/cultural discrimination rather than racism. That is why the definitions were extended. The hatred of the gypsy community by those with the same skin colour is a similar example.

If your human you can be anything you choose to be without applying logic, unfortunatly.

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Birdsgottafly · 11/05/2011 14:29

sundayrose-tell that to the 'untouchables' in India.

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lljkk · 11/05/2011 14:33

Or his Indonesian step-father, Vajazz?

Racism is about disliking someone because of the colour of their skin,

I thought most MNers extended racism to mean any prejudice based on ethnic, cultural, religious or national differences. So basically, any form of tribalism. I've met many non-white racists, and many people who express deep racism dealing with almost identical ethnic neighbours. Look no further than Northern Ireland or Rwanda.

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springbokscantjump · 11/05/2011 14:34

I'm going to pop back to gwendoline's question from earlier:
Yes there is a hierarchy amongst South African blacks, and really amongst all people 'of colour' in SA, engendered by the apartheid system. We had a number of different classifications, starting with the population registration act in 1950. There has also never been one cohesive unit of 'blacks' in SA but varying tribes (e.g. we have 11 official languages, 9 of which are 'African' languages - Ndebele, northern and southern sotho, swazi, zulu, tsonga, twsana, venda and Xhosa - this in fact under-represents the tribal diversity).

Oh and MrSpoc I'm going to assume that you meant specifically the whites you met in SA were the most racist and elitist people. Because otherwise it sounds like you are making massive sweeping, derogratory statements about a group of people based on their race alone...

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springbokscantjump · 11/05/2011 14:37

if I remember correctly birds (and I may be completely wrong), I thought the Hutu and Tsutsis regarded each other as from different races rather than ethnic groups of the same race.

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Birdsgottafly · 11/05/2011 14:39

Tribalism and hatred between them has always exsisted though before the white population came into the mix.

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