When Does Racism Become Racism?

[Principium Nexus]

Is it possible be never racist or are we always (unintentionally) discriminating something or someone?

Can we avoid being racist by being objectively as possible?

[Viking]

in america i feel people feel scared of black people or muslims because they see what "these people" can do. to them its just more likely to get stabbed by a black man than by a white woman, because thats what they see around them. when people will see other stuff they will perceive in a different way. 

so how do we solve it? I dunno, however it seems to me like it will go away with time as different races just mix together and it will just become the norm.

[Emerald]

The type of racism that you're talking about comes in the form of judgement. So, racist judgments are just as difficult to let go of as any other tendency toward judgment. Awareness and consciousness work can help, as well as extreme self-honesty. But judgments are subtle and can be difficult to get rid of, because we don't want to see ourselves as bad people. So, it's our natural tendency to try to look at ourselves through rose-colored glasses.

But overall, it's much more productive to see racism as a system than as certain actions or judgments. So, if you really want to help solve the problem of racism then you can ask yourself, do my judgments and actions preserve, add to, or do nothing to (and thus preserve) the system that disenfranchises people of color? Or am I taking actions that actively dismantle that system?

I think people who are well-intentioned who see racism as something someone does or doesn't do or thinks or doesn't think, can lead to a false contentment with the situation that the racist system sets up. It's like "Well, I'm not racist, so that's all I can really do. But shame on those evil racists." Or there's an over-simplification of understanding relative to the system which produces sentiments like, "There are people that hate white people too, therefore racism is an equal playing field where BAD people of both sides hate on one another... but not us GOOD people. We're awesome. (pats their own back)" But these are fundamental misunderstandings of how that system works... as the power structures are uneven in the favor of white people. So, it would be like if white people are armed with rifles and people of color are armed with sling-shots. Certainly, there are probably people of color who are using their sling shots against white people because there's bound to be people on both sides who hate each other. And of course this isn't a good thing. And certainly, a lot of people on both sides would never even consider using their weapons. But to see the playing field as equal just because there are BAD racist people on both sides in contrast to the GOOD non-racist people who don't use their weapons, is just a major oversight relative to the power structures that be. Turning it into a good people versus bad people issue misses the point and blots out the deeper truths of the situation. So sure, it hurts to be a white person who gets shot with a sling shot. But it's devastating to be a person of color who gets shot with a rifle. So, racism isn't so much about hurt feelings but about power structures that effect people's lives every day.

But as you said, the tendency toward judgment can be difficult to let go of, plus it's easy for a person to lie to themselves about. But more-so, if the concern stems past the ego and wanting to be free of the label "racist" and being able to feel better about yourself because you feel free of that label,  then you'll want to examine the system of racism carefully and dismantle it wherever you can. Because it doesn't really matter that much within the grand scheme of the racist system, if you as an individual thinks this or that. And it doesn't matter if you can think of yourself as a GOOD person. That's just an ego concern. What matters is this: Is the system of racism, which causes so many issues for people of color and society at large, actively being dismantled?

Edited August 27, 2017 by Emerald

[Skenderberg]

Racism is a sign of low intelligence mixed with insecurities and a huge egoistic, self-centered mind.

[Little Plant]

My previous boss was a racist jerk. I found it interesting to pick his brain on it, as he was very bold and honest about it. proud actually. He told me he wasn't racist about color, but about culture. He was a culture racist as he put it. 

what made sense to me was, oh people today are mostly culture racists. Now I see and understand it when i hear it.

as long as we are enganging in made up fraud wars, terrorism will continue and racism will most def continue. So even if people are ready to grow and move on the governemt and media certainly keeps people in CHECK!!

So kind of them to keep us "in check" and "keepin us safe" ! 

On a macro level racism is fighting super hard right now because it knows it's not sustainable. thank God!!   

[LaucherJunge]

I feel like racism in todays age has a different meaning or atleast people are imposing the different meaning. People who are not okay with certain cultures which are bound to a certain area of the world and by that to a certain "race" are called racist while they usually do not make destinctions because of the different "race" itself. Take germany for example one of the most multicultural countries in the world most of the population is not of german origin anymore people got very much used to it, yet the outcry on the refugee crysis is huge which has nothing to do with the race of refugees itself, many people can not tolerate the behaviour of most of them a behaviour which seems to be part of their culture.
So your question is very valid. I think people often just like to use the term racist to have an easy win in debates when they do not have actual arguments left anymore that is obviously where the destinction should be made in most cases.

[cosmicrays]

It depends on the situation. Generally, racism is an expression of the lower self. 

[SFRL]

 

[SFRL]

On 8/27/2017 at 4:04 AM, Principium Nexus said:

Is it possible be never racist or are we always (unintentionally) discriminating something or someone?

Can we avoid being racist by being objectively as possible?

When someone's attitude, actions, thoughts, or words, are intended to be harmful in any way, shape or form, towards another race. 

Racism is a form of discrimination, but discrimination does not necesairly involve race. 

[Markus]

Mind will always stereotype. Another thing is, race also comes with a cultural background. Black culture is a real thing. So that makes things complicated, because there's a correlation between race and certain attitudes & norms and even though those are in actuality separate from skin color, they'll get lumped in.

[Deep]

@Principium Nexus My answer is going to be controversial. I think they should fully embrace being racist instead of feeling guilty about it. The ego has to be strong before it can be dissolved and feeling guilt doesn't strengthen the ego at all. I'm not saying they should murder people. I'm saying they should be honest with themselves. It would be easier for them to attain enlightenment and love everyone. The beliefs are given to them by God.