I guess I do draw that line at a far end of the spectrum. Main reason being that I’ve seen people treat others in the way you described regardless of race. I don’t know if that falls under the same survival instincts, arrogance, or some other character defect, but it seems to play out the same way.
To wit- My words are more important than yours, my ability to put food on the table comes before yours, You are a criminal for doing the same thing as me, etc.
Although, putting it in writing and actually examining the idea, I should give “racist” and what the word embodies some wiggle room. Drawing the line at murderous hatred is pretty tight.
You cry wolf enough times and pretty soon no one cares, or at least they get so worn out that they can’t be bothered. How many Republican presidential candidates have been called racist and compared to Hitler? Shrill hasn’t worked and Hillary certainly didn’t take the high road. I guess that means everyone is out for their own? Obama appealed to blacks, Hillary to a majority of women. No real surprise there. I’ll wait around until people are genuinely ready to care about each other actually listen to each other. Until then, meh.
^ Yes, I’ve read entirely too many FB posts today. I’ll be better after squats and another growler of high APV beer washed down with bourbon
The beauty of those crybullies is that, Trump will not try to comfort them, nor should he. They need to grow the fuck up. We had an election, their candidate sucked, they lost, the end. Next time, don’t hide an unsecured server in a bathroom.
Russians didn’t put that server there, nor did Wikileaks, Republicans, or even Trump. She broke her own candidacy, so she owns it.
Nice post, and what you describe is kinda why I personally draw the line at the juncture I do–fundamental rights and treatment. To me saying something to the effect of “would I trust this person?” may be racist if you believe that all black people are inherently untrustworthy because you’re making a statement about the race as a whole. On the other than asking that same question and coming up with “I’m in the middle of East St. Louis at night, and he’s dressed in a hoodie with his hands in his pocket” is clearly survival instinct, and something cops live with that jades them. It might also be prejudice, but hey–some prejudices are drawn from experience and become survival instinct. Kinda like a Venn diagram, they may or may not overlap.
In the same way, I believe that anybody who says “my needs as a citizen come before yours”–my words, ability to put food on the table, I’m not a criminal when I do it but you are, etc. that you mentioned may easily qualify as racist because it is a statement of equal rights and treatment. It’s golden rule stuff: I might not LIKE you or trust you but I believe you deserve equal treatment and equal protection under the law, right to life/liberty/pursuit etc. I think everybody knows when it comes down to your family there’s a clear hierarchy between “us” and “good friends” and further down “strangers” in terms of how important you rank their needs next to yours, so that’s obviously not what I’m talking about although I know you know that already.
All this stuff in my opinion is quite separate from the kinds of ass drippings that get called racist—against Affirmative Action, racist; against limiting certain police behavior, racist; against…blah blah blah.
Kind of curious why Trump can be called a misogynist by women, with a straight face. While Bill FUCKING Clinton got a BJ from an INTERN in the oval office, and was sued for harrassment. Oh yea he campaigned for Hillary and was cheered by thousands of women.
But I don’t think Obama came to power expressing views that even his party leaders considered racist.
[quote=“dchris, post:562, topic:223291, full:true”]
That’s one of my favorite poems. Ironically, I’ve seen this used to talk about Hillary as well.[/quote]
As sunnbeaches105 wrote, I didn’t intend to invoke Hitler there.
I like the poem too. I like it because, to me, it signifies what happens when people turn a blind eye to obvious injustices that occur around them and don’t do anything, however small, about it.
It’s why I voted against the additional gun regulations on the CA ballot on the 8th and why I voted against making the “temporary” tax raises permanent as well.
I keep hearing about incidents of racism spiking up after the election.
Asian girl reports man grabbing her by the wrist and telling her to “Go back home.” Asian girl being heckled by strangers, pretending to speak Chinese or something similar behind her back. Junior high kids chanting “build the wall.” Black woman and her white boyfriend being harassed by idiots following them to their car, acting like monkeys.
If the racist idiots have been emboldened, then that’s a real shame. It’s disgusting.
Honestly, I’m not sure how much of this to take seriously since so many people really want to expect the worst right now. It plays into the narrative that half the country are bigots. I’m really hoping that if there’s a spike in this kind of behavior then it quickly slides back into the gutter.
Trump said a number of things that even his own party leaders stated clearly had racist overtones.
This is what I refer to.
I’ve also stated well before in other threads regarding Trump’s statements that I personally think it’s a strategic move on Trump’s part to fire up the white nationalist base that clearly formed his core during the primaries.
I don’t know if Trump actually believes in a word he said during all this. As far as I’m concerned, Trump is a giant unknown.
That’s why I’m willing to give him a benefit of the doubt and not go down the “OMG WE’RE ALL DOOMED” route that my liberal friends have.
And I refuse to fall into the panic that everyone seems to fall into whenever someone they clearly dislike is elected. The world did not end when Obama got elected, and I doubt that the world will end when Trump gets elected either.
I’m not sure what stories to even believe. One of my old college friends posted this article on facebook, it had a bunch of racist type things that happened in the last 24 hours, some or maybe most might be true. What bothered me was the photo of one of the incidents (the article headline photo) which was a swastika graffiti with Trumps name on it. I read it as an anti-Trumper comparing Trump to Hitler, yet it was reported as a Trump supporter praising him for that comparison. I think that’s exactly what happened to his hollywood star a few weeks ago.
They tried doing that in 2000. I was in DC for the inauguration.
The National Guard was called out during the Inauguration parade. I left DC with my kids to go back to the hotel in Maryland because I was concerned for their safety.
Local news covered it, but it never got released past there.
Why do people pay attention to what’s on their Facebook feed ? Serious question. It is not reliable and it’s the best gift intelligence/ LEO agencies ever received. Jesus, you would think people’s whole mental makeup depends on their Facebook page. Maybe it would good for them to experience a little of the real world. I am not allowed a Facebook page, so , I admit having no practical experience, but, having looked for bad guys all over the world by following their “friends” , its just unbelievably narcissist. Don’t take this wrong, I love Facebook, even the most sadistic Jihadi Johnny cannot resist puting up a little selfie of his lastest murder. Makes those intell people really smile.
@Aragorn and @SkyzykS - nice discussion above, sorry that I started watching some House of Cards and missed out. Sure, there is a difference between prejudice and racism, and kudos to you, Skyz for bringing that up first (wish I had thought of that, haha). Along with Aragorn, I look at racism as…
Also…
I have heard/read the same, and while I can appreciate @idaho being skeptical about anything posted on Facebook and agree with you, @anon71262119, that I don’t know whether these are all 100% verified, or if they’re being deliberately overstated to play into that narrative that half the country are bigots…it shouldn’t be that much of stretch to believe that the country’s bigots feel emboldened enough to say and do stupid things right now (at least, a little more than usual).
Of course not all Trump supporters are bigots, but most/all bigots are likely Trump supporters, and while we can parse apart his actions and words to define whether Trump officially can be called “racist” or if he’s merely got a knack for saying things offensive to people of other races and religions, there is no denying that several hateful groups (the KKK, for one) see Trump winning the Presidency as a victory for them.
I live in Pittsburgh, a city that is almost exclusively white/black but around the Universities and the hospitals, has a notable Asian population (foreign students and MD’s). Once I was walking home after class, and in my general vicinity an Asian kid, probably 22 years old, was walking up the same street. I was wearing my headphones and listening to music, but took them out as I heard an increasingly agitated voice behind me, an older white man yelling things like “It’s the damn Chinese…the goddamn Chinese…” and progressively more colorful comments. This went on for a block or two before I got to my apartment building (fortunately, the Asian kid was going to the same building). I looked at the Asian kid after we walked in the door and just said “Hey, I’m sorry, man.”
So…it’s not at all a stretch to me that, on the day or two after we elected the KKK’s favorite Presidential candidate in the last 40 years, that there are probably some emboldened bigots ready to roll and tell blacks, Asians, and Arabs that their time in this country is up because in their minds TRUMP is going to assemble his deportation force and kick their asses out. I know that there are guys on here who are celebrating the death of “PC” and I guess that’s fine, but I think we should make a distinction between PC and common decency, right? Walking up to a Muslim on the street and telling them “Fuck you! We took our country back! Trump’s gonna kick you out!” isn’t just a political-correctness issue, it’s a common-decency issue.
