Racial perceptions

[exnihilo]

Sure there are minorities that don’t like whites. But, assuming you are white, does being owned, segregated, or imprisoned at a 1 to 7 rate figure in your family’s existence?

I really hate to be the white person speaking for the minority community, because I can’t. However, being white, I can say this sort of argument is usually a deflection.

There aren’t just minorities that don’t like Whites. There are minorities that discriminate against Whites, hurl insults at them, and assault or murder them because they are a White.

How Blacks or other minorities were treated in the past is really not relevant to how they treat others now. That is if we are following the ethic of Christianity. If we aren’t then can I be racist against Blacks because they jumped and attacked me and other White friends because we were White? That doesn’t seem to get us anywhere but that kind of thinking is heavily promoted these days.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree. I am a white woman engaged to a Hispanic man. I also work primarily with Spanish-speaking immigrants. These things have really caused me to contemplate myself and the greater society. Some things happen that don’t bother me that much, but make my fiance uncomfortable. Just yesterday, we were finishing up dinner at a restaurant, and he suddenly wanted to leave. We were ready to go anyway, but as we were walking out the door, he asked me if I heard the other couple talking two tables over. We were the only two couples in the area. I wasn’t paying attention, but he said they were making somewhat rude comments to each other about how we were speaking Spanish. Personally, I do not really care what other people think of us, but he sometimes feels bad because he doesn’t want anyone to say anything rude to me or to us. It’s something that I just don’t think about as frequently.

It is sad that so many people (of any ethnic background) still hold on to prejudices, pronounced or subtle, that oftentimes have very little truth to them.

Speaking Spanish is hardly a crime, but it can give offense in some contexts. I recall once being told by a banker that he hated it when Hispanics in a closing would talk together in Spanish while he was explaining things in English. It made him nervous, first because he didn’t know whether what they were saying in English was what they really thought, and second, because it made him unsure whether they really understood what he was saying to them. Were they re-interpreting to each other?

He didn’t want to confront any of them about it, not wanting to be rude, so we settled on this. He is of German extraction and sings in a Lutheran choir in which some hymns are sung in German. I know just one line in German, taken from a poem. We decided that in the next closing in which the Spanish started, I would turn to him and speak my one line. He would respond with something out of “A Mighty Fortress is our God” or something.

So we did. The instant we exchanged those lines in German, the Spanish stopped, and the Hispanics looked at us as if we had set a live hand grenade on the table. The rest of the closing was all in English without anybody saying anything about language use to anybody.

Not saying that’s what happened in your case, but you have to realize that sometimes people are uncomfortable when somebody is holding a public conversation in another language. Makes them think it’s something that’s somehow threatening to them, and that’s particularly true if there is laughter or “looks” involved. Maybe no big deal in Europe where everybody is multilingual, but in the U.S. it’s a little different. And context matters a lot as well.

 

[adamhovey1988]

Understandably this likely to prove a hotter topic, but I think it is important that we continue to discuss this issue. To my mind, one of the main issues dividing this country on the topic is the definition of what is racism. A very simplistic definition might be that the white population in this country equates racism with bigotry, whereas minorities see a system and perceptions that work against them.

One thing I see that works against us are the videos from the more dramatic incidents and how often they are shared. Often all these do is to reinforce existing preconceptions.

Have you really considered how your own perceptions contribute to the problem? What would it take for you to come to a more common understanding of what the other "side’ is thinking. I would especially love to hear from any minorities on this board because I think it is a pretty safe assumption that the majority here identify with being “white”.

I know when United States we have something called social race and legal race social race is using terms like Hispanic, Arab or Indian as in Asian Indian
to be considered non-white regardless of what their actual races or what they consider themselves anyway according to Pope Pius the XI there is only one race, the human race. I always get a chuckle when people refer to themselves as being half Hispanic since you technically can’t be half Hispanic since hispanics can not only be any race they can be any ancestry like Pope Francis who is from a Spanish speaking country or former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori who is of Japanese descent. Here’s how the US census looks at race census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html. For the record according to the US Census I am two or more races. Those being White and American Indian the American Indian being from my paternal grandfather and my maternal grandmother respectively. I do have Hispanic ancestry specifically Spanish and yes Spanish people are Hispanic that’s what the word means but I don’t usually consider myself that because if I do people make the assumption that I’m Mexican because I am mixed with European an Amerindian but I’m not Mexican and also I don’t speak Spanish. I personally think they shouldn’t ask about race and ethnicity on the census I think it fuels racial hatred the only people I think it really matters too because of treaties with the US government are American Indians abutnd other aboriginal groups but that’s just an opinion

 

[Ridgerunner]

Understandably this likely to prove a hotter topic, but I think it is important that we continue to discuss this issue. To my mind, one of the main issues dividing this country on the topic is the definition of what is racism. A very simplistic definition might be that the white population in this country equates racism with bigotry, whereas minorities see a system and perceptions that work against them.

One thing I see that works against us are the videos from the more dramatic incidents and how often they are shared. Often all these do is to reinforce existing preconceptions.

Have you really considered how your own perceptions contribute to the problem? What would it take for you to come to a more common understanding of what the other "side’ is thinking. I would especially love to hear from any minorities on this board because I think it is a pretty safe assumption that the majority here identify with being “white”.

It is undoubtedly worthwhile to listen to what others are thinking and saying, but they aren’t necessarily enlightening.

To me, true racism is based on what one does, not on how one reacts viscerally. I’m not sure the latter can truly be taken out of human nature.

And it’s not only race or ethnicity. I have a southern accent with a touch of both “hill folk” and that southwestern accent that is sometimes called “Arkahoma”. My wife is a Yankee, and she admitted not long after we met that she thought I was ignorant because of my accent. She equated the accent with being ignorant and backward. She referred to it as my “Ridgerunner” accent (something they evidently say where she comes from) thus my moniker on here.

Coming from her (and she still makes fun of some things I say, like saying “Sundy” instead of “Sunday” the way she does, or dropping syllables, it’s just amusing. Being called a “hillbilly” or a “ridgerunner” in some other context might not be so amusing. Now and then when I have business up north, I’ll draw a crack or two, and they’re not always intended to be funny or familiar. One of my daughters was really offended by some of the easterners at Georgetown. Context means a lot.

But again, I think true “racism” or “bigotry” is in how one treats another. I can’t truly “walk in another’s shoes” because I can never quite know the other person’s feelings or the reasonability of his/her having them. But I can control how I treat people.

 

[PelagiathePenit]

Why? To be honest I think that there probably exists an inbuilt sexual/attraction preference among “racial” groups for people who look similar enough to them. I don’t think that’s a racist thing. Obviously there are exceptions, otherwise there would never be mixed-race marriages. But in all fairness, every culture has it’s own standard of beauty and that changes through time. If you look at European Renaissance art the ideal woman is generally bigger and rounder than what is presented as the ideal in the 21st century.

To answer the OP question, I think this “race” issue is something that is probably a thing in the US but is being exported picked up by the PC Police in other countries. My experience as a mixed-race (Irish-African) man in Ireland is that there is very few issues and little discussion about race. People generally get the same treatment no matter what. Obviously there are incidents of racist behaviour. I’ve been called names before…but the people behind this are usually just morons anyway…and the typical Irish response is to tell them to feck off.

The US is becoming more multiracial, the media should be more reflective of America’s melting pot and diversity. People can have their personal preferences for whatever reason. Halle Berry being considered a beautiful black woman is “insulting”. The only way for the black woman to be considered beautiful, she must look white or be partially white. I don’t like that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The US is becoming more multiracial, the media should be more reflective of America’s melting pot and diversity. People can have their personal preferences for whatever reason. Halle Berry being considered a beautiful black woman is “insulting”. The only way for the black woman to be considered beautiful, she must look white or be partially white. I don’t like that.

I think most people would consider Harris Faulkner “beautiful”, and she’s not very “white” looking.

I do sometimes think those stereotypes are more in the minds of the people of the involved race or ethnicity than they are in the minds of those who are not. And sometimes I think there is an oversensitivity to it.

My wife works, but the nature of her former job as a visiting nurse had her in the homes of others in the daytime. Some of those homes were of Hispanics, and not infrequently the homemaker would have Spanish language TV on. My wife remarked to me that the “big” stars on Mexican TV are all very, very “white”. She even mentioned this to one of the patients’ mothers. The latter replied that “oh yes, that is considered more beautiful”.

Well what in the world? That’s all internal to the group. Mexican TV from Mexico and all the major actresses are white. Why? Nobody here taught them that. It’s something in their own culture; perhaps the pride one hears of now and then about being “pure Spanish”; once the ruling class.

And, indeed, one suspects it still is a hallmark of the ruling class, or at least a big part of it. If you see Mexican bigwigs on TV, they’re very often “whiter” than most.

I remember one time a very “white” friend of mine married a Mexican man. She became pregnant and wanted to name the child “India” (after the country. She thought it exotic) Her husband’s family had a fit and absolutely forbade it. Why? Because that means “female Indian” in Spanish, and to be an “Indio” or “India” is to be of a lower class in Mexico. It would be like naming your child “hillbilly” in American society.

So sometimes sensitivities are not acquired from the outside society but from within a society.

 

[YADA]

Personally - I have a mixed heritage - but I am predominantly Caucasian.

Fact - Racism knows no “race” as its sole purveyor.

I chaperoned a Vicariate group of Catholic teens to Mexico a dozen years ago … we went to build a little Mission Chapel in a small City. The existing “Chapel” was made from pallets and card board - about 6’ X 12’ and the Franciscan Friars celebrated Mass there once a week. We learned that there was a nearby Church where Mass was said just few blocks away - more on that later

The first day some children came by the work site - we encouraged our tees to interact with them. We shared water breaks, snacks and played some soccer … .

The next day - more children arrived and engaged with our students - including the ones from our first day, Unlike the day before - those children from day one would not approach close enough to enter in to any conversation or join into the soccer and other games. In fact when our teens tried to engage them they would move farther out - or leave.

Why was this? - it was so pronounced… what was the difference between day one and day two? As it was explained to us by the Franciscans … the children from the first day were mostly immigrants and the very poor indigenous local, they were darker skinned - “lower class” … when the lighter skinned local children arrived they were not welcome to join in.

In fact the two groups never intermingled. Not at school, not at play and not even for Sunday Mass - As far as school went - most of the immigrant and indigenous children did not attend school - they could not afford it as all families have to pay for the schooling. Those few that could had to attend school in the evening. There days were spent helping care for siblings or doing other work so their parents could work in the fields.

The fact that these two groups did not mingle - even for attendance at Mass was why they needed the newer very modest chapel [approximately 15" by 20’ concrete block ]we were helping them construct to replace the cardboard and pallet space they used currently used.

We spent a great deal of time - with very limited success - trying to bring these two groups of children together with our teens.

And For the Record - I guess I could add that I don’t think of people in terms of their color for the most part. I think people of brown persuasions are very beautiful - some of the most beautiful in fact. The world is made of varying shades of people, various shapes, various heights … its what makes the world an interesting place

If I am averse - Those who I find a little ‘scary’ are the palest people - very light skinned – and yet in spite of what I know my initial reaction is - I have known some very nice light skinned people

I find very dark skinned people - almost black as a moonless night not scary but interesting as there are so few “black” people - I mean really black …

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally - I have a mixed heritage - but I am predominantly Caucasian.

Fact - Racism knows no “race” as its sole purveyor.

I chaperoned a Vicariate group of Catholic teens to Mexico a dozen years ago … we went to build a little Mission Chapel in a small City. The existing “Chapel” was made from pallets and card board - about 6’ X 12’ and the Franciscan Friars celebrated Mass there once a week. We learned that there was a nearby Church where Mass was said just few blocks away - more on that later

The first day some children came by the work site - we encouraged our tees to interact with them. We shared water breaks, snacks and played some soccer … .

The next day - more children arrived and engaged with our students - including the ones from our first day, Unlike the day before - those children from day one would not approach close enough to enter in to any conversation or join into the soccer and other games. In fact when our teens tried to engage them they would move farther out - or leave.

Why was this? - it was so pronounced… what was the difference between day one and day two? As it was explained to us by the Franciscans … the children from the first day were mostly immigrants and the very poor indigenous local, they were darker skinned - “lower class” … when the lighter skinned local children arrived they were not welcome to join in.

In fact the two groups never intermingled. Not at school, not at play and not even for Sunday Mass - As far as school went - most of the immigrant and indigenous children did not attend school - they could not afford it as all families have to pay for the schooling. Those few that could had to attend school in the evening. There days were spent helping care for siblings or doing other work so their parents could work in the fields.

The fact that these two groups did not mingle - even for attendance at Mass was why they needed the newer very modest chapel [approximately 15" by 20’ concrete block ]we were helping them construct to replace the cardboard and pallet space they used currently used.

We spent a great deal of time - with very limited success - trying to bring these two groups of children together with our teens.

Very familiar.

Now and then I attend the local Spanish Mass. It’s mostly people of Mexican extraction. I can understand the prayers somewhat, but nothing else. Still, it’s Mass.

One Sunday, right after the final blessing, a Mexican nun got up behind the pulpit and began speaking in Spanish. She wasn’t very far into it before I could tell she was angry. And the more she talked, the angrier she sounded. She kept mentioning place names. I didn’t want to just leave and be rude, so I asked a Mexican near me what she was saying.

He hesitated a bit, but then told me she was bawling them out for discriminating against Central Americans, and not only that. She was also bawling them out for their treatment of other Mexicans. Some of it had to do with being more “Indio”, but some of it had to do with where, in Mexico, they came from. Maybe in, say, Jalisco they don’t like people from Guadalajara. I still don’t know why.

So, it’s not an exclusively American phenomenon at all and seems even stronger in other places. I’m not justifying it, but I will say that compared to some places, American progress in tolerance might not be all that lacking.

 

[YADA]

Very familiar.

Now and then I attend the local Spanish Mass. It’s mostly people of Mexican extraction. I can understand the prayers somewhat, but nothing else. Still, it’s Mass.

One Sunday, right after the final blessing, a Mexican nun got up behind the pulpit and began speaking in Spanish. She wasn’t very far into it before I could tell she was angry. And the more she talked, the angrier she sounded. She kept mentioning place names. I didn’t want to just leave and be rude, so I asked a Mexican near me what she was saying.

He hesitated a bit, but then told me she was bawling them out for discriminating against Central Americans, and not only that. She was also bawling them out for their treatment of other Mexicans. Some of it had to do with being more “Indio”, but some of it had to do with where, in Mexico, they came from. Maybe in, say, Jalisco they don’t like people from Guadalajara. I still don’t know why.

So, it’s not an exclusively American phenomenon at all and seems even stronger in other places.

I can say I was quite shocked about it when the Franciscans were talking about it - we hear all the time about how racist America and Americans are and I had never witnessed something like this that was so accepted on the societal stage … like what I read about the Old south - during slavery and right after the Civil Was

Coming from the Pacific Northwest - I was stationed in South Carolina and witnessed some racial bias in the 1970s that also shocked me - but that was mostly ignorant individuals. Usually there was someone who let them know it was unacceptable behavior. But there was nearly always ‘mixed’ groups. We did things together - BBQs, hiking, church etc in addition to working

I lived on a reservation for several years as a kid and around many Native Americans and did not see the wholesale attitude of segregation that I found in Mexico in the 2005 …

 

[starlady88]

Not saying that’s what happened in your case, but you have to realize that sometimes people are uncomfortable when somebody is holding a public conversation in another language. Makes them think it’s something that’s somehow threatening to them, and that’s particularly true if there is laughter or “looks” involved. Maybe no big deal in Europe where everybody is multilingual, but in the U.S. it’s a little different. And context matters a lot as well.

It was hardly a public conversation and it’s not like they were sitting at our table. They were complete strangers sitting at another table. Why should they care, anyway? The US has no official language and there are plenty of refugees in our city that don’t speak any English either. Obviously when we are with my family (none of whom speak Spanish) or in some other similar setting, we speak English because we want to include everyone, but my fiance is more comfortable in Spanish. So when we are out and about, we tend to speak more Spanish. I used to think people speaking Spanish in the stores were talking about the “Americans” around them…now I know they are actually just trying to figure out what kind of bread to get, just like anyone else!

If someone thinks that two people speaking Spanish privately two tables away is somehow threatening, I think it is more their problem rather than ours.

 

[PelagiathePenit]

I think most people would consider Harris Faulkner “beautiful”, and she’s not very “white” looking.

I do sometimes think those stereotypes are more in the minds of the people of the involved race or ethnicity than they are in the minds of those who are not. And sometimes I think there is an oversensitivity to it.

My wife works, but the nature of her former job as a visiting nurse had her in the homes of others in the daytime. Some of those homes were of Hispanics, and not infrequently the homemaker would have Spanish language TV on. My wife remarked to me that the “big” stars on Mexican TV are all very, very “white”. She even mentioned this to one of the patients’ mothers. The latter replied that “oh yes, that is considered more beautiful”.

Well what in the world? That’s all internal to the group. Mexican TV from Mexico and all the major actresses are white. Why? Nobody here taught them that. It’s something in their own culture; perhaps the pride one hears of now and then about being “pure Spanish”; once the ruling class.

And, indeed, one suspects it still is a hallmark of the ruling class, or at least a big part of it. If you see Mexican bigwigs on TV, they’re very often “whiter” than most.

I remember one time a very “white” friend of mine married a Mexican man. She became pregnant and wanted to name the child “India” (after the country. She thought it exotic) Her husband’s family had a fit and absolutely forbade it. Why? Because that means “female Indian” in Spanish, and to be an “Indio” or “India” is to be of a lower class in Mexico. It would be like naming your child “hillbilly” in American society.

So sometimes sensitivities are not acquired from the outside society but from within a society.

Most white people may not be aware of the concept of good hair and pretty skin in the black community. Good hair means wavy or curly or straight hair unlike afrotextured hair. Pretty skin anyone Beyonce color or lighter.

 

[PelagiathePenit]

Pretty babies are biracial or multiracial black babies.

 

[exnihilo]

Speaking Spanish is hardly a crime, but it can give offense in some contexts. I recall once being told by a banker that he hated it when Hispanics in a closing would talk together in Spanish while he was explaining things in English. It made him nervous, first because he didn’t know whether what they were saying in English was what they really thought, and second, because it made him unsure whether they really understood what he was saying to them. Were they re-interpreting to each other?

He didn’t want to confront any of them about it, not wanting to be rude, so we settled on this. He is of German extraction and sings in a Lutheran choir in which some hymns are sung in German. I know just one line in German, taken from a poem. We decided that in the next closing in which the Spanish started, I would turn to him and speak my one line. He would respond with something out of “A Mighty Fortress is our God” or something.

So we did. The instant we exchanged those lines in German, the Spanish stopped, and the Hispanics looked at us as if we had set a live hand grenade on the table. The rest of the closing was all in English without anybody saying anything about language use to anybody.

Not saying that’s what happened in your case, but you have to realize that sometimes people are uncomfortable when somebody is holding a public conversation in another language. Makes them think it’s something that’s somehow threatening to them, and that’s particularly true if there is laughter or “looks” involved. Maybe no big deal in Europe where everybody is multilingual, but in the U.S. it’s a little different. And context matters a lot as well.

My uncle had a similar experience one time where the people speaking a foreign language stopped once he purposefully started speaking another one with his family. It really isn’t surprising that people don’t like it when others are engaging in what is essentially a secret form of communication. When we see others whispering we don’t like it either. It doesn’t matter if nothing unkind is being said it just bothers us.

 

[AdamP88]

The US is becoming more multiracial, the media should be more reflective of America’s melting pot and diversity. People can have their personal preferences for whatever reason. Halle Berry being considered a beautiful black woman is “insulting”. The only way for the black woman to be considered beautiful, she must look white or be partially white. I don’t like that.

This is probably because the media executives/film casting directors are all middle aged white guys.

In fairness though, there are always going to be “ideals of beauty” promoted by artists/media. Chances are they aren’t going to align with what the average women look like. Just because you’re from a minority doesn’t mean this issue is unique to you.

Most women I know have felt inadequate in comparison to movie stars at some point.

 

[PJH_74]

Most white people may not be aware of the concept of good hair and pretty skin in the black community. Good hair means wavy or curly or straight hair unlike afrotextured hair. Pretty skin anyone Beyonce color or lighter.

I wan’t aware much about this until it heard a story about overflowing classes of “whites” wanting to learn how to do “black” hair styles for their adopted children. Hair is truly one of the social differences most in the white community don’t appreciate.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Have you really considered how your own perceptions contribute to the problem? What would it take for you to come to a more common understanding of what the other "side’ is thinking.

In order to change my preconceived notions about other races, it would require a substantial number of people to actually demonstrate behavior that is not in line with those preconceived notions.

If you experience enough people of a given race expressing certain behaviors, you’re going to come to associate those behaviors with the race as a whole. Or, more specifically, with a specific socio-economic segment of a given race, as that is a much stronger identifier of behavior and outlook than race alone.

I hold the concept about a specific set of people (regardless of race) because that it what I have experienced from those people in the past, and I haven’t had a substantial number of people from that group act in a way that contradicts those concepts. It might not be fair to every member of that group, but our understand of a set of people is based on how those people act around us.

As an example group, take my wife’s students. A significant portion of them (sadly, over 70%) come from a very low socio-economic group. Unfortunately, the majority of them also exhibit negative traits in how they act. Most of them are doing very poorly in their classes not because of the difficulty of the material, but because they simply do not try. They never put forward the effort to attempt the work they’re given or to learn the material, so they fail. This is followed up by them blaming other people, such as my wife, for their refusal to even attempt the work. A significant number of them also display a complete disregard for authority, and a complete apathy about their own future. Some of them also display criminal behavior, and had they gone to a different school, would probably have long-since been expelled. (For instance, she’s had several students assault each other, and even assault school faculty. Yet there have been no consequences for this behavior aside from in-school suspension.)

While, on an intellectual level, I understand that this sort of behavior is not specific to this group of people, there are so few examples that contradict this trend that I can’t help by associate this behavior with their socio-economic class. Couple this with the fact that over 90% of these students are black, and that’s another association that my brain makes, whether I want it to or not. In order to overcome this preconception, I would have to see a significant number of people within this group acting against these behaviors. Sadly, this is not the case, as most of the time when I see reporting on people within this category, it’s negative. I see several positive stories as well, but not nearly as many, and so the association remains.

I guess the tl;dr is: In order to overcome racially-biased leanings, there has to be an increase in behaviors that contradict the things which created those leanings.

Disclaimer: I do not support nor endorse any kind of racism; however, I also understand how these negative associations develop in a person’s mind when they’re only exposed to the negative aspects of a particular culture. (I’m not talking about overt racism like the KKK, or the people who think other races are inhuman, just biases in initial perceptions.) I think the best way to combat racism is to drop the entire concept of race from how we report things. Whether a shooter or a victim is white or black is inconsequential. It’s useful if you’re still trying to find someone, but otherwise, focusing on race can only create division.

 

[PJH_74]

There aren’t just minorities that don’t like Whites. There are minorities that discriminate against Whites, hurl insults at them, and assault or murder them because they are a White.

I hope you are trolling, but I’m afraid that’s not the case. In my metro area, the vast majority (maybe 80%) of murders are gang on gang type killings in specific black neighborhood where no “white” or for that matter anyone would want to go.

How Blacks or other minorities were treated in the past is really not relevant to how they treat others now. That is if we are following the ethic of Christianity. If we aren’t then can I be racist against Blacks because they jumped and attacked me and other White friends because we were White? That doesn’t seem to get us anywhere but that kind of thinking is heavily promoted these days.

There are plenty of social and economic reasons why the past matters greatly in this case, but I’m sure you don’t care so I won’t waste my breath. This naked Alt-right distortion of non-reality to make you the victim makes me sick.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

I hope you are trolling, but I’m afraid that’s not the case. In my metro area, the vast majority (maybe 80%) of murders are gang on gang type killings in specific black neighborhood where no “white” or for that matter anyone would want to go.

He’s not trolling. While the majority of violence in low-income black areas is against other black people, it is not limited to black people. I recall a video that came out recently from one of the Black Lives Matter protests where they literally dragged a guy out of his car and beat the **** out of him because he was white. That’s it. That’s the only reason.

There was also another more recent video where a man, either white or Hispanic, was assaulted in the middle of a McDonalds because he offered to buy something for some thug. Then, after the first group got done attacking him, a completely separate group of black individuals walked up, robbed him, and walked out.

Let’s see, there was also the BLM march where the protesters were shouting “death to all white cops.”

There are plenty of examples of this type of behavior.

Also, did you ever stop to think that maybe the reason white people don’t want to go there is specifically because it’s so violent? Would you want to take your family to the middle of an active war zone?

There are plenty of social and economic reasons why the past matters greatly in this case, but I’m sure you don’t care so I won’t waste my breath. This naked Alt-right distortion of non-reality to make you the victim makes me sick.

And I’m sure you’re not interested in actually reviewing the facts of these cases because it doesn’t fit your “black are always the victims” mentality.

There are aggressors on both sides of the field. Don’t try and pretend there aren’t. You can only use historic racist policies as an excuse for so long. Eventually, the culture needs to take responsibility for what it’s own decisions (such as the almost complete loss of the concept of fatherhood in lower socio-economic classes) have wrought.

 

[PJH_74]

To the larger discussion. I do think we are headed to a reality of much intermarriage. In coming decades we’ll see such a beautiful spectrum of brown that racism in any form will, by its nature, will be reduced. Some of this was shown in the personal responses (thank you!) we’ve seen up to now. But fortunately I feel “race” in a larger view still does matter in that it remains a source of delusion, see my post above. I also see too many statistics and personal experiences to say it doesn’t matter either.

 

[Lea101]

Why? To be honest I think that there probably exists an inbuilt sexual/attraction preference among “racial” groups for people who look similar enough to them. I don’t think that’s a racist thing. Obviously there are exceptions, otherwise there would never be mixed-race marriages. But in all fairness, every culture has it’s own standard of beauty and that changes through time. If you look at European Renaissance art the ideal woman is generally bigger and rounder than what is presented as the ideal in the 21st century.

In many racial groups, the standard of beauty is influenced by white people. Many koreans want double eyelids, sharper noses etc. I’m Indian, and in my “community”, a lot of us tend to favor lighter skin, lighter eyes and so on. In black communities, you still see people being very self conscious about their natural hair, noses or lips. There was this speech I heard by a black model. She talked about how she wished she was fair skinned and she would pray to Jesus constantly. Generally, if you look part white/ambiguous, you are considered beautiful.

So while it’s not explicit racism, there is still a very subtle mentality that their “ethnic looks” aren’t pretty enough. Of course, now models of different ethnicities are beginning to be more appreciated and with representation, this will reduce