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Share your views on racism!

I'm not racist. AT ALL. I have some troubles with one particular race, but I have nothing against them.

I'm against all forms of racism. I'm not a racist and I don't associate with those who are. They're ignorant and disgusting. Enough said.

Agree with all of you guys....!! I really don't like racists...I myself am not, but I really hate interacting with racists if they start on that topic...

So glad we're presenting a united front against racism!!

:):)

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I am COMPLETELY AGAINST racism.

The recent event where an Indian-American won Ms.America has created so much of racist comments. So much ignorance. They have called her an Arab, Ms.Al-Qaeda and what not ! .. Sad really

Sneha wrote: "The recent event where an Indian-American won Ms.America has created so much of racist comments. So much ignorance. They have called her an Arab, Ms.Al-Qaeda and what not ! .. Sad really"

Yeah right...

I to agree, they are just.......ugh !!!!

You have no idea what it is like here. From what I have seen, the biggest threat to the US is the rampant devolution of its citizens. I don't understand why people want to come to this country anymore, and I think maybe I should leave.

I live in a rural, agricultural area. The populace used to consist of farmers and small town business and professional people; and it was a pretty respectable place.......until the state built three prisons here. Unfortunately, when families are living on assistance and have a loved one in prison, they are highly mobile, so we have a lot of inmate families in town now. The problem is, criminals tend to have families much like themselves; rude, willfully ignorant, low intelligence with poor impulse control tending towards violence.

The county to our west has a similar small town with a huge prison system. Just the day before yesterday two local citizens were involved in a case of road rage. They both pulled into the parking lot of a carwash and settled the matter by whipping out their guns and shooting each other dead.

This is the type of thing that goes on here.

Aside from the fact that we have three prisons on the outskirts of this town; it also happens to be a Superfund toxic site. One of the five worst in this country, it is supposed to be a top priority clean up project. The EPA has settled on a dollar amount; but guess what? The government can't come up with the funding for the EPA.

Think of everything that the US government wastes billions of dollars on.....hey, we destroyed Iraq and rebuilt it again in the time that the citizens of this community have been waiting for drinking water that is not contaminated with PBB, PCB & DDT. The same government that claims to be so concerned about our health.

What a joke.

I just avoid most public events these days. I spent a lot of time at our county fair because my daughter is involved in 4-H and she exhibited the ducks she raised. This was actually enjoyable; a lot of good people are in the 4-H program. Most of the kids are respectful, helpful and friendly.

The other event I attend is the Highland Festival. This area was originally settled by Scottish immigrants and each year our local Presbyterian college co-hosts with the chamber of commerce a festival to celebrate Scottish heritage. There is a parade, craft fair, highland dancing & piping competitions, highland athletic competitions, etc. The only thing (besides the Scottish theme) that separates this event from other local events is the $20 entrance fee. All the other local festivals allow free access to the beer tent, so the dregs of humanity crawl out of the backwoods & swamps to participate in an ugly display of public drunkenness. If they have to pay $20 for the "culture" that goes along with beer tent access, they skip the event altogether.

Some people might call me a snob, but hey, I just judge others by the way the behave and treat others; not by their skin color, ethnicity, religion, etc.

And I am also saying that the rest of the world should no longer expect basic human decency from the citizens of the US. Hey, I live here and I am appalled on a daily basis.

Nobody in their right minds would admit they are racists today...Perhaps 50 years ago someone could proclaim superiority base on mere racial features. I'm lucky enough to never encounter true racism in my life, at least in real world. The internet can be...surprisingly diverse.

What I do encounter is prejudices. Everyone has a bit of prejudice in them. In fact, in my experience, decent folks are often prejudiced against something. Even I, who like to think himself an open-minded person, must acknowledge my own prejudice. I dislike Russians, Chinese, black people...It is involuntary and unavoidable. But would I act upon those stupid prejudices? Absolutely not. What can humanity hope for, if it cannot rise above its own selfish nature?

While I'm okay with people hating each other, as long as they keep it to themselves, there are things I cannot and will not stand for. Somewhere, there are children who are taught it is okay to hate, it is okay to bully by their own parents. And these children will be someday grow up to be their parents. It's a vicious circle and it's terrifying.

Not sure why anyone would want to start a thread like this, but eh.

Racism is actually alive and well all over the world. Unfortunately, its never going away. I'm just being a realist here. Concocting a 'war on racism' will have about as much effect as a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on terror'. Its like the 'International Year of the Ocean' ..zero effect on that giant, swirling, island-of-plastic-garbage out in the Pacific.

Racism itself--as any scientist can confirm--is a purely social human construct. Meaningless, in terms of DNA. But the urge of any one group of humans to 'stigmatize' and 'objectify' other groups they encounter, is an instinctive, psychological part of human nature which can't be eradicated.

Thus you can find racism it in any quarter of the globe, its totally not just an 'ignorant-white-Americans' vs 'swarthy, heathenish, foreigners' type of phenomenon.

Sail a dinghy through the Sulu Sea and you will find natives of Borneo jeering at natives of Bali, calling each other epithets --labeling each other 'monkeys', 'rats' and whatnot.

The course for progress is clear: cease the drumming up of ever more witch-hunts and lets all simply push past the whole morass. Stop making it into yet another 'disease'--yet another '-ism' which has to be cured. Relegate it all to the backwater it deserves.

Feliks wrote: "Not sure why anyone would want to start a thread like this, but eh.

Racism is actually alive and well all over the world. Unfortunately, its never going away. I'm just being a realist here. Concoc..."

Bravo! I'm pretty much sharing the same view. At least racism wasn't systematized and legalized. Or I could be wrong though, not very up-to-date with current world affairs.

Feliks wrote: "Not sure why anyone would want to start a thread like this, but eh.

Racism is actually alive and well all over the world. Unfortunately, its never going away. I'm just being a realist here. Concoc..."

Completely agree...racism is present in a lot of places though it should be completely stopped.

Ruchi wrote: "Feliks wrote: "Not sure why anyone would want to start a thread like this, but eh.

Racism is actually alive and well all over the world. Unfortunately, its never going away. I'm just being a reali..."
I totally agree.

Racism is alive and well, but the problem arises when it goes to far...to the point of suicide-extreme, but it can happen.
Young adults, in my understanding, is fairly susceptible to being put down. As Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs points out, racism can cause people struggling with Level 2, "2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear."
The other problem is that people don't exactly see-or maybe respect-their individuality.

Does any of this make sense? I hope I didn't offend anyone...it wasn't the point.

this topic caught my eye and was interested in what I would read on what others thought. The word "RACISM". according to Webster Dictionary means a belief that some races are by nature superior to others....also can mean discrimination based on such beliefs. I truly believe people should first look up a word before using it as their go to word but that is a story for another day. We have in this country many issues regarding the interpersonal relationships we have with one another. In some cases we learn from our parents how to hate, fear and distrust groups of people or professions. This type of teaching knows no color, race, religion or sexual preference. We have a steady stream of information on the advertised networks that bangs their drum of shouting about our intolerance and hatred so that they can sell air time and papers. We can go to the theaters and see films on our intolerance and hatred reenacted by multi millionaire actors who live in mansions and private islands while telling the great unwashed what is wrong with us. Yet every now and then we see something on the news about a fire or a storm. We witnessed everyday people on 911 saving the lives and risking in many cases their own and they didn't give a crap what a persons color, religion or sexual orientation was. What is the truth? I believe in God I also believe in the devil. As strong as I believe in Grace I believe in Evil. I know when I look around in my small community I see a majority of people helping people, in food pantries, Salvation Army, YMCA, Council of aging centers, the public libary. No thought of color, no thought of religion no thoughts of sexual preference but neighbors helping neighbors. Am I prejudice? Yes. I hate those that take advantage of others that are weaker than themselves by robbing and stealing from them. I hate anyone who victimizes a small child or rapes and beats women. I have preconceived attitudes about men or women who have baby after baby without thinking about the support and caring of that child and looking for handouts rather than a helping hand. I do not want a convicted sexual predator living in my neighborhood or teaching my children, I do not care that they served their time. I will not tolerate anyone telling me what I should or should not hate. It is my freedom to treat my fellow human beings in the manner in which they have earned to be treated. I do not need the news media, Hollywood or a government to tell me that.

I am against the traditional "superiority" aspect of racism, however, like a lot of people, I recognize that a great number of people see "rascism" as synonymous with "prejudice". The fact is, everyone has biases. I don't care who you are, or where you come from, the very fact that you are an individual among other individuals, makes your POV distinct in some way. It may not be a particularly special POV, but it's a distinct one just the same. While you see the world through your own eyes, your neighbor Bob sees the world through his eyes...ya get what I'm saying?

Anyway, all things considered, I do really try hard to treat others as I'd like to be treated. I'm not perfect. I judge people silently in my heads, sometimes, before talking to them, and it's not something I'm proud of - if I could turn off the "judgey" part of my brain, I would. I think the larger problem at play here, though, is the idea of racism as a vicious cycle, like Fong and Feliks said. There was a news story a few months back, about this little girl who was friends with an African American girl, they were maybe 8 or 9 years old; and living somewhere in the South, I believe. The white girl sent her friend a note saying:
"I'm sorry, but my daddy said you can't come to my birthday party this weekend. I think it's because you're black."

The bottom line is, kids emulate what they see others doing. That girl's dad treats other races with disrespect, and from the article, there was no indication that she was blatantly racist, but her dad made her send the note to her friend. Racism is toxic, and contagious. No matter your feelings on it; prejudice bleeds into little areas of our lives, try as we might to stop it. It's certainly admirable to try and make the world a more peaceful place, but the sad reality is, there are people out there who do not believe in equality and justice for all - even today, in the 21st century.
All I can do is try my very hardest not to give into that.

IMO, prejudice = ignorance.
I do not consider myself racist or prejudice toward other races or ethnicity's AT ALL, but I will admit that I sometimes stereo-type - which can be construed as a type of prejudice. I am aware of this and do try to "correct" myself when I find myself doing it.

I was born in the mid 60's and during the 70's, and whether people want to admit it or not, racism and prejudice at that time was still acceptable in the Caucasian/European population here in the US. I'm not saying that it was right, just that at that time it was the "mainstream" attitude. It did take some time, but things have changed for the better - but I think we still have a long way to go. While there are still racial / prejudicial issues today, I think that the media goes a long way to stirring the pot on those issues.

For my part, as I said before, when I find myself stereo-typing I step back and open my mind more, and I WILL NOT keep company with anyone who is prejudice.