Why is/are racism/genaralizations/stereotypes so bothersome?

[Beadly_Dastard]

Why do you think that people are bothered by racist statements and negative stereotypes?  Is it becasue human beings naturally want to "fit in"?  Is is because words hold an inherent and awesomely destructive power?  Do people consciously allow themselves to be affected by racist statements and remarks?

So, what's your take on this particular portion of the human psyche? ;D

 

[___]

I believe it's because people are conditioned to respond to them by feeling offended.  It's just the same way profanity works.  The rational response in my opinion is to discard idiotic statements out of hand and pity the ignorant people who make them.

 

[Ceroscuro]

What?  It's not at all the same as profanity.  Saying "shit" instead of "crap" or "poop" or "feces" makes no real difference.  Saying black people are all uneducated thugs (or equivalent) is actually offensive.

 

[Ellie]

It's because it is oppression for the sake of oppression.

It's not the racism that's the problem, it's the way it is used.

"You can't sit on this bus, you're black."
"Jews aren't allowed to live."
"I want a borrito. Hey you Frenchie, gimme that borrito, I deserve it and you don't!"

 

[iceplosion]

^What he said.

It's not that people are saying racist things, it's the actions that go along with it.

 

[Quintinius]

It's not half as complicated as you people make it sound.
You don't have to used large words to understand it..

People just don't like to be insulted, simple enough.
It doesn't matter what word is in front of the "-ist", whether is be race, sex
or creed.

People don't want to be insulted. It makes people upset. That's all.

 

[Beadly_Dastard]

@ Quintinius: But do you think that being insulted is a learned response, or is it instinctal?

 

[khmp]

I believe that to be the truth Beadly_Dastard, that people just want to fit in. Calling someone a term that differentiates them from a group is going to cause conflict. But everyone is different when comes to handling that conflict, fight or flight. So after writing this I'm guessing our response, regardless of what form it takes, is more instinctual than a learned trait.

 

[___]

that's a good theory.  One wonders though, if it is an ingrained, instinctual response rather than a conditioned one, what naturalistic function it ever served.  We are hurt by the insults of people we don't necessarily know, and who's opinion we would not value or even care about except where it applies to us.  Is that a sort of narcissism?  How did that ever benefit us a species?

There are times when I find myself extremely offended; take for example the racist tirade by the drunk guy against Hostetler in season 3 of Deadwood, if any of you watch the show.  that really hurt me to watch, even though it was fiction.  Just to watch someone tear a good person down like that for no better reason than his race really left me raw.

Then there's other times where I find racism humorous or simply unimpressive.  The comedy of Carlos Mencia for instance.  Clearly the guy harbors no prejudice; he's doing what a good comedian does - taking something that makes people uncomfortable and getting them to laugh about it.  Still he takes a lot of abuse for the things he says, because people choose to be offended even though no offense is intended and for the most part none is taken.

 

[Beadly_Dastard]

@ Nphyx: Well, we live in a society that is effected by the prescence of the internet, television, telephones, and other forms of media capable of transferring ideas over long distances.  So, by viewing social situations (and thereby evaluating whether or not the opinions of others matter) through this lens, we are more likely to disregard the opinions and thoughts of others. 

However, as cavemen living in a small community, the opinons that your neighbors held of you could signifigantly alter your life (that is, if you piss off your neighbor, he may club you to death as you sleep).  So, perhaps the tendency of preoccupation with the the view of yourself held by others is actually an instinctal trait. ???

 

[Ceroscuro]

What?  There was no internet, television, or telephonery when slavery started and that didn't stop people from doing it :x  Bad shit/racist shit/discrimination in general happens regardless.  Of course it's learned though, because if you don't understand the meaning behind those (or any) words, you won't be insulted by them.

 

[kaze950]

I find that, nowadays, people often look for racism, and that's bad. There are racists out there, but there a lot of people who think if anything bad happens to them personally, it is because of their race, gender, e.t.c. when the only fault is their actions.

I myself do not get offended easily. I'm half-jewish , and it annoys me when other jews are offended at a swastika. A symbol is meaningless. Don't hate the symbol, but the men behind it.

 

[Brosek]

Life is just one big game of paintball.. we pick our teams and we spew crud at each other.. no human is exempt from this.. NO human. We desire war, we desire conflict, we desire complications, we desire contests on what is better. The ways we do this differs from person to person.. but in the end, in one way or another.. we are competing for dominance.

Be it; Racially, domestically, territory based,  intelligence wise, gender based, etc.

Why do we do it? Be honest with yourselves.. we all know why.

We're animals.. we're no different from any animal on the planet, we're just tool users. It is implanted in us to be this way. Why dont Lions and Leopards get along? They're both cats..  Why is it so hard for a Jaguar and a Cheetah to share a meal? There is no one answer, but the answer always leads back to one source..

We're animals.. complex beasts.. woof woof.

We eat meat, sleep, breathe, have sex, drink water, age, and die.. just like any other mammal on this planet. We have instincts just like any other mammal on this planet. We have needs like any other mammals on this planet. We mate, we socialize, we pass on our beliefs to the next generation.. end.

 

[kaze950]

The difference between us and animals, however, is that we can choose to ignore our instincts.

 

[Aepriz]

Mhh , I don't have anything against agsinst racists .
Becuase , some racists like me have there reasons (Don't think of me like a brutal person , I just can't stand a kind of people )

why , that you ask ?
weel this is what I expirience almost EVERY day .

- When I go to school I suddenly hear : stom Belg (which means as much as stupid belgium )
- At school I  hear them shouting that to .
-(also today theye choked my best friend h was unconsius for 5 minutes  )
- When I go home I hear it again .
- The neighburhood where I live also a lot live . (Theye kicked my dog , threatend my sister/mom )

Latly I'm shotuing and (sorry) I've hitting one in the hospital after threatening my mom  .
BUT I would NEVER start , I just can't stand it .. theye come to our country .. doing notting , (More as 70% of crime is done by them here .)

So for me its logic I am a racist .

Spoiler: what do I hate ?

Turks and Marrocians

 

[Samboy]

Mhh , I don't have anything against agsinst racists .

Well, obviously you do, because:

Latly I'm shotuing and (sorry) I've hitting one in the hospital after threatening my mom

And, you don't give any reason why you hate "Turks and Marrocians". I think that's just plain rude.

 

[Brosek]

The difference between us and animals, however, is that we can choose to ignore our instincts.

When's the last time you ignored a woman? You can act like you arent attracted to a woman (or a man) but you're just lying to yourself.. and there -are- gay animals.. so animals are savages now? I think someone needs to introduce you to Kia Parrots and Dolphins.

 

[PeteD2S]

Yeah Brosek, but you can't see things that way. If you are attracted to a woman and that woman is attracted to you and you want to have babies, then you will. But there is no pain inflicted in the process, atleast there shouldn't... In violent conflicts there is pain and most people don't like pain, so we can't just go fight another male for a female because our instinct tells us to, we have to act like the racional animals we are.
----------
Hating somebody because of their race or style is something that we should have left behind long time ago. But we haven't, because the kids are still beeing taught the wrong things. (I could add more but I have to go)

 

[Brosek]

Yeah Brosek, but you can't see things that way. If you are attracted to a woman and that woman is attracted to you and you want to have babies, then you will. But there is no pain inflicted in the process, atleast there shouldn't... In violent conflicts there is pain and most people don't like pain, so we can't just go fight another male for a female because our instinct tells us to, we have to act like the racional animals we are.
----------
Hating somebody because of their race or style is something that we should have left behind long time ago. But we haven't, because the kids are still beeing taught the wrong things. (I could add more but I have to go)

.. and I like to end the debate on that note.

 

[Brimstone-x]

I think its come to the point where the supposed "Victims" are now racist. Is it really fair for me to be called a cracker, and nothing happens, but when I call someone chink, nigger, I'm jailed. Its come to a point where people get better treatment then others, and THAT is racist.

In some cases,its not our faults, Some people are afraid to reject hiring a black man to there workplace, as it might turn into a racial war. And trust me these things happen. "You can't have the job, your standards don't meet ours." "What? So your calling me stupid, because I'm black." "No, its just you don't have the proper expirience." "Racist.".

It gets out of hand in some cases too. Some people are actually able to use it against others. A man gets into a fight with another man, not much will happen.
A man gets into a fight with a gay man, doesn't matter what the outcome, it may very well be considered "Queer bashing".

Its come to a point where everything is flawed. I think everyone should be treat equally no matter WHAT. A gay guy is beaten, its not queer bashing, they get no special treatment, its assult. Live with it.

A Spaniard is called a Spick. Who cares? Its the same as calling a Frenchman a frog.

I think everyone should get there act together. People try to promote equality, but by making a man get arrested for racism for beating someone of a different race then him simply isn't equal at all.

The only reason its racism, is if he literally beat the man just for being a different race. Its only a hate crime, if you hate something about the person you performed the crime against, and did the crime for that reason.

Bitch, cracka, chink, nigger, spics fags.If you think one of those words has any power over the other, your aren't promoting equality, and are a racist. Doesn't matter what there history is, there just words. And none of them should have any power over ANYONE.