01-02-2011, 03:24 PM
@Konadave
Looking at the definitions of racism you supplied; the first two don't contain the word hate. Hate is not a necessary component of racism.
It sounds that by your idea of what constitutes racism you must condone or participate in genocide. Simply having blanket beliefs that cover all or most of an ethnic group is racist, you don't have to say you hate them.
i.e. "I believe (insert ethnicity here) are dumb and lazy, I don't hate them; they're just dumb and lazy" or "I think (insert ethnicity here) are loudmouth know-it-alls, they're not all bad but most of them never shut up"
Those are racist beliefs, but aren't hateful. At least a person that holds such thoughts doesn't think so.
Tom is an instigator, I have no idea if he is a racist. He made a racist joke, so it doesn't help prove he isn't a racist but it doesn't definitively make him one.
As far as I can tell the dividing line of racial joke from racist joke is one lampoons the idea of racial stereotypes and the other is supposedly "funny because its true!"
@mdd7000
I think KathyH made a pretty good point I tend to agree with that prejudgment of people is human nature. Liberal guilt apologists for Island culture notwithstanding. The problem with folks that lambast the idea of political correctness is that they want to decide what is OK for other people. You can think whatever you want but if someone of a certain ethnic group want to be addressed as an "Ethnito" that is how you refer to them, not the name you heard growing up. Its simply called being polite.
@birdmove
Well, they were Missourians; what do you expect?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas
Looking at the definitions of racism you supplied; the first two don't contain the word hate. Hate is not a necessary component of racism.
It sounds that by your idea of what constitutes racism you must condone or participate in genocide. Simply having blanket beliefs that cover all or most of an ethnic group is racist, you don't have to say you hate them.
i.e. "I believe (insert ethnicity here) are dumb and lazy, I don't hate them; they're just dumb and lazy" or "I think (insert ethnicity here) are loudmouth know-it-alls, they're not all bad but most of them never shut up"
Those are racist beliefs, but aren't hateful. At least a person that holds such thoughts doesn't think so.
Tom is an instigator, I have no idea if he is a racist. He made a racist joke, so it doesn't help prove he isn't a racist but it doesn't definitively make him one.
As far as I can tell the dividing line of racial joke from racist joke is one lampoons the idea of racial stereotypes and the other is supposedly "funny because its true!"
@mdd7000
I think KathyH made a pretty good point I tend to agree with that prejudgment of people is human nature. Liberal guilt apologists for Island culture notwithstanding. The problem with folks that lambast the idea of political correctness is that they want to decide what is OK for other people. You can think whatever you want but if someone of a certain ethnic group want to be addressed as an "Ethnito" that is how you refer to them, not the name you heard growing up. Its simply called being polite.
@birdmove
Well, they were Missourians; what do you expect?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas