Yep...That’s the answer let’s not make race a thing and pretend There is no such thing as racism and it will just go away. You remind me of Rodney King with his naïve, “why can’t we all just get along” so simplistic
There is nothing complex about it. Stop thinking about the skin tone of others .. yourself. If we all do that, there won't be any racism. There will only be condemnation of character and/or culture. And I'm ALL for condemning others on failures in those two areas. That's where our focus should lie, on culture/character .. not skin tone. You need it to be complex because you want a reason to continue thinking about it. I understand better than most, what drives the need to flog this dead horse.
we shouldn't make race a thing because it's not, scientifically/biologically it doesn't exist so we shouldn't recognize it...but racism does exist and will continue to exist as long as we entertain the concept from racists that it does...what racism is is an irrational intolerance of people who do not look like us....
Race is biological and it is with the interaction with this biological reality that it has become a social reality. Much like ethnicity, race also only becomes important in the meeting with an "Other"; race only becomes an important category of distinction in "mixed" communities. We are social animals that like to categorise phenomenons to create order in the social chaos we live in. Classification in itself is not problematic; stating that Denzel Washington is Black and Brad Pitt is White does not harm anyone. Race becomes dangerous only when you decide to let it define your whole existence and when you attribute certain characteristics to certain racial groups and from that create hierarchies and/or when you do nothing but pointing out which person is of what race. I personally never understood why anyone would be so obsessed with skin tone and haplogroups because it is something we have no control over. I only judge people based on their character because I see individiuals. Yes, we all have prejudices and we all stereotype, but few of us let these prejudices and stereotypes stop us from interacting with people of different ethnicity/race.
It is extremely naive to think racism can be defeated; it has always been around and will always be around. The only thing one can do is to change oneself; if you are nice to others, they will - generally - be nice to you. People who are not nice to you are not worthwile anyways and impoliteness, rudness and idiocy are not matters of race. Just ignore these people and they will ignore you. Let the evil and dumb people eat each other.
I agree...staying stuck in the same conversation doesnt help anything. If I hear someone make some lame remark... I look at that person like they have a screw loose, and go about treating people as I normally would. Its only when they effect another human beings right to basic freedoms, is when it shouldnt be shrugged off.
Ah yes and everyone will sing kumbaya Let’s pretend that there is no racism and that black people who are viewed with suspicion wherever they go are really being judged by their character and culture. Actually they are being prejudged which is called prejudice
Black people don’t have the prerogative to ignore white people who are rude to them .when a taxi won’t pick them up because they’re black. They should just stop taking cabs? . I remember my students telling me how painful it was when they would get on the bus and women would pull their purses in and that they were followed around in stores. They were not being rude , they were not being idiots but they were being black. Once again a white guy telling discriminated against people how to feel and what to do .
What are you talking about? Black people have just as much agency as anyone else. If a cabbie refuses to pick up a customer because of their race, the right thing to is actually to stop taking cabs, yes. However, not entirely but only from that particular company. The fantastic thing about the free market is that customers are allowed to discriminate companies too. I feel all these anecdotes you keep brining up are exaggerated and taken out of context. Mostly are they subjective experiences and most importantly are they not evidence for "structural racism" or "White Privilege" in any way or sense at all. If you think not being allowed to have a seat next to a stranger on public transport is the epitome of evil, you would absolutely hate Sweden - here it is very much "taboo" to take a seat next to a stranger on the bus and even if there are no hostile gestures like putting up a bag, people will prefer to stand. Nonetheless, I never understood people who complain about other people taking "too much space" on public transport. I mean, has it never crossed your mind to tell them "excuse me ma'm/sir"? That usually helps and if it doesn't, the person is a prick and not worthy your time anyways.
Try talking to POC who think whitey is laughable for his odd little demonstrations of prejudice. You know, those POC who know that they'll own whitey's behind at some point in the not too distant future - if they don't already. Better yet, stop bloody talking about it period. The more people like you keep harping on about old insults, and fail to just accept that some people will always be racist, the wider the divide, and the more racism we'll actually see. Institutional racism has all been fixed (for years now), so there is nothing more to do. You cannot make old white men less bigoted, and you sure as heck don't seem too concerned about their opposite actually teaching racism to their kids.
I'm not pretending there is no racism. I'm saying I'd PREFER that there was no racism. However, I can't change anyone but myself. And moan here occasionally.
I used to have serious issues with my self-esteem in the past and one of the worst things I knew was when a girl of my own age took a seat next to me on the bus. This caused me genuine discomfort and extreme anxiety. Now, were these young girls oppressing me? Was I (and other guys with similar problems) the victim(s) of some sort of "female consipracy"? Obviously not, I was just being paranoid and no, there is no such thing as a "structural oppression" of socially anxious people on public transports. If I wanted, however, I could paint up this scenario as one where I, and everyone like me, are just helpless, poor, little victims and whenever you questioned my rationalisations, I could just respond with; "You have no idea what it is like being a young man!", "nothing as entertaining as when a woman tells a man how to feel" or "it is easy to not see hate when you yourself are part of the hate."
No, everyone is never going to sing Kumbaya together and that is not - and should not - be the goal. Who gives a rat's fury arse about "everyone"? Let the racists kill each other as the rest of us mind our own business. No one is saying we should applaud it whenever it happens. We are only pointing out that this always happens on an individual level and that what you do when you collectivise it, is that you become your own enemy - a racist.
He isn’t! You left out workshop leader and keynote speaker and soon to have another book out Wow, I’m Impressed with me , and obviously you are too....
I know, when MLK made it a collective issue, nothing happened....all those supporters were really closet racists
MLK did not really make it a collective issue, but rather did he make it a legal one. Thanks to him, Blacks and Whites are now enjoying the same legal rights.
Out of curiousity: Are you an academian? If yes, what is your field? Do you write pop science books or do you conduct actual research? What sort of events do you speak at? Is your workshop given to school kids or adults?
I wrote a book on classroom management . The first edition had 200 strategies the second edition had 250 strategies and the last edition has 300 strategies ..the book has been translated into Chinese and Indonesian .I am finishing a two sided book. One side is for teenagers to read, flip it over and it’s for parents to read. I taught sex education in New York City and thousands of kids wrote journals to me, spilling their guts out. ..so I think I know teenagers Because of the success of my first book I am invited to be keynote speaker at school districts and colleges. I like to think of myself as a closet stand up, so my speeches are fun. ...and they pay too well. The sad thing is the more I charge for speech the more work I get. To assuage my guilt I will speak for no fee at poor districts and groups like teach for America or the Peace Corps My workshops in prejudice started with adolescents and then led to teachers as well. Right now I am having a blast...wish I could share it but anonymity would be lost. But an interview I did about education went viral..and as of now it had 90,000 hits! Of course it involved a famous person I taught who has given me more credit than I deserve Do you want my measurements also?
