Is CNN racist???

[NaturallyAspirated]

Just now, motonoggin said:

Yes it is incorrect. 

Racism involves the use of institutional power to suppress based on skin color, not mean words. 

 

Can you point me to some credentialed source of that definition?

Neal

[motonoggin]

2 minutes ago, NaturallyAspirated said:

Can you point me to some credentialed source of that definition?

Neal

How about you ask some folks that have actually experienced racism? 

Racism as an ideology originated from European scientists in the 17th Century during the Atlantic slave trade. They invented it in order to differentiate themselves from those with different skin colors and darker features, creating a racial hierarchy that continues to this day. It would simply be incorrect to deny that the history of racism has been (and continues to be) one of white supremacy as the label “white” has always been an indication of superiority.

However, many of us were taught when we were little that racism is simply disliking someone based on the color of their skin. We were taught that it is a two-way street and that it can happen to anyone. We were taught that racism is simply prejudice toward any race.

For many white people, the “definition of racism” offers them a safeguard so that they no longer feel the need to check their privilege. It acts as a last resort when backed into a corner by logic and reason. It is their final safety measure to ensure that they still win the conversation, even though this is not the type of conversation to be won.

It is for those white people that I have listed below some of the many reasons why the “definition of racism” is wrong.

Dictionaries provide a simplistic view of words.

While dictionaries are a great reference for people who have no prior knowledge on a word, concept or idea, they are not the best for conducting and controlling discussion. Racism is such a complex idea that it would be impossible to describe every aspect of it in a basic 101 way. Dictionaries should instead be used as a starting point for learning, leading to more thorough research and investigation, rather than being a final and definitive argument as to why white people can experience racism.

Dictionaries are written and edited by white men.

The majority of writers for popular and academic dictionaries have been white men. In the western world, as there are systems in place which privilege white people, it is not surprizing to see that the definition of racism put forward by white men is inaccurate. They are socialized to believe that the racism people of color experience is in any way comparable to the “racism” white people experience (i.e. being called out for perpetrating and upholding white supremacy). There is simply no credibility in white people defining racism.

Racism is systemic.

If we look at the word, ‘racism’, we see that it is made up of ‘race’ and the suffix ‘-ism’. This suffix is used to denote a systemwhich, at least in the western world, is a system of white supremacy.

This clearly differentiates racism from prejudice. Anyone can be prejudiced toward anyone else, regardless of their race. People of color can certainly be prejudiced toward white people. However it is not racism because there is no larger system in place which oppresses white people.

These are just some of the reasons why the “dictionary definition of racism” is invalid. If you or someone you know ever feels the need to screenshot the “definition of racism” and use it in an argument, just remember that the definition of ketchup says that it is spicy.

http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/02/19/dear-white-people-your-dictionary-definition-of-racism-is-wrong/

[bussman]

33 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

Lol. You can't be racist against white people. 

Silly liberal.

Says who?

Oh that's right, the mentally ill people that post modern up their own definitions. Fuck them.  

[NaturallyAspirated]

6 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

How about you ask some folks that have actually experienced racism? 

Racism as an ideology originated from European scientists in the 17th Century during the Atlantic slave trade. They invented it in order to differentiate themselves from those with different skin colors and darker features, creating a racial hierarchy that continues to this day. It would simply be incorrect to deny that the history of racism has been (and continues to be) one of white supremacy as the label “white” has always been an indication of superiority.

However, many of us were taught when we were little that racism is simply disliking someone based on the color of their skin. We were taught that it is a two-way street and that it can happen to anyone. We were taught that racism is simply prejudice toward any race.

For many white people, the “definition of racism” offers them a safeguard so that they no longer feel the need to check their privilege. It acts as a last resort when backed into a corner by logic and reason. It is their final safety measure to ensure that they still win the conversation, even though this is not the type of conversation to be won.

It is for those white people that I have listed below some of the many reasons why the “definition of racism” is wrong.

Dictionaries provide a simplistic view of words.

While dictionaries are a great reference for people who have no prior knowledge on a word, concept or idea, they are not the best for conducting and controlling discussion. Racism is such a complex idea that it would be impossible to describe every aspect of it in a basic 101 way. Dictionaries should instead be used as a starting point for learning, leading to more thorough research and investigation, rather than being a final and definitive argument as to why white people can experience racism.

Dictionaries are written and edited by white men.

The majority of writers for popular and academic dictionaries have been white men. In the western world, as there are systems in place which privilege white people, it is not surprizing to see that the definition of racism put forward by white men is inaccurate. They are socialized to believe that the racism people of color experience is in any way comparable to the “racism” white people experience (i.e. being called out for perpetrating and upholding white supremacy). There is simply no credibility in white people defining racism.

Racism is systemic.

If we look at the word, ‘racism’, we see that it is made up of ‘race’ and the suffix ‘-ism’. This suffix is used to denote a systemwhich, at least in the western world, is a system of white supremacy.

This clearly differentiates racism from prejudice. Anyone can be prejudiced toward anyone else, regardless of their race. People of color can certainly be prejudiced toward white people. However it is not racism because there is no larger system in place which oppresses white people.

These are just some of the reasons why the “dictionary definition of racism” is invalid. If you or someone you know ever feels the need to screenshot the “definition of racism” and use it in an argument, just remember that the definition of ketchup says that it is spicy.

http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/02/19/dear-white-people-your-dictionary-definition-of-racism-is-wrong/

Laughable blather.  Dictionaries use simplistic words and are written by white men?  That's the reasoning to abandon common term definition?  That's plain idiocy.  Whoever penned this narcissistic, bigoted, racist article is so are removed from reality it's absurd.  

You are welcome to go on with a belief in this udder nonsensical bullshit, but I am going to pass well clear of any such garbage.

Neal

Edited September 14, 2017 by NaturallyAspirated

[motonoggin]

4 minutes ago, bussman said:

Says who?

Oh that's right, the mentally ill people that post modern up their own definitions. Fuck them.  

Do you even know what post modernism means?

2 minutes ago, NaturallyAspirated said:

Laughable blather.  Dictionaries use simplistic words and are written by white men?  That's the reasoning to abandon common term definition?  That's plain idiocy.  Whoever penned this narcissistic, bigoted, racist article is so are removed from reality it's absurd.  

You are welcome to go on with a belief in this udder nonsensical bullshit, but I am going to pass well clear of any such garbage.

Neal

And this is the typical delicate white guy response. 

[Rod]

1 hour ago, NaturallyAspirated said:

It isn't a truthful statement.  To say they can't is racism.

Neal

But you basically said they couldn't 

[Rod]

Wait.... are liberals changing the definition of the word racist because their version of racism is incorrect?

[bussman]

3 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

Do you even know what post modernism means?

And this is the typical delicate white guy response. 

Knew about post modernism before the Internet.

Do you know that actual meaning of racism?  

[NaturallyAspirated]

2 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

Do you even know what post modernism means?

And this is the typical delicate white guy response. 

And one I'm proud to back.  You go on believing that racist garbage if you wish, I'll pass.  The common usage definition is a much better application of intellectual honesty.

Neal

[motonoggin]

What USA Racism Is

Being ‘racist’ means that your behavior or attitude towards people will favor an outcome that privileges white racialized people, that privileges a white supremacist value system in the USA. USA racism means that USA society has built, and continues to organize, hierarchies of power around a white supremacist value system. Such a system means white racialized people end up collectively benefiting from this structural/systemic/institutional arrangement of power, privilege, and resources. This is how the  USA canon of critical race studies and critical whiteness studies fundamentally define ‘racism’ in terms of systems and institutions within the USA (Crenshaw 1995; Allen 2001; Flagg 2005; Lipsitz 2006; Sullivan and Tuana 2007; Chapman 2010; Martinot 2010; Razack et. al 2010)

Within the context of the USA’s history of a racial caste system/racism in which white supremacy is center, if a Black person were ‘racist’ towards a white person or white people, their actions would help to create more favorable outcomes for white people than non-white people. For example, to be ‘racist’ towards a white person who is is being interviewed for a job by a Black person, this would mean that the Black person would desire to hire this White candidate because they are white;  because they fundamentally believe in the white supremacist notion that White people are superior to non-white candidates; because they have internalized racism to believe the white supremacist narrative that whiteness is superior over blackness.

I think it is important to understand that how I am articulating racism is not exactly the same as ‘racial discrimination.’ If a Black person does not like a person who is white because they are of the ‘white race’, this is racial discrimination but not ‘racism’. It is nuanced. I’d argue that neither is okay, but wanted to really flesh out how ‘racism’ is often used by white people in the USA when they experience prejudice against their racial group by a non-white person. Here are some useful quotes below

“Racism is based on the concept of whiteness–a powerful fiction enforced by power and violence. Whiteness is a constantly shifting boundary separating those who are entitled to have certain privileges from those whose exploitation and vulnerability to violence is justified by their not being white” (Kivel, 1996, p. 19).

“‘Whiteness,’ like ‘colour’ and ‘Blackness,’ are essentially social constructs applied to human beings rather than veritable truths that have universal validity. The power of Whiteness, however, is manifested by the ways in which racialized Whiteness becomes transformed into social, political, economic, and cultural behaviour. White culture, norms, and values in all these areas become normative natural. They become the standard against which all other cultures, groups, and individuals are measured and usually found to be inferior” (Henry & Tator, 2006, pp. 46-67).

Do you only want to use the Merriam-Webster definition of what racism is? Here is a good reason why simply using that definition completely negates the reality that (1)USA  racism is based on the concept of whiteness and (2) white men who never studied or lived racism as a non-white, wrote the dictionary definition. Hence,  many [white] folk are quick to use the dictionary definition as the ‘more adequate’ one than using the complex definition of racism developed by scholars and activists of color, within the canon of critical studies of race/legal studies.

What USA Racism Isn’t

I have had white people tell me that they are angry that they cannot participate in a healing event for people of color that acknowledges the pain and trauma that racism have caused to people of color. The other summer, I participated in a healing retreat for women of African descent. I received quite a few rants from white Buddhists who said the event was ‘racist’ and I was too, for participating in it. Because the event focused on the healing needs of women of African descent who seek to resist the pains of racism-sexism ( due to white supremacist structuring of society) this event and my participation in it was not racist. If the event were racist, then it would have functioned in a way that would have allowed white people to participate and the two teachers would have taught everyone that a white supremacist value system is superior and that black women should know their ‘submissive’ place in it and not talk about their racism-induced suffering.

I have also been told that it is ‘racist’ to engage in research about how racialization and race affects people’s thoughts, actions, behaviors, etc. Sorry, but this is not racist. It isracist to deny that race is an organizing principle in the USA and claim that we live in a ‘post-racial’ society. Wanting to ignore or deny the reality of how resources, power, etc, are shaped by white supremacist value system (backed by a canon of social-science based research and legal studies that supports this) is racist; racist because this ignorance, dismissal, and/or denial does not dismantle a white racist value system, but simply upholds it.

Don’t get me wrong. It drives me nuts that I have had Black people come up to me an tell me they are angry, disgusted, annoyed, etc that my husband is white. This is not racism, but it is annoying as hell and something I also do not condone. Yes, it is prejudice and another form of hate, however, it is not racism (and like I mentioned before, I am speaking within the context of USA). And no,  I do not support this prejudice or hate against white people from black people, as I don’t believe that the hate or prejudice against any group or people will every create a harmonious and loving world.  I try to understand these strong hateful feelings within the context of a very messed up history of white colonialism, racism, racialized-capitalism, and imperialism that has produced what can be understood as “the hate that hate produced” amongst some Black people in the USA.

WORDS MATTER—SOME DEFINITIONS TO CONSIDER

Racial Stereotype: An image, attitude or judgment, applied to an entire group of people.

Race: A social construct (with no biological validity) that divides people into distinct groups by categorizing them based on arbitrary elements of physical appearance, particularly skin color.

Power: Access to individuals, social groups, and institutions that own and/or control the majority of a community’s resources, as well the ability to define norms and standards of behavior.

Prejudice: An attitude or opinion—usually negative—about socially defined group (racial, religious, national, etc.) or any person perceived to be a member of that group, formed with insufficient knowledge, reason, or deliberation.

Racism: Most people use the word “racism” the way they used the term “prejudice.” But anti-racist activists see racism as “race prejudice PLUS power,” in other words, discrimination based on racial stereotyping (conscious or unconscious, active or passive) that is backed by significant institutional power (race prejudice + power = racism).

Institutional Racism: The ways in which institutions—social, political, educational, financial, religious, medical, housing, jobs, criminal justice—create and/or perpetuate systems that advantage white people at the expense of people of color.

White Privilege: Unearned advantages that benefit whites (whether they seek such benefits or not) by virtue of their skin color in a racist society.

White Supremacy: Once used only by racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, the word is also used in anti-racism work to describe the historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of domination and exploitation of people of color by white people, and which maintains white peoples’ position of relative wealth, power, and privilege.

“Reverse Racism”: A term commonly used by white people to equate instances of hostile behavior toward them by people of color with the racism people of color face. This is a way of ignoring the issue of who has the power.

Internalized Racism: The conscious or subconscious acceptance of the dominant society’s racist views, stereotypes and biases of one’s ethnic group, leading to finding fault with oneself or members of one’s own group, while valuing the dominant culture (internalized inferiority). Another form of internalized racism is when a white person mistakenly believes s/he is better than people of color ( internalized superiority).

“Non-racist”: Term used by those who consider themselves “color-blind,” a claim that in effect, denies any role in perpetuation systemic racism, or any responsibility to act to dismantle it. Institutional racism is perpetuated not only by those who actively discriminate, but also by those who fail to challenge it (silence = consent).

Anti-racist: An anti-racist is someone who makes a conscious choice and persistent effort to challenge white supremacy, including her/his own white privilege, and to actively oppose forms of discrimination against people of color.

Source: These definitions are based on definitions originally created by the Challenging White Supremacy Workshop – cwsworkshop.org.

http://www.sistahvegan.com/2013/06/01/can-black-people-be-racist-towards-white-people/

[bussman]

Just now, Rod Johnson said:

Wait.... are liberals changing the definition of the word racist because their version of racism is incorrect?

Well when your racist but it doesn't play well in Peoria anymore you have to redefine it. People like Moto incapable of broad understanding are the first to get gut hooked. 

[NaturallyAspirated]

2 minutes ago, Rod Johnson said:

But you basically said they couldn't 

No, I did not...

Go back and read yet again. No to be rude but you really shouldn't prop yourself up for these kinds of discussions if you lack the basic, and fundamental comprehension required to understand an answer.

Neal

[bussman]

Did not read, won't read. You're wasting your time Danny Boy.  

[f7ben]

This is where moto loses me everytime. Shame really

[motonoggin]

5 minutes ago, NaturallyAspirated said:

And one I'm proud to back.  You go on believing that racist garbage if you wish, I'll pass.  The common usage definition is a much better application of intellectual honesty.

Neal

If I had a dollar for every time I saw a white dude trot out a dictionary to prove how they can be victims of racism, I'd buy my own island.

2 minutes ago, bussman said:

Did not read, won't read. You're wasting your time Danny Boy.  

And this is also typical white behavior.

Invoke your privilege and check out of the conversation.

And herein lies the real issue. 

If you can escape what you perceive as 'racist' by simply ignoring things people say, what you have experienced is not racism.

Racism, for those who actually experience it, is inescapable. 

[NaturallyAspirated]

"Racism is based on the concept of whiteness"

WTF is that garbage...

Moto, it's laughable nonsense. This is some racist ploy by black people against whites, to show their superior racial standing by claiming blacks can't claim to be racially superior.  It's nonesene through and through.

Whiteness.... fucking morons...

Neal

[motonoggin]

1 minute ago, f7ben said:

This is where moto loses me everytime. Shame really

I had a hard time getting past my white perspective, but I eventually got there and I understand that racism isn't something that you just talk about in an abstract fashion. 

[bussman]

3 minutes ago, f7ben said:

This is where moto loses me everytime. Shame really

Everything the left touches it destroys, language is another casualty. 

[bussman]

2 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

If I had a dollar for every time I saw a white dude trot out a dictionary to prove how they can be victims of racism, I'd buy my own island.

And this is also typical white behavior.

Invoke your privilege and check out of the conversation.

And herein lies the real issue. 

If you can escape what you perceive as 'racist' by simply ignoring things people say, what you have experienced is not racism.

Racism, for those who actually experience it, is inescapable. 

I truly don't care what you think, not sure why you keep pushing your religion on others, it's having the opposite intended effect. 

[motonoggin]

2 minutes ago, NaturallyAspirated said:

"Racism is based on the concept of whiteness"

WTF is that garbage...

Moto, it's laughable nonsense. This is some racist ploy by black people against whites, to show their superior racial standing by claiming blacks can't claim to be racially superior.  It's nonesene through and through.

Whiteness.... fucking morons...

Neal

You do realize that the concept of whiteness was born out of the slave trade, right? 

It was a tactic invented by the white elite to divide poor whites from slaves so they didn't unite and burn plantations to the ground.

[motonoggin]

Just now, bussman said:

I truly don't care what you think, not sure why you keep pushing your religion on others, it's having the opposite intended effect. 

Put me on ignore, snowflake.

[bussman]

3 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

I had a hard time getting past my white perspective, but I eventually got there and I understand that racism isn't something that you just talk about in an abstract fashion. 

 

[bussman]

Just now, motonoggin said:

Put me on ignore, snowflake.

Ironic projection. 

[f7ben]

1 minute ago, bussman said:

Everything the left touches it destroys, language is another casualty. 

Moto is not "the left" .....he's generally a free thinker. When people who arent constrained by dogma or partisan idiocy post ideas i enjoy reading them and considering them against my own notions. There is some merit to what he is saying but its mostly over the top

[motonoggin]

Just now, bussman said:

Ironic projection. 

Are you fucking kidding? Look how triggered you dopes are over someone challenging you.