I’m not sure who you mean by “you people” but that sounds kind of racist.
No but seriously, I don’t think it’s racist at all to describe shared experiences, as long as you don’t presume to know someone’s life experiences by the color of their skin. For instance, a lot of black people experience police discrimination in America. Being pulled over for no reason, needing to stay calm and respectful in the face of fascism, these are normal, common experiences that can traumatize a person. Talking about those experiences with people who have lived them can help you process and heal from the trauma.
A white person can also be pulled over by police for no reason. It could be because of the way they look. They may have been afraid that the police would randomly decide to murder them in broad daylight. This experience can happen to anyone, but because it disproportionately happens to black people, they are able to discuss it in short hand. “You been pulled over?” “Yeah, DWB. Motherfuckers.”
Two white people would not have the same conversation. “I got pulled over.” “Speeding?” “No, no reason at all.” “That happened to me once. Broken tailight, the cop was really nice about it.” “No, man, like he seemed angry and suspicious, and I thought he was going to arrest me or shoot me or something.” “For real?! That’s wild. You should call a lawyer and sue his ass.”
It’s not racist to describe these two realities. It’s not racist to ask about these experiences to learn from other cultures. It is racist to assume that these experiences are universal. You couldn’t say for sure that these are the experiences of a particular individual based on their race.
So we stop it by pretending it doesn’t happen? Act like nobody experiences discrimination, and they won’t? Forgive me, but that’s incomprehensible logic.
Racism isn’t acknowledging differences, it’s demanding them. And demanding we treat everyone the same ignores the reality that different races live. We stop racism by celebrating our differences and learning from each other so that we might be more open to each other. To pretend we’re all the same is to ignore that which makes us special, and it is racism to expect the same from everyone regardless of their life experiences.
But being black or white is part of who they are. By ignoring their race, you are in fact devaluing who they are as a person. Black and white are different. Not better, not worse, and not limited to preconceived definitions.
It’s like the Stephen Colbert bit where he pretended he couldn’t see color. It was humorous because he acted like it made him anti-racist, but actually it was extremely racist. Your original point is the sort of well-meaning pandering naivete he was satirizing.
You are different by your skin color. People are all literally different colors. And because racism exists, that affects every aspect of your existence from the moment you’re born. You cannot overcome racism by saying “let’s just all pretend we’re all the same.”
Set race aside for a minute, because I think you’re trying too hard to be un-racist. Consider height for a bit. Everyone is a different height. It doesn’t make you a good or bad person to be tall or short. Certain things are easier or harder, and people at each height bracket have similar experiences. People also face discrimination based on their height. It is discriminatory to make assumptions about a person’s qualities based on their height, but it is not discrimination to identify people as taller, shorter, or average height. Pretending height difference don’t exist will not counteract height discrimination, and in fact will foster attitudes that do not account for individual differences.
I’m not sure who you mean by “you people” but that sounds kind of racist.
No but seriously, I don’t think it’s racist at all to describe shared experiences, as long as you don’t presume to know someone’s life experiences by the color of their skin. For instance, a lot of black people experience police discrimination in America. Being pulled over for no reason, needing to stay calm and respectful in the face of fascism, these are normal, common experiences that can traumatize a person. Talking about those experiences with people who have lived them can help you process and heal from the trauma.
A white person can also be pulled over by police for no reason. It could be because of the way they look. They may have been afraid that the police would randomly decide to murder them in broad daylight. This experience can happen to anyone, but because it disproportionately happens to black people, they are able to discuss it in short hand. “You been pulled over?” “Yeah, DWB. Motherfuckers.”
Two white people would not have the same conversation. “I got pulled over.” “Speeding?” “No, no reason at all.” “That happened to me once. Broken tailight, the cop was really nice about it.” “No, man, like he seemed angry and suspicious, and I thought he was going to arrest me or shoot me or something.” “For real?! That’s wild. You should call a lawyer and sue his ass.”
It’s not racist to describe these two realities. It’s not racist to ask about these experiences to learn from other cultures. It is racist to assume that these experiences are universal. You couldn’t say for sure that these are the experiences of a particular individual based on their race.
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So we stop it by pretending it doesn’t happen? Act like nobody experiences discrimination, and they won’t? Forgive me, but that’s incomprehensible logic.
Racism isn’t acknowledging differences, it’s demanding them. And demanding we treat everyone the same ignores the reality that different races live. We stop racism by celebrating our differences and learning from each other so that we might be more open to each other. To pretend we’re all the same is to ignore that which makes us special, and it is racism to expect the same from everyone regardless of their life experiences.
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But being black or white is part of who they are. By ignoring their race, you are in fact devaluing who they are as a person. Black and white are different. Not better, not worse, and not limited to preconceived definitions.
It’s like the Stephen Colbert bit where he pretended he couldn’t see color. It was humorous because he acted like it made him anti-racist, but actually it was extremely racist. Your original point is the sort of well-meaning pandering naivete he was satirizing.
deleted by creator
You are different by your skin color. People are all literally different colors. And because racism exists, that affects every aspect of your existence from the moment you’re born. You cannot overcome racism by saying “let’s just all pretend we’re all the same.”
Set race aside for a minute, because I think you’re trying too hard to be un-racist. Consider height for a bit. Everyone is a different height. It doesn’t make you a good or bad person to be tall or short. Certain things are easier or harder, and people at each height bracket have similar experiences. People also face discrimination based on their height. It is discriminatory to make assumptions about a person’s qualities based on their height, but it is not discrimination to identify people as taller, shorter, or average height. Pretending height difference don’t exist will not counteract height discrimination, and in fact will foster attitudes that do not account for individual differences.