Am I Racist?

[the protaginist]

I realize there's no way to write this without coming off as KIND of racist, and yet i wanna see if the internet at large could understand my line of thinking and see why it may NOT be racist.

Now see, there's this kid in one of my classes this year who really rubs me the wrong way. He thinks he's all that, he glorifies his pot use, he's rarely polite, and is terribly condescending.

He also happens to be black.
There are white kids in my school who are also they like this, and i dislike them as much as much as i dislike him and other black students such as him.

yet i tend to associate that kind of attitude with black people, because the majority of the black students in my school act like that.


So it's not that i hate black people, i hate people who act like that, but i tend to associate that type of behavior with black people, but only because the black students at my school all tend to act somewhat like that.

Does this make me racist?

 

[CRAVE CASE 55]

Rascist? Not nesicarily. Now profiling? yes very very much so.

 

[New Troll]

Probably more prejudice than racist. Just don't do anything stupid based off your prejudism and you won't have to worry about whether you're racist or not.

 

[Robert Ewing]

You aren't racist. Don't worry. I think racism is because you dislike (no matter how much) a race for no logical first party reason.

There is nothing wrong with a bit of prejudice. You just need to know when to use it. For example. If you see a white or black male, in a hoody walking toward you with his hands in his pockets, you're going to be a bit prejudice. He could seriously harm you, or he could be part of a charity, giving you pamflets. It's a lot safer to assume he's going to hurt you.

Now take the exact same scenario, and replace it with a woman. You would probably still think of a worst case scenario, but is it as bad as the scenario you imagined with the male hoody? I figure not, the male hoody in your mind will be more problematic than the woman.

This is why prejudice isn't always a bad thing. It can protect you in ways you don't even realize. Of course prejudice can be used for stupid things like 'all Asians can do math.' That of course is silly, the Asian community are no more intelligent than the rest of humanity. Or are they?

 

[Westaway]

Racism is hating other races. I did the same thing and wondered the same thing. It's prejudice.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Id say youre not racist if its true that the black kids in your school do this.

Now you may be profiling, and or racist, if you think ALL the black kids do it just cause some do. As long as you had sound proof and not single witness (you) heresay, then id say you're just linking to groups that act similar.

 

[Wushu Panda]

I would say that is pretty damn racist.

 

[let's rock]

This depends. If you saw a black guy, who you didn't know and knew nothing about, would you automaticly assume he's like this? If so, then you are prejaduced, if not, then no.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Technically it's a little racist, yeah. After all "racism" is just race based prejudice, just as "sexism" is gender based prejudice.

Saying "it's not racism, it's just prejudice" is sort of the equivalent of saying "you're not poor, you just don't have any money".

 

[Gralian]

Black culture =/= black people.

There was a speaker (David Starkey) on the London Riots a while back who blamed the complete anarchy on what he dubbed, 'black culture', which is that sort of inner city asbo youth culture that tends to come from underprivaliged areas and backgrounds. Unfortunately, because immigrants tend to have it tougher than the rest of us the majority of youth in the inner city areas tend to be black and so the roots of this inner city youth culture is intrinsically linked with 'black culture', much in the same way marijauna might be linked with rastafarianism (i think pot is actually intrinsic to the rastafarian movement for a specific possibly religious reason, feel free to correct me on that one)

The thing is, white people can adopt this 'black culture' too; hence why you see a lot of white youths copying that 'inner city asbo behaviour'. You get white people emulating black people because they feel they have lived or are living that rough life. The crux of the point is that while a culture may have originated from a certain demographic, that does not mean it is exclusive to the demographic in question - other people may adopt the culture, but that doesn't change the fact that the culture has roots from where it came and that is how it will be identified. Much in the same way you can get white people adopting 'black culture', you can also get black people who despise 'black culture'.

OP i would say you simply despise that aspect of 'black culture', not black people in their entirety. (Test: Would you despise someone for being black or a minority if they spoke and behaved just like any other of your friends?) That's natural. You're expected to accept anyone regardless of race, creed or gender. But no-one can force you to accept every single culture, particularly when it may conflict with your own.

 

[Jodah]

Racist? Nah. There's usually a shred of truth to stereotypes, just remember that they're just that: stereotypes. Try not to let the ideas formed from past experiences get in the way of new positive ones, and you'll be fine.

This 100%. Stereotypes start from some nugget of truth. Its just a matter of not letting them dictate your actions.

 

[the protaginist]

I would say that is pretty damn racist.

Well, why would you say that? I do agree with those who say it is profiling, but i would halfheartedly argue against prejudice that while i tend to think that most black students act like this, i won't dislike them until they start acting like it. if they don't act like that, that's cool, we can be friends. I didn't actually think the kid in question was that bad before he started acting like he does, and that's when i thought "Oh, he's one of them."

A douchebag, that is. Not black.

 

[scorptatious]

Not necessarily. There is a truth within most stereotypes. I have seen black people who act like the way you describe them, but they aren't all like that. I have a black friend who is smart, reasonable, has had an honest job, and is now heading off to a university. At the same time though, he is resentful of those kind black people because they reinforce that stereotype.

As some people on here already described, this is really more a sign of prejudice than actual racism. And in my opinion, there isn't anything too wrong with that. You're just following your instincts based on your past experiences. You should however reserve full judgement upon an individual until you see what he/she is like.

 

[Hashime]

Yes, but everyone is subconsciously racist.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Racism is a term that gets thrown around way too much.
It is the belief that there are certain differences between "races" which justify pernicious discrimination against that race. In other words, believing people should be treated differently according to their race.

A joke or an objective observation is not racist, just because it involves race. I hate it when people's solution to racial discrimination is to pretend there is literally no difference between races. "Oh no, you don't have black skin! You just have skin! You don't have a Jewish culture! You just have culture!"

 

[EasySt17]

you were good right up until you said that most black people act that way. Plenty of white people who embody that mentality, other races too. Also I know many black people who are kind, shy and quite polite. Your associations toward black people are more likely linked to people who live in densely populated urban centers, which black people constitute a majority. Also, as others have mentioned, there is a culture issue. Culture is hard to parse, it may have to do with the region, age or other issues involved. I myself find that white people are more like that then most others anyway...

 

[Blueruler182]

Assoiating it with black people, in my opinion, can't be helped, if simply because it's a stereotype. We hear it plenty, when someone tries to crack a whitty (read: lazy) joke. so long as you know it's not true and don't judge anyone based on their skin, it's not really racist.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

yet i tend to associate that kind of attitude with black people, because the majority of the black students in my school act like that.

It's this part.

Associating "that kind of attitude with black people" when you've said there are white students who act the same way is where you're in danger of having a racist idea. You admit in your post that there are both black and white students who are jerks and pot-smokers at the same time, but you only associate the behavior with the one race. That's a problem, but you're at least worried about it, so that's a good sign.

The question you might want to ask yourself is: why do I only associate that behavior with the one and not the other? What's the answer? That will tell you where you are as to being racist or not - or becoming not racist anymore, if you were - it isn't a permanent thing.