Racist comments.

[Eliam_Dar]

Yeah but these people wern't Hispanic they were taking the language Spanish they consisted of various races, however when I criticized them for vandalizing and stealing from the room, I was mistaken for being racist against Hispanics.

That's what I'm talking about. You see racism where there is no racism at all. It's almost like in this saying "there was a time when someone who didint like jews was antisemitic. Now you're antisemitic when jews don't like you." Sometimes criticism is preinterpreted as racism and there is no way you can reason with such people.

well this is something that I myself have endured, I once made a comment about the attack that the Israeli Army launched over Palestina, and how it will only increase the hatred... and a friend who happens to be Jew started talking to me in a very aggressive manner and treating me like antisemitic... I made a comment about a war, not a race.

 

[Legion]

Chances are if hang out on the internet, you've accidentally said something racist which you didn't notice until it was to late.
For instance, once me and my very sensitive black friend were talking about the justice system, and I made a joke about how I was to white to ever do serious jail time... it ended very badly for me.

He got uptight about that? Christ, talk about fitting a stereotype (which is ironic considering the impression you gave was that he considered you racist).

People can be offended by a lot of things, but what defines racism for me is intent, not jokes based on stereotypes.

Exactly my opinion.

I was kicked out of class for saying “this is what happens if you let a woman drive” when the teacher was showing pictures of car accidents.

he didn’t get the joke....

That's sexism not racism...

 

[ShadowStar42]

Wow, there are a LOT of misconceptions about race, racism and what makes someone a racist.

Racism: ?noun
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

2 isn't really relevant here, 1 and 3 are what we're talking about. Clearly you can make a racist joke or use an offensive word and that doesn't make you racist. It can at times make you a jerk dependent on the circumstances but the beliefs behind it are what would make you racist. Note however that intent to offend isn't required, if you believe that one group is more likely to commit crime, or be alcoholic, or like watermelon you are racist. Also worth noting is...

Race: 1. a group of persons related by common descent or heredity.
5. any people united by common history, language, cultural traits, etc.: the Dutch race.

There are a lot of definitions for race but these are the two most relevant here, just to point out that race can be used to define cultural or even religious differences.

So far that the OP, I think that your friend misunderstood your joke, which is unfortunate. You offended him and owe him an explanation and apology but that doesn't make you racist. To the several people that make racist jokes and use racial epitaphs you may or may not be racist, but you ARE perpetuating racism. People don't need to stop making a fuss to end racism, people need to stop perpetuating racist stereotypes and stop placing wedges between people by using offensive language. For those who say that this or that is just a word that's true, but racist language carries with it not only it's own offense but every stereotype that goes with it, if someone gets offended because you said it that's because YOU did something wrong, not them.

 

[Cherry Cola]

I once made a joke about the prophet Mohammed in class. It did not end badly for me.

Was it published in a neighbouring country's newspaper?

Hopefully not, or I have a price on my head.

 

[TelHybrid]

Ugh... people are too eager to play the race card. Have you ever noticed black comedians make fun of white guys all the time on tv? Yet white guys retaliate and get the race card pulled.

This society is completely backwards. It's biased against white people, and patronizing towards black people.

 

[Cyberjester]

I solve it by insulting each race equally. My own included. I'd actually regard myself as a racial bastard, mother is Canadian, her father is USA'ian, her grandmother is Ukrainian. Go back 10 generations on both sides and I can pull out as many races/nationalities. All white, but still..

I can also justify a racist joke or term. For example.. In "black music" (a term I object to, since I think of old gospel music when I hear that, not 50 Cent or some rubbish) they all call each other niggers. Most black Americans will call themselves "African American" instead of American, thus enforcing a racist system. Feminists do the same thing off topic.

If they can do it, I can do it. For a truly homogeneous society, they need to drop the racist terms altogether and identify themselves with one country. In Aus I can't do that, but while we have different terms over here, the same principles apply.

*shrugs* If someone has to take offense to learn something, then it must be done.

 

[The Youth Counselor]

I used to be very sensitive about this subject. I would doublethink everything I said if it could even vaguely be construed as racist. Unfortunately not everyone was like me, I went to the type of schools you see in Lean on Me and Freedom Writers.

That all changed when I met my best friend during my sophomore year of high school. She was just about the least politically correct person you could meet, and everybody loved her. It then caught on in our small school, to refer to each other by the appropriate racial slur.

Naomi: What's up honky, *****, spic?
The rest: Hey negress!

Then the faculty started cracking down, enacting penalties and having meetings on language/sensitivity. We resorted to calling each other by our appropriate ethnic foods instead.

Naomi: Hey there fried rice!
Me: Hey there fried chicken.

 

[conmag9]

I don't recall any racist comments I've made on the internet (at least ones that I got pointed out for. I tend towards political correctness. Not extreme enough that I explode when anyone makes even the slightest reference when it's not meant to be really racist, but I steer away from it myself as much as possible).

I did find myself on the receiving end of it once. Sorta. Judaism is a religion of course, but the Jewish people themselves are often tied together with stereotypes and that's where this comes in. I was a forum moderator (it was an RP forum, so one of my jobs was to try and balance powers). One guy asked for something that was clearly not going to happen. Instead of accepting that or trying to change it into something more acceptable, he launched into a stream of incoherent and slightly off-kilter insults. I was declared Jewish due to being stingy (I'm a Baptist, if it makes any difference) as well as (in a racist comment to...robots?) the robotic Santa from Futurama who went on a murderous rampage by setting his standards too high o.0. And all I said was, sorry, but that's not really viable as an ability...

 

[J0k3]

I'm Chinese and my friends go out of their way to call me anything but Chinese, I think they even refered to me as a Samoan once... Don't really mind since its all in good fun.

 

[Rooster893]

I once spelled out the N word in front of a posse of black teenagers. I was about 9 or so.

God, my legs ached so bad from running.

 

[About 115 Ninjas]

I learned a long time ago that a good chunk of people are not racist. They're just stupid people that say racist things. Whether you like it or not, this is not some utopia where freedom of speech means you can say whatever you want. People have their feelings hurt by words. This isn't a simple matter of "getting over it." We live in a society where we're taught to "use your words" from a young age. So what do we do? Instead of throwing a punch to hurt someone we say whatever we think will hurt that person the most.

Pretty much everything with racial undertones is said to hurt someone. If it's on Xbox live, it's used as an insult. If it's in a joke, well, pretty much every joke ever made is at the expense of someone. There is no instance where saying something race related is just for the hell of it. No one screams out N***** just to hear themselves speak.

White, black, Asian, Hispanic, whatever. Everyone is capable of saying racist things.

 

[Dudemeister]

I believe that if you didnt intend to offend, its not racism.

What if you simply believe white people are superior to black people?
Maybe you don't mean to offend anyone, you just think the colour of your skin makes you genetically better than those of other races.

 

[quiet_samurai]

Just the other day my friend told me he had jury duty so he couldn't come and visit. I told him to tell the court he was racist, which is grounds for being excused. He asked me why that would even be plausible, and I said because the defendant is probabl'y either Mexican or black. That may sound incredibly rascist, but the area we are both from has the highest crime rate in the state and the population there is 80% non white.

 

[About 115 Ninjas]

Just the other day my friend told me he had jury duty so he couldn't come and visit. I told him to tell the court he was racist, which is grounds for being excused. He asked me why that would even be plausible, and I said because the defendant is probabl'y either Mexican or black. That may sound incredibly rascist, but the area we are both from has the highest crime rate in the state and the population there is 80% non white.

You see that's so hilarious. I live in a place where the population is 75% white people and the majority of crimes are committed by...surprise! Whites. And when I lived in a predominantly Hispanic area, the majority of crimes were committed by Hispanic people. Anyone else seeing the relationship here? If you want to see less black crime, move to Nebraska. If you want to see less white crime, move to Harlem.

 

[quiet_samurai]

Just the other day my friend told me he had jury duty so he couldn't come and visit. I told him to tell the court he was racist, which is grounds for being excused. He asked me why that would even be plausible, and I said because the defendant is probabl'y either Mexican or black. That may sound incredibly rascist, but the area we are both from has the highest crime rate in the state and the population there is 80% non white.

You see that's so hilarious. I live in a place where the population is 75% white people and the majority of crimes are committed by...surprise! Whites. And when I lived in a predominantly Hispanic area, the majority of crimes were committed by Hispanic people. Anyone else seeing the relationship here? If you want to see less black crime, move to Nebraska. If you want to see less white crime, move to Harlem.

Exactly! I don't think one race in biologically more prone to crime, deffinitely socially, but it's not written into their DNA. I always thought it was funny how in the news they would report something like "The Latino crime rate in East LA is the highest for all American cities where Latino's have residence!" That's because the population in East LA is nearly all Latino. So silly, just shows you that statistics can be biased.

I like your name by the way.

 

[GrinningManiac]

I once mispronounced the country "Niger" for comedic effect

There was an awful pause as me and my company realised what I had just accidently said

 

[martin's a madman]

Just the other day my friend told me he had jury duty so he couldn't come and visit. I told him to tell the court he was racist, which is grounds for being excused. He asked me why that would even be plausible, and I said because the defendant is probabl'y either Mexican or black. That may sound incredibly rascist, but the area we are both from has the highest crime rate in the state and the population there is 80% non white.

You see that's so hilarious. I live in a place where the population is 75% white people and the majority of crimes are committed by...surprise! Whites. And when I lived in a predominantly Hispanic area, the majority of crimes were committed by Hispanic people. Anyone else seeing the relationship here? If you want to see less black crime, move to Nebraska. If you want to see less white crime, move to Harlem.

Hm, now where would I go to escape human crime?