Some thoughts on Racism

[Astoria]

So it came up again today on a news show that Australians are racist and it's a growing problem within this country. Personally I am getting a little annoyed at this coming up time after time here, especially since I think the media just drags it up on a slow news day to cause some arguments. Anyway it did get me thinking about why this keep getting dragged up because I personally don't think there are any western countries with enough racists in them for the whole population to be dubbed racist. Now before you jump on me yes I know it is definitely still a problem that needs to be attended too but it is not as bad as it seems and here why I think people assume the worst.

1) Immigrants in other countries may misunderstanding people they interact with. Now I know that Australia has some odd slang and it's something we use an awful lot day to day. My lecture in fact first believed Australians were incredibly rude because whenever she thanked them for something they would reply with 'too easy' which she thought me that it meant nothing to them and they didn't care. It was only after she was told it actually means something more like 'glad to help' that she understood Australian slang better and she then thought Australians were quite polite and nice. This could easily be happening all the time and if so a lot of 'racism' could actually just be misunderstandings due to cultural differences.

2) Now I don't know about the rest of the world but there is a lot of anger here about the preferential treatment that asylum seekers get upon entering Australia. Most of the time upon getting entry they are put straight into housing trust, which is something very hard to Australian citizens to get, and can be put on benefits for around $50,000 a year which is scandalous when you consider the average wage for a full time worker is something like $35,00 a year and pensioners who have worked all their life can only get $28,000 a year (btw don't quote me on these numbers I may be recalling them incorrectly). Anyway, people who are protesting this treatment may be misunderstood as being racist because it seems they are against immigrants when really they are against the government for not helping out their own people this much as well.

3) You can't hear what's not being said. You're going to notice racists a lot more than non racists because they're the ones making all the noise and this is true for just about anything. You could be a room with a hundred people who are perfectly polite but you're always going to notice the big mouth most of all because they're the one making them self heard.

I know these arguments aside (and they could be wrong I'm just having a little rant here) racism is still a problem but people do dwell a bit too much on the negative. Consider that only 50 or so years ago blacks and white were still segregated in the US and blacks were treated horribly. That was an attitude that goes back to Ancient Greece or even further which is thousands of years and I think the jumps society has made in such a short time are pretty good really. There will always be room for improvement but every now and then we do need to think that yes a lot of improvement has been done.

Anyway, that's my rant over and I'm interested to here what people of the Escapist think. Is racism not as bad as everyone thinks or do you believe it's still a big issue that has to be put in the spotlight? Also, what's the situation like in your own country regarding immigration and racism?

TL;DR just a little rant saying how I think the problem of racism is being a bit over exaggerated and asking if you think it's over-exaggerated, under-exaggerated or about right and what are your thoughts on the issue?

And mods I wasn't sure if this was off topic or politics so sorry if I've put this in the wrong forum.

 

[Thaluikhain]

The OP seems to be based on two points.

Firstly, that because the problem is less serious than it was, it is no longer serious. I'd very much dispute that.

Second, the OP seems to have equated "racist" with "racist extremist". Yes, groups like, say, the KKK, are racist, but that doesn't mean you have to be in the KKK to be racist. That's setting the bar dangerously low.

Nowdays, people tend to accept that racism is wrong, but the result of this is that they refuse to accept that they are, or might be, racist. Those people that start a sentence with "I'm not racist, but..." or "I can't be racist, I've got black friends" or whatever, and then go on to say something obviously racist...they often sincerely believe that they aren't racist. The KKK are racist, and since they don't burn crosses on people's lawns, they aren't racist.

The people who voted for Pauline Hanson were mostly not of the setting things on fire extreme of racism, but they were racist. The people who voted for the Liberals after the children overboard stunt didn't set things on fire. The people who listened to Alan Jones and decided to pick a fight in Cronulla didn't set many things on fire. But they were racist.

If Tony Abbott was an aboriginal man, how many people who voted for him wouldn't have? They probably aren't people who are into setting things on fire. For that matter, would he have been in a position to have gotten that far? As an aside: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/21/john-pilger-indigenous-australian-families

I think the problem of racism is being a bit over exaggerated.

Going to take a guess here, but I daresay you are white, or pass for it. This isn't an attack on you, but other people's problems tend to be exaggerated. Other people's problems caused by members or attitudes of a group you identify with are always exaggerated.

(Before you ask, yes, this applies to myself. I am forever having the obvious pointed out to me, because it's only obvious to people who aren't like me)

2) Now I don't know about the rest of the world but there is a lot of anger here about the preferential treatment that asylum seekers get upon entering Australia.

...

Yeah, that's not remotely true. Asylum seekers, assuming they aren't locked up in some prison camp hellhole offshore, tend to get pretty rubbish treatment.

 

[Astoria]

Yeah, that's not remotely true. Asylum seekers, assuming they aren't locked up in some prison camp hellhole offshore, tend to get pretty rubbish treatment.

I was meaning more so the handouts they get from the government rather than how people treat them and I do get it's still serious I didn't mean to imply that. I was meaning more so that people assume there are more racists in the world than there actually are if that makes sense. But yeah I get the rest of what you're saying.

 

[DisasterSoiree]

"Racism", examined ontologically, is nothing more than a rejection of the Other in favor of a tribalistic outlook on things.

Tell me: do you exclude others from your social circle because of, well, their 'Otherness'? It doesn't matter what it need be; it could be the town jock who detests video games as a pasttime for nerds (living as he does circa 1993), or maybe the local drunk? Then you, too, are guilty of Other-ism.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

To be honest, the fact that the people voted in a **** like Tony Abbott, and here in Tassie put the Liberals into power, politicians who do not even try to hide their bigotry and openly talk about a "majority government for majority people" sort of reinforces that stereotype, sadly.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Yeah, Australia is a racist country, with racist policies regarding refugees and Aboriginal Australians, and racist people who like to make up false statistics about how all the icky brown people are leeching our tax money and murdering/raping their own children. I don't think it's overplayed at all. In fact I think it's completely understated.

 

[Mr.Cynic88]

Consider that only 50 or so years ago blacks and white were still segregated in the US and blacks were treated horribly. That was an attitude that goes back to Ancient Greece or even further which is thousands of years and I think the jumps society has made in such a short time are pretty good really.

History major here correcting your statement. Race doesn't go back to ancient Greece at all. You're probably thinking that because there were slaves in ancient Greece, it was a racial thing, but it wasn't. Slaves were enemies captured in battle. To say that race had anything to do with it is anachronistic.

In fact, race is a pretty new concept. It goes back to about the 17th century. Chattel slavery, which is what the American south practiced, was a unique kind of slavery based on white supremacy. Race wasn't a thing in ancient times. There are no words in ancient greek that translate to "race."

I posted something on my friends Facebook trying to explain the significance of race in American society, and I think it applies here:

"What made the white race so successful, as a whole?"

Let me try to answer that. I recently took a 3 hour exit exam for my Master's in History, and covering American history from the 1600's to present, all I talked about was race. I would argue it's one of the most important themes when analyzing our country's culture, and it took me seven years of college to figure that out.

The white race was so successful, as whole, because they invented the game. It's easy to win when you make the rules.

Race is a social construct. White people made it up. There was no such thing as race in ancient rome. It came about in the 17th century as white people moved into new territory and needed an excuse to justify it. White people were classifying everything at the time, and since you're writing the rule book, you might as well put yourself on top.

Now to understand race you need to understand the concept of "othering." We ultimately define everything, not by what it is, but by what it is not.

What does it mean to be black? It means you're not white. Language is nothing but a collection of metaphors, and thus imperfect. We only understand things by comparing them against others.

Now what does it mean to be white? There's a pretty sweet book by David Roediger called "Wages of Whiteness," and it explains how whiteness came about in America.

Basically it came from trying to get jobs. Dirty, smelly European immigrants came into the country, and found the job selection less than satisfactory. But they had one thing going for them, and that was their fair skin. Now it came time to one-up the competition.

"I'm better to hire because I"m not a negro, I"m WHITE." Nobody wanted to hire negros, because, black people, and nobody really wanted to hire immigrants, but that was definitely better than hiring a negro.

Immigrants joined the winning team, and many were able to successfully claim whiteness and as a result find better jobs. What did it mean that you were white? It means you weren't a negro.

White people are the winning team because it's a rigged game. Whiteness became a concept because of othering. "We're not like those savage negroes. We're different, and other races should be subordinate to us because they're not us."

Race is a tool of imperialism. It justified European conquests around the world and has been used to artificially categorize and separate us.

 

[Parasondox]

Yeah, Australia is a racist country, with racist policies regarding refugees and Aboriginal Australians, and racist people who like to make up false statistics about how all the icky brown people are leeching our tax money and murdering/raping their own children. I don't think it's overplayed at all. In fact I think it's completely understated.

Now replace, "Australia", with any other country in this world and you may get the same thing. I'm not saying it right, clearly it's wrong but every country has similar problems. Do you judge the whole country by the actions of the smaller few? No, but stating that a country is racist, is a bit far. Heck, even here in the UK, we have political parties that are extremely right wing and hate those that aren't part of their "group/culture" coming up with false information to try and make anyone who is "different" out to be the villain and evil of the world. It doesn't mean the UK is racist, just the small few for some reason has a louder voice and want to gain more power in order to cause more problems.

 

[manic_depressive13]

-

I judge countries by the actions of their government and the general political climate. How do you judge countries?

 

[Frezzato]

snip

I sincerely hope you get to move on to a PHD and write a book, because I would buy that book. I would buy the hell out of that book.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

Funny you should bring this up, here in the netherlands we are currently chasticing some political figure-head for his racist stances.

Now I can only speak for myself here, but from where I'm standing, race segregation starts out with an innocent move on the discrminated party's part.
Over here, you hear a lot of bitching about them polish and morroccons and turks, allegedly 'caus they take our jobs, have annoying kids and are...GASP...muslim. (save for the polish)
Now, very few people actually interact with them on a dayly basis, they often don't share a neighbourhood with them, and this is because immigrants usually want to live in a neighbourhood with like-minded individuals.

So the turks/morroccons/polish start living in the same areas away from the native dutch, a few people get a bad name and BOOM, the whole neighbourhood gets a bad name, and since it's an immigrant dominated neighbourhood, the immigrants get a bad name.

Now, you could say that you can solve the problem by not concentrating these immigrants in one place, allow people to intergrate more easily into a foreign culture and share some of their own culture in the process, but most of them don't want to, they'd rather have a neighbour they share their native tongue with.

In my opinion, it's all a scape-goat tactic, the job market is shit and banning immigrant workers is not going to change that, the people saying otherwise are probably a politician fishing for racist votes or news-attention.

 

[Robert Marrs]

I learned to brush of claims of racism a long time ago. Living as a white man in the south I have had people assume I am racist right away for no reason other than where I live or how I speak. Honestly if you are really a racist people calling you racist isn't something that is going to shame you. Real racists don't care what you think. Lately it seems like its more of a weapon than anything to use against people who are afraid of being labeled racist. I have been called a racist by people who didn't get their way (like not letting someone use a customers only bathroom, not giving someone money etc) and I have been called racist for simply being white.

Eventually you have to realize that there is a big difference between implied racism and actual racism. People with a victim mentality or people who carry racial guilt will be the first one to make those kinds of claims of implied racism. Most of them have never experienced or even seen real, your kind ain't welcome 'round here racism so they have to make it exist where it does not. At the end of the day if your not actively discriminating against another race its not worth worrying about. There will always be someone who will call your actions racist regardless and you will never please them. Don't worry about the nitpickers who will do anything they can to brand you as something you are not.

 

[ninjaRiv]

I don't really know how it works in Australia, but here in Britain it's definitely exaggerated to a point.

Yeah, I'm a white guy. But I grew up hanging around a lot of Asian people and there's a big Asian community in the area I live in. Everyone I have spoken to thinks it's a joke; the idea of not being able to fly flags, say merry Christmas, etc. In fact, it's quite often white middle class politicians who assume these measures are needed (Which is pretty racist in itself). While pretty much everyone acknowledges the fact that racism is an issue (particularly towards Easter Europeans, actually) it's still an exaggerated thing. Racism is a problem, it's just not the problem everyone makes it out to be. A lot of the racism stems from what people see as "preferential treatment." You heard stories all the time about how "native" people are given shit pay and can't get benefits while asylum seekers get housing, benefits, etc all the time. Add to that stories about foreigners getting hired over white people thanks to political correctness and other, similar stuff and that builds up into resentment. Racism, for the most part, isn't born out of hatred for difference so much as it is the things they hear about treatment etc. So, when someone says "you paki bastard" or anything similar, it's often because they're constantly hearing this negative and often false or exaggerated stories of preferential treatment.

So, while racism based on basic hatred of difference is definitely exaggerated, racism based on anger over shitty news stories is definitely a problem. I assume it's similar in Australia? Where it's more based on the media and anger over that? Also, the media definitely turns mountains into mole hill when it comes to racism.

EDIT: Actually, a company who has the offices above the one I work for is currently battling a racism case; they fired this guy who claims it was due to race. No mention of the fact that he literally could not do the job. He didn't know how to use a tape measure (Seriously).

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

Yeah, Australia is a racist country, with racist policies regarding refugees and Aboriginal Australians, and racist people who like to make up false statistics about how all the icky brown people are leeching our tax money and murdering/raping their own children. I don't think it's overplayed at all. In fact I think it's completely understated.

Now replace, "Australia", with any other country in this world and you may get the same thing. I'm not saying it right, clearly it's wrong but every country has similar problems. Do you judge the whole country by the actions of the smaller few? No, but stating that a country is racist, is a bit far. Heck, even here in the UK, we have political parties that are extremely right wing and hate those that aren't part of their "group/culture" coming up with false information to try and make anyone who is "different" out to be the villain and evil of the world. It doesn't mean the UK is racist, just the small few for some reason has a louder voice and want to gain more power in order to cause more problems.

Plenty of people from the UK are racist.

Have you ever been 'up north'? I don't want to sound regionalist, but pretty much everyone who lives North of me is a bastard.

OT: I'd hardly say that Australia is a racist country. It has problems with racist people in its country, but that is true of all countries. I'm sure there are plenty of countries that are far worse at it, I think it has just been hopped on by the media because of certain recent stories of gross racism within Australia. I don't think there is a stereotype or general opinion of Australians as racist though, at least that's not the impression I get here in the UK.

We have plenty of stories that crop up here in the UK too, of people being assaulted or shouted/abused on public transport (quite a common one), so I hardly think Australia is alone in its media coverage of racist incidents. But as far as I know the general opinion of the UK isn't that it is a 'racist country'. Although we have more than our fair share of bastards.

 

[Parasondox]

-

I judge countries by the actions of their government and the general political climate. How do you judge countries?

The people. Or to be more clear, the majority of the countries population that has a similar mind set into how the country should function with reasonable and understanding debate and should be portrayed to the rest of the world. Yes it's true, in a democratic nation, it's the people that vote for who they want to be part of the government to represent them BUT many times you will get those who were just elected in, do the "bait and switch" approach.

Look at the USA for example. Do I like how their government has a weird influence over our (UK) government when it comes to international matters like spying, terror "suspects" and diplomatic relations? No. But it doesn't mean I hate/blame the entire nation and label the whole country and everyone in it. Do I like how some of their police officers, including ours, treat minorities and anyone else who doesn't fit a certain quota, poorly and abusively even if someone looks at an officer in the wrong way? Hell noooooooooooooooooo. I still wouldn't judge the entire country and label them as being racist because of a few bad apples that for some reason get so much attention. It's the mentality of the majority of the population I judge and not just one group (government) that most people don't even trust during their term.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I don't really know how it works in Australia, but here in Britain it's definitely exaggerated to a point.

Yeah, I'm a white guy. But I grew up hanging around a lot of Asian people and there's a big Asian community in the area I live in. Everyone I have spoken to thinks it's a joke; the idea of not being able to fly flags, say merry Christmas, etc. In fact, it's quite often white middle class politicians who assume these measures are needed (Which is pretty racist in itself). While pretty much everyone acknowledges the fact that racism is an issue (particularly towards Easter Europeans, actually) it's still an exaggerated thing. Racism is a problem, it's just not the problem everyone makes it out to be. A lot of the racism stems from what people see as "preferential treatment." You heard stories all the time about how "native" people are given shit pay and can't get benefits while asylum seekers get housing, benefits, etc all the time. Add to that stories about foreigners getting hired over white people thanks to political correctness and other, similar stuff and that builds up into resentment. Racism, for the most part, isn't born out of hatred for difference so much as it is the things they hear about treatment etc. So, when someone says "you paki bastard" or anything similar, it's often because they're constantly hearing this negative and often false or exaggerated stories of preferential treatment.

So, while racism based on basic hatred of difference is definitely exaggerated, racism based on anger over shitty news stories is definitely a problem. I assume it's similar in Australia? Where it's more based on the media and anger over that? Also, the media definitely turns mountains into mole hill when it comes to racism.

EDIT: Actually, a company who has the offices above the one I work for is currently battling a racism case; they fired this guy who claims it was due to race. No mention of the fact that he literally could not do the job. He didn't know how to use a tape measure (Seriously).

Aside: I love your typo of 'Easter Europeans'. It makes me think of countries of easter bunnies in eastern europe. Very magical and happy places.

I can say that as far as UK employment tribunals are concerned, if that truly is the details of the case then he won't win if he claims he was unfairly dismissed for incompetence, but if he can prove racial abuse or differential treatment, then he could easily get a payout and justifiably.

You can receive a payment for abuse and for 'hurt feelings', so it may delve deeper than you think. Just pulling the race card with no justification won't get you anywhere, at least from my experience. If anything, it would hinder your case.

But yes, if you bring an employment tribunal to your employers door, it is often easier for them just to concede and settle out of court. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is, whether the case was justified or not. The government tried to lessen this happening by introducing a fee for employment tribunals (they said it was to discourage people who lack a more solid case, I think it's just an escape to cause a smaller workload at the expense of the workforce/people, but that's a different debate) and it has definitely brought the numbers down from the previous year. I can't remember the exact figure, but I think they almost halved.

 

[ninjaRiv]

I don't really know how it works in Australia, but here in Britain it's definitely exaggerated to a point.

Yeah, I'm a white guy. But I grew up hanging around a lot of Asian people and there's a big Asian community in the area I live in. Everyone I have spoken to thinks it's a joke; the idea of not being able to fly flags, say merry Christmas, etc. In fact, it's quite often white middle class politicians who assume these measures are needed (Which is pretty racist in itself). While pretty much everyone acknowledges the fact that racism is an issue (particularly towards Easter Europeans, actually) it's still an exaggerated thing. Racism is a problem, it's just not the problem everyone makes it out to be. A lot of the racism stems from what people see as "preferential treatment." You heard stories all the time about how "native" people are given shit pay and can't get benefits while asylum seekers get housing, benefits, etc all the time. Add to that stories about foreigners getting hired over white people thanks to political correctness and other, similar stuff and that builds up into resentment. Racism, for the most part, isn't born out of hatred for difference so much as it is the things they hear about treatment etc. So, when someone says "you paki bastard" or anything similar, it's often because they're constantly hearing this negative and often false or exaggerated stories of preferential treatment.

So, while racism based on basic hatred of difference is definitely exaggerated, racism based on anger over shitty news stories is definitely a problem. I assume it's similar in Australia? Where it's more based on the media and anger over that? Also, the media definitely turns mountains into mole hill when it comes to racism.

EDIT: Actually, a company who has the offices above the one I work for is currently battling a racism case; they fired this guy who claims it was due to race. No mention of the fact that he literally could not do the job. He didn't know how to use a tape measure (Seriously).

Aside: I love your typo of 'Easter Europeans'. It makes me think of countries of easter bunnies in eastern europe. Very magical and happy places.

I can say that as far as UK employment tribunals are concerned, if that truly is the details of the case then he won't win if he claims he was unfairly dismissed for incompetence, but if he can prove racial abuse or differential treatment, then he could easily get a payout and justifiably.

You can receive a payment for abuse and for 'hurt feelings', so it may delve deeper than you think. Just pulling the race card with no justification won't get you anywhere, at least from my experience. If anything, it would hinder your case.

But yes, if you bring an employment tribunal to your employers door, it is often easier for them just to concede and settle out of court. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is, whether the case was justified or not. The government tried to lessen this happening by introducing a fee for employment tribunals (they said it was to discourage people who lack a more solid case, I think it's just an escape to cause a smaller workload at the expense of the workforce/people, but that's a different debate) and it has definitely brought the numbers down from the previous year. I can't remember the exact figure, but I think they almost halved.

Dammit, I thought I was doing so well with spelling... Spell check said I was all cool.

I did not know any of that... But the guy literally just brought it out of nowhere. He was a pretty cool guy, despite his incompetence. I spoke to him briefly a couple of times while on cigarette beaks (the break area is actually where he would do a lot of his work). I brought it up more just because it's an example of how racism can be unfounded and be used as an excuse.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

If you strictly follow the dictionary definition(s) of 'racism':

"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."

then a good chunk of what is often deemed 'racist' by people and the media is really up for interpretation and pretty much in the eye of the beholder. Some things I've heard people claim are racist:

-Not liking rap music makes you a racist.
-Saying "I haven't met a lot of (insert specific race here) men/women who I think are attractive" makes you a racist.
-Supporting affirmative action makes you a racist.
-Not supporting affirmative action makes you a racist.
-Supporting gun control makes you racist.
-Not supporting gun control makes you racist.
-Pointing out the statistics of the effects of out-of-wedlock vs. in-wedlock births makes you a racist.
etc. etc.

My point isn't that racism by the strictest definition doesn't exist, or that 'racist laws' don't exist, but that the term itself has gotten so muddled and has become such a "go-to point" in so many arguments that it has lost a lot of meaning over time. It functions because it can take otherwise complicated issues and reduce them down to black and white: "This law/policy/belief is racist, racism=bad, bad=wrong, therefore if you support this law/policy/belief, you're racist, and therefore wrong".

 

[lacktheknack]

A few days ago, I was sitting next to a cheery Pakistani girl and her boyfriend, who were chatting and minding their own business. Suddenly, a woman in front of her tried to hit her, told her to shut her fucking mouth, said that we ought to deport all the filthy immigrant sand niggers, and complimented her on her mustache before marching off the bus.

(For the record, the Pakistani girl had significantly less facial hair than the woman attacking her.)

The girl then leaned back, looking upset and said "Not again."

And I live in CANADA, land of immigration and accepting all other cultures.

So no, I don't think racism is overplayed. Not when this happens on a regular basis.

 

[l33t.heathen]

History major here correcting your statement. Race doesn't go back to ancient Greece at all. You're probably thinking that because there were slaves in ancient Greece, it was a racial thing, but it wasn't. Slaves were enemies captured in battle. To say that race had anything to do with it is anachronistic.
//..middle cut out cause it was long and stupid..//
Race is a tool of imperialism. It justified European conquests around the world and has been used to artificially categorize and separate us.

This is just utterly ridiculous and completely blows my mind that someone claiming to have a history major could be so completely ignorant.

First of all racism has been around since the beginning of the human race. Back then it would be more correctly associated with clans but if you were of a different clan then you were lesser or the enemy. This is true of nearly every culture from native Americans to Chinese to early Europeans. This belief that in the "noble savage" is a remnant of the imperialism of the British empire and all that carried with it. People are people. The reason white people were so successful is because of geopolitics and internal political organization. They were the first to really unite while their was a belief in humanism which lead to a technological and economic boom. When a country gets prosperous it expands. When a country and a people expand they have to go somewhere.
Right now we are looking back with our modern sensibilities at what another culture which didn't have the benefit of our experience and knowledge. Imagine for a moment that you have been raised to know that technology is civilization. Manners is civilizations. Proper dress and grooming is civilization. What are you going to think when you encounter a people with none of these things? Probably pretty much the same reaction you get when looking at a homeless person. That instinctual judgement that says "this is less than me." Is it nice? no but its there. Again forget your modern sensibilities. Obviously these people are less than people but more than animals. So they need to be watched and used and brought to civilization.
This is just an extension of the clans I was talking about earlier. Before a clan was simply people who wander together. Then it became people who share a village, then a city, then several cities and then a country. As technology has expanded our world our clans become bigger and bigger but at the same time we also have allegiance to the smaller clans. People who are different than us but not as different as those people over these are viewed as less than the people who are most like us but better than others.
Its ridiculous to blame this on white people for so many reasons but let me pull a few historical things out.
The Japanese prior to WWI (Totally racist because of white people?)
The mongols (Went to fight other countries and kill them because they were all the same)
The ways Jews have been treated pretty much at any time in the past (We aren't killing them because of their race its cause of their religion! but that's also the white man's fault.)