# Accusations of racism, sexism, and homophobia **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 21, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201 "2012-01-21T06:21:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/1 "2012-01-21T06:21:55Z")
If I remember correctly, several of the white posters on this site haver argued that accusing someone of racism is just about the most horrible thing you can call a person. Presumably this also applies to charges of sexism and homophobia. Anyway, if one poster rather frivolously accuses of racism, sexism, or homophobia, what should be the appropriate response. A caution, a formal warning, or an outright banning? Now, for those who argue that only a caution is recommended, does that mean that we ought to rethink the idea that false accusations of racism/sexism/homophobia is the worst insult possible since I’ve seen lots of people given formal warnings(including admittedly myself) for making statements that might be considered insults but don’t include anything nearly as strong as charges of racism or sexism. In fact, since I’ve seen people given cautions for accusations of racism in which the accused poster made a statement that was unquestionably racist does that mean that frivolous charges of racism or sexism require for the sake of board integrity formal warnings. That being said, I’m not omniscient and white people(as well as minorities other than myself) have different opinions. So, what do people think. Should a charge of racism/sexism/homophobia warrant a caution, formal warning, or a banning, particularly if the person accused of such had not clearly been guilty of racism, sexism, or homophobia. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/2 "2012-01-21T16:18:29Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Anyway, if one poster rather frivolously accuses of racism, sexism, or homophobia, what should be the appropriate response. Accuses whom? If you mean other posters, then we don’t need a special rule. Posters usually get a mod note for first offense, and if there is a pattern, a warning. If you mean non-posters, then the do not be a jerk rule applies. You’re a jerk if you thread shit constantly with any accusations. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/3 "2012-01-21T17:01:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Accuses whom? > > If you mean other posters, then we don’t need a special rule. Posters usually get a mod note for first offense, and if there is a pattern, a warning. > > If you mean non-posters, then the do not be a jerk rule applies. You’re a jerk if you thread shit constantly with any accusations. I see. Thanks, much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/4 "2012-01-21T17:36:53Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > If I remember correctly, several of the white posters on this site haver argued that accusing someone of racism is just about the most horrible thing you can call a person. Yeah, but you know how white people are. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/5 "2012-01-21T17:53:26Z")
I didn’t think calling someone a racist was considered an insult. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dreamadeidre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f475e1/32.png) [@Dreamadeidre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreamadeidre)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/6 "2012-01-21T18:28:50Z")
I’ve got several children of my own( white) and a rainbow of children I have been blessed to help raise. All of which would be considered horrible if you confuse truth and bluntness with racism. All of them get a lot of entertainment from THEIR and their friends"stereotypes" ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/7 "2012-01-21T18:30:42Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > {snip} …if one poster rather frivolously accuses of racism, sexism, or homophobia, what should be the appropriate response? {snip} IMO, the appropriate response should be, “Cite?” ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/8 "2012-01-21T20:23:05Z")
I was given a warning, can’t remember if it was official or not, for calling a poster racist after posting something unquestionably racist. So it does seem to me that the attitude on the boards is that the accusation of racism is more serious and damaging than some racist chugging along, posting racial barbs as often as they can. See every thread Chen01 posts in. He gets warnings for derailing threads trying to skew the convo to how much he hates blacks, but mods also give warnings to people for calling him out on it. I can’t figure out why. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/9 "2012-01-21T21:42:25Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I was given a warning, can’t remember if it was official or not, for calling a poster racist after posting something unquestionably racist. > > So it does seem to me that the attitude on the boards is that the accusation of racism is more serious and damaging than some racist chugging along, posting racial barbs as often as they can. > > See every thread Chen01 posts in. He gets warnings for derailing threads trying to skew the convo to how much he hates blacks, but mods also give warnings to people for calling him out on it. I can’t figure out why. Og help me for having to defend **Chen** , but he doesn’t say he hates black people. Calling someone a racist can warrant a warning just like calling someone stupid or childish or, for that matter, boring. It’s an insult, whether true or not. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/10 "2012-01-21T22:04:11Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Yeah, but you know how white people are. Am I right? Huh. I didn’t say anything negative about white people. I merely noted that many white people on this board believe that being accused of racism is just about the worst thing one can be accused of, and that the term “racist/sexist/homophobe” etc are just about the strongest terms one can use but that they shouldn’t be thrown around lightly. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/11 "2012-01-21T23:13:01Z")
How do you know which people are white? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/12 "2012-01-21T23:45:18Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > How do you know which people are white? 😕 They all look alike to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/13 "2012-01-22T00:29:15Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > How do you know which people are white? 😕 They smell different. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/14 "2012-01-22T00:38:46Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I was given a warning, can’t remember if it was official or not, for calling a poster racist after posting something unquestionably racist. I’ve also been admonished but not formally warned for calling someone racist. It make arguing with racists hard when you have to keep dancing around the obvious while they can spout bigotry all day long and you can’t even point out that it _is_ bigotry. This board is very racist-friendly unfortunately. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Og help me for having to defend **Chen** , but he doesn’t say he hates black people. Irrelevant, racist isn’t a synonym for hatred. Regarding certain “races” as inferior or evil counts just as much even if you don’t say you hate them. > [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I merely noted that many white people on this board believe that being accused of racism is just about the worst thing one can be accused of, and that the term “racist/sexist/homophobe” etc are just about the strongest terms one can use but that they shouldn’t be thrown around lightly. > [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > How do you know which people are white? 😕 Bring a mirror to your computer. Their posts don’t show up in the mirror. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/15 "2012-01-22T00:43:11Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’ve also been admonished but not formally warned for calling someone racist. It make arguing with racists hard when you have to keep dancing around the obvious while they can spout bigotry all day long and you can’t even point out that it _is_ bigotry. This board is very racist-friendly unfortunately. I can not of course comment on the exact situation that happened to you but I can see the logic of why you would be admonished. Calling out a particular comment as being racist seems like it should be fine. Calling someone a racist is commenting on their entire character and not on a particular view point or comment. That’s how I see it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/16 "2012-01-22T00:49:31Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > They smell different. Huh, imagine that. I never noticed. Maybe that’s why my old neighborhood smelled like Lucky Charms. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/17 "2012-01-22T01:01:25Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@John Mace](#): > > > > Og help me for having to defend Chen, but he doesn’t say he hates black people. > > Irrelevant, racist isn’t a synonym for hatred. Uhm, yes it is relevant since I was responding to this (emphasis added): > [@rogerbox](#): > > See every thread Chen01 posts in. He gets warnings for derailing threads trying to skew the convo to how much he hates blacks… ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/18 "2012-01-22T01:11:56Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’ve also been admonished but not formally warned for calling someone racist. It make arguing with racists hard when you have to keep dancing around the obvious while they can spout bigotry all day long and you can’t even point out that it _is_ bigotry. This board is very racist-friendly unfortunately. You cannot call other posters names outside the BBQ Pit. There is no rule against pointing out how and why a particular statement or argument is racist or homophobic or whatever. Of course, it will go better with the accuser if the accusation is presented in a way that addresses the error rather than being an insult toward the purportedly prejudiced poster that one has attempted (or has not bothered to attempt) to disguise. As to being “racist-friendly,” in an effort to permit wide ranging discussions, we tend to refrain from shutting down any mannner of people who openly bear prejudices of one sort or another. The hope is that the errors of their obvious prejudices will be corrected by other posters, or, if they appear to be incapable of recognizing or correcting their prejudices, that other posters will simply ignore the nonsense. It is not a perfect system, but we prefer that to stifling all contentious discussion. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/19 "2012-01-22T04:01:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Og help me for having to defend **Chen** , but he doesn’t say he hates black people. I didn’t say he SAID he hates black people, he just goes out of his way to talk badly about them and makes it readily apparent that he does hate them. Are you able to read his racial hijacks and NOT come away from them knowing exactly which races he tiers where? If you don’t you’re not paying attention or willfully ignorant. This forum is way too tolerant of typical racists who dance around what they really feel and just infer things, and when you call out the games for what they are, you are somehow the one doing something wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/20 "2012-01-22T05:08:27Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’ve also been admonished but not formally warned for calling someone racist. It make arguing with racists hard when you have to keep dancing around the obvious while they can spout bigotry all day long and you can’t even point out that it _is_ bigotry. Is there a distinction between calling someone a racist or a bigot, and calling what someone says racism or bigotry? The former, of course, you’re not supposed to do, at least outside the Pit, but is it okay to say something like “Those are racist comments” or “That’s a bigoted argument”? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201.md?page=2)