# 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:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/41 "2012-01-23T01:37:25Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Because I’m an intelligent adult, I can tell from a person’s systematic, repeated actions how they feel. MAAAYBE being generous, 5% of racists I have ever encountered would meet your “Unless they say they hate (group) you can’t tell” BS criteria. > > It is obvious from Chen’s posts that he hates Blacks since he posts negatively about them, off topic, repeatedly. He doesn’t have to say “I hate blacks” for it to be obvious, what is it about racism that makes your barrier so high? If someone drove a pink car, dressed in all pink, and said “I hope I can find a pink dress at the mall for the party this saturday”, you would be the pedant robot sitting there smugly saying “You cannot know that pink is one of her favorite colors unless she signs a sworn affidavit stating 'I, Jane consider Pink my favorite color”. > > Human beings can draw conclusions about people’s feelings from their actions, which more often than not speak louder than words even. Draw whatever conclusion you wish in your own mind. Do not, however, post that opinion in a way that insults another poster outside the BBQ Pit. (And, for goodness sakes, do not try to make the nonsense claim that “it is not an insult; it is the truth.” Truth is a defense against libel, not against a charge of being insulting.) If you review any number of threads in which Chen019 has participated, you will find quite a few comments that take issue with his statements–up to and including comments that he has posted a racist argument–without drawing the ire of any of the staff. That you find some need to characterize a poster in an insulting manner is your problem, not ours. You are welcome to make all the disparaging remarks that you wish, (with a few limitations), in The BBQ Pit. You are not permitted to make personal disparaging remarks outside The BBQ Pit. Name-calling does nothing to score genuine points in a debate in GD. Name-calling does nothing to promote an open expression of opinions in IMHO or MPSIMS. If the only way that you can challenge a poster’s beliefs is to resort to name-calling, you are simply admitting that their ideas are more coherent than yours. Since the currency of this message board is one of ideas, we actively discourage trying to silence posters through name-calling. Feel free to set your ideas in opposition to the ideas of other posters; do not resort to shutting down conversations through name-calling. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/42 "2012-01-23T06:08:41Z")
The answer seems reasonably clear (as such things go), attack the argument not the poster. “Your argument is racist” will generally slide unless a thread has gotten too hot. “Your argument is based on several racist tropes and is unsubstantiated to boot” is generally coated in teflon. “You are a racist/being a racist/sound like a racist” will generally get your wrist smacked. I think. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/43 "2012-01-28T01:25:08Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > How do you know which people are white? 😕 > [@Loach](#): > > They all look alike to me. > [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > They smell different. But, do they _ **taste** _ different? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201/44 "2012-01-28T05:44:34Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > So, what do people think… How about Lighten up? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-racism-sexism-and-homophobia/610201.md?page=2)