# Are you a racist? Warning signs **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 7, 2014, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519 "2014-07-07T08:12:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/101 "2014-07-07T21:50:21Z")
> [@chicagowhitesox1173](#): > > I don’t want you or anyone defending me. I think you’re in luck. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/102 "2014-07-07T21:54:19Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I don’t think this list means anything or that people here get to define the term racist, but if they do then being a racist is the way to go and that’s fine too. > > What I do object to is being defined as racist based on these qualifications and then having the term used with the connotation of being some sort of KKK member or the like. So, if I understand you: You’re okay with being a racist, but not if being a racist is a bad thing or anything. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/103 "2014-07-07T21:55:54Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > By the standards of this OP, I’m definitely a racist. Check on #s 1, 3, 6, and 10-12 (1 & 6 apply only on this board). And that’s fine. I don’t think this list means anything or that people here get to define the term racist, but if they do then being a racist is the way to go and that’s fine too. Seriously? There are “things you say about other races that you wouldn’t say in front of somebody belonging to that race”? What things? For 10-12: > [@](#): > > Do you think that other people agree with your views on race but are afraid to say so? > > Do you think there’s a double standard on race? > > Do you ever ask how far anti-racism is going to go? What things do people agree with you about race but are afraid to say? What double standard is there for race? And what do you mean by asking ‘how far is anti-racism going to go’? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/104 "2014-07-07T21:56:32Z")
> [@bup](#): > > You’ve never even made a comment about another race? Not even in elementary school or middle school? :rolleyes: > > Please don’t think I’m defending \*\*whitesox1173 \*\*or anything. Ignorant jackass and all that. I just think what you said is ridiculous. I really haven’t, but I appreciate you think it’s ridiculous, I guess? See, my mother went to great, great pains to make sure I was raised color-blind. She has a ton of faults, and I have a bunch of my own, but that’s one thing I learned in spades from the time I was old enough to do anything. Add in that this was the 70s, busing was huge, our whole neighborhood was racially diverse, and by the time I was at the end of grade school, several things had happened… Of my five bestfriends, three of them were black (one boy and two girls), my grandfather died and sent my mother into a religious spiral, and I changed districts into a new junior high. The first thing made me see all people the same, the latter two kept me too busy to start the racist side trips of junior high. For example, I would’ve been concerned for my mortal soul if I’d have even once uttered the word “nigger.” Finally, I was old enough to he beyond such bullshit and, by the time I was an adult, my thinking was so ingrained that when something happens that I become enraged beyond belief (like I do sometimes here on the Dope), I can wallow with the best of them and embarrass the hell out of myself. But I never, ever think of someone’s race as a way to insult them. I’m just not wired that way. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/105 "2014-07-07T21:57:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If you don’t want people to call you a racist, **magellan01** , just stop saying racist shit. It’s a lot easier than this mixture of begging and nitpicking you try to execute in thread after thread. And here we have the precise game. It’s assholes like you who want to conflate racial with racist. GFY. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/106 "2014-07-07T21:58:01Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > One thing that interests me about #10 & #12 is the correlation to thought control in totalitarian countries. I know a guy who grew up under the communists in Romania and what he describes is similar to what I see in other sources. The worst part is the whinyness. You’re not being oppressed, dude. Grow a pair. > [@magellan01](#): > > And here we have the precise game. It’s assholes like you who want to conflate racial with racist. There’s no game. You’re a racist, end of story. You’re just trying to cook up a distinction because you’re too much of a weenie to stand by your views and get called a racist. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/107 "2014-07-07T22:00:27Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > You forgot “Have you ever been on the other side of a debate with a liberal who has run out of arguments?” > > Regards, > Shodan And the coveted Golden Turd On A Pole goes to… > [@chicagowhitesox1173](#): > > Have you ever done any of these things? I would think every person in every race has done stuff like this. …Shockingly enough, not **Shodan**. Sure, it’s _that_ kind of thread, but still, **Shodan** does have a very impressive record when it comes to winning the award for “shittiest post in the thread”. I’m kind of a racist. When I’m around my mother’s African friends, I occasionally end up thinking (and very rarely saying) very stupid things about how they act, speak, dress, etc. based on their race. This is stupid, nasty racism with no real grounding, and as an ardent skeptic, it bothers me that I can’t shake this irrational bullshit. The difference between us is, when I do that, _I feel **bad** about it!_ I don’t make apologies for myself or pretend “that’s what everyone does”, I recognize “okay, that was wrong, let’s fucking stop that, compensate for any biases in behavior, and try _very_ hard not to let it keep happening, and apologize if I said something stupid”. You still haven’t gotten there. Keep trying - I’m sure you’ll get above the level of “total fucking troglodyte” sooner or later. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s a big difference between being a little racist and being okay with being a little racist. We all have faults but we should acknowledge they are faults and work on fixing them. Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/108 "2014-07-07T22:00:52Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > And here we have the precise game. It’s assholes like you who want to conflate racial with racist. GFY. :rolleyes: After all the discussion we’ve had on this, I still don’t understand what you mean by the term “racial”, and how it’s in any way a useful term. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/109 "2014-07-07T22:02:24Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > After all the discussion we’ve had on this, I still don’t understand what you mean by the term “racial”, and how it’s in any way a useful term. It’s a thing that would be racist except **magellan01** said it. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/110 "2014-07-07T22:18:31Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Seriously? There are “things you say about other races that you wouldn’t say in front of somebody belonging to that race”? What things? An example off the top of my head, I think the fact that an overwhelming majority of black people believed OJ was innocent and was framed, and the fact that overwhelming majorities of black voters supported BO over HRC, is correlated to their ethnicity. I would not mention this to a black person IRL. Or anything else like that. In fact in general it’s best to stay away from racial issues with people IRL. You never know what another person is sensitive about. > [@](#): > > What things do people agree with you about race but are afraid to say? What double standard is there for race? And what do you mean by asking ‘how far is anti-racism going to go’? These all relate to political correctness and racial hypersensitivity. IMO many people who agree that these are being carried too far would rather not say so, at least in any sort of forceful manner, for fear of being accused of being racist themselves. The double-standard is in that these standards are not nearly the same for members of minority groups and for whites. And the question about how far it will go relates to the same - how hyper-PC can things get? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/111 "2014-07-07T22:19:05Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > By the standards of this OP, I’m definitely a racist. Check on #s 1, 3, 6, and 10-12 (1 & 6 apply only on this board). And that’s fine. I don’t think this list means anything or that people here get to define the term racist, but if they do then being a racist is the way to go and that’s fine too. There’s a reason it’s called “warning signs”. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/112 "2014-07-07T22:25:07Z")
You refer to people who have a distaste for racist talk as “the offenderati.” ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/113 "2014-07-07T22:25:58Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Why? > > Even if it’s true that racism’s never going to entirely go away, I don’t see why that should be considered a reason to downplay or ignore it. If you truly want it to go away, at some point we have to give it a chance and try to live in such a world. So, fewer cries of racism—more accurate cries—I think will get us closer to that place. Race will be something we probably will always see, but hopefully it will matter as much as eye color. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/114 "2014-07-07T22:29:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The worst part is the whinyness. You’re not being oppressed, dude. Grow a pair. Why don’t you grow a brain. And some backbone that would allow you to not be so much mouth and so little substance. You can start by backing up your bullshit below by citing statements from me that are racist. > [@Marley23](#): > > There’s no game. You’re a racist, end of story. You’re just trying to cook up a distinction because you’re too much of a weenie to stand by your views and get called a racist. Let’s see them, big mouth. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/115 "2014-07-07T22:38:59Z")
> [@Fortheringay-Phipps](#): > > I think the fact that an overwhelming majority of black people believed OJ was innocent and was framed, and the fact that overwhelming majorities of black voters supported BO over HRC, is correlated to their ethnicity. Neither of these things is actually true, though. They’re perceptions you hold, but reality is different. Are false perceptions of race inherently racist? Is not asking your black friend about OJ or BO racist? If they gave you an explanation that was different than “because he was black” in both cases, would you consider them deluded or a liar? If you asked two blacks and got two different answers, would it blow your mind? Cite: [Blacks believing in OJ innocence at 40%](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/26/AR2007092602351.html) Cite: [7% more black people voted for Obama than Bill Clinton. Again, not an overwhelming majority](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/black-people-obama-2012-support-prejudice_n_1964609.html) Perhaps I’m being unfair, because there aren’t actually any racist that views that come from a place other than ignorance, so what’s the point, and this is thread is about denial, not ownership. I appreciate that your posts are honest and thoughtful, amidst all this ridiculous trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/116 "2014-07-07T22:40:38Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > And here we have the precise game. It’s assholes like you who want to conflate racial with racist. GFY. :rolleyes: [Moderating] Telling other posters to go fuck themselves, even via anagram, is against board rules. Please avoid this in the future. No warning issued. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/117 "2014-07-07T22:40:46Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > We’ve been over this, and the definitions are pretty clear. You just don’t like that saying “black people are inherently genetically less intelligent, on average” (and the like) is considered a racist thing to say. First of all, just to be clear, that is not something I’ve said nor a notion I believe, and have stated so. The question is if one can have a clinical discussion about race, or race + skin color/hair texture/eye shape/nose shape/intelligence or anything else without it being racist. One race may be more intelligent than another. Or they may not. I don’t know. But if someone wants to look at it, that doesn’t make them a racist. If such a study were done and was found to be reliable and blacks came out on top, do you really think that such a discussion would be labeled as racist? The question is about science and race. Can their be scientific discussions about race (racial" that are not racist? I say “yes”. Look at medicine. If you believe “no”, then you’re just shutting down discussion because of a potential finding that may be uncomfortable for one group. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/118 "2014-07-07T22:41:51Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [Moderating] > Telling other posters to go fuck themselves, even via anagram, is against board rules. Please avoid this in the future. > > No warning issued. > [/Moderating] Good For You. ---
**Author:** ![chicagowhitesox1173](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@chicagowhitesox1173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicagowhitesox1173)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/119 "2014-07-07T22:45:58Z")
> [@LibrarySpy](#): > > Neither of these things is actually true, though. They’re perceptions you hold, but reality is different. > Are false perceptions of race inherently racist? > > Is not asking your black friend about OJ or BO racist? If they gave you an explanation that was different than “because he was black” in both cases, would you consider them deluded or a liar? If you asked two blacks and got two different answers, would it blow your mind? > > Cite: [Blacks believing in OJ innocence at 40%](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/26/AR2007092602351.html) > Cite: [7% more black people voted for Obama than Bill Clinton. Again, not an overwhelming majority](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/black-people-obama-2012-support-prejudice_n_1964609.html) > > Perhaps I’m being unfair, because there aren’t actually any racist that views that come from a place other than ignorance, so what’s the point, and this is thread is about denial, not ownership. I appreciate that your posts are honest and thoughtful, amidst all this ridiculous trolling. The article says that in 1995 71 percent of blacks thought he was innocent. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519/120 "2014-07-07T22:47:43Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > First of all, just to be clear, that is not something I’ve said nor a notion I believe, and have stated so. I know. But I remember you arguing that it wasn’t racist to make this claim, at least if one really thought they had good evidence. Again… all people who make racist claims think they have good evidence. Why are some of them special? > [@](#): > > The question is if one can have a clinical discussion about race, or race + skin color/hair texture/eye shape/nose shape/intelligence or anything else without it being racist. One race may be more intelligent than another. Or they may not. I don’t know. But if someone wants to look at it, that doesn’t make them a racist. If such a study were done and was found to be reliable and blacks came out on top, do you really think that such a discussion would be labeled as racist? Racism is not (and never has been) about superficial traits. If someone claims “black people are inherently genetically smarter than other races”, that’s a racist thing to claim. It doesn’t matter if they think they really, truly have good evidence. Nearly all people who make racist claims think they really, truly have good evidence, so I don’t know why or how you would want to separate some of these claims as somehow special and not racist. Studying things is not racist. Looking for the genes that may be related to intelligence is not racist. Declaring that one race is intrinsically genetically superior or inferior in intelligence is a racist thing to declare. > [@](#): > > The question is about science and race. Can their be scientific discussions about race (racial" that are not racist? I say “yes”. Look at medicine. If you believe “no”, then you’re just shutting down discussion because of a potential finding that may be uncomfortable for one group. Of course there can be scientific discussions about race. But the ones about black people and intelligence fall out of this category the moment someone claims that one race is smarter or dumber than another. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist-warning-signs/692519.md?page=7)