# Are you a racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966 "2017-10-04T17:55:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/81 "2017-10-15T22:18:14Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > And rightfully so but black and whites – listen up, this will stun you – they have different histories and experiences. And in the USA, we’re on unequal ends of a power relationship. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/82 "2017-10-16T00:35:49Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > But what you are describing is simply NOT racism. Human beings all have biases and perspective-limiting factors. But to expand the meaning of “racist” to include all of our prejudices and biases is counterproductive. IMO. If that bias is towards or against a specific race, then it very much is. Those little biases are the same thing that make KKK people racist. They are different in degree, but not in kind. Where I draw the line is in saying that makes someone “a racist.” That has a completely different meaning than acknowledging you have some racist bias. “A racist” is like “a liar.” “A liar” is someone who regularly does more than small white lies. It’s not someone who lies once, or someone who tells grandma he loves the socks she bought him. I am not a racist. But I do have to deal with racism, like everyone else. If you think you are immune to racism, that makes you more likely to have unexamined racist thoughts, and to have them lead to racist actions without your knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/83 "2017-10-16T00:52:22Z")
Biases are NOT racism. Racists have biases but also fundamentally believe in the inferiority of other races. Biases arising from in group/outgroup dynamics are, in themselves, not racism. Yes, racists can use this dynamic for bigoted reasons but racism requires some level of consciousness. Biases are not conscious beliefs, they are sub-conscious attitudes. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/84 "2017-10-16T01:40:02Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Biases are NOT racism. Racists have biases but also fundamentally believe in the inferiority of other races. Biases arising from in group/outgroup dynamics are, in themselves, not racism. Yes, racists can use this dynamic for bigoted reasons but racism requires some level of consciousness. Biases are not conscious beliefs, they are sub-conscious attitudes. This is a semantics argument – whether racism can be unconscious. I think someone can be racist without realizing it. But if you feel differently, the disagreement is about the definition of racism (and both definitions can be valid, in my understanding, since both definitions are frequently used), not about anything fundamental, as far as I can see. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/85 "2017-10-16T03:44:26Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > And rightfully so but black and whites – listen up, this will stun you – they have different histories and experiences. You don’t see the hypocrisy in your point of view? Writing that all of x just be something or another is an expression of bigotry. Obviously, an acceptable expression of bigotry, but bigotry nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/86 "2017-10-16T03:52:51Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This is a semantics argument – whether racism can be unconscious. I think someone can be racist without realizing it. But if you feel differently, the disagreement is about the definition of racism (and both definitions can be valid, in my understanding, since both definitions are frequently used), not about anything fundamental, as far as I can see. Can you give me an example of unconscious racism? Im not automatically disagreeing with you, I just want a better sense of your perspective and understanding of the concept. And my larger point is not a disagreement with the validity of the concepts, rather it’s a disagreement on the efficacy of the name. People who intend to raise awareness of white privilege ultimately, at least in many cases, unwittingly drive those people farther from understanding and closer to hostility. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/87 "2017-10-16T04:11:59Z")
I had to say yes. Those fuckin Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/88 "2017-10-16T04:41:19Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Can you give me an example of unconscious racism? Im not automatically disagreeing with you, I just want a better sense of your perspective and understanding of the concept. And my larger point is not a disagreement with the validity of the concepts, rather it’s a disagreement on the efficacy of the name. People who intend to raise awareness of white privilege ultimately, at least in many cases, unwittingly drive those people farther from understanding and closer to hostility. Would you feel vaguely uncomfortable trusting a black financial planner to manage the millions you won in the Powerball? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/89 "2017-10-16T05:49:29Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Would you feel vaguely uncomfortable trusting a black financial planner to manage the millions you won in the Powerball? Of course not. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/90 "2017-10-16T06:27:05Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Of course not. I was simply trying to provide an example of unconscious racism. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2017, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/91 "2017-10-16T09:23:37Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Can you give me an example of unconscious racism? Im not automatically disagreeing with you, I just want a better sense of your perspective and understanding of the concept. And my larger point is not a disagreement with the validity of the concepts, rather it’s a disagreement on the efficacy of the name. People who intend to raise awareness of white privilege ultimately, at least in many cases, unwittingly drive those people farther from understanding and closer to hostility. **madsircool** gave a good one. Another – a cop unconsciously sees young black men as more dangerous than others, and therefore is more nervous around them, more likely to draw his weapon around them, and more likely to pull the trigger, than otherwise (for a white or Asian man who was dressed and acted the same way). ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/92 "2017-10-16T20:17:58Z")
I live in the most diverse county in Georgia - 11% Asian, 20% Latino, 26% African American, 39% white. The remaining 4% identify as Multiracial, Native American, Hawaiian and Other. I see and interact with a veritable United Nations of people every single day. What one looks like generally doesn’t bother me at all. I say “generally” because when I ask myself the following question: If I were to encounter a group of young people loitering while I was out walking at night, would I have a different level of concern if they were any other race but mine? I can’t honestly answer “No, never”. I don’t do anything different, but the initial concerns are there. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/93 "2017-10-16T20:54:18Z")
Everyone is racist, some very little some a lot. It’s like a volume dial not an on/off switch. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/94 "2017-10-16T21:37:11Z")
I get the feeling that people would call me a racist because I have this wacky preference for neighbours that hold similar values and speak my language. Recently, my majority white town underwent a massive influx of people from the big city when property prices in the big city spiked, and I won’t tell you it’s been easy. On the plus side, thanks to the influx, a black guy called me the n-word when I saw him shoplifting in my local liquor store. Guaranteed none of the events in the preceding sentence would have happened 5 years ago. I put my head down and marched home, ASAP. He and his friend followed me most of the way, alternating between threatening to shoot me and trying to get me to buy the stolen liquor. Welcome to the fucking neighbourhood! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/95 "2017-10-16T21:42:53Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Everyone is racist, some very little some a lot. It’s like a volume dial not an on/off switch. Many volume switches on radios were also the power switch and occasionally some volume switches go to 11 of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/96 "2017-10-16T22:17:09Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > **madsircool** gave a good one. Another – a cop unconsciously sees young black men as more dangerous than others, and therefore is more nervous around them, more likely to draw his weapon around them, and more likely to pull the trigger, than otherwise (for a white or Asian man who was dressed and acted the same way). I guess it just comes down to a difference of opinion in what constitutes racism. I am in no way disagreeing about what the problem/issue is but rather I am disagreeing on what is the most useful manner to frame them. To use the term in this exponentially expanded matter is a mistake when hoping to combat both racism and ignorance of white privilege. ---
**Author:** ![Crazy\_Canuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazy_canuck/32/5282_2.png) [@Crazy\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/97 "2017-10-16T22:26:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Sure, racism exists everywhere. I submit that it’s a hell of a lot better in Canada than the US though. I’ve lived in Canada my entire life. That statement is that pure, 100% feel-good bullshit. The difference isn’t about how racist we are, only on who we consider lesser due to the color of their skin. I will agree that black people get less shit here than they do in the States. There’s still some anti-black racism that traveled up here through cultural osmosis, but without the history of slavery, it’s toned down somewhat. The aboriginal First Nations are an entirely different story. I dare you to go to any reservation in Canada and tell them that Canadians aren’t racist. Have a camera ready, because while most would just laugh hysterically, some just might punch you for dismissing the very real discrimination they face every single day. Or do you want to tell me that the highway of tears murders would not have been swept under a rug if the victims had been white women instead of aboriginal women? That’s just one example, I have many, many more. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/98 "2017-10-16T22:42:44Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > This looks like a poll that a white person would create. > > Just saying. Yep. It basically trivializes the entire issue of race in our society. And it also makes it harder to fight racism. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/99 "2017-10-16T23:39:17Z")
If this is based on percentage and even if you are even 1% racist, then yes I am racist. However if you truly try and get along with all people and push aside any deep down feelings (but yes, they are there), then I would say no. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966/100 "2017-10-17T15:56:08Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > Anyone brave enough to take the Implicit Association Test for race? You can find it and others after you agree down at the bottom of this page: > > [Take a Test](https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html) Implicit Association Tests are [total woo](http://www.chronicle.com/article/Can-We-Really-Measure-Implicit/238807). There is no evidence that they measure anything. [Studies](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239732934_Predicting_Ethnic_and_Racial_Discrimination_A_Meta-Analysis_of_IAT_Criterion_Studies)have shown they have no more predictive value than polls like the OP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-racist/797966.md?page=6)