In the spirit of “Ask the…” threads, ask away.
I expect this to end badly, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.
What groups do you discriminate against? Did you come by these beliefs over the course of your life, or were you raised with them? Are there religious undertones to racism, in your mind? Do you or would you ever act on these beliefs?
What’s this? A guest with only 1 post? Fearless prediction: we’ll be seeing you in the Pit soon.
God, why can’t the “troll-outing” rule apply outside the Pit?
Do you know the difference between racism and bigotry?
appleciders:
I hold different prejudices for different reasons. I was raised to dislike people of MENA/Muslim descent, though I have not had the chance to interact much with them and cannot speak from personal experience. I also have come to feel a strong dislike for African-Americans in the aggregate in recent years, independently of family influence. I can elaborate on that later, in the interest of replying to all points.
There’s no religious basis. I’m an agnostic/soft atheist.
I have not acted on these beliefs, other than a tendency to avoid people of the above groups when possible, to date.
Lush Puppy:
I intend to post with civility here. Kindly reciprocate 
Ogre:
See above. Please ignore the smiley.
John Mace:
Yes, I am aware of the distinction. I am not a racist in the “inherent superiority on the basis of melanin content” sense. Bigot is most likely the better word, but some use different definitions. I posted the title as it is with the intent to not beat that dead horse again; PETA might just drop by on account of the (admittedly necrotic) animal abuse.
Because we do not want you folks derailing threads with cries of “troll!” as you are doing, here.
Do not do it again.
[ /Moderating ]
Meh. Can’t promise, should the occasion arise, but I’ll bow out of this crapfest.
Morfane, I have changed the title of this thread to reduce the number of posters who will be lured, here, in the manner that Ogre was tempted into a misstep. This was NOT a good idea.
In the interest of permitting the widest latitude of discussion (without becoming utterly disruptive), I will let this thread stay open for a bit. I suspect, however, that it will not end well and that it will soon be closed.
Everyone, keep it civil!
[ /Moderating ]
I know you’ve said in your post that you don’t have much contact with middle easterners, but are you friends or do you have positive relationships with any blacks/African-Americans?
You know, is there anyone about whom you say, “This black guy is different than the rest of them, and he’s ok, even though he’s black?”
Why do black people 'in the aggregate" irritate you?
Do you have a general dislike of black people you know as as individuals?
Racial prejudice / bigotry (in my experience) is often correlated with poor educational levels, and/or strong religious beliefs, even if if they are not practiced. It’s fairly unusual for someone proclaiming themselves to the an agnostic/atheist to also be overtly racially prejudiced, as atheists usually have a fairly rationalist world view that generally eschews bigotry for bigotry’s sake.
How can you be a rationalist, and still carry the non-rational baggage of being a racial bigot, or do you feel your bigotry is entirely rational?
Do you believe you are “greater” than others that you hold prejudice against?
Do you ever believe that racism is “wrong” in any way? Do you ever feel guilty for your prejudices?
When people come up to you and angrily tell you that racism is always wrong/bad, no matter what the circumstances are…how do you respond?
Do you feel you have anything particularly novel or insightful to add to the subject of race relations?
Because if not, what’s the point of this thread?
And I’m a guy who’ll cheerfully admit that some cultures are better than others.
Captain Amazing:
Yes, I have had positive experiences among African-Americans, and some friends (though I have not seen them for a long time, well before I developed the prejudice). To clarify, this is regarding African-Americans only. I have studied alongside/under black people of other origins and do not bear any ill feelings toward them.
astro
A disproportionate number of them have acted as utterly obnoxious and inconsiderate asshats* with entitlement complexes in my experience. I say ‘in the aggregate’ because decent individuals are common (and likely in the majority), but virtually any group of them almost always contains the above. Consequently, I tend to avoid African-Americans when possible.
I’m also a college student. I have developed the prejudice in college, as I was not in contact with many African-Americans before. Although I have encountered a couple of the same sort of exceedingly unpleasant individuals in high school, I had not associated their behavior with their ethnicity at that point.
Yeah, I question the rationality of my feelings on occasion. They’re there, though.
Heckxxx
I certainly feel superior to the jerks mentioned above, if only on account of elementary manners.
Coercion on the basis of racist beliefs is wrong. Discourtesy too, for that manner. I do not feel that holding any belief without external action is morally wrong in and of itself.
I tune said people out. It’s just a rehashing of what’s been pounded into every kid’s brain from elementary school onward.
So are you too lazy to judge people on their own merits? Or what is it?
I’ve never understood the kinds of bigots who weren’t just obviously stupid. Go ahead and enlighten us, or, what’s more likely, just prove your stupidity. I’m all ears.
See, this is what I’m talking about. Is there any reason you can’t wait for some group of people to prove that they are asshats first? Instead of assuming so based on the color of their skin?
One more thing: “disproportionate”? Are you an expert on the proper ratio of assholes a race should be comprised of? I’m of the impression that in the majority large groups of people are pretty much always assholes. It’s like a natural law or something. And I definitely haven’t seen anything that makes me think one race, creed or color is more susceptible to this.
But not all eyes.
I said to keep this civil.
This is the thrid time I have noted that this Forum has rules regarding what may be posted. Further direct insults will result in Warnings, not requests to behave.
[ /Moderating ]
…So are you prejudiced against bigots? You think they are all “stupid”?
I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. Morfane’s got three posts so far and they’re all pretty civil and relatively intelligent. I was predicting that he probably would prove himself stupid… I didn’t mean he had yet. Regardless, it won’t happen again.
Nope. I said I never understood the bigots who weren’t stupid. I’m quite aware that there are plenty of smart ones out there, I just don’t know how they stay bigots. That’s what I hope Morfane can clear up for me here.
DrCube
I have no idea. It could be confirmation bias or some other sort of cognitive dissonance, but why? My dad has held much stronger prejudices as far back as I can remember, and it didn’t rub off on me when I was a kid. My negative experiences among African-Americans, while annoying, were hardly the worst I can recall. I don’t gain anything out of the prejudice.