# Is racism really that evil? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573 "2014-11-04T03:26:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/1 "2014-11-04T03:26:11Z")
I’m not talking about like the KKK killing people just for being black (though is killing people for say money really any better?) or the DC sniper killing people for being white. I’m a pacifist and I oppose violence. I just mean people favoring their own culture over others? Isn’t it natural for people to care more for people who have more in common with them? Isn’t that the reason we love our family and friends more than strangers? It’s not rational but it’s so engrained in us it’s impossible to deny. Some socialist movements tried to abolish the family for collective living and they all failed. I’m not a racist myself because I like pretty much anyone who is kind to me but race is more than just skin color, it’s also culture and ways of doing things. It seems like these days if you even believe race _exists_ you are considered a racist. Doesn’t matter how many people of another race you’re friends with, or how much foreign music you enjoy, or even how strongly you believe humanity is a universal trait all people share. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/2 "2014-11-04T03:27:39Z")
And I admit to being a Western chauvinist. Western culture is the least racist, most gender-egalitarian, most democratic and most intellectual culture on the planet. And this is because government has largely taken the place of religion, oppressive customs and business in society in the West. I dislike how neoliberals and liberals try to push cutthroat Chinese values on us or teach us that we are bigots if we refuse to tolerate backwards customs from other societies. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/3 "2014-11-04T03:29:28Z")
Let me guess, you’re an American white male. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/4 "2014-11-04T03:31:38Z")
I guess it depends on which side of the racism you’re on. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/5 "2014-11-04T03:34:14Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Let me guess, you’re an American white male. We’re humans. Every race is racist as hell. 96% of blacks voted for Obama. While I can understand why they wouldn’t want to vote for a party that is blatantly against their interests, it proves that they are just as ethnocentric as anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/6 "2014-11-04T03:52:23Z")
I’ll tell you the most personal experience of why racism sucks ass. When an adult commiserates with another adult on why a FOUR YEAR OLD is a misbehaving dick, and the solution they come to is that he has a white parent. Despite the fact he is a non-verbal autistic, forget that white parent you know what they are like…am I right? \*Not in the USA, but racism sucks ass. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/7 "2014-11-04T03:57:26Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > We’re humans. Every race is racist as hell. 96% of blacks voted for Obama. While I can understand why they wouldn’t want to vote for a party that is blatantly against their interests, it proves that they are just as ethnocentric as anyone else. no, it proves they wanted to elect someone that they thought would look out for them ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/8 "2014-11-04T03:57:44Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > I just mean people favoring their own culture over others? I’m not sure this is technically racism; I think racism is about being \*against \*something; what you’re describing is _pro_-something. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/9 "2014-11-04T03:59:41Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > I’m not talking about like the KKK killing people just for being black (though is killing people for say money really any better?) or the DC sniper killing people for being white. I’m a pacifist and I oppose violence. I just mean people favoring their own culture over others? > > Isn’t it natural for people to care more for people who have more in common with them? Isn’t that the reason we love our family and friends more than strangers? It’s not rational but it’s so engrained in us it’s impossible to deny. Some socialist movements tried to abolish the family for collective living and they all failed. I’m not a racist myself because I like pretty much anyone who is kind to me but race is more than just skin color, it’s also culture and ways of doing things. > > It seems like these days if you even believe race _exists_ you are considered a racist. Doesn’t matter how many people of another race you’re friends with, or how much foreign music you enjoy, or even how strongly you believe humanity is a universal trait all people share. was segregation wrong? because i’m pretty sure most white people in the south back then were just “mildly” racist. most of them were not in the KKK, most of them participated in no violence or direct oppression. they were, just, a little racist is all. thousands and thousands of “mildly” racist people are what kept segregation going. ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/10 "2014-11-04T04:00:51Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > We’re humans. Every race is racist as hell. 96% of blacks voted for Obama. While I can understand why they wouldn’t want to vote for a party that is blatantly against their interests, it proves that they are just as ethnocentric as anyone else. Voting for Obama makes blacks racist? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/11 "2014-11-04T04:05:49Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > Voting for Obama makes blacks racist? If someone white were to vote for McCain \*because \*he was white, some would call it racist. If someone black were to vote for Obama \*because \*he was black, then…? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/12 "2014-11-04T04:07:34Z")
1. _Did_ the DC sniper shoot people for being white? 2. Are you asking if racism is genetic? ---
**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:** [November 4, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/13 "2014-11-04T04:12:04Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > We’re humans. Every race is racist as hell. 96% of blacks voted for Obama. While I can understand why they wouldn’t want to vote for a party that is blatantly against their interests, it proves that they are just as ethnocentric as anyone else. So that was a yes? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/14 "2014-11-04T04:19:45Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Let me guess, you’re an American white male. No, that can’t be it. I’m an American white male and I’m not buying the OP’s argument. It’s one thing to put your family and friends ahead of strangers. But how do you divide up groups of strangers? Does the OP consider he has “more in common” with a white Briton than he does with a black American? ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/15 "2014-11-04T04:22:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, that can’t be it. I’m an American white male and I’m not buying the OP’s argument. > > It’s one thing to put your family and friends ahead of strangers. But how do you divide up groups of strangers? Does the OP consider he has “more in common” with a white Briton than he does with a black American? i am not defending the OP but i have a question can you be racist if you have unintentional stereotypes but hold no ill will, is it racist to think black people can dance or sing well but to have no bad opinions of black people? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/16 "2014-11-04T04:31:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, that can’t be it. I’m an American white male and I’m not buying the OP’s argument. > > It’s one thing to put your family and friends ahead of strangers. But how do you divide up groups of strangers? Does the OP consider he has “more in common” with a white Briton than he does with a black American? Just to play Devil’s Advocate: Why do people in general tend to have more friends of their own race than they do of others? Same could be said for significant others, why do the vast majority tend to be of the same race? [Not that I’m buying into the OP’s argument.] ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/17 "2014-11-04T04:38:20Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > …While I can understand why they wouldn’t want to vote for a party that is blatantly against their interests, it proves that they are just as ethnocentric as anyone else. This sentence is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/18 "2014-11-04T05:05:45Z")
Of course it’s evil. Racism is a false belief that Race X is superior than Race Y. It’s ignorant and stupid and leads to acts based on the aforementioned. > [@Shakes](#): > > Just to play Devil’s Advocate: Why do people in general tend to have more friends of their own race than they do of others? Same could be said for significant others, why do the vast majority tend to be of the same race? > [Not that I’m buying into the OP’s argument.] I’d argue it’s mostly cultural, but race, ethnicity and culture are very complex interwoven things. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/19 "2014-11-04T05:15:12Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > I’m a pacifist and I oppose violence. I just mean people favoring their own culture over others? I am a white, English-speaking American. A black person is (statistically) a black, English-speaking American. It’s a different culture, sure, but Polish-Americans are different from both of us. Why should I favor the Pole over the black guy? That’s reason #1 why it’s wrong. Ethnocentrism is natural, but it shouldn’t be arbitrary and it shouldn’t be extreme. I have more in common with any gay black guy from San Diego than I do with any WASP from New England. Reason #2 is that we may be different (sub-)cultures, but we are the same nationality. Their fellow-American-ness ought to trump their type of American-ness. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573/20 "2014-11-04T05:47:34Z")
You’re correct that the Western world is the most tolerant, diverse, and open of all societies of the world. Rejecting racism is integral to the above. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-racism-really-that-evil/703573.md?page=2)