# Racist Dopers? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 19, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507 "2005-05-19T00:05:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/1 "2005-05-19T00:05:52Z")
I have been meaning to ask this question for a while but kept on forgetting. Are there, or have there ever been any openly racist Dopers? I would assume with a board of this calibre it wouldn’t be tolerated, but what if a Doper was to say “I don’t like blacks/asians/whites/kyptonians.” but never in any way said anything nasty about them after making said statement? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/2 "2005-05-19T00:20:12Z")
We’ve had a few louts wander in. But we tend to mock their silly beliefs, & bombard them ruthlessly with the facts, until they go running home to Hitler. Or whatever. \We’re almost as tolerant as the United Federation of Planets.\ 😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/3 "2005-05-19T00:22:18Z")
If you do a search for ‘stormfront’, you’ll find plenty of threads dealing with people from that board…which isn’t an outright racist board, but an insidious one. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/4 "2005-05-19T00:22:58Z")
I doubt it. But I’m posting to say that one of my college teachers admitted to being racist. He told the 20%ish minority (loosely clasified in britain as ‘asian’) classmembers to take their baseball caps off and stop chewing gum, going on to admit (with seeming pride) that he is racist. ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/5 "2005-05-19T00:32:32Z")
Lobsang, are you following me? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/6 "2005-05-19T00:32:52Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > He told the 20%ish minority (loosely clasified in britain as ‘asian’) classmembers to take their baseball caps off and stop chewing gum, going on to admit (with seeming pride) that he is racist. Eh? Am I reading you correctly, that it’s a stereotype in the UK that Asians are baseball-cap-wearing gum-chewers? Or am I completely misconstruing and you mean something else entirely? [/rather excessively OT] ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/7 "2005-05-19T00:43:34Z")
Welcome back form your mini banning La. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/8 "2005-05-19T15:16:21Z")
> [@La Llorona](#): > > Eh? Am I reading you correctly, that it’s a stereotype in the UK that Asians are baseball-cap-wearing gum-chewers? Or am I completely misconstruing and you mean something else entirely? > > [/rather excessively OT] Not at all. The baseball cap wearing and gum chewing were what the lecturer didn’t like (no hats indoors, no chewy sounds). He told those doing it to stop (it happened to be the asians doing it) and went on to admit to being racist. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/9 "2005-05-19T17:26:00Z")
We have rules against hate-filled postings. So, racists who openly promote an agenda of bigotry and hatred are essentially volunteering to be kicked off our boards. We might, of course, have people who harbor secret racist thoughts but don’t express them. Or who do not express their racist ideas in terms of hatred (I’m not sure if that’s possible, but I’ll allow for it.) And, I guess, such people would continue to participate on the boards. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/10 "2005-05-19T20:33:11Z")
In the Stormfront days there were a few of them who were more eloquent and able to debate a bit. They would be openly racist, but nonconfrontational. Eventually though they would all burn out. Usually it was not pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/11 "2005-05-19T20:48:58Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > We might, of course, have people who harbor secret racist thoughts but don’t express them. Or who do not express their racist ideas in terms of hatred (I’m not sure if that’s possible, but I’ll allow for it.) It is indeed possible; e.g., “Black people dance/run/box much better than white people”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/12 "2005-05-20T02:27:56Z")
More posters are called _racist_ than really are. Someone was called a "racist’ for saying that Black men tended to be taller than Asian men or something like that. Sometimes, if you do not 100% support all of the agenda of a group, you’ll also be called a racist. One time I said that “although I’d vote for a pro-gay marriage law in CA, I don’t think I’d donate a dollar or spend any time trying to get out the vote”- and was called a homophobe for that by one poster :rolleyes: (although two other openly gay posters both diagreed and said the _vote_ was all the support that was expected). It would be interesting to see an how long an avowed member of a white supremist group would last here- even if they posted nothing more racist than admiting they were a racist. I agree with Dex in that those who would come here and admit such would almost certainly allow their hate and racism to be obvious in their postings. If your “racism” is aimed at a majority, you’ll perhaps have a much easier chance of getting away with racist postings- to an extent. Try a hate-filled diatribe agianst blacks or muslims, and you’ll last 10 seconds- while some have gotten clean away directing their bias against “white trash” or “fundies”. Of course- there are some who would claim that you can’t be a “bigot”’ against a majority. :dubious: But in general, the Staff here does a pretty good job. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/13 "2005-05-26T07:55:13Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > We have rules against hate-filled postings. So, racists who openly promote an agenda of bigotry and hatred are essentially volunteering to be kicked off our boards. So common-or-garden hatred and bigotry will not get you kicked off the boards? That’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/14 "2005-05-26T09:44:05Z")
One of those online tests said I was fairly racist, towards blacks at least ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/15 "2005-05-26T11:08:25Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > It is indeed possible; e.g., “Black people dance/run/box much better than white people”. It isn’t immediately clear to me why such a statement would be racist. Can you expand on that idea? ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/16 "2005-05-26T11:25:40Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > It isn’t immediately clear to me why such a statement would be racist. Can you expand on that idea? Not wanting to put words in **Liberal** ’s mouth, but, to my mind at least, racism is the making of value judgments (_good or bad_) based on a person’s skin colour or racial/ethnic origin. There is a school of thought that says that unless there is oppression of some kind along with the prejudice, then it isn’t really racism (somebody called it “tribalism”), but I don’t have much time for this, as it is a short step from there to say (as I have heard it said) “Black people (or insert whichever oppressed minority you choose) cannot be racist because they don’t have the power in society, and therefore cannot be oppressive” Grim ---
**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:** [May 26, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/17 "2005-05-26T11:59:03Z")
> [@klintypooh](#): > > “I don’t like blacks/asians/whites/kyptonians.” Fucking dirty lazy Kryptonians, always leaping tall buildings in a single bound, taking all the superhero jobs away from native earthlings! ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/18 "2005-05-26T12:06:42Z")
> [@Sarah Woodruff](#): > > So common-or-garden hatred and bigotry will not get you kicked off the boards? That’s interesting. I don’t think I understand this comment/question. Unexpressed hatred and bigotry will not get you kicked off the boards, true enough. We’re not trying to read minds or become some sort of thought-police. You’re judged by what you post, not by what you might think privately but not express. I don’t know what you mean by “common-or-garden.” For instance, hatred of spinach, or bigotry against people who budge in lines, no, those things won’t get you kicked off the boards. Hatred of an ex-spouse won’t do it, either. I suspect we’d sort of be guided by U.S. laws, that hatred against race, religion, ethnicity, or gender would be bannable offenses (that is slightly larger than mere “racism”, agreed, but I think the term “racism” can be used to cover all of it except gender.) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/19 "2005-05-26T13:39:37Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Fucking dirty lazy Kryptonians, always leaping tall buildings in a single bound, taking all the superhero jobs away from native earthlings! You’re skatin on thin ice with me, when you say such things, me lad. :dubious: :mad: 😉😃 ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507/20 "2005-05-26T14:17:59Z")
> [@grimpixie](#): > > Not wanting to put words in **Liberal** ’s mouth, but, to my mind at least, racism is the making of value judgments (_good or bad_) based on a person’s skin colour or racial/ethnic origin. > > There is a school of thought that says that unless there is oppression of some kind along with the prejudice, then it isn’t really racism (somebody called it “tribalism”), but I don’t have much time for this, as it is a short step from there to say (as I have heard it said) “Black people (or insert whichever oppressed minority you choose) cannot be racist because they don’t have the power in society, and therefore cannot be oppressive” > > Grim I don’t see anything in \*\*Liberal’\*\ ***s** post that would qualify as a value judgement. It’s a statement of fact, although somewhat loosely worded, that is open to affirmation or rebuttal. Wherein lies the judgement? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-dopers/304507.md?page=2)