# Think you're not a racist? (or other -ist) Check this out.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 16, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145 "2008-10-16T03:22:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/21 "2008-10-16T19:33:18Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> I’ve taken those tests. I had a slight preference for black faces the last time I took it (I’m white).
There are no racists in Doperland. Instead, people are prejudiced against their own racial and/or ethnic group.
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/22 "2008-10-16T19:35:13Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#):
>
> The OP presumes that an indication one way or the other on this test has an association with racism. Have any studies shown a correlation between a certain score on the test and actual racist beliefs or actions? Seems like if I were shown flash cards of a banana cream pie on one side and piece of toast on the other, I’d show a certain reptilian preference for the banana cream pie, yet I still eat toast for breakfast.
Yeah, that’s the basic problem I have with it, too. I can’t find anywhere on the site that says that the results actually mean anything.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/23 "2008-10-17T11:09:46Z")
I don’t think there’s a race angle to it at all, at least not in the Obama/McCain test I took. It’s just that pressing the “Good” key when McCain’s senile phizog appears on screen takes rather a lot of effort (I had no "X"s until that final round).
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### Author:  [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/24 "2008-10-17T13:10:24Z")
Where do people get the silly idea that they should never have any prejudices whatsoever? It’s like expecting people never to masturbate or never to tell lies.
People are naturally prejudiced in favor of their own kind, and anyone who thinks he has somehow miraculously escaped all racial, ethnic, religious and class bias is badly deluded. Such people remind me of that line from Firesign Theater’s _Don’t Crush that Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers_: “You can trust me. I’m always right and I never lie.” They claim to have reached a standard of impartiality and honesty that is simply impossible to human beings.
This never-ending witch hunt for “racism” has gotten downright bizarre.
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### Author:  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/25 "2008-10-17T13:34:29Z")
I like the Obama McCain test. My results:
Your data suggests a strong automatic preference for Barack Obama over John McCain
Your data suggests a moderately stronger automatic association between Christian and Barack Obama, compared to John McCain
Your data suggests a slightly stronger automatic association between American and Barack Obama, compared to John McCain
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### Author:  [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/26 "2008-10-17T15:58:59Z")
The site tells me I prefer able-bodied people over the disabled.
How does it know I wouldn’t just prefer _being_ able-bodied over _being_ disabled?
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### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/27 "2008-10-17T16:39:44Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#):
>
> Where do people get the silly idea that they should never have any prejudices whatsoever? It’s like expecting people never to masturbate or never to tell lies.
>
> People are naturally prejudiced in favor of their own kind, and anyone who thinks he has somehow miraculously escaped all racial, ethnic, religious and class bias is badly deluded. Such people remind me of that line from Firesign Theater’s _Don’t Crush that Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers_: “You can trust me. I’m always right and I never lie.” They claim to have reached a standard of impartiality and honesty that is simply impossible to human beings.
>
> This never-ending witch hunt for “racism” has gotten downright bizarre.
I understand where you’re coming from but I understand the other side too. It’s reactionary. Things got really bad in this country when racism wasn’t hunted and scorned, so the pendulum swung really far in the other direction. When we mature as a country and time works its magic on us all, it will swing back to a sensible position. You can already see it happening in comedy (a known social mover) - minorities are starting to be allowed to be the butt of jokes again.
By the way, as a young American, I really, honestly feel like I’ve miraculously escapred racial bias. I won’t say as much about ethnic, religious, and class bias.
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### Author:  [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/28 "2008-10-17T16:43:03Z")
> [@Vox\_Imperatoris](#):
>
> I’ve taken that before, and while I admit that it is an interesting item of research and possibly useful for detecting subconscious biases, there’s nothing useful about saying, “You’re a secret racist!” because you hit the button for one race over another.\*\* The only thing that actually matters is the way you act and treat people.\*\*
Quoted and bolded for emphasis.
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### Author:  [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/29 "2008-10-17T16:49:10Z")
> [@Cisco](#):
>
> Things got really bad in this country when racism wasn’t hunted and scorned, so the pendulum swung really far in the other direction. When we mature as a country and time works its magic on us all, it will swing back to a sensible position.
Well, Cisco, I really do wish I could believe this. But when I look at the statistics on interracial crime, and particularly the statistics on interracial rape, I really don’t see that things are better today than they were fifty years ago.
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### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/30 "2008-10-17T20:17:25Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#):
>
> Well, Cisco, I really do wish I could believe this. But when I look at the statistics on interracial crime, and particularly the statistics on interracial rape, I really don’t see that things are better today than they were fifty years ago.
I guess I don’t understand what you mean here. Can you post these statistics and elaborate? I can’t imagine that they’ll change my opinion that things are A LOT better than they were fifty years ago, but I’m willing to listen.
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### Author:  [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)
#### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/31 "2008-10-17T21:57:17Z")
My results: “TOO MANY ERRORS TO COMUPUTE DATA” or something like that.
Of course I’m working on my third six-pack. Think that might have something to do with my results?
'sall right. I’m gonna vote for BOTH them assholes. Heh. That’ll show 'em!
This is Friday nite, ain’t it??
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### Author:  [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/32 "2008-10-18T00:43:54Z")
I definitely had eye fatigue by the last set of results (white text on black background!) and my mind was crossing it’s wires by the categories being constantly changed. I could tell my reaction time and accuracy was worse by the end so I always leaned towards whatever categories came first.
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### Author:  [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/33 "2008-10-18T01:09:10Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Your data suggest a strong automatic preference for European American compared to African American.
I guess I’m a closet racist after all ☹
Sorry black dopers! I promise I’d vote for Obama if I could. We’re cool, right?
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### Author:  [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/34 "2008-10-18T01:53:55Z")
My results were: Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between Barack Obama and John McCain.
What does that mean?
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### Author:  [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/35 "2008-10-18T07:17:14Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Your data suggest a strong automatic preference for New compared to Old.
>
> Your data suggest a strong automatic association of Religion with False and Science with True.
No shit.
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### Author:  [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/36 "2008-10-18T12:40:35Z")
I had a moderate preference for Obama over McCain
I had No automatic association with religion with either of them
I had a slight association with Obama and American over McCain
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/37 "2008-10-18T13:13:37Z")
We’ve had links to these sorts of tests before. I’m not a psychologist, but I smell a lot of bullshit. The tests are designed to train you that right is good and left is bad, or vice versa, and then when it comes time to see if you’re a racist or a sexist or some other kind of asshole, reverses the keys, thereby conflating racism/sexism/other assholism with the fact that _you’ve just been physically trained to hit those keys._
It’s like that old trick where you ask someone twenty questions about things that rhyme with “go” and then the twenty-first is “What do you do when a traffic light is red” and can often fool them into saying “go” iuf they haven’t heard that trick before. Does that prove people don’t know red lights from green? No, it’s just a training trick.
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### Author:  [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/38 "2008-10-18T16:29:56Z")
I didn’t take the test. I came here to confess my prejudice against Southerners at large. I’m not sure which -ist that makes me.
I was born in the south, spent many years living there, know many good people, family and friends, who are southerners. But nonetheless, whenever I hear somebody speak with that accent, my personal estimation of them just plummets. I have to consciously focus on what they’re saying, and keep telling myself that there is no good reason to think somebody is stupid for their accent … but it is just primal and overpowering. Somebody who I know is three times smarter than me could be explaining some very complicated stuff … but if it’s in a deep southern drawl, I somehow still feel like I’m mentally looking down at them.
My only theory is that most of the stupidest and most hateful things I have personally heard people say have been said by that voice. I \*know \*that doesn’t mean it applies to everyone, but the \*feeling \*is still there when the sound hits my ears, regardless of the words being spoken. I’m not proud of it. I wonder if there is therapy for this.
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/39 "2008-10-18T16:38:12Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#):
>
> Well, Cisco, I really do wish I could believe this. But when I look at the statistics on interracial crime, and particularly the statistics on interracial rape, I really don’t see that things are better today than they were fifty years ago.
Ah yes, the old “interracial rape statistics” story, which is invariably supported by phony statistics or none at all.
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-youre-not-a-racist-or-other-ist-check-this-out/468145/40 "2008-10-18T16:56:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Ah yes, the old “interracial rape statistics” story, which is invariably supported by phony statistics or none at all.
What phony stats are these?
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