# what a person with these qualities be called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 18, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-person-with-these-qualities-be-called/550652 "2010-08-18T18:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-person-with-these-qualities-be-called/550652/21 "2010-08-19T14:53:11Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > If there are primarily two races **in your area** , and one has much more of these qualities than the other, does that make me a racist? > > I do not immediately dismiss the race that displays the qualities I dislike. If I’m introduced by mutual acquaintance to someone of that race who is dressed nicely, mentions their job as an accountant and talks about the house they are moving into in a nice neighborhood, I like them. > > However, if that is **a minority of that race** , am I being racist? (bolding mine) It sounds like you’re generalizing from problems that might be widespread among a certain racial group where you live, to traits of that racial group as a whole. You know, because most of those members of race X are all alike (even though you do allow for exceptions). To me, that’s racist. Basically, lets say you meet a member of race X. You don’t know what neighborhood he’s from. You don’t know what his job is. You only know he’s a member of race X. If you already have a bad impression of him, based solely on his race, then you’re being racist. Even if you allow for the possibility that you may be proven wrong. Basically, you ought to recognize that the groups we call races are huge, diverse groups of people, and it’s unfair (and racist) to generalize from your experiences with one small subset of that group in one particular community to the group as a whole. I’m sure there are neighborhoods in this country where most of the members of race X are lawyers and investment bankers and what not. But people who live in such neighborhoods still shouldn’t hold that against the group as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-person-with-these-qualities-be-called/550652/22 "2010-08-19T15:42:31Z")
Human nature dictates that we generalize based on certain characteristics. To deny this is to deny biology. If a certain race or sex is overwhelmingly involved in some behavior then it is only natural to be suspicious of anyone of that race or sex. This is true even with the offending race/sex is your own. Remeber Jessie Jackson saying “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved… After all we have been through. Just to think we can’t walk down our own streets, how humiliating.”? Was he being racist? I don’t think so. He realized that he is more likely to be robbed by someone of a particular race. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-person-with-these-qualities-be-called/550652/23 "2010-08-19T16:53:05Z")
I’m still here reading - I’m just having trouble thinking of a reply that is for GD, not IMHO. I’m wishing I went to a school with a debate team right now 😉 . > [@yorick73](#): > > Human nature dictates that we generalize based on certain characteristics. To deny this is to deny biology. If a certain race or sex is overwhelmingly involved in some behavior then it is only natural to be suspicious of anyone of that race or sex. This is true even with the offending race/sex is your own. > > Remeber Jessie Jackson saying “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved… After all we have been through. Just to think we can’t walk down our own streets, how humiliating.”? Was he being racist? I don’t think so. He realized that he is more likely to be robbed by someone of a particular race. But he _was_ judging based on race. He was expecting a person of a certain race to do something negative, but upon finding that person was of a different race, he was relieved. He was making a generalization based on race. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-person-with-these-qualities-be-called/550652/24 "2010-08-19T17:19:05Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > I’m still here reading - I’m just having trouble thinking of a reply that is for GD, not IMHO. I’m wishing I went to a school with a debate team right now 😉 . > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > Human nature dictates that we generalize based on certain characteristics. To deny this is to deny biology. If a certain race or sex is overwhelmingly involved in some behavior then it is only natural to be suspicious of anyone of that race or sex. This is true even with the offending race/sex is your own. > > > > Remeber Jessie Jackson saying “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved… After all we have been through. Just to think we can’t walk down our own streets, how humiliating.”? Was he being racist? I don’t think so. He realized that he is more likely to be robbed by someone of a particular race. > > But he _was_ judging based on race. He was expecting a person of a certain race to do something negative, but upon finding that person was of a different race, he was relieved. He was making a generalization based on race. I don’t think that makes him a racist. He prejudged someone based on their race. This does not equal racism. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-person-with-these-qualities-be-called/550652/25 "2010-08-19T19:37:47Z")
I don’t suppose anyone would care to suggest a definition of “racism”? If we disagree on whether or not something/somebody is racist, are we disagreeing on the definition of racism, or on whether the something/somebody fits a commonly-agreed-upon definition? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-person-with-these-qualities-be-called/550652.md?page=1)