Race Bubbling Up?

[Ultima22689]

In the past couple of weeks i've been hearing a lot about racism. Especially on 9/12 when the sheeple marched. I saw so many racist signs it was nuts, I know some people say they failed to see the racism there but being a black male it wasn't hard for me to see.  There have been a couple of racial things said in the news even on the cable channels. Jimmy Carter who is as old as dirt and who I don't think would gain anything by pointing it out but he said  the same: A great majority of this protesting is racism. He mentioned how he is a southern man and he knew racism when he saw it and he said while it isn't all of them he felt it was a major portion of them. The crowds seem more and more threatening, with foreboding signs talking about guns  and other things. Nancy Pelosi began talking about how dangerous the sort of rhetoric people have been using is very dangerous and they need to stop before it invokes violence. Sadly it seems none of the people voicing said rhetoric is slowing down and are in fact saying even more terrible things.

[Thom Phelps]

The crowds seem more and more threatening, with foreboding signs talking about guns  and other things.

I agree. It feels to me like something is broken here in America. Maybe it's the way it has always been and current times (economic strife, a black President, the fog of war) are just bringing it to the surface? For the past ten years or so the polarization in our country -- politically and culturally -- has concerned me. It feels like we're at some ominous tipping point. But where things will go when we reach that point is hidden from us.

But on a happy note: there are still some coherent, rational, happy atheists out here who can be the peaceful voice of reason!

[Kylyssa]

It's getting ugly.  But I think there may be a silver lining.  These people were just as racist before as they are now.  Now we can clearly see it.  By exposing themselves as racists they are bringing the problem into to public view.  People who might have listened to these idiots before may not now.  On the down side, people like them will be drawn to them and the racists will form bigger, stronger groups and probably incite violence.

I agree that it has been bubbling up.  It has been bubbling up everywhere and people are less afraid to wear their racism out in public.  Recently, I was reading about overpopulation and found so many racist comments to every article that I was completely revolted.  The fundies against population limitation say such things as limiting reproduction to replacement level would cause the white race to die out and then they go on to worse things.  I wasn't feeling well and couldn't sleep so I was surfing around on YouTube, trying to distract myself.  Again, I found so many racist comments on videos that I was appalled.  I've been keeping up with the story of Caster Semenya, the South African runner who has been at the center of a gender dispute.  Again and again comments to articles about her are brimming with racism.  

Racism seems to have permeated everything.  I can't read anything even remotely political without finding something racist in the comments.  And the non-political arena is catching up.

[Ultima22689]

Yeah, it's really scary. I wonder if it's like that in the rest of the world? I don't get rascism, why? It makes no sense. I meet white people I think are awesome and I meet white people I think are douchebags, I meat blacks who are awesome and others that are douchebags. I've met asians, indians, latinos and any other race out there that fall into the same thing. I seriously can't comprehend why someone would care about someone's race.  Maybe it's because in reality I'm probably only 40-45% Black and the rest is fun pack mix. I try to comprehend these people just like I try to see things from RATIONAL conservative views and that works every now and then but these people, I don't get it. It seriously does not compute. I have a hard enough time hating individuals. I get a headache trying to comprehend racism.

[Reginus]

Yeah, it's really scary. I wonder if it's like that in the rest of the world? I don't get rascism, why? It makes no sense. I meet white people I think are awesome and I meet white people I think are douchebags, I meat blacks who are awesome and others that are douchebags. I've met asians, indians, latinos and any other race out there that fall into the same thing. I seriously can't comprehend why someone would care about someone's race.  Maybe it's because in reality I'm probably only 40-45% Black and the rest is fun pack mix. I try to comprehend these people just like I try to see things from RATIONAL conservative views and that works every now and then but these people, I don't get it. It seriously does not compute. I have a hard enough time hating individuals. I get a headache trying to comprehend racism.

As a Christian, I think it is because humans very much enjoy judging others (in order to place themselves "higher up"). Racism is just a sign that someone has particularly serious problems with this.

[Ultima22689]

Yeah, it's really scary. I wonder if it's like that in the rest of the world? I don't get rascism, why? It makes no sense. I meet white people I think are awesome and I meet white people I think are douchebags, I meat blacks who are awesome and others that are douchebags. I've met asians, indians, latinos and any other race out there that fall into the same thing. I seriously can't comprehend why someone would care about someone's race.  Maybe it's because in reality I'm probably only 40-45% Black and the rest is fun pack mix. I try to comprehend these people just like I try to see things from RATIONAL conservative views and that works every now and then but these people, I don't get it. It seriously does not compute. I have a hard enough time hating individuals. I get a headache trying to comprehend racism.

As a Christian, I think it is because humans very much enjoy judging others (in order to place themselves "higher up"). Racism is just a sign that someone has particularly serious problems with this.

Well, perhaps but I don't think you can just paint the entire human race as judgmental. If that was the case wouldn't everyone or at least mostly everyone be a racist? I think it's more of a social artifact left behind in cultures that refuse to move on.

[Will]

These kinds of problems won't be solved until we get the idea of "race" out of the public lexicon. There's culture, and there's nationality. That's it. There's only one race, and that's the human race.

[Heretical Rants]

I didn't even know the word "racism" until I was 10 years old...and I didn't know that it still existed until I was 12.

Secluded mountain towns, eh?

Ah, my shattered innocence......

[Ultima22689]

Yeah, I hate when people equate racism and other negative human things to being in our nature.

[Thom Phelps]

Well, perhaps but I don't think you can just paint the entire human race as judgmental. If that was the case wouldn't everyone or at least mostly everyone be a racist? I think it's more of a social artifact left behind in cultures that refuse to move on.

One thing is obvious to me, all humans are tribal. Our brains are sorting machines (all brains sort things) and our perception of our environment is one of cataloging: is it safe, dangerous, useful, useless, edible, posionous, friend, foe, mine, theirs, warm, healthy, diseased, strong, weak, a weapon, fertile, trustworthy? And since they are part of our environment, we sort people too. We naturally congregate toward people similar to us, if not in appearance than in some other category (language, ethnicity, occupation, sports affiliation, hobbies, favorite truck  to drive, tattoos, religion, beer of choice). There's a fine line of distinction between accepting that someone is in a different tribe and hating or fearing someone from a different tribe.

Just look at how Amercian football fans (not all, but many) degrade or deride fans of other teams. Sometimes it's playful and sometimes it's downright viscious.

Is a window sticker on a Chevy pickup that shows evil little Calvin pissing on  a Ford logo a form of hate expression? The sticker says, "My Chevy pisses on your Ford." Or, "I belong to Tribe Chevy and we're better than Tribe Ford."

[Ultima22689]

Well, perhaps but I don't think you can just paint the entire human race as judgmental. If that was the case wouldn't everyone or at least mostly everyone be a racist? I think it's more of a social artifact left behind in cultures that refuse to move on.

One thing is obvious to me, all humans are tribal. Our brains are sorting machines (all brains sort things) and our perception of our environment is one of cataloging: is it safe, dangerous, useful, useless, edible, posionous, friend, foe, mine, theirs, warm, healthy, diseased, strong, weak, a weapon, fertile, trustworthy? And since they are part of our environment, we sort people too. We naturally congregate toward people similar to us, if not in appearance than in some other category (language, ethnicity, occupation, sports affiliation, hobbies, favorite truck  to drive, tattoos, religion, beer of choice). There's a fine line of distinction between accepting that someone is in a different tribe and hating or fearing someone from a different tribe.

Just look at how Amercian football fans (not all, but many) degrade or deride fans of other teams. Sometimes it's playful and sometimes it's downright viscious.

Is a window sticker on a Chevy pickup that shows evil little Calvin pissing on  a Ford logo a form of hate expression? The sticker says, "My Chevy pisses on your Ford." Or, "I belong to Tribe Chevy and we're better than Tribe Ford."

So how do you define the group of people who find all of that crap stupid?

[Thom Phelps]

One thing is obvious to me, all humans are tribal. Our brains are sorting machines (all brains sort things) and our perception of our environment is one of cataloging: is it safe, dangerous, useful, useless, edible, posionous, friend, foe, mine, theirs, warm, healthy, diseased, strong, weak, a weapon, fertile, trustworthy? And since they are part of our environment, we sort people too. We naturally congregate toward people similar to us, if not in appearance than in some other category (language, ethnicity, occupation, sports affiliation, hobbies, favorite truck  to drive, tattoos, religion, beer of choice). There's a fine line of distinction between accepting that someone is in a different tribe and hating or fearing someone from a different tribe.

Just look at how Amercian football fans (not all, but many) degrade or deride fans of other teams. Sometimes it's playful and sometimes it's downright viscious.

Is a window sticker on a Chevy pickup that shows evil little Calvin pissing on  a Ford logo a form of hate expression? The sticker says, "My Chevy pisses on your Ford." Or, "I belong to Tribe Chevy and we're better than Tribe Ford."

So how do you define the group of people who find all of that crap stupid?

Do you mean the group of people who find my observatons stupid, or the group of people who find the act of putting hateful bumper stickers on their cars stupid? On the latter, I would define them "enlightened". On the former, I would define them as, "just about everybody."  

[Ultima22689]

No no, well the latter falls into that too. Your observations seem spot on actually. I mean people who find all of the tribal stuff stupid. Team A vs Team B to almost violent points. People who are obsessed with race, etc.

Also don't you mean the former?

[Thom Phelps]

No no, well the latter falls into that too. Your observations seem spot on actually. I mean people who find all of the tribal stuff stupid. Team A vs Team B to almost violent points. People who are obsessed with race, etc.

Also don't you mean the former?

You had it right. I was being silly, saying those who think my opinions are stupid would be classified as "almost everybody."