Is This Racist, Or Otherwise Unacceptable?

[sdnuol 0]

im just saying that i think people who are interested in this sort of topic would enjoy this movie. i think that it is a great movie that more people should be enlightened by. it kind of "wakes you up"

[mrdannyg 274]

Fair enough. I love muslims, I have muslim friends...just kidding. I honestly believe there are statisitics, but they are problematic and I know why you want to avoid mass stereotyping and generality-making.Ever notice that when you break down academically our societal taboos, such as "racism", "discrimination", etc....they seem less "bad"? I wonder if it's because the words are used too often and too harshly, or that the connotation is just much worse than an academic term used to describe a way of reasoning that may be erroneous.

It is the very statement of cause in which one has concluded a "sterotype" that is seen as racist. The cause comes under a microscope and so the round-robin of the blame game of racism begins. For instance, where you to say that 75% of the US prison population is gray then I must conclude that 75% of crimes are committed by gray folks. So my stereotype or biased would be based on cause, right? Of course here's where the issue become muddled, and leads to questions of why 75% are gray...PS. My figures are completely made up, I in fact, have no idea what percent of the US prison pop. is gray.

both well said. myenemy said what i was trying to get across, but much more eloquently.donslayer, i agree as well. i think that is because most often racism or such taboos are usually done with maliciousness, and so the actual definition does not matter. only in situations like this, where any racism is either subliminal or unintended do we even have to analyze it. and for these situations, since no maliciousness is intended, we find that it really wasn't that bad.

[chrozzo 19]

VIVA le DIFFERANCE!!!I have nothing against blacks.I own several. (common, you know that was funny)

damn, honestly, that WAS funnybut you should be ashamed of yourselfalso, didnt the OP just copy DNs latest blog and reverse black and white?

[nutzbuster 7]

damn, honestly, that WAS funnybut you should be ashamed of yourselfalso, didnt the OP just copy DNs latest blog and reverse black and white?

I know, I actually am....(sort of)I grew up in Detroit, near 8 mile and Gratiot actually. And I know this'll sound bad but I had friends of all different races and we ALWAYS made fun of each other, so I am coming from a differnet place I guess.And yeah, that is what the OP did to try and make his point.Interesting thread.... B)

[albasuna 0]

We all can agree that Daniels comments were racist.. But racism doesn't just come with all the hate. The thing is we cannot achieve true inequality because every race isn't equal. Asians are shorter than most races.Some races are more hot headed.I could go on forever...The truth is.. our race is too young and our ancestors were to spread out which is where we adapt, evolved and inherit some different traits then others. Maybe now with the high mixture of races and all these inter-racial relationships in 1000 years or so... stereotypes on races will be somewaht an old figure.

[Loismustdie 0]

So your definition of racism is simply "differentiation of other characteristics due to one's race?" Damn, we're screwed. Not disagreeing with you, just don't like where that goes.I'll ask you the same question I asked Sluggo once: at what statistically-significant point is something not "racist" or a "stereotype", but true?

I was thinking about this today. I work as a waiter, I have for 10 years, and it is undeniable that black people, mexicans and orientals- especially orientals- tip me worse than white people. I don't let it effect my service but at this point I have 10 years doing this ****, and the numbers do not lie. So, does that make me a racist? No. I just realize what the reality is. I would be a racist if I let the numbers dictate the level of service that I give.

[DonkSlayer 1]

I was thinking about this today. I work as a waiter, I have for 10 years, and it is undeniable that black people, mexicans and orientals- especially orientals- tip me worse than white people. I don't let it effect my service but at this point I have 10 years doing this ****, and the numbers do not lie. So, does that make me a racist? No. I just realize what the reality is. I would be a racist if I let the numbers dictate the level of service that I give.

Actually, I'll disagree with you here...if you really feel that ethnic minorities tip worse, I think you have a vested interest to spend more time with clients who you believe will tip better. It's good economic policy.I think the tipping thing is cultural though. Someone can chime in and talk about how tipping works in Asia. Blacks/latinos that are financially secure tip fine, especially if they have been/lived in Europe, but many are not secure and thus they don't tip well if at all.I think the real issue with the tipping thing is the lack of etiquette. You should figure a tip into your expected cost of going out to eat. If that extra 5-10 bucks is too much, go somewhere else.

[Loismustdie 0]

Actually, I'll disagree with you here...if you really feel that ethnic minorities tip worse, I think you have a vested interest to spend more time with clients who you believe will tip better. It's good economic policy.I think the tipping thing is cultural though. Someone can chime in and talk about how tipping works in Asia. Blacks/latinos that are financially secure tip fine, especially if they have been/lived in Europe, but many are not secure and thus they don't tip well if at all.I think the real issue with the tipping thing is the lack of etiquette. You should figure a tip into your expected cost of going out to eat. If that extra 5-10 bucks is too much, go somewhere else.

However, if I don't treat all equally I could lose my job, which would be bad news bears, so I take the good with the bad. It's part of the game.

[BearCanada 0]

Racism, like all the isms has to do with power and and the leverage accumulated in the historic holding of that power. It is a belief that one race (ussually your own) is superior to another because of inherent traits or characteristics that it is believed to be held by one race and/or those same traits and characterists are lacking in another. I think Daniel is biased and I think he was admitting that and trying to examine that bias. I think we all struggle with our biases and prejudices on a spectrum. I love it when someone tells me they have no bias or prejudice. Of course they do. It's part of being human for us to look for patterns and to assume that one thing is applicable to another until that thing is disproven. Funny sentences in the English language:I'm not racist, I have friends who are: insert group here. I'm not a racist but.... (insert broad generalization related to race or culture). As in a statement I once heard from a white woman who lived all her life in South Africa: I'm not a racist, I have no issues with the Negroes, I just think we have to steralize the men because clearly they can not control the size of their families or the diseases they are spreading. It's just a matter of public health that's all." She was dead serious and didn't believe it was a racist statement. My bias is against Americans. I have had plenty of poor experiences where the combination of ignorance and ethnocentrism has been just too much to handle. I know it's wrong and I'm working on it. It's just that my right to bare arms means I need sunscreen, so it's hard to get into a mindset. My overall point is this, when a white man says he has some issues with his own race and that he feels an akinship with another race, to me it's nothing more that a statement about trying to find your way in this world and figure out what you are all about on an individual level let alone a socio-economic level. My two cents.-Bear

[BearCanada 0]

So your definition of racism is simply "differentiation of other characteristics due to one's race?" Damn, we're screwed. Not disagreeing with you, just don't like where that goes.I'll ask you the same question I asked Sluggo once: at what statistically-significant point is something not "racist" or a "stereotype", but true?

The issues is how the statistic is used or what context it is presented in. Let's take Loismust die's example of tipping. He may be able to show that in the restaurant he works at there is a statisticly significant truth to the relationship between race and the amount of the tip. But if he then believes that Whites are a more generous race then others, he's made a value judgment about a race's inherent characteristic based on a statistic when it might be just as easy to say that it is not a matter of generosity so much as it is a matter of finacial opportunity and the amount of disposable income that one has to give out as a reward for good service. I would argue that if DN gives a $100 dollar tip and I give a $50 tip on the same bill I am being far more generous than DN because of my finacial context compared to him. However, my guess is the waiter would disagree. This is where much racial disharmony comes from because no one talks about the context or the lens they are looking through and how that lens came to be.-Bear

[kingpin_99 0]

More irritating then DN being racist is his being a wannabe. .."I be chillin in Tampa", etc. He thinks all muslims should be searched at airports, but probably thinks that blacks are unfairly targeted by police for Driving While Black. Plus, I'm sick of him crying about how people (mostly white I assume) keep bothering him in public. Maybe if he didn't show his face on every single type of TV poker show (and be loud and obnoxious on them), then he wouldn't have to worry about it. If you disagree with me, I do not care.

[DonkSlayer 1]

The issues is how the statistic is used or what context it is presented in. Let's take Loismust die's example of tipping. He may be able to show that in the restaurant he works at there is a statisticly significant truth to the relationship between race and the amount of the tip. But if he then believes that Whites are a more generous race then others, he's made a value judgment about a race's inherent characteristic based on a statistic when it might be just as easy to say that it is not a matter of generosity so much as it is a matter of finacial opportunity and the amount of disposable income that one has to give out as a reward for good service. I would argue that if DN gives a $100 dollar tip and I give a $50 tip on the same bill I am being far more generous than DN because of my finacial context compared to him. However, my guess is the waiter would disagree. This is where much racial disharmony comes from because no one talks about the context or the lens they are looking through and how that lens came to be.-Bear

Bear, I think this is off. First, Lois & I are talking about tipping in general, not generosity. Lois, I believe, doesn't make that post if he gets 15% from every race that he treats very well and does a good job. I certainly wouldn't have commented if I had that experience. No, I don't think I need to do a statistical analysis on the situation unless I'm going to publish a paper on it. If i can think of a # examples off the top of my head of very, very poor table etiquette and tipping from minorities, and can't come up with the same # about whites/Italians/English etc, even though I serve more of them, that should be good enough for me. 3rd, different "lenses" doesn't mean you are excused from being polite.4th, If racism is a belief that one's own race is superior, than what did Daniel do, really? Reverse racism? Bigotry? Simply Stereotyping? He obviously wasn't upholding his own race.

[Negreanu-Fan 0]

He is just saying he likes blacks better then whites... even though he is white....