Current Events > Can someone explain the theory that only "white" people can be racist?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Without trolling? Im legitimately asking because Ive heard that being said a lot this week without any real context or explanation

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The explanation people give is a redefinition of racism as a combination of power and privilege. It's effectively another version of punching up vs. punching down, where the argument is that minorities can't be racist because they are not in a position of power in order to convert that attitude into action.

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No one except trolls say this. What is being said is there is no systemic racism in America that adversely affects white people.

because they literally invented racism

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Its just something veiled racists say

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Systemically. There is no systemic racism against whites is what people are usually saying.
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The idea is that only the majority with actual power over the system can be racist. So a slave hating all white people for what was done to him wouldn't be labeled "racist" even though it would still be hate. For it to be racist, it has to come from a majority who can actually do damage to the minority. If the minority can do no damage to the majority then it's not racist. At least, that's how I understand the argument.

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By the actual definition of the word you cant.

But loony people will find a way to twist anything to fit their narrative.

BlackHorse6969 posted...

because they literally invented racism

They literally didn't.

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gamer167 posted...

By the actual definition of the word you cant.

But loony people will find a way to twist anything to fit their narrative.

Well by some actual definitions of the word then yes, it does revolve around a systemic concept and by virtue of the fact that white people are a majority who subsequently hold more authority, by that definition there can't be racism against white people.

I still think it's kind of a dumb thing to say - we need to address systemic racism but doesn't mean we should tolerate intolerance otherwise.

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Why do you care? Aren't you Mexican? Enjoy how woke white liberals excuse you from everything.

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AmericaTheBrave posted...

Why do you care? Aren't you Mexican? Enjoy how woke white liberals excuse you from everything.

I think thats an issue tho. We shouldnt

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If a group of white people hate black people as a whole and a group of black people hate white people as a whole, which group do you think is more likely to be represented in our laws, law enforcement, and culture in present day U.S?

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Whites are the majority but there's nothing stopping a minority from gaining power.

Everyone has the opportunity. That's what I don't get about this

BeyondWalls posted...

They literally didn't.

Except they did. "Racism" was coined as a way to justify slavery and colonialism.

If you're talking about "hating everyone different from you", then no they didn't, but that didn't have a special name until then.

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I call this selective racism. Its a problem for sure.

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darkprince45 posted...

I think thats an issue tho. We shouldnt

Good man.

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This topic fails because it keeps going with the black v white narrative.

Theres racism amongst PoC. Eastern Asians are racist against the dark skin Asians. Black people are racist against dark skinned black people. Dunno about Hispanic.

The theory immediately falls apart.

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Why are the people who think racism has been solved/isn't a problem in society also the people who go on about whites being the victims of non-systemic racism?

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People in this topic have basically said it, but its differentiating between racism as a systemic thing and bigotry as an individual thing.

Anyone can be bigoted, but racism is a cultural punch down, not up. I believe thats the logic. Im not hardline on that, myself.

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cuttin_in_farm posted...

This topic fails because it keeps going with the black v white narrative.

Theres racism amongst PoC. Eastern Asians are racist against the dark skin Asians. Black people are racist against dark skinned black people. Dunno about Hispanic.

The theory immediately falls apart.

This is definitely true. Any group can be racist towards every other group

On a similar note, I had some people flip out at me a while back for even suggesting that "anti-white racism" was a thing. Like, straight up calling it a gamer take and talking to me as if I wasn't a minority to begin with (I'm Asian).

Of course, I wasn't suggesting that whites have suffered racism worse than other races, but they sure acted like I was equating the two.

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You just have to realize there are two kinds of racism.

There's racism at the personal level, and anyone can be capable of that. It's wrong, and upsetting, but it does no real lasting damage by itself short of actual hate crimes and murders which I feel counts as a big step above racism.

Then there's systemic racism, where the literal system of the country is against you. Look at the videos of black men accosted by cops simply for 'looking suspicious' in certain neighborhoods. Nowhere in America will you ever have any kind of issue with authority simply for being white.

Even here, in a very blue state, my buddy got dragged out of his car and beaten by cops on the way to a party for no reason other than being black.

gamer167 posted...

By the actual definition of the word you cant.

But loony people will find a way to twist anything to fit their narrative.

You know that words are not concrete in their meaning and their "actual definitions" can change due to cultural pressure and time, right?

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I'm black and minorities can definitely be (and often are) racist. Granted, it isn't as effective because of the power dynamic, but that doesn't make it not racism.

Punching somebody in the face doesn't stop being assault because you throw shitty punches.

Burglary doesn't stop being burglary because you couldn't carry all the valuable shit you found out with you.

Racism is racism, regardless of how good you are at it.

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Look guys I am normally in for words evolving their definitions into newer and different things as society would deem them but with the term "racism", I think we shouldn't be so readily use it loosely and redefine it to conveniently to build a narrative.

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cuttin_in_farm posted...

This topic fails because it keeps going with the black v white narrative.

Theres racism amongst PoC. Eastern Asians are racist against the dark skin Asians. Black people are racist against dark skinned black people. Dunno about Hispanic.

The theory immediately falls apart.

Hispanics are exactly the same. Not only do we all shit on each other just because of which latin american country youre from, but there is also still white vs black/native racism. Theres a reason why the leads in most hispnic soaps are white. Theres a reason why rich hispanics tend to be white. Theres a reason we have the phrase (in Puerto Rico) improve the race in regards to purposely marrying someone who has a lighter skin tone.

Woke Americans sit there and act like everything comes down to black and white but in reality theyre just so uneducated on what racism even is its insane. Is there institutional racism that needs to be addressed? Of course there is. But sitting there and watching black Americans say horrible things about whites or jews shouldnt be tolerated either, and acting like hispanics and asians arent also propagating racism at dangerous levels as well is a whole nother issue.

Racism is bad. Stop pretending to be anti-racist if all you think it means is posting a picture on social media.

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LightBurn posted...

Then there's systemic racism, where the literal system of the country is against you. Look at the videos of black men accosted by cops simply for 'looking suspicious' in certain neighborhoods. Nowhere in America will you ever have any kind of issue with authority simply for being white.

Kinda like Koreans and their monopoly of beauty supply stores, which prevents black owners from successfully having business? Since Korean manufacturers are less likely to help them?

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cuttin_in_farm posted...
Dude....


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Veggeta X posted...

Dude....

Its an example of systemic racism not including white people. If youre too ignorant to know it happens, kindly do some research.

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Other races can still be "bigoted" towards white people, it's just not racism because racism is power + privilege

Obviously anyone of any race is still capable of hating someone else from a different race, no one is denying that.

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cuttin_in_farm posted...

Kinda like Koreans and their monopoly of beauty supply stores, which prevents black owners from successfully having business? Since Korean manufacturers are less likely to help them?

That has nothing to do with the post you quoted.

That's not racism at all, and sorta seems a bit insensitive.

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Veggeta X posted...

Dude....

Is he wrong?

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Wrong or not, tact is required on this website.

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StarReaper13 posted...

That has nothing to do with the post you quoted.

That's not racism at all, and sorta seems a bit insensitive.

Yes it is. Historically, Koreans in the US have abused black Americans status and needs to gain this monopoly they have currently. They used the Americas system to do it.

If thats not systemic, then maybe Im unclear what systemic racism is.

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The fact that people are so shocked I even said it proves a point someone else made earlier.

No one actually knows how racism works.

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ZMythos posted...

You know that words are not concrete in their meaning and their "actual definitions" can change due to cultural pressure and time, right?

"I can twist these sounds you make with your mouth mean whatever I want, because I'm so open minded and progressive".

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cuttin_in_farm posted...

Yes it is. Historically, Koreans in the US have abused black Americans status and needs to gain this monopoly they have currently. They used the Americas system to do it.

If thats not systemic, then maybe Im unclear what systemic racism is.

No, not necessarily.

The idea that people of a specific ethnicity are more likely to support businesses owned by people of their own race isn't any form of racism. The idea that they wouldn't go to a business owned by someone of another/a particular race because it's owned by that particular race however is racism.

Like (especially recently) people have been saying support Black-owned businesses, but it's not saying "fuck non-black owned businesses", just that we need to help pull our own up.
It's a thin line but it makes a difference.

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Politics posted...

Other races can still be "bigoted" towards white people, it's just not racism because racism is power + privilege

Obviously anyone of any race is still capable of hating someone else from a different race, no one is denying that.

This is the problem. Racism is not tied to power and privilege by definition. People like to say that it is, but it isnt. By definition its about prejudice and animosity based on race. Its about believing someones human traits are directly correlated with their race.

It is only because of racism in its purist form that we have our dynamics of power and privilege. However thats a result of it, and not inherent to racism itself.

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Smashingpmkns posted...

Systemically. There is no systemic racism against whites is what people are usually saying.

Systemic racism isn't the only type of racism

yemmy posted...

"I can twist these sounds you make with your mouth mean whatever I want, because I'm so open minded and progressive".

Holy shit you're literally this ignorant.

You have no fucking notion of sense or reason.

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yemmy posted...

"I can twist these sounds you make with your mouth mean whatever I want, because I'm so open minded and progressive".

Dumb take, really really dumb take.

Just think of the Bible, how many words in there have different meanings today? What about 1700s/1800s literature? Hell even simpler words have changed, like the word 'dumb'. The more known meaning is the one referring to someone's lack of intelligence rather than their ability to speak.

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StarReaper13 posted...

No, not necessarily.

The idea that people of a specific ethnicity are more likely to support businesses owned by people of their own race isn't any form of racism. The idea that they wouldn't go to a business owned by someone of another/a particular race because it's owned by that particular race however is racism.

Like (especially recently) people have been saying support Black-owned businesses, but it's not saying "fuck non-black owned businesses", just that we need to help pull our own up.
It's a thin line but it makes a difference.

But thats whats happening on the production end. For obvious reasons, black people dont have many ways to actually create the supplies needed for their products. So they have to go manufacturers to get it. Which are predominantly Korean owned. But these same manufacturers that work with Korean businesses were and maybe are less likely to work with black owned businesses.

To my knowledge, white people havent tried too hard to break into the same market. So Im unsure if its specifically skeptical of black people or a Korean pride, admittedly. So Im willing to say it might not match the exact narrative this topic is shooting for. But still.

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it's a bullshit 'theory' with no basis in reality. end of discussion.

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ZMythos posted...

You know that words are not concrete in their meaning and their "actual definitions" can change due to cultural pressure and time, right?

Exactly, you can tweak the definition based on the your opinion to mean whatever you want.

Its what makes this argument pointless.

its a major debate in the black community between those who are like "alot of us are hella racist i see it every day, ESPECIALLY towards asians" and those who are like "YOU WRONG WE CANT BE RACIST CUZ WE HAVE A REASON TO HATE THEM FOR THEM HATING US FOR OUR SKIN SO WE RE NOT JUST HATING THEM FOR THEIR SKIN BUT ALSO CUZ THEY ALL HATE US!!"

and of course there's the "NOT RACIST IF OUR RACE ISNT IN POWER!!! WE CAN CALL IT PREJUDICE BUT I DONT THINK WE RE THAT EITHER!!!"

ZMythos posted...

Holy shit you're literally this ignorant.

You have no fucking notion of sense or reason.

@ZMythos

What is the definition of racism?


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gamer167 posted...

Exactly, you can tweak the definition based on the your opinion to mean whatever you want.

Its what makes this argument pointless.

That's not what I said. An individual does not posses that influence. This particular change has been reinforced by the POC community for the majority of the century to date.

yemmy posted...

@ZMythos

What is the definition of racism?

Shut the fuck up.

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