Thanks Mickel. but I don't accept your definition.
Being called a 'racist' is one of the worst pejoratives you can be called. Why?
There is nothing intrinsically evil in believing that some races are superior to other races in some physical metric. Science shows that to be true, as does the 'eye test' that white men are crap dancers compar…
Thanks Mickel. but I don't accept your definition.
Being called a 'racist' is one of the worst pejoratives you can be called. Why?
There is nothing intrinsically evil in believing that some races are superior to other races in some physical metric. Science shows that to be true, as does the 'eye test' that white men are crap dancers compared to many other ethnicities, and that most basketball players are black. But I'm being flippant, but it's the stereotyping of "probably" to "definitely" that is the error.
The evil arises from falsely assigning bad characteristics such as *criminality* or intellectual ability as a stereotype to a particular race. Being afraid that Mexicans or Blacks (or whatever color immigrants) will take your jobs is *not* racist. It's a valid concern for any citizen of any nation facing immigrants. Believing that all Blacks or Mexicans are more criminal minded than whites, that is racist. It was the criminality aspect that created Hitler's fascism against the Jews (and Slavs, for that matter). Hitler, borrowing extensively from the philosopher Hegel, defined Aryans as 'ubermenschen' and Slavs as 'untermenschen' because he claimed that they would subvert 'good Germans'. Stories like "To Kill a Mockingbird" arose because blacks were considered unable to control their more primitive urges - completely false, even if statistics might show that more blacks were committing crimes than whites. The evil arises when that belief becomes coded in law, and justice is perverted and marginalization denies a race or ethnicity of human rights.
The actions of those boys calling you names was evil. Perverting justice is evil. Believing that there are differences between races should not affect the justice system which should be blind to race, but not to professions of intent like "Death to Jews".
I'm cool with your thoughtful response. Based on the details you provided, I'm less inclined to call kids who call other kids hurtful names racist. It implies too much thought and intent for something which, I believe, is mostly shallow, thoughtless, but contemptible behavior.
Now, I want a beer or whiskey as we discuss the issue. It's 1:30 and I have a zoom call in 30 minutes. I'll save that temptation for later in the day.
Thanks Mickel. but I don't accept your definition.
Being called a 'racist' is one of the worst pejoratives you can be called. Why?
There is nothing intrinsically evil in believing that some races are superior to other races in some physical metric. Science shows that to be true, as does the 'eye test' that white men are crap dancers compared to many other ethnicities, and that most basketball players are black. But I'm being flippant, but it's the stereotyping of "probably" to "definitely" that is the error.
The evil arises from falsely assigning bad characteristics such as *criminality* or intellectual ability as a stereotype to a particular race. Being afraid that Mexicans or Blacks (or whatever color immigrants) will take your jobs is *not* racist. It's a valid concern for any citizen of any nation facing immigrants. Believing that all Blacks or Mexicans are more criminal minded than whites, that is racist. It was the criminality aspect that created Hitler's fascism against the Jews (and Slavs, for that matter). Hitler, borrowing extensively from the philosopher Hegel, defined Aryans as 'ubermenschen' and Slavs as 'untermenschen' because he claimed that they would subvert 'good Germans'. Stories like "To Kill a Mockingbird" arose because blacks were considered unable to control their more primitive urges - completely false, even if statistics might show that more blacks were committing crimes than whites. The evil arises when that belief becomes coded in law, and justice is perverted and marginalization denies a race or ethnicity of human rights.
The actions of those boys calling you names was evil. Perverting justice is evil. Believing that there are differences between races should not affect the justice system which should be blind to race, but not to professions of intent like "Death to Jews".
I'm cool with your thoughtful response. Based on the details you provided, I'm less inclined to call kids who call other kids hurtful names racist. It implies too much thought and intent for something which, I believe, is mostly shallow, thoughtless, but contemptible behavior.
Now, I want a beer or whiskey as we discuss the issue. It's 1:30 and I have a zoom call in 30 minutes. I'll save that temptation for later in the day.