If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

Xper 6 Age: 28

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

I want this MyTake to be as balanced and fair as possible, because this is an issue I feel passionate about. I will do my best. Feel free to critique this after you finish reading this. I am open to criticism.

Originally I asked a question related to this topic. In retrospect that was a mistake. Many users didn't read the question and assumed I was racist because I mentioned race. And because I ran out of room I didn't have a chance to make all the points I wanted to make. So I'm writing this MyTake.

I am not racist. I have never been racist. Nobody in my family is racist, and I do not support racism. Like most people I'd say. However, because it pertains to this issue, I will give a little bit of detail about my background. I'm white, middle-upper middle class. Money has never be an issue I've had to content with. I've never had to go hungry because I didn't have enough money. As much as I hate this term, for the purposes of this MyTake I'll concede to the fact that I am "privileged." I live in a safe neighborhood, I have access to high quality medical care, and I can always count on my family to be there for me.

Now that I've cleared that up, let me start this MyTake. All I ask is that you read everything I have to say before responding. If you are reading this, I'm going to assume this MyTake has been promoted. In that case, I'll say this- do you really think this would have been promoted if it was racist. In my experience, no, it wouldn't have.

1) Anyone can be racist

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

There's a misconception being spread around by the liberal media that only white people can be racist. This is based on an alternate definition of racism. This alternate definition states that only the group that has benefited from racism can be racist.

This definition doesn't make sense. Words can be broken down into their parts to derive the meaning of the word. For example, the word racism and the word racist.

The word racist contains two parts. Race and ist.

Race: A group of people identified as distinct from other groups because of supposed physical or genetic traits shared by the group. This is the universally accepted definition of race. This particular definition isn't challenged.

Ist: a follower of a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology or an artistic movement:

So, roughly translated a racist would be the follower of a system based on race. So basically anybody who believes in a system based on race is a racist. This makes sense. Where does all that other stuff about privilege come into play though.

The way I see it, some people try to redefine the word so they can say and be as racist as they want without having to worry about being labelled a racist. Because being prejudice or being a bigot is so much better.

If you aren't prejudiced based on race, you shouldn't have to worry about being called a racist. And if you are prejudiced based on race and don't like me because I'm white I'm not too fussed about your personal preferences to be completely honest.

If you believe a race is superior to another race you are a racist. Simple as that.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get into the meat of this issue

2) Racial divide

This is generally what I've observed on the internet. People who have been most affected by racism claim it exists in every facet of society while people who haven't been affected by racism at all claim it doesn't exist in any facet of society. Here's what I personally think: Racism does exist in some facets of society.

I think the race card is sometimes used even when an issue has nothing to do with race. I think other times it is thrown out even when the issue does have something to do with race.

So far I've been beating around the bush with "People who have been most affected by racism." Brace yourself, because I'm about to be a lot more blunt. This is probably going to create a shitstorm.

White people:

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

You can find statistics on the internet that support the belief that white people are actually at a DISadvantage in society because of their race. Does this mean they/we are? No, this just goes to show how there is a statistic or fact to support any opinion/viewpoint you may possess.

One thing I see some white people do is look for any statistic or study to disprove the notion that racism could still exist in any way in society. I see this a lot on Youtube. I don't believe the people saying this are being racist, but I do believe this is wishful thinking on their part.

The reality is this: If racial discrimination exists but non-white people are the ones affected by it, how could we as white people possibly know whether it does or does not exist. After all, we wouldn't be affected by this if this was true. So there is really no way for us to know. These videos that claim there is no racism and discrimination anymore are incorrect I believe.

I for one believe it does exist to an extent. I think there are certain things I've never had to deal with because of the color of my skin. On the other hand...

Non-White People

I believe that in some cases racism is used as an excuse or used because white people are a convenient scapegoat. Blaming everything on racism doesn't make any sense either. That is the other extreme.

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

For example, here's an article on buzzfeed (you know it's going to be good when it's on buzzfeed. This article lists "17 deplorable examples of white privilege."

Here's one of the "deplorable examples."

4. White privilege means you can be articulate and well spoken without people being “surprised.”

(funny enough, that's not listing a deplorable example, that IS a deplorable example)

Really though, what does that even mean. How do you know they are "surprised." And how do you know this has anything at all to do with race. maybe they aren't actually surprised and you are just misinterpreting their response. I don't think this has anything to do with race. I personally don't assume anything about a person's intelligence based on their skin. I'm not just saying that. I consider myself a logical and rational person, and that assumption isn't logical or rational.

6. You can wear and act however you’d like without being labeled a thug, low life, gangster, etc

Again, does this really have anything to do with race? Yes, how you dress leaves an impression. If you dress with your pants sitting below your butt people are going to judge you. But what does that have to do with race. I make judgments about anybody who dresses a certain way. I've thought "that white person is a gangster" before. This has nothing to do with race.

Take this "social experiment" video on Youtube. A black guy and a white guy are walking with a semi automatic rifle in an area that permits open carry.

COULD this be race related? Sure. But it could also not be related to race at all. pay close attention.

The black guy isn't dressed like a hoodlum or criminal, but he's dressed far more casually. He's wearing a black tee and jeans. Of course people who aren't gangsters have the same style, but if you look at two people regardless of race and one of them is wearing a long black tee and jeans and one of them is wearing a tucked in polo shirt with a belt and jeans, who looks more like the gangster? The guy dressed in a black shirt and jeans of course. The other guy looks like he's going to a shooting range.

Honestly given the trend of shootings, I'd actually be more inclined to think the first guy is up to no good. But based on a split second judgement, the second guy looks more suspicious not because of his skin color but because of what he is wearing. If I saw either one I'd be freaked out and I'd give both of them a wide berth/get away from them as soon as possible.

I'd be curious to see a social experiment where they were wearing the same thing. If you can find something like that, feel free to link it down below.

Here's another example

White privilege allows you to speak on any particular subject without being the sole representative for your entire race.

Really? I've never listened to one black person and assumed that all black people believed in what he was saying. Why on Earth would I. There are many differences between two people that possess the same color of skin. Is this even an actual thing?

White privilege means no one questions why you got that really great job; it’s assumed you were just highly qualified.

Again, what? Anybody is going to be curious why another person got a good job because... (shocker) they want a great job too. What on Earth does this have to do with race? I've never asked a black person in a high position how they got that high position in a company and I've never seen anybody else ask that question either. I assume they got it by working hard.

White privilege means not having to worry about your hair, skin color, or cultural accessories as the reason you didn’t get a job.

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

Employers aren't allowed to discriminate on the basis of skin color. Employers can say a person has dirty hair and not hire them because they are unclean, or can choose not to hire somebody with a beard. I have no idea what "cultural accessories" are.

None of the examples I listen and most of the examples on that list don't seem to have anything to do with race. Yet, all these issues that PEOPLE face are turned into race issues.

The other examples on the list, including the ones about police brutality are race issues. But these petty non race related ones undermine the entire list and make me more doubtful of everything else that is said.

The problem with turning everything into a race issue

As a white person, I'll be the first to admit that I do get defensive when talking about race. Historically my race hasn't been great to people not of my race (that's an understatement).

But when I feel like I'm being attacked or all my faults are being pointed out I only get more defensive and am less willing to communicate. This is a trend I've observed on Youtube. Youtubers that cover these ridiculous BuzzFeed videos blaming white people for everything think that white people are to blame for nothing and race issues simply don't exist.

Race issues DO exist, but turning everything into a race issue is ignoring the main issue.

Hostility towards white people

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

Turning everything into a race issue is the symptom of a larger issue. Changing the definition of racism to exempt oneself of the act is the symptom of a larger issue.

That larger issue- hatred towards white people

I am well aware that white people, historically, have not been great to people of other races. And I am also well aware that an entire group exists dedicated to hating black people and trying to take their rights away (the KKK). But some of the stuff I encounter on the internet is just plain nasty. I know somebody's going to be outraged that I'm acting like the victim- I'm really not. But I'm still a person and believe it or not certain things said about me can affect me even though I'm white.

I'm not talking about cracker and honkey. Those words don't offend me. I'm talking about stuff like "white tears" and "white people need to shut up about race." Things I've heard multiple times on the internet, either in response to me or someone else even though I/ that other person didn't say anything racist.

I, as a white person, have never done anything to somebody because of their race. The only thing my ancestors and I have in common is the color of our skin. I obviously don't understand how it feels to be black and read about the atrocities white people have comitted. Just like a non white person doesn't fully understand how it feels to be attacked and blamed for something your ancestors did years ago. Slavery is horrible and I wish it never happened. But it isn't my fault. More to the point, a lot of white people don't have ancestors that owned slaves. Not all white people owned slaves. Being blamed for something that other people did or to feel as though you're being blamed for something that other people did is rotten. Just like being told race isn't a factor and you're just lazy is, I'm sure, rotten.

You already have some white people (I'll be blunt RACIST white people) saying that white genocide exists. There are channels that publish propoganda pieces very clearly saying that white people are being attacked or are going to be attacked by black people. My concern is this- if the white people in government feel threatened enough they may take steps to alleviate the threat. And those steps would hurt non-whites. I'm not so sure that segregation couldn't happen again. And if it does, who benefits from it and who loses. There are more white people in America and there are more white people in the government.

White people: Don't worry about Black Lives Matter

I see white people and white Youtubers saying that black lives matter is a terrorist organization. Now yes, some of these Youtubers may be closet racists, but I think a lot of people genuinely believe this.

Black lives matter is not a terrorist organization. Arguably, they aren't even an organization. Black Lives matter is just a phrase. Most BLM supporters are fine people. Some are not. Some hate white people and some will probably kill white people. But you can't compare BLM to ISIS a group of Islamic Extremists who hate America. ALL of whom hate America.

As long as BLM's actions aren't threatening white people/us who cares if the statistics they are going off of are correct. They want to reduce the number of unarmed black men shot and killed every year in the US. That's a good thing. Who cares if the number is higher or lower then the number of white men. As long as they aren't hurting anybody, there's no issue. If they do hurt people or property, everybody including the non extremist supporters should call them out on it. If they achieve their goals, that's great. Let's stop nitpicking every statistic and piece of data that comes out. And be wary of those who claim BLM is a terrorist organization- they may be closet racists.

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

Black Lives Matter supporters: Don't worry about white people who don't support you and allow the ones who do to help

It's such a trivial thing. BLM is an important movement. I don't personally support it. I do believe all lives matter. I get how someone might be pissed off when someone says all lives matter in response to black lives matter, but at the same time isn't that a real nonissue? They aren't interfering with black lives matter. And if they actually were racist or disagreed with the movement they'd probably respond with "no they don't" or "white lives matter." There are more important issues to deal with then white people who aren't in support of BLM. Just ignore us and do your thing. As a movement, some people will support you and some people won't. That doesn't mean everyone who doesn't support you is a racist.

Also, if white people want to participate, let them. And don't attack white people after a black person gets killed by police (I don't think the people that do that are going to be reading this MyTake though). White people do care about black people. We do. Well, racist white people don't, but white people don't care about racist white people.

White people: Quit being so paranoid

I saw a video recently which was a compilation of every single example of black on white racial violence. It was 36 minutes, a very random length. Furthermore certain categories like "white women aren't safe" didn't have a counterpart "white men aren't safe" so I can only assume the video maker couldn't find certain examples. Yes, obviously racial violence towards white people does occur. That doesn't mean that all of a sudden BLM is going to take over your neighborhood. That doesn't mean you should start distancing yourself from non white people. That doesn't help anything. Some commenters seemed to think this proved that white people are in danger. It doesn't. In the middle of riots white people are sometimes harmed. That's true for all riots unfortunately. You aren't in danger, stop freaking out. The last thing we need is "white schools" (whatever those are, this was a reference in a post I read on a website.)

You are not in any danger because of your race. Calm down. Yes, a black person could break into your home and beat you and suffocate you with a garbage bag. (a horrifying example in the video). So could a white person.

Common ground

If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

I know there's people talking about how much racial tension there is, but I for one think we're in a pretty good state. BLM is putting the spotlight on issues that deserve the attention. Schools seem to be less and less segregated. People seem to be, in general, trying to understand each other.

Let's not ruin this by resegregating. The last thing anybody wants is to see segregation return. unfortunately, this is starting to happen again in some cases. White people being distrustful of black people and black people being distrustful of white people (some.) Let's just try to get along. Let's try to accept that there are things we can't relate to and know for sure. And even if we haven't dealt with certain things non-whites have dealt with, it's fine. It isn't our fault.

And non-whites, it would be great if you realized that not everything is a race issue. Really, it's not. Might seem insensitive for me, a white person, to say that but I'm just calling out what I see like I've been doing with this whole mytake. Realize that white people do feel awkward in conversations about race.

The reality is, we need to have these conversations at some point. If one side blames the other for everything and the other side blames the other and says they are making stuff up, this will never happen and no one's voice gets heard. We need to work together to solve race issues.

I tried to make this as balanced as possible. I really hope people see this. I apologize if you are offended, but I think being blunt and honest is the best approach. No point in beating around the bush. I called out the issues I saw.

Thank you for reading. Comment below, all opinions are welcome no matter how harsh. These are heated topics.

Let me end this Mytake by saying one other thing. My writing this MyTake will change nothing, but a number of people voicing this opinion might. So if you feel strongly about this I strongly encourage you to publish a Youtube video or write a vlog. Racial harmony is important.

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BlueCoyote Follow
Influencer Guru Age: 35

+1 y

While I generally consider it a good thing to "have a conversation" about important issues in a society, Americans of all racial backgrounds are taking this whole race-topic completely overboard. I've traveled quite a lot and I've never been to a country where people are so insanely obsessed with race. I understand that there are racial tensions and some serious problems but overall, I personally feel like it would help Americans a great deal to finally get over this and think about some other issues instead of just obsessing over race day and night.

I am in a long-term relationship with a girl from South Korea. I'm European caucasian myself (Germanic white as I like to call it). You know how often race comes up in our relationship? Practically never. I love her racial features, she likes mine... and that's about it. Of course a relationship isn't the same thing as a society but you get my point: there's so many more interesting things to think and talk about.
My country Switzerland has one of the highest rates of foreigners in the world (more than a quarter of our society are foreigners). When I was in middle school, I had kids from all over the world in my class. There was also a girl from Nigeria in my class and one from Somalia. You know what I talked about with them? The same things that I talked with the Italian boy at the desk next to me. I asked them about their home country, about their food, their language etc. Or we simply talked about music or movies we liked. Apart from the fact that I thought those two black girls were pretty hot (I'm into racially "exotic" girls), I really didn't care about their race. It just never seemed like an important issue that was worth spending much thought over. And that is how this whole issue should be approached in my opinion.

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TayTay21 Follow
Yoda Age: 26

+1 y

I'm tired of hearing about this so-called 'conversation about race' when white people are actually not allowed to say anything about racial issues without being branded a bigot. I'm just tired of everything being turned into a racial issue in which evil white people are oppressing helpless, angelic black people. There are just as many racist blacks as there are racist whites, so no one has a monopoly on the moral high ground.

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21 Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  
  @TayTay21 Check your mathematical reasoning.
  " There are just as many racist blacks as there are racist whites" There are 5 or 6 times more whites than blacks in the US.
  
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- TayTay21
  
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  @jacquesvol Black people are also 5 or 6 times more racist than whites, Klaus.
  
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- vishna
  
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  A lot of white people have amazing things to say-have you ever been to a dialogue on race/inclusiveness/etc? No one is shunning the white people... in most cases, there's a lack of white people present.
  
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- TayTay21
  
  +1 y
  @vishna Did you ever wonder why there was a lack of white people present at racial discussions? The reason is that white people aren't allowed to talk about race in America. If we do, we get labeled either a racist or a liar. If we express any issues with people of other races, we're horrible, set seething bigots. If we claim to love people of other races and live colorblidn clo colorblind, then we're g called liars, because as everyone knows, all white people are racists, regardless of what we say. It's a no-win situation, so we just don't participate.
  
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- vishna
  
  +1 y
  Lol, ok lady, you keep on believing that.
  
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- TayTay21
  
  +1 y
  @vishna Whatever. You don't want to hear the truth because it doesn't fit with the story you've constructed about racial issues.
  
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- TayTay21
  
  +1 y
  @vishna This is precisely why white people don't talk to non-white people about racial issues. We express what we feel only to have black people either naysay or start with the name calling.
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  @vishna Doesn't your statement prove her point? Your dismissing what she is saying immediately because she disagrees with the notion that all/most whites are racist. That itself lends credence to what she is saying.
  
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- vishna
  
  +1 y
  @hellionthesage No
  
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- hellionthesage
  
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  @vishna Really? She stated that any time a white person interacts with a minority or tries to talk about race they are immediately dismissed at which point you responded by immediately dismissing her. So yes I do think that proves her point.
  
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- vishna
  
  +1 y
  @hellionthesage No, she made it seem like people always thing white people are bigots, I'm telling her, that's not true and she shouldn't try to talk for all the non white people in the world because that's disrespectful.
  @TayTay21 who used name calling? where? and WHAT is the truth? That all white people ARE bigots? I don't see where you're going with this? My statement said that white people have great things to say regarding race and if anything MORE white people should be present. So, what are you getting at?
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  @vishna White people are shut down all the time for speaking about race, I know because it happens all the time to me (not that I've ever let anything deter me, even when a black man flipped a table over because he didn't like what I said (I stated that blacks should not be hired in to the fire department simply because they where black but based upon their scores and how they tested, he stated it was owed to blacks I disagreed and he flipped a table and walked off) This is an actual thing that happens and dismissing it isn't going to change that, what will is acknowledging that this does happen, do all minorities do this? No of course not and she never said all minorities did do this, but a large enough group do that whites do not wish to talk about this topic because they are tired of being told that they are priviledged (provably false) or that they are racist (simply because they are white and disagree with some one who isn't). This is a common occurrence.
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  @vishna So if you want whites to speak about race and have that discussion (and believe me I can go on about it for quite some time and prove just how one sided this argument is made to be (did you know whites where slaves? And that the first slave owner in America, Anthony Johnson was black?)) then we need to acknowledge that one minorities can and are racist just as much as any other group (again this is not all but they exist) and then call out those people (because the reason why racism is in my opinion more prominent among minorities is simply because any attempt to call them out on it is claimed to be racist and since society has only bothered to state half of the history (namely the parts where whites where bad and blacks/minorities victims (and ignore the half where whites where victims and blacks/minorities where bad)) whites are easily guilted into silence and allowing the behavior to persist out of a sense of guilt and shame which really doesn't belong to them).
  
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- vishna
  
  +1 y
  @hellionthesage "White people are shut down all the time for speaking about race" when did I say they weren't? I refuted her insinuation that is happens ALL the time. Your first sentence starts off by showing that you didn't really read anything I said or she said. Then you go on to ask did I know whites were slaves? Then you talk about about "we need to acknowledge that one minorities can and are racist just as much as any other group" Who is we? Why do you assume I don't think minorities can be racist bigots? You assume I'm some dummy, don't listen to what I'm saying and can't understand what I'm getting at "THAT white people have great things to say" I don't have time for your type of 'conversation'
  
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- TayTay21
  
  +1 y
  @vishna Well, you wrote that "no one is shunning the white people," and that's just not true. The reality is that minorities will only accept what whites say if it's in total accord with what they believe. If we disagree at all, if we have our own thoughts, black people and other minorities usually resort to name calling or simply tell us to shut up. It's happened to the vast majority of white people who've tried to talk about racial issues. And you basically did the same to me and @hellionthesage in this thread, so I see no reason to change my outlook.
  
  Bottom line: white people aren't allowed to talk about race, so we keep our thoughts to ourselves and let y'all believe what you want.
  
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- vishna
  
  +1 y
  I don't get people like you. Yes, some people shun white people. You happy? I'm not trying to change your opinion on anything like that, I don't care. You're can continue talking for other people till the day you die "The reality is that minorities will" "black people and other minorities usually resort to name calling or simply tell us to shut up" "It's happened to the vast majority of white people" If the universe has endowed a 19 year old with infinite wisdom and the ability to see into millions of other's hearts-cool. I highly doubt it, but cool.
  
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- TayTay21
  
  +1 y
  @vishna So now you're resorting to ad hominem attacks on me based on my age? See, you just continue to prove my point. I'm white, I'm 19, I'm [insert lame reason] so I just don't get it. This is why race relations are not going to get better. Black people feel like white people are all closet racists, and white people feel like black people are hypocritical. It just goes on and on, very tiresome.
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  @vishna You arguing about "not all" or "all the time" is arguing symantics, its a straw man argument clearly it doesn't happen every single time and clearly not every single person in a group is racist you know that I know that she knows that everyone knows that so you arguing it is a waste of time no one is arguing these things, when you say all the time its hyperbole its to state that it happens with great frequency and again you know that and I know that and she knows that so your now choosing to try and argue against a point that was never made thus proving the initial point you cannot contest what was stated so your trying to nitpick the statement and change the nature of the argument. So the vast majority of the time whites are shamed and shunned from talking about race. The vast majority of the time minorities do not wish to havea discussion about race they just whant to talk at whites and have whites go along with everything they say. That is what was stated and its true.
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  @vishna So I did read what she said and I read what you said so you trying to play this game of shifting the argument so that you can dance around the topic isn't going to work. What I said and what @TayTay21 stated was accurate as is evident by your behavior and your attempt to distort what she said and ignore what I stated. This is what happens and this is why so many whites simply don't say anything because minorities do not wish to talk with whites about race they wish to talk at whites and have whites vigorously nod and agree with every single sentiment they make whether its racist or not. That is what your doing now, that is the norm. As for my statements, we was society as again you very well knew based upon the context of the statement. Acknowledge racism was minorities because as your argument tried to state racist are predominantly white (you argued because they have a larger population which is an inaccurate assessment since racism is not a set ratio).
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  @vishna Every single thing you have said and your response to any form of criticism and complain is in fact the very thing that was initially mentioned happens your very attempt to argue and dismiss it has in fact proved every word of the statements. I mentioned the whites as slaves because as I mentioned we take a very one sided approach to history that only paints whites as racist and bad and only minorities as good when in fact both did the same things both good and bad which is why racial relations are so screwed up currently because we refuse to acknowledge the wrongs commited and the rights done on both sides which in turn helps foster the victim mentality in minorities and the white guilt of Caucasians. Again you understood exactly what was being said you simply didn't like what was being said so you attempted to alter the argument to make it more favorable towards what you wanted to be true. Again your very argument proves the initial point true.
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  @TayTay21 Its funny how her very argument actually proves your points and I honestly am amazed that she cannot (technicly chooses not to) see that. You state that no one wants to listen to what white people have to say and she responds by not listening, you state that minorities only want to hear what they want and only listen to whites if its in accord with their own beliefs and she immediately ignores you and dismisses your statements because they are not in accord with her own beliefs, you mention they respond with insults she immediately insults you. I guess some people will never understand irony even when its staring them in the face.
  
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+1 y
551 opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.

I agree that any body can be racist. In fact the claim otherwise is itself racist. However I would also state that when people argue about racism they are not arguing about whether or not it exists but whether or not its systemic (part of our governmental system or social/economic system) and whether or not its wide spread. We can absolutely disprove the notion that its systemic and it being wide spread, yes individuals can be racist and are, same with groups but these are the minority. We know that we have systems that benefit only minorities, that their are programs (hiring quotas hate crimes etc) that only benefit them so clearly the system cannot be biased against them while also giving them special priviledges at the same time. We know that the president is black (mulotto technicly) who won not only the electoral college (part of the governmental system) but also the popular vote (the population in its totality) twice. So its pretty safe to say that their is really no discernable systemic or wide spread racism towards blacks. As for the video of the police, yes they did stop him because he was black, but that doesn't really mean its racism, but pragmatism. They didn't do it just because he was black, they did it because he had a gun and statisticly speaking according to FBI data blacks commit 52% of all murders in this country despite being only 12% of the population (that is insane, that statistic should be the murder rate for whites who make up 63% of the population) so it was perfectly logical to do so, they do not know the man, they do not know if he is a upstanding citizen or not the only thing they have to go on is the knowledge that most murders (and most violent crimes really) are commited by blacks and that this one has an automatic weapon. They cannot take that chance with such a high probability of a violent outcome. As for History I think one that we completely remember it one sided which is really screwing up how we view the races. First and foremost plenty of whites where against slavery and in fact the war on slavery was waged long before the civil war through legal systems, each time a state was brought into existence their was fierce struggles over whether or not it would be a slave state, Pennsylvania for instance was founded by quackers who where staunchly anti slavery and would in fact not only force slave owners who entered into the territory to free their slaves but would also play a huge part in the under ground rail road,

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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  plenty of whites hated slavery in general both on moral grounds (I believe it was henry Thoreau who whent to prison for refuseing to acknowledge the governments authority so long as they allowed slavery to exist) to economical (if you have slaves doing a job for free your not going to go and pay some one else to do it) to convinence (since laws where passed by the rich (and for the rich) because of the fact that only the rich could vote most of the poor would once a month be forced to form night watches and hunt down the rich slave owners slaves). We also ignore the fact that the first slave owner in America (Anthony Johnson) was black (Angolan) and his slave white (he actually owned a very successful plantation) and that slavers where also black, it was not whites going into these countries and taking slaves it was blacks who where doing it and then selling them to any body whether it be whites or muslims or other blacks (in fact many presidents of said African nations have apologized
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  for their countries and peoples part in the slave trade). We also ignore the fact that only 1% of whites owned slaves vs 48% of blacks (the average number of slaves owned was 5 so this also rules out the argument they where buying back spouses which in most states and times they could free themselves once bought (which would mean they would not show up in this statistic)) we also ignore the fact that slave comes from the word slav or Slavic i. e. a group of white people who where enslaved so often by so many different groups (few of which where white) that their very name became synonomous with forced subjugation. The irish where slaves and where in fact treated worse then black slaves (they where considered unruly compared to blacks and where considered in the east indies in particular to be lazy in comparison (most likely do to both the British hatred of them and the hot climate respectively)). Yet we never hear of this? Why? We have created a system that ignores half the information
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  that presents the issue as, no pun intended, black or white which it was not. Some whites hated blacks as is evident by the KKK, some blacks hated whites as is evident by the Black Panthers, some whites believed in equality some blacks did too it was never racial until later. Most just minded their business. Segregation itself was actually meant as a good thing, it was meant to separate both groups as a cooling down of animosities until both groups could move beyond our histories and then eventually come back together to create a unified group and of course some people exploited this and abused this and it became what we now know it to be. The fact is we have ignored blacks crimes in this and only stated whites crimes while talking about all the social justice blacks have fought for while ignoring all that whites fought for (the British where actually the first country to universally ban slavery, almost all white countries followed suit while African countries held onto it for decades
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  after). This only increases the divide, where some whites assholes? Yes. Where some blacks assholes? Also yes. That's the problem we create the very rift we claim to try and fix by ignoring these very important details. If we call out the black community for all the violence in it as white people what happens? Where racist. So then we just keep our mouth shut and what happens? The violence continues. Statistics show this. The only solution is facts, not pandering not ignoring data, not making sure people always feel good about themselves or their communities, facts. BLM is a terrible group they have advocated the killing of cops in some of their chants despite the fact that statistics show that white cops are as likely to kill a black suspect as a black cop is. Despite the fact that black cops who kill unarmed white teenagers (like what happened in Louisiana) get no coverage resulting in ( yet again) information asymmetry. We know all the things that happen to blacks but ignore
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  the reverse. This widens the rift. We know that BLM is causing greater problems because police shoot when they feel they have to and that means when some one is acting aggressive towards them and not cooperating. They are soldiers essentially, they deal with violent people regularly so they are trained to fight and if necessary kill if some one is a threat. So when you tell the black community to hate cops that they are the enemy you are endangering lives not saving them. A police officer has only to ways of enforcing the law, the threat of force and actual force and when threat of force no longer is sufficient the only recourse is actual force. As for interracial violence blacks are also more likely to perpetrate that as well at about 80% of interracial crimes between whites and blacks where perpetrated by blacks (again FBI statistics) and in fact this held true when applied to Hispanics and blacks as well. Pretending this is not the case isn't going to resolve issues.
  
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- hellionthesage
  
  +1 y
  The reason this is happening is very obvious, because its allowed. Would we ever allow such behavior from a white person? No. They would be called racist, their would be no one their trying to justify their actions by stating it was because they where poor (more whites are poor then blacks (due to greater population)) or because of racism against them or evil bad black cops assaulting them. We would call them out on that behavior immediately and without sympathy (and we do) so their is never an excuse for the behavior. But when you tell some one in the black community its not their fault its white peoples/their poor/etc. your saying they have no power over their life and their for have no reason to try and change anything.
  
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godfatherfan Follow
Guru Age: 55

+1 y
504 opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.

What I see is that many many many in the black community are far larger racists then anyone I know.
1) don't tell me how offensive the "N' word is, then use it every other word when talking to friends or rapping. If it was so offensive, you wouldn't use it.
2) Black Lives Matter is THE most racist organization since the NAACP. All lives matter, not just black lives.
3) Don't complain about the Oscars being mostly or all white when you have BET, Black entertainment awards, etc... Once all those are gone, then you can bitch
4) most jobs, esp government, are so skewed that most white people can no longer get them. If you were qualified for a job, you wouldn't need "affirmative action".
5) nobody alive today was a slave, nor were your parents, or grandparents. Yes, slavery was a horrid thing. One of several reasons for the Civil War and how many thousands of white people died to end the practice also. Get on with your life and stop blaming the past for your inability to advance in life.

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- IsraelJordan
  
  +1 y
  1. I can use what ever word i want to and i can also say if you refer to me as this word we are going to have a problem. You can either have a problem or not, your choice.
  2. Black lives matter "too" Not "only" Black lives matter. Please explain how it is the most racist organization ever when they aren't lynching people and leavings burning crosses on your lawn?
  3. The BET awards was made because blacks were not getting the recognition they deserved.
  4. Affirmative action is needed for the same reason why you don't want it do be. People of color couldn't get jobs because they were overlooked for the nice white workers even if they were more or equally qualified.
  5. Stop bringing the irrelevant ass civil war into things. They didn't fight to free the slaves. They fought because of the secession. Abolitionism came later. The past isn't the problem, it's people like you.
  
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- godfatherfan
  
  +1 y
  @IsraelJordan lol that is funny. So black people continue to bring up slavery every single converstation and even when it has no context, but I can't bring up who fought to end it? hmmm...
  Now your going to back peddle and try and say "black lives matter too"? where is that on their signs? when they speak and try and cause riots? That whole racist movement has been saying that black lives are more important then anyone else, not just whites. The government should label them as a terrorist organization.
  You can have your BET... that means you don't need to be included in the oscars. If you want to be included in the oscars, then you need to allow white and all other ethnicities into the BET award s and any other racist award shows that include only black entertainers. I wonder what would be the outcry if we created the White Entertainment Awards? do you see white people picketing over BET?
  
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- IsraelJordan
  
  +1 y
  1. THE CIVIL WAR WAS NOT FOUGHT TO END SLAVERY. Read a fucking book.
  2. What signs do you see saying that only black lives matter and that they are the most important? Every movement in history has had extremists so you can't blame the whole movement for some protesters. You're a grown man i shouldn't be telling you shit like that.
  The Oscars basically was white entertainment awards, now i admit i wasn't as bad as people were making it seem but still. BET has given white people awards if you bothered to look it up instead of being happy in your ignorance. Why would white people picket over BET?
  
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- godfatherfan
  
  +1 y
  @IsraelJordan if you read my statement, I said it was one of the reasons, not THE reason, the war was fought. Maybe you should have paid attention in school.
  
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- IsraelJordan
  
  +1 y
  It was not one of the reasons! You can even google it for pete's sake!
  
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- CHARismatic110
  
  +1 y
  Nigger/Nigga are two different things, and it depends on the context it's used in. I'm sure you're aware of that tho. BLM has never claimed that black lives were more important than any other lives. Cut the bullshit. The message has always been that black lives matter too. TOO. As in ALSO. Not more. BLM has protested on behalf of non black people. Didn't see any AllLivesMatter people around tho. And if you're gonna be mad at anyone over BET existing, it damn sure shouldn't be black people. Be mad that blacks weren't included in those types of events. Because that's why BET exists. Because we weren't represented on other stations and platforms. But the owner of BET is white, if that makes you feel better.
  
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- helloitsmethere
  
  +1 y
  How. Many. Times. Do. I. Have. To. Post. This. Goddamn. Picture?
  s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/.../...91ef37104d.jpg
  az616578.vo.msecnd.net/.../...979836286_4tn7mt.jpg
  www.awesomelyluvvie.com/.../...-AllLivesMatter.jpg
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  @helloitsmethere I just said I didn't support black lives matter, that's all. I didn't say we need to change the name of the organization to all lives matter.
  
  The name isn't what I have a problem with.
  
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IsraelJordan Follow
Xper 6 Age: 27

+1 y

"White privilege means you can be articulate and well spoken without people being “surprised.”" I can't count the times people have said things like"wow you speak proper" or "you don't speak like what id' expect". Like what? From black people the only thing i get is "why do you talk white".

"White privilege means not having to worry about your hair, skin color, or cultural accessories as the reason you didn’t get a job." This is also true, at least for me in the army. I get anything other than this hypercube.me/.../...-low-fade-haircut-pdd2zgkq.jpg and it is considered "un neat" or "unprofessional" but i know dudes with this haircuthttps://menshairstylesclub. com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/layered-cut-for-medium-length1. jpg LITERALLY this exact look and they never get told to get a haircut or anything.

Too many holes in this to pick at because most of it is personal opinion but overall it was a nice take. +1

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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  @israel Jordan Thank you. I tried to cover all bases but with a topic as complex as this one, it's almost impossible for me to do that. I appreciate the response
  
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TheTruthHurtsImSorry Follow
Xper 6 Age: 34

+1 y

I'm sorry, but you're wrong on the social experiment segment. Completely wrong.

In fact you literally just pulled one of your own cards, you said earlier you didn't believe YouTube that tried to claim racism didn't exist yet you turned around and tried to disprove that it wasn't affected by his race but instead his clothes. WHICH CONTRADICTS ANOTHER POINT YOU MADE! You stated that you judge anyone based on the way they are dressed and if you saw someone with their jeans down you'd think they were a gangster. Yet he was wearing normal clothes, no sagging or anything. All he had was well fit jeans and a t-shirt that was also well fit, then you turned around and said any gangster would also wear that. Huh?

The video was a prime example, and I will explain to you why. When police officers report to a scene they are given a brief description of the perp. The description includes race, clothes, hair, possible age, and what actions they were last seen doing amongst other things. This information is sent to the police department BEFORE it gets to any officers. It is then REVIEWED and they dispatch units based on the situation. This is one of the reasons why it takes time before units arrive on the scene.

Both situations were handled COMPLETELY differently. Keep in mind they were in open carry zones, so both of them were legal. In the case of the Caucasian male, they dispatched 1 officer in a standard issue police car. The officer casually confronted him and never put his hand on his gun.

In the second situation the same PD sent a unit in an armored SUV. Then an officer immediately pulled and pointed his gun at the man and told him to get on the ground. Even though the man was completely within his rights and only on his phone.

I won't even bother to bring up the fact that the recent mass shootings have been done by mostly white teenagers. I am not saying this to put the blame on white people, I'm mentioning it because one would believe that officers would be more prone to watching out for these type of suspects.

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4 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  @TheTruthHurtsImSorry
  
  If you read what I had written, I explicitly stated that plenty of people dress that way who are not gangsters. What I said was between the two people, the black guy was more likely to be the gangster because of what he was wearing. Personally, I haven't seen many gangsters wearing a polo shirt tucked into jeans with a belt. I'm just saying. Between him and the first guy he looked more like the gangster.
  
  I also stated that I would personally be more uncomfortable around the first guy, and that's why I stated that- because of how many mass shooters are white.
  
  I may have contradicted something I said, but this wasn't an example of said contradiction. I didn't contradict anything. I stated that plenty of people wear that clothing style who aren't gangsters, but between the clothing style black tee and jeans and polo shirt tucked into jeans with a belt, who is more likely to be the gangster? I'm not talking about the mafia, I'm talking about a gang.
  
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- TheTruthHurtsImSorry
  
  +1 y
  Back peddling is not your strong suit.
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Also, I didn't criticize Youtubers who say something has nothing to do with race. I criticized Youtubers who say that about situations where race is a factor. I also explicitly stated that race could have been a factor. But in order to prove that, they would have to be wearing the same thing. My criticisms were valid and echoed by many other people on that video.
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  @TheTruthHurtsImSorry What kind of bullshit is that. I type two long ass answers pointing out the flaws in your argument because you're so excited to discredit me and you respond with "backpeddling is not your strong suit." How is it backpeddling. I'm just pointing out what I wrote because you don't seem to be able to read the damn MyTake. That's not backpeddling.
  
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Junlian Follow
Yoda Age: 35

+1 y

I was taught two things.

1) Cancer begins with a group of cells within a community that failed to communicate with the conscious signal of the organism. Those cells begin to grow out of control and spread to other areas of the organism. This very disease is evident in our world today. The cancer upon our Earth is the domination of our false ego and our divorce from nature. Collectively among every human, vanity leads to segregation and competition. Competition leads to fear and greed. Greed leads to deceit and immorality. And immorality is the breeding ground for illness, waging war on our Earth. Every act of hatred and destructiveness in our world begins with self hate and self destructiveness, and that all begins with a breakdown of communication.

2) never let a good crisis go to waste.

People wage war against themselves and have self hate. This war rubs off on others until an army has agreed they had enough. This where the crisis comes in and the ones who disagrees are the opposing force that helper T cell or red blood cell that will stop cancer l or at least die trying. Some people you just can't wake up and others are not meant to be helped. we let the bad people fight there own wars and let those who are awake don't give company to miserable people.

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Ratiocinative Follow
Xper 7 Age: 37

+1 y

If we to have an honest discussion then we need to have an honest look at the facts.

Blacks are 3x more likely to be single mothers and single motherhood is the number one cause of poverty. No one is forcing blacks to have premarital sex.

An affluent neighbor, Shaker Heights, even black student from married parents that were doctors and lawyers we're averaging a GPA of 1.9 while whites averaged 3.4. A black researcher name John Ogbu concluded after a 9 month study that black parents had little to no involvement in their kids education, and there was widespead sentiment among black kids that doing well was "acting white". No one is forcing black parents to not care about their kid's education.

I could go on and on, studies that show blacks twice as likely to speed, FBI statistics that show blacks 8x more likely to commit murder and robbery. The only people oppressing black people are themselves, and as long as they continue to blame others they will continue to be stuck in poverty generation after generation.

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Anonymous
(36-45)

+1 y

I'm fed up about race issues. Just sick and tired of it.

I volunteer every weekend to help the homeless. I do this because of my Christian beliefs. When I'm on the streets I meet people from every race including black, white, native American, latino, etc (however I have yet to meet a homeless Asian person). I put these people to work by hiring them to clean up street litter. I post pics with me working with these people to raise awareness the issue.

Some people think this is good for "diversity". I personally don't care. I try to look past race. Naive white guy? Maybe. How as a white man it takes some effort to get past the initial boundary when talking to someone who looks much different than myself.

I'm a conservative by the way. I personally think liberals make things worse instead of better when they try to "celebrate" and make huge deal diversity. They MAKE race an ISSUE even though they claim to be well intentioned. Yes there are differences, but quit dwelling on them. Just TALK to people. Get to know them. All blood is red.

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- krash2002
  
  +1 y
  A passage from Galatians alway's speaks to me when I hear things like this.
  "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
  
  I'm sorry you've had to deal with a lot of outside judgements, but keep doing what you're doing. You're doing the Lords work, and moving the world towards a better tomorrow. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.
  
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Anonymous
(30-35)

+1 y

Evidence of white people's disadvantage isn't evidence of white people's disadvantage? Well ok, then. Clearly you're an authority on it.

Every race, every group has historically been mean to outsider groups, even if they are the same race. We should just say racism is bad and leave it at that, but if you want to play that stupid game then if anything white people have been the *least bad* when it comes to racism. Racism being bad is an idea that came about through Enlightenment values, it also had other nice ideas like abolishing slavery, and whites are far from the worst offenders at that as well. People treat it as a given that white people have been shittier to other people, but I really haven't seen anything to convincing that says white people are actually the historical assholes everyone said.

We've already seen racial segregation in universities and certain other things. It's happened. I don't think white genocide is a thing, although obviously there's a number of BLM folk and others that could get behind the idea.

If their statisics are wrong and they're just fucking with people's lives and not fixing anything then that's obviously bad. If they're using bad statisics to convince people that there's some kind of war on black people then you're going to get more people shooting a bunch of cops sooner or later.

It's one thing to say whites got harmed in a riot, it's a little different when the rioters are shouting to attack the white people. Just saying, let's not forget that little tidbit.

"The last thing anybody wants is to see segregation return."
I'd wager you'd find notable support for the idea in BLM.

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6 Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  Answer this question for me...
  
  Am I a hero if I put out a house fire that I intentionally started?
  
  Reply
- Opinion Owner
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk There are scenarios where you could be. But I suspect I know where you're going with this and I wouldn't want to ruin your big setup. So let's just say no, what of it?
  
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- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  You can't say "white people have been the *least bad* when it comes to racism" when they were the driving force behind racism and even made it their prerogative to rank the races from inferior to superior (which people took as a God given fact) and then used that socially constructed belief to justify slavery, murder, rape, segregation and discrimination of not just one race but several of them.
  
  Now I'm not saying Europeans created racism because they didn't (they simply gave a cute name to it along with the seeds to allow it to flourish) but they do get the unfortunate credit of being the first to glorify it on an international scale along with creating an international system of oppression based off of it.
  
  In terms of racism there is no "least bad" group. All groups have displayed racist beliefs at one point in time but trying to make something heroic out of that is insulting and highly condescending.
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Any statistics and data you could find supporting the idea that whites are disadvantaged in society are unreliable and untrustworthy at best. I honestly don't even know what sort of data or statistics you could find. I was trying to make a point about statistics and data in general. Trying to say that there are different sets of data and statistics that support even the most extreme viewpoints. I actually haven't seen any data and statistics from anywhere that shows whites are disadvantaged, I was using that as a hypothetical example. If that data and statistics does exist it is faulty.
  
  I certainly wouldn't say white people have been the "least bad" when it comes to slavery. White people owned and abused black people a long time ago. I don't think white people are assholes, but I do think white slaveowners were immoral people. In general at the time of slavery people had less morals I think.
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  We've seen racial segregation at universities, and it's unfortunate to see that. However, I don't think most people in the African American community want segregation. What good would it do anybody? Segregation would tear families apart and, as a species, set us back many many years. I don't think most people of any race want resegregation.
  
  The reason there is segregation at universities is because non whites feel threatened by whites. I don't think there should be this sort of segregation, I think everybody should live together and interact on a daily basis. That's how you foster racial harmony. I don't agree that because somebody of a certain race doesn't feel safe around someone of another race they should be separated. If anything, I think they shouldn't be separated and learn to get along.
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Yes, rioters did say that. And yes, that is a racist and horrible thing to say. I'm not saying black on white violence doesn't exist- it most certainly does. Just like white on black violence exists. But an isolated incident of something said in the middle of a riot doesn't mean this is a common attitude blacks have towards whites. Riots bring out the worst in people, although I have no doubt those particular people were bad. Black Lives Matter supporters have called for dead cops before, but very few have called for dead white people.
  
  If you can find data and statistics showing that white people are disadvantaged, feel free to show them to me. Otherwise I can very confidently say white people as a whole are not disadvantaged in society.
  
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Prof_Don Follow
Master Age: 38

+1 y
3.7K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.

The issues with talks about race is... many people can't remain objective and open minded, due to being unable to control their emotions and feelings in exchanging dialect.

So unfortunate.

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4 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Very true. I try to, but I fail to do so at times. It's a very heated issue
  
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- Prof_Don
  
  +1 y
  Too many people either are tactless talking about race, or are unnerved about the ancestors of their ethnicity and what they have done or not done.
  
  Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Very true. What did you think of the MyTake?
  
  Reply
- Prof_Don
  
  +1 y
  Very well written and thought out, five stars! (*****)
  
  Reply
helloitsmethere Follow
Yoda Age: 24

+1 y
912 opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.

White privilege means you can be articulate and well spoken without people being “surprised.”
This one is actually very true. I remember being in the eighth grade (I was still in the Caribbean at the time) and a guy from America came to our school to talk about a special kind of program. He wrote a sentence on the board and asked us to read it. When we were finished he was like, 'WOW, you guys speak proper English very well. You guys are very articulate for people who are from the Caribbean.' Well no shit. We're an English speaking country, what the fuck do you expect? -_-

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11 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Maybe he thought people in the Caribbean spoke Spanish. In that situation I suppose he did make a judgement based on his misconception about people in the Carribean.
  
  But in other cases, unless somebody explicitly states "I'm surprised you speak English, because you're black and I don't expect that" how do you know it has anything to do with race. I'm sure some people assume blacks are unintelligent, but when writing this MyTake I was talking about most people. The average white person wouldn't be surprised. There are some misinformed people who would be. But in general I think some amount of it is paranoia or expecting to see surprise in someone's face. That can play a huge role.
  
  That guy was kind of an idiot though.
  
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- helloitsmethere
  
  +1 y
  I lived in Jamaica... EVERYONE and their MOMS know that Jamaica speaks English... and he knew that as well :/
  He probably thought that all we do is speak Patois when really that isn't the case... same way how people keep asking me if I had cable or internet while living there -_- someone even asked me if I lived in a hut -________-
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Lived in a hut? That's a strange question. Should have told them you lived in a four story hut with a fountain and fiber optic internet and a widescreen OLED TV.
  
  I generally assume people have internet and cable. Unless they live in a country that is very very poor in which case I don't necessarily assume that. I'd assume most people in the carribean have cable and TV though.
  
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- helloitsmethere
  
  +1 y
  Sadly some people don't assume things the way you do... apparently some people think that we're all Rastas smoking weed everyday and just relaxing like not a care in the world... or that we are some sort of REALLY backward set of Islands. Yes, we're third world... but we aren't THAT backwards... movies just get released three days to a week after they come out in movie theatres in the US, that's all lol (sad, but true)
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Yeah, some people don't really understand much. They think they have a great understanding though.
  
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- helloitsmethere
  
  +1 y
  Yeah... but they kinda need to open up and learn more, so that they won't sound stupid.
  
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- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  I think a lot of those people are liberals to be honest. Nothing against liberals, but some liberals like to victimize people in other countries so they can coddle them. They assume that anybody not living in the USA, Canada, or Europe is a sad soul that does not enjoy the many luxuries they enjoy. If that isn't the case, they can't point out how wordly they are knowing people from different cultures, even though those different cultures enjoy a lot of the same things.
  
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- krash2002
  
  +1 y
  Sounds like the teacher was mainly culturally ignorant. Which still isn't ok at all. If you're going to move, or work somewhere that's outside your normal confines of cultural understanding. Then it's best that you spend the time to understand those whom you will be living around. One of the major things I've always done before travelling to another country. Is spending time to understand the do's, dont's, and overall traditions of each nation/culture I travel to. Before I decide to travel. This is out of respect for them, and myself. As though it isn't fair, you in a way represent your country when visiting another.
  
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- helloitsmethere
  
  +1 y
  @krash2002 "you in a way represent your country when visiting another"
  that's true, because when he left, the class was really pissed off about the situation and there is already a stereotype going around (in A LOT of countries) that Americans are ignorant af... remember the Ryan Lochte thing?
  Jamaicans don't get offended over every single thing, but stereotypes like these get us mad. It's like saying we're not as educated as people in first world countries...
  
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- krash2002
  
  +1 y
  @helloitsmethere I'm sorry that happened, and even though I can tell you're one to realize that all American's aren't like that. It still saddens me that we have such ignorant @sshole's here that ruin it for everyone else traveling abroad.
  I've got a close friend of mine that I've been gaming with for many years now that lives in Jamaica, and he once told me that I'm the only truly decent Amercian he knows.
  
  Reply
- helloitsmethere
  
  +1 y
  @krash2002 Damn... it seems like his only encounters with Americans were horrible except for one. I hope he one day realizes that a lot of Americans are actually nice and many of them aren't that bad. I have actually met a few who are cool people and they were very welcoming.
  
  Reply
uknaked Follow
Xper 6 Age: 77

+1 y

Put simply, people of our little planet should accept that we are all humans, nothing else matters, we should all treat each other as equals.
With mutual trust, honesty and respect among the peoples of our little planet life could be so much better for everybody.

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0 Reply
jacquesvol Follow
Master Age: 77

+1 y
11.2K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.

race is a social construct probably invented by a white person to give him an excuse to treat people poorly because they have a different skin color.

image.slidesharecdn.com/.../...sed-other-6-638.jpg

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35 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Race isn't a social construct, but racism is a social construct
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  'Race' is just the tool racism made and uses.
  
  Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  I would disagree with that personally, but to each their own
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  Race isn't a social construct, that's the dumbest thing I have heard in a while. They're clear genetic differences that make up each race.
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2 Race isn't in the DNA. My DNA might be closer to some Zulu or a Micronesian than to my white Caucasian neighbor.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  Yes it's everything you're is in your DNA. There's a gene that makes you white, black etc just like there's a gene for each eye color.
  
  Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  
  Race in the sense that you believe is not genetic. There is no such thing as a package of DNA that carries "black" or "white" traits. While there are groups that differ from one another based on genetics, the problem is that our racial categorization is highly wrong because its based on superficial traits like skin complexion, eye color, nose shape and etc.
  
  The so call "Black Race or African race" is the MOST genetically diverse group on the entire planet. You can technically divide the "black race" into multiple genetically diverse groups, but we don't do that. Instead we pigeonhole them into a single monolithic group (Black People) simply because they have dark skin, coily hair and a wide nose.
  
  Genetically diverse groups do exist among humans (the difference are very minuscule though), but the criteria that we use to classify people's race is flawed and 100% socially constructed.
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk indeed.
  @TheEnd2
  
  Reply
- BlueCoyote
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk Well said!
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk
  No it's not. There's to a gene for skin color. Caucasian isn't white albino is white. There's differences between the races all the way down to there bone structure.
  
  Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  
  Genes to skin color doesn't prove race.
  
  "There's differences between the races all the way down to there bone structure."
  
  No there isn't. These bone structure differences are not based on race but genetic population which do not fully correlate to our classification of race. East Africans have the same bone structure as Caucasians, but they look physically Black and would be considered Black by 99% of people in western nation. Why? Because we judge race on superficial qualities, not anything scientific. If we did base it on science then the Negroid race would actually be 50+ separate races.
  
  There is a reason why no science field no longer follow the "race" model but instead the genetic population model, because race in itself is a misnomer. The only reason why "Race" still exist is because society refuse to let that classification die, but in the realm of science, the term "race" is archaic.
  
  Reply
- helloitsmethere
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk "Genes to skin colour doesn't prove race"
  FINALLY, SOMEONE SAID IT!!!
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk
  No it's not. No other species on the planet looks as different from one another than humans, why is that? Even two black people can have a white child. Different races exist. Give me a example of another species that has so much difference in the way they look from one another? You can't classify humans like other species because we are not like any other species.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  Forensic anthropology can determine your race just from your bones.
  
  Reply
- BlueCoyote
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2: Also, if you talk about race you have to take the history of humanity into consideration. Roughly 90% of all humans on this planet are in fact very closely related in genetic terms. Almost everyone outside of Africa (whether you're Canadian, Finnish, Chinese or Chilean) descends from a tiny group of a few hundred thousand individuals who emigrated out of a small region in north-east Africa (modern Somalia/Ethiopia/Eritrea/Kenya) and spread to other parts of the world.
  This already very small genetic pool was drastically reduced when humanity went almost extinct 70,000 years ago due to harsh environmental changes and the eruption of the Toba super volcano. Anthropologists believe that at one point, only about 10,000 human beings were left on planet earth, of which only about 1,000-2,000 individuals were capable to reproduce.
  It was only in the late stone-age roughly 15,000 years ago that the human population began to increase significantly in size.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @BlueCoyote humans and chimpanzees are also closely related genetically only 3% difference. Humans have 1% difference from one another. Explain why humans have much more differences from one another as compared to other species like tigers or lions which all look the same? No other species on the planet has so much diversity within there own species. Explain that
  
  Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  
  "No other species on the planet looks as different from one another than humans, why is that? "
  
  Have you seen a dog before? A Chihuahua and Great Dane look NOTHING alike. A British shorthair and a Lion look NOTHING alike. If you think for a second the physical differences between a black and white man is greater then that of the various dog/feline breeds, then you are blind as hell.
  
  "Forensic anthropology can determine your race just from your bones."
  
  No they determine your geographical ancestry when studying your bones and use race as a proxy or better yet a simple destination. Anthropology was pretty much the first branch of science to completely reject the concept of Race, they even wrote a statement about it.
  
  www.americananthro.org/.../Content.aspx
  
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- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk wild animals not domesticated animals. Domesticated animals are the only animals that have our diversity. At one time there were several different species of humans which mated and made different sub species.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk you're comparing different breeds of dogs to one another and not within the same breed also. All dogs are still dogs just different breeds of dogs. We say different breeds and not species because we they came about by selective breeding instead of natural selection. Comparing apples to oranges like most on the left.
  
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- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  " No other species on the planet looks as different from one another than humans, why is that?"
  Give me a example of another species that has so much difference in the way they look from one another?
  
  That's saying race is about looks.
  Red haired race, anyone?
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  No it's not. How you look depends on genetic information. Your DNA determines everything about you including the way you look. Same with all species.
  
  Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  
  In the name of Ahura Mazda, now your backpedaling. You ask for an example of animals from the same species that differ more then Humans and I gave you one and now your're trying to play semantics with breed and species.
  
  And your little insult about me being on the left shows your ignorance. I'm on the side of science and science for the past 20 something years have been saying that Race Does NOT exist. Your entire premise is based on pseudoscience which have been debunk by contemporary science.
  
  Also...
  www.americananthro.org/.../Content.aspx
  
  I'm going to keep throwing this link in your face until you get it. Stop looking at race from a physical standpoint and start looking at it from a genetic standpoint. DNA doesn't lie and our DNA is telling us that race (as we have defined it) does not exist. The fact we count people like Barack Obama and Halle Berry as Black should tell you our concept of race is extremely superficial and highly flawed.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk
  I was talking about in the wild not domesticated animals. If you're going to use dogs compare a great great dane to another great dane not to a Chihuahua. All bears are bears but different species of bears not different from dogs. I'm not backpedaling you're comparing apples to oranges and that shows you ignorance. I never said you were one the left just that's something that the left does all the time. I asked for a species that has as much diversity within there own species as humans. All lions look the same all elephants look the same. Show me a species that has 6 skin tones, 6 eye colors, 6 hair color etc in the wild within the same species.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk
  What you physically look like is based on a genetic stand point.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk every aspect of society as been corrupted by the left for some time even science. Today's science also says that there's no such thing as male or female which is just as stupid as saying no such thing as black or white etc.
  
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- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  
  Your inability to understand that physical diversity doesn't mean races is agonizing.
  
  "Show me a species that has 6 skin tones, 6 eye colors, 6 hair color etc in the wild within the same species."
  
  White Lions. It's still a lion and is regarded as a part of the lion species, but it has a recessive trait that makes it's fur turn white (and no its not an albino). Not only that but it's capable of having hazel, golden, blue-gray or green-gray eyes pigmentation but despite this they are still regarded as the same species as an African Lion.
  
  Another example are Jaguars whose fur color can range from golden yellow, to a reddish color to dark black. Black pigmentation is also present in Mountain Lions and Leopard. Are these Melanistic jaguars/leopards regarded as a separate species? No. A black leopard is lumped under the same grouping as a golden color leopard.
  
  However this isn't nothing compared to the variation within snakes.
  
  Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  
  Your ignorance and bias is showing. Science states race does not exist because there is no demarcates to it. There is not a single physical trait that is exclusive to blacks, whites, or Asians. There is no genetic sequence unique to blacks, whites or Asians. There are no specific racial genes. There is no neurological patterning that distinguishes races from one another, nor are there patterns in muscle development and structure, digestive tracts, hand-eye coordination, or any other such measures.
  
  The only thing that you are using to justify the existence of race are phenotypes which have been proven over and over again to be a bad indicator of someones race since they are not exclusive and correlate more with geography not racial grouping.
  
  "Every aspect of society as been corrupted by the left."
  
  Good thing genetics and DNA aren't partisan.
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk
  Your inability to understand that all physical qualities is based on genetics is amazing. Yes it's a albino many animals can have a white one in them and 2 examples isn't close to 6 or more examples within one species. Jaguars again 2 examples isn't 6 examples. Many different species of snacks.
  
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- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk Thanks for that AAA link. I'll keep it :)
  
  Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2
  
  Physical features being the result of genes doesn't prove your point of race existing, since those physical features that are based on genes can be present in any race. Black people can have blue eyes or green eyes or red hair. White people can have black hair, brown eyes or coily hair. Asians can have blue eyes, a narrow nose and no epicanthal folds. Like I said before there is no demarcates between the races. In order for races to exist there MUST be demarcates.
  
  White lions are not the same thing as White tigers. White tigers are albinos who are the result of a genetic defect. White Lions are white because of a recessive trait not because of a defect. There's a difference.
  
  Eastern Blue Tongue Lizards, Eastern Grey Squirrel , Seals, Red Foxes, Wolves and Ratsnakes are all capable of having black skin/fur due to genetic variation but despite this they are not regarded as their own species because of their larger quantity of melanin.
  
  Reply
- Starrk
  
  +1 y
  @jacquesvol
  
  No problem. I keep a copy saved on computer as well. :)
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk The two links mentioned under that AAA article are interesting as well: their statement about intelligence and their "Response to OMB Directive 15"
  
  Reply
- TheEnd2
  
  +1 y
  @Starrk
  ""Physical features being the result of genes doesn't prove your point of race existing, since those physical features that are based on genes can be present in any race.""
  Wrong there are many physical features that are only present in each race. I'm not going to name them for you, if you ask you have been indoctrinated well.
  
  Reply
- BlueCoyote
  
  +1 y
  @TheEnd2 "There are many examples... but I'm not going to name them for you". Wow. Just wow. What a petty way to debate. Clearly, you have absolutely no idea how science works. You're just pulling conjectures out of your ass without caring to support them with actual proof. The truth is that there is not one single physical trait that can be observed in one single race. To add one more example to what @Starrk has already told you, black people can even have naturally blond hair.
  Skin pigmentation exists in every shade, from the palest Icelandic skin, over somewhat darker skinned central Europeans, over even darker skinned Spaniards, over darker skinned North Africans, over darker skinned Arabs, over darker skinned Indians, over darker skinned Australian aborigines, all the way to very black-skinned people. In fact, even WITHIN the "black community", significant differences exist. African Americans are not as dark-skinned as Africans and east Africans look COMPLETELY different from
  
  Reply
- BlueCoyote
  
  +1 y
  west Africans. Where you draw the race-line between all these different shades and varieties is absolutely arbitrary.
  
  Also, your little political insults are pathetic. This discussion has to do with science, not politics and scientific facts are not debatable. However, if you really want to go down this road, I can only say I'm sorry you're one of those incredibly ignorant conservatives who don't give a rat's ass about decent education. Yes, the political left says certain things and you know why? Because the vast majority of scientists are moderates or leftists. Political progressivism and level of education are directly correlated and numerous studies prove this.
  
  Reply
vishna Follow
Master Age: 29

+1 y
4.5K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.

"There's a misconception being spread around by the liberal media that only white people can be racist."
What liberal media sources?
I have heard of this claim (only white people can be racist), honestly, it's ridiculous to me. If a new word was created for..."being racist but it not having an overall negative affect on that group of people because they are the group of 'power' in that area" cool, it makes sense. But hijacking the word is pretty lame.

also, I'll come back to this.

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7 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  @vishna huffington post for one. They published a massive article about this.
  
  Reply
- vishna
  
  +1 y
  Sometimes huffpost is just annoying af. (and I usually appreciate their stories)
  
  Reply
- vishna
  
  +1 y
  Coming back to this, I was in this university event and during the open discussion session this one girl got very upset (she was choking on her words) and she was basically saying "it's hard to go to talk about race relations because she didn't want to come off as racist" and 1st I had NEVER heard someone get so upset about being misunderstood and then you realize, there are great people out there that really do want to help, who are on the same page as you, but maybe they've been shut down in the past or are scared that they will be. And maybe that's why they don't come to events like that or speak out as much. And it's really sad because yea, there are some people with the wrong intentions and hateful hearts but painting with a broad stroke is the WORST thing you can do when dealing with people because you steal voices, disrespect others, and can end up perpetuating harmful stereotypes that get nothing done. The best thing is to be open to when other people have something to say...
  
  Reply
- vishna
  
  +1 y
  "4. White privilege means you can be articulate and well spoken without people being “surprised.” This can be true, it's happened before-I've seen it happen before, it's not like it never happens, does it happen ALL the time-no. But for someone people this has been as issue. As has the people questioning if a black person earned a job/university seat vs simply being handed it. I've heard people in my school talk to other people about "you only got in here because you're black" This stuff still happens.
  
  Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  @vishna That's not an uncommon occurrence. I doubt I'd speak these views publicly. Most people who do are ostracized.
  
  Likely if a person actually believes a person can't get a job because they are black, that person is a racist. Buzzfeed made a video about the things white people do. My point was the video was more about things racist white people do. Racists and white people are two entirely different groups.
  
  Racism, in the most literal sense of the word, means believing a race to be superior in some way to another based only on race. So if a person truly believes black people are less intelligent because they are black, that person is a racist.
  
  On the other hand, if they think only that person is less intelligent they aren't racist because they are judging an individual, not the whole group.
  
  Reply
- vishna
  
  +1 y
  Regarding the last two paragraphs, of course. But... that person in this instance was simply racist. Sometimes it's a little tiring to be a person of color or have black relatives when people question why someone got in... or you just hear random racist stuff "If I was black, I'd kill myself" "That's a black girl name. You can't name your pet that." or later *insert 'black people names' because pet is black* This is going off on a tangent but sometimes a person gets tired of having to wonder if who they are seeing is really who they are seeing. It's like.. you know not all white people are racist, you know this, but you've been shocked many times before by people you thought you knew saying or agreeing with some pretty messed up hurtful stuff where you build this wall. Haha, which is really sad, because I'm half white XD White people get sick of people assuming their racist. People of color get sick of hearing racist stuff by people they thought they knew.
  
  Reply
- vishna
  
  +1 y
  Things are definitely improving, but sometimes it's like everyone is getting the short end of the stick.
  
  Reply
Library Follow
Yoda Age: 26

+1 y

Wow, I don't think anyone here, besides me, read anything that you wrote. But I understand what you're saying. I truly don't think discussions about race can be honest. It's going to be opinionated and biased no matter what. I wouldn't want to be a part of the discussion. I guess it's important to listen to each other instead of trying to defend our own race by coming up with statistics and all other types of bullshit.

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1 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Really, I got the opposite sense. I got the sense that a fair amount of people did read it. Not everybody of course, but a lot of people.
  
  The way I see it, race issues are kind of like political issues. No matter who you ask there will be bias. So you need both biases to figure out what is and isn't going on. Of course either side will be biased, that's why both sides need a voice. Everybody needs to hear each other out. That obviously won't happen, but things can improve
  
  Reply
FakeName123 Follow
Guru Age: 34

+1 y

"We Need to Listen to People of All Races"

"You can find statistics on the internet that support the belief that white people are actually at a DISadvantage in society because of their race. Does this mean they/we are? No, this just goes to show how there is a statistic or fact to support any opinion/viewpoint you may possess."

You do realise that you just contradicted yourself, right?

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3 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  How on Earth is that a contradiction? I said we need to listen to people of all races. I didn't say we need to listen to everybody. My point was that data and statistics can be flawed or biased. I made that point by taking a ridiculous idea that almost nobody agrees with and pointing out how there is facts and data supporting it. I said we need to listen to all races, not everybody of every race.
  
  Reply
- FakeName123
  
  +1 y
  Make the world like you want it to be. You just dismissed it, because it doesn't fit your narrative since the point is just "ridiculous" to you. Instead of actually taking time and reading into why whatever statistic come to that conclusion you just assume it is ridiculous.
  
  And this is the contradiction. You just assume it is wrong for no apparent reason other than it is about the possible struggles about whites. If it was about blacks, I bet my ass on it that you wouldn't just dismiss it right away.
  
  And no, I don't assume this statistic is right, but I am criticising you for instantly assuming it is wrong - because your entire rant gets strongly devalued by that.
  
  Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  @FakeName123 first of all, that was just an example. I honestly don't even know if there are statistics backing that viewpoint. This wasn't something I read and dismissed, I was just making a point that you can find statistics supporting any viewpoint.
  
  Out of every single statistic/study I've ever read from a wide swath of websites and I'm yet to find one that proves whites are at a disadvantage. having done research on this topic I can safely conclude that is incorrect and that's why I used it as an example. I had to use something ridiculous that could easily be disproved as an example.
  
  My rant gets devalued in your eyes. Because you chose to nitpick one tiny little thing, instead of looking at the rant as a whole. For most people it doesn't. And if it does, so be it.
  
  Reply
Ahmed_Sy15x Follow
Xper 7 Age: 24

+1 y

Great take i really enjoyed it

lol, What? ISIS hates America?
dude, they hate everything including themselves.
and just to let you know, i know people who fight against ISIS in Syria, and they swear that they saw American planes a couple of times dropping supplies for ISIS members.

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2 Reply
- somebodysaycheese
  
  +1 y
  lol. dude. you messed up dont be putting things like that on the internet. World govts will come after you.
  But you are right
  
  Reply
- Ahmed_Sy15x
  
  +1 y
  @somebodysaycheese lol, okey
  
  Reply
amarahorrorstory Follow
Yoda Age: 25

+1 y

I'm going to save myself the frustration and not read the comments. I won't lie, I only skimmed but I've been seeing this MyTake pop up and I've been avoiding it but I'm finally giving in. I think you hit some great points but as an African American I do think you missed some points, that many people do and misinterpret what POC are trying to say and just dismiss as not making sense. Or a white person might just say "I haven't seen that happen" so they doubt the legitimacy of the topic.

0

0 Reply
cth96190 Follow
Guru Age: 66

+1 y
2.8K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.

Rather than a discussion about the on-going genocide of white people, I want separation.
All races to live in their ancestral homelands. No 'diversity', which is code for white genocide.
Miscegenation should be a crime that is punished by being banished for life.

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6 Reply
- GoldMeddle
  
  +1 y
  Certainly don't agree with that, but OK.
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  @cth96190
  All whites back to Europe thus?
  
  Reply
- cth96190
  
  +1 y
  @jacquesvol
  We would have to make room first, by implementing a final solution to the question of the Muslims and other non-whites in Europe today.
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  Cth6190
  There aren't that many Muslims in the E. U.
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  About 7% I think
  
  Reply
- jacquesvol
  
  +1 y
  "the on-going genocide of white people..."
  How many victims?
  
  Reply
Alex88F Follow
Xper 6 Age: 35

+1 y

races doesn't exists, the only race is the human race
the only thing that separate people on this planet is culture, ignorance, fear and refusal to adapt to higher civilized cultures.
ethnic groups saying ther culture is better or some other worse are scum no matter if White black or whatever
that's it to me, good night

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0 Reply
Anonymous
(25-29)

+1 y

Living in the uk and not london means I dont have to worry about these things. Most people are white in my area, and the rest are asain. The stereotype of asains is that they are rich and highly educated (true of the asains that I know). If this was true that would mean asains have more privilege than white people I suppose.

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Home > Society & Politics > myTakes > If We Want An Honest Discussion About Race, We Need to Listen to People of All Races

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