Are younger people actually more racist than old people?

Question

We often times talk and joke about old white people being "ignorant and racist" but how true is this really? Because throughout my life I've met quite a few old white people who were very kind to me - sometimes even more than younger generations. Old white couples in public or passing have looked me right in the eye, smiled, and spoke. Some of them I would get into long conversations with about life and the world. If they are racist they must keep that to themselves, or maybe in old age they just realize that somebody else's race isn't a big deal to them anymore?

But with younger generations I sometimes feel like they're still focused on race maybe more than they really admit? What do you guys think?

Salaciousrouge · Accepted Answer

Racism is not s generational thing, its a life experience and cultural phenomenon. I have been to many countries where racism is the norm. IE if you are notnof their race, you are inferior. Getting jobs as a foreigner is near impossible. When you travel internationally look out the window when you land. Examine the racial profile of the workers knnthe ground and jnnthe airport. I balk at anyone who says America is racist.

Being older in no way makes me racist simply because a younger generation has been fooled into thinking everything has to be about race andn all people must have, shall we say, a race rating assigned to them. This is all BS. Growing up, we certainly saw different skin color but so much emphasis was put on treating people fairly, and being colorblind. For some reason, now adays, this is bad? ridiculous. All people judge and all people profile, esp those who are new or unknown. Tonthinknyou are different is a falsehood. Its in our DNA to assess our surroundings. When someone implies I or my parents must be racist simply becuase of their age, I can only laugh inwardly at thei ignorance. I truly think this younger generation is being taught racism by changing the definition. They are being told that minorities need help, can't dealnwith life challenges, or even get an ID or drivers license without special laws or treatment... aimilar to ADA rules and regs. What a farce! Every minority friend I have is highly successful and well adjusted in one form or another, be it family or business. I give them credit for these hei successes. Younger minorities are constantly barraged bynopinions that the world is out to get them and that they need help to get up that ladder. BS. I can honestly say I have fear and loathing of more white people than any other race for the simple fact that I know more of them. I have met some very stupid Asians and some very corrupted black people. But ya know what? These folks are in the minority of those undeserving of respect because they are minorities! Get bent if you think older people are more racist.

And last, I will admit that the older people are, the greater likelihood they were raised in a 'racist' disparsgjng environment when they were impressionably young. Add a few years of experience and most learn and change. They may still use derogatory language, but Inwould bet that 95% of the readers here have spit out similar opinions about other races, sexes, family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Its all a self serving power play intent on bonding via percieved superiority, assuming others agree witb you.

In the end, I agree with the OP that older people are more likely seeing you as a minority (you dont state how) for sure, but treat you starting from a place of neutrality. Its up to you if they walk away with a positive impression. Meanwhile, your younger cohorts are more likely of the mindset that you need them as an ally to navigate the hardships they claim exist, only to you--that its their duty to protect and watch over you. I would be insulted at this covert racism.

blueonblack22 · Accepted Answer

Well considering how the younger generations want to fixate on race as the center piece of all reality, do you really believe that will ultimately turn out as a good thing?

Even if it’s “intended” to supposedly bring supposed racial equality is that the true motive behind young woke people’s agendas? Or maybe they really just after woke social kudos (optics) but deep down are actually extremely racist themselves?

“The only way to end racism is to quit talking about it.”

- Morgan Freeman

sage2021 · Accepted Answer

Being that I am an older white woman I have never been racist and I didn't even bring up the subject of race while raising my son. Just as my family never spoke about race.
I've lived to the ripe old age of 70, and I have known a lot of people during my 70 years and if only people of other races really knew the honest to God's truth - white people very rarely ever talk about other races like they think we do. But that's because THEY ARE THE ONE'S constantly bringing up race all of the time NOT WHITE PEOPLE!
I guess we just have different subjects to talk about and race isn't something we spend our time talking about.
I really do believe from the bottom of my heart that if other races would just not talk about it either that it wouldn't be such a big issue with them.
They should try this in their family for one month as a test and see the results for themselves.

alice55 · Accepted Answer

New generation and old people are the most racist nowadays, there's a big trends of young people shifting to conservatism. So yes a lot of young people are pretty conservative / racist nowadays but a lot of older too, ask any old men over 70s and he's more than likely gonna have some racist thoughts even my grandmother hold racist thoughts while she's not racist (but she got very ignorant view that used to be considered normal before but now are considered racist and she's a leftist so that say a lot).

Datboi65 · Answer

Gen Z is the most racist generation out of all. Older generations are more ignorant, Gen Z is less ignorant and more racist.

Older generations created the system, white Gen Z wants to make it on STEROIDS.

And before we proceed, I need to explain my definition of racism, so that we're all on the same page.

Racism: is the political, social, economic and judicial subjugation of one group (with power) towards another group (s). This is associated with hatred towards the "lesser" group, and a need to dominate them, usually due to combination of wanting to keep the social order (aka supremacy) and a fear of being "replaced" and/or retaliation.

Racism is different from ignorance/ bigotry.

Bigotry: can be defined as the hatred of a group with/without the means to enact punishment on that group through political, social, economic and judicial means. "Weaker" groups can be BIGOTED towards the dominant group, but never RACIST, as they lack the ability to enforce that hatred.

OK, now we can move forward. Gen Z is the most integrated out of all the past generations, and is the generation with the most access to information as they were born in the age of Information Technology. Despite that, we are seeing a HUGE number of N@zi sympathizers and "Christian" Nationalists on twitter, most of them my age or younger. It really isn't that hard to find these people.

Before anyone says "oh twitter and 4chan are not that important, nobody says that in real life" it's important to understand that people are more likely to be honest behind a screen with a burner account. This is why you guys joined this internet forum, to be able to share your true beliefs on controversial topics without any fear of judgement from your peers and colleagues. These platforms are the epitome of honesty, as they reveal someone's TRUE NATURE.

The second criticism I expect from someone reading this post "but what about power, Gen z doesn't have any power to enact racism, so they are bigoted and not racist" to that I will explain:

Power can be relative or absolute. Absolute power is obvious, it's the person with the MOST resources, connections and abilities to enact change in outcomes that they don't view as favorable with the path of the least resistance. The president therefore is the most powerful man in the country, as he has the highest form of authority.

Relative power is comparing two different groups that share common traits. Example, the most outspoken/ confident person in a group is usually the leader and one with the most hierarchy/power. With Gen z, the common trait here is age, but the difference is social ideology and political affiliation. Gen z is the most polarized generation, or in other words "most radical" towards BOTH SIDES. I've seen commies, and I've seen far right white nationalists in the same age group. That's what I mean by polarized. It's the group with the most radical race fanatics out of EVERY generation per capita, and in second place would be Gen X.

Now bear in mind, everything I've said here is anecdotal as it's hard to empirically compare racism between generations while keeping in mind that people are less likely to be honest while answering these questions due to fear of retribution/ cancel culture, but those feelings are pretty much alive.

The relative power I was talking about is in their ability to support the very system that oppresses other communities through the ballot, while constantly making it known that they want it to become MORE EXTREME. They (white Gen Zs) have a larger media presence (than non-white Gen Zs), and through dog whistling and fear-mongering convince other impressionable non-radical white Gen Zs to join their side through pages like Nick Fuentes, Lilly Gaddis (N word girl) and following the lead of older N@zis like Lucas Gage and Sam Webster.

It's important to be aware of these trends, because oftentimes a "revolution" starts with an idea that spreads like wildfire, causing a domino effect. These folks are the future of government and politics, and the way it appears that a r@ce w@r is more and more likely, and I'm not even exaggerating.

And I haven't even touched on their harassment of random women that date outside of their race with comments like "mudshark", "coal burner" and "burn the coal, pay the toal" etc as well as all the antisemitism and anti-jew hate. Blaming jews for mass migration and calling black people "bio weapons owned by jews". ALL of which wasn't that visible until Elon Musk bought twitter, and these days you see some of them appear on Instagram as well.

These people exist in LARGE numbers. I don't believe they're the majority, far from it. I believe they're a sizeable minority, and are gaining more and more supporters everyday. Only time will tell where we are headed, but I can tell you it's not towards a bright future.

purplepoppy · Answer

Old people are racist because they were raised in a different time. Young people are racist because it's now become fashionable and they're scares of being labelled woke.

SmokinAces2000 · Answer

I don’t know where people got the idea that someone has to burn a cross in your lawn to be racist. Most people aren’t going to be racist to your face but that doesn’t mean they aren't. The reason you think younger people are more racist is because most of the younger generation doesn’t have filters so if they hear racist stuff from their parents then they aren’t going to hide it like their parents or grandparents do.

Sal_Monella · Answer

Complicated. (Eyewitness here). We made extraordinary progress on race relations from Brown Vs Board until January 20, 2009 and then threw the country into reverse. Under Trump, we are beginning to recover.

I remember the FIRST commercial I ever saw with a Black Female as the star. Rae Dawn Chong selling Seiko (Japanese) digital watches.

Are younger people actually more racist than old people?

In love and biased ever since.

When I was in Grade 11, I was in a Track meet in West Roxbury, Mass. A little forensics told me later that Donna Summer was a Cheerleader at that meet.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/zP8AAOSwNINnmOlC/s-l1600.webp

The other Celebrity Black woman. We have fallen a long way.

Joshydavid25 · Answer

I have noticed that a lot of older people seem more opened to me... I think older people were from a different time and get a bad rep, but many of them are not racist.. Whereas I noticed that younger people are more stand-offish, and bit more tribal, and yes tend to focus more on "race".. Could be for a plethora of reasons.. But I have noticed and thought that as well.. I think it's more of a tribal mentality than anything.. Identity politics seem to have messed us up..

DrPepper12 · Answer

The kids today DGAF who or what you are or aspire to be. Zero judgements. 2+ decades of observing high school kids.  Boomers are racist AF

exitseven · Answer

I do not think racism is a function of age. Older people may express it differently

dragoblack · Answer

I mainly see it from the 5-16 year olds on social media, MMO games, and vr chat. Honestly makes me wonder where the hell their patents are and how they don't hear their kid screaming it at the top of their lungs.

Catailian94 · Answer

It’s older generations, in my experience. Younger people 50 and under seem to be okay, especially with TV, movies, and the internet. When they're young, it is taught. With cousin. Taught by my uncle. Especially living in Greece.

Kelley1 · Answer

Racist is a word that fools use to follow the crowd.

Anonymous · Answer

^^^^^^^

OddBeMe · Answer

Not sure. Racism, like most things, are inherited through upbringing. Racist parents will inscribe sadist thoughts. UNLESS that child goes to college and envelopes the multiculturalism there

Heusus · Answer

Ya, i think so, especially blacc uth, they talk about blacc superiority, how perfect blacc people r, etc

turkish_delight19 · Answer

İn my opinion , the west has exploid our democracy , justice , equality, etc. everywhere. Human values have disappeared. What is the difference between black and white region?

beefcakebradybatson · Answer

Some yes (righties) some no (progressives !!!)

queenofcardio · Answer

It is the opposite based on my experiences

Anonymous · Answer

Yes, unfortunately, some of them are.

Are younger people actually more racist than old people?

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