It’s been interesting to read and participate in several threads here where race is the subject. What I find most intriguing is what we consider racist.

Wertz said recently on a thread:


That statement was as straightforward a “personal” definition as I’ve seen come from anyone in any of these discussions. This statement is what leads me to create this thread.

Look at “NOW who's Playing "The Race Card?” Rush vs. Black Quarterbacks?” thread and see how differently people perceived a quote concerning a black QB.

Racism according to Merriam-Webster is defined as:

Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: 'rA-"si-z&m also -"shi-
Function: noun
Date: 1936
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

This thread is not designed for a back and forth banter of whom is right and who is wrong. Its intent is to make us think about our personal definition of racism.

What is the definition of racism to you?

I've read A LOT about the subject of racism, discrimination, prejudice from all sorts of perspectives. My personal definition would come from my interpretation of these readings.

Racism is a negative view of a certain racial classification of people (or an individual belonging to a certain racial group) based solely upon the characteristics one attributes to said "race" and the resulting actions based upon said negative views. Racism is also, historically speaking, something that is carried out through positions of power. For example, I'm sure during slavery there were MANY blacks who held extreme distaste for whites, but is that racism? No. They weren't in a position of power where they could impose their views upon others (like whites were). As I see it, racism requires some capacity to oppress (something typically still in the hands of the majority). Racial prejudice without power is just bigotry. A person can have prejudices about blacks, whites, etc. but not necessarily be a racist (according to my definition). In debate, I use the term racism/racist in a different way (because of how OTHERS perceive it) than I would normally use it. I think of racism in more of a systematic and institutionalized entity. I think THINGS are racist (programs, laws, etc.) and people (the individuals bahind said programs. laws, etc.) are bigots.

I agree with Kim, but I'll take it a step further: To me racism\bigotry is when you asociate a preconceived characteristic\stereotype apon an individual, because of their race, without knowing that person.

To me, racism is having preconcieved ideas about a person's morals, actions, background, etc. based on his/her ethnicity. My personal definition applies to both positive and negative preconcieved notions, as both are based on nothing but the race of an individual and are therefor irrational.

Socal's def of racism:
I think we ALL (quietly) have preconceived opinions or notions of just about everyone. There is no harm in that. We are all entitled to think whatever we want.

It becomes Racism when we ACT on those notions or opinions in ways that DO harm others. The denial of the rights afforded others is racism. Active exclusion of a person or a people because of race is racism.

I don't think we have to act apon a racist thought or idea to be racist. Racism starts in the mind. As long as we (from a white womans perspective) see a black man on the street at night and think to ourselves, "what if______", racism will persist. It's tearing down those negative thoughts that have been implanted in our heads through all types of antiquated, subliminal racist propaganda projected on our society is what is slowly but surely happening to eliminate racism.

Mein Kamph, Chapter I: Philosophy and Party

The above is a definition for a political system based on militant racism. It was written by someone prehaps even better qualified to define racism then Websters, the infamous Adolf Hitler. The word he used was 'volisch' he said was a militant devotion to the superior quality of one race over another.

I think everyone has racism. We all have been exposed to it in one way of the other throughout our lives. I truly believe the difference is in what we choose to do with those feelings.

There have been so many discussions of racism here at AD with many of our members able to point out alleged racism easily, so I am a little surprised there haven't been more responses to this thread.

My definition is simple:

The promotion of one person over another because of the color of their skin. This can easily be expanded to promotion based on any number of aspects beyond the control of the individual (skin color, hair color, ethnicity, etc.)

All of them, IMO, are wrong.

Like a lot of posters, I think "racism" applies to any situation where anyone makes assumptions about someone based on their race.

Not all of the aspects of racism are necessarily harmful, but they all stem from generalisation and (usually) some degree of ignorance. For example, an assumption that any given black man is a better dancer or athlete (fairly harmless assumptions) than any given white man is as likely to be untrue as thinking that the black man is more likely to be a criminal or to have fathered children by multiple mothers (both rather more negative) than the white man.

I believe that everyone, everywhere, whatever their skin colour, is racist to some degree, and I beleive the first step in solving to problems that are caused by the most negative aspects of racism is to admit that this is the case - that we're all making assumptions based on skin colour. Once that's out in the open, we can than start to address the real issues, rather than trying to deflect the issues by talking about crime, poverty, "laziness", welfare, class, oppression, slavery, etc.

After the murder of a black youth (Stephen Lawrence) in London, a major inquiry found that the Metropolitan Police were "institutionally racist". This provoked uproar, but nobody asked what particular aspect of racism was most pronounced. For all the nay-sayers knew, the finding could have been that policemen in London assumed that black people didn't like them, didn't want to help with their inquiries, and didn't want to join the police force. But they were so offended by being called "racist" that their indignation made them lose sight of everything useful they could have done had they just admitted that yes, they did make all kinds of assumptions about all kinds of people based on "knowledge" (i.e. generalisations, statistical or otherwise) about other people with similar characteristics.

I agree its only racism if you act on it. If you think in racial slurs you have a problem.(racism) If you don't you are an average person with out any strong racial attitudes. You will be influenced by the media. Its slanted toward racism. Just as its slanted toward say thin people are more desirable than fat people. Blacks, Mexicans, and southern white folk are more dangerous and are more criminal than the rest of us ect...You will be influenced by friends, family, and co-workers. It takes courage to call your famliy or friends on this issue, but thats how we slowly and surely get rid of racism.

I'm a late-comer to the debate. Forgive me if this thread has run its course.
I'd like to offer a definition.
Racism is the assumption that there are degrees of humanness and that the different levels of humanness fall along racial lines.
When we say that only those races who have political or economic power can be racists, what we mean is that their actions which seem to disfavor other races might be precipitated by a disregard or disrespect of those other races as being inherently less human. So when a race with power takes actions that disfavor races without power, we may be inclined to attribute it to racism, whereas, when a race without power takes some aggressive action against a race with power, we might consider it a frustrated assertion that “Hey. I’m just as good as you!”
But, racism, being intellectual (emotional, if you will) rather than biological, the “racist” would have to believe/feel that his position of power results from his privileged status (superior race), rather than from his own efforts. One might be willing to ascribe failure to one’s skin tone, but we would all ascribe success to our own unique personal qualities.
It has become popular to refer to whites as “privileged,” but whites with power, if they accept the term at all, are more likely to see privilege as a result, rather than a prerequisite. (It is true that wealth has its privileges, but that is a subject for another discussion.)
Returning to my suggested definition of racism – the assumption that some races are less human than others – I think we can state with assurance that there is very little of that going on in America today.
What we do have in abundance is prejudice, bias and stereotyping, some of which is bad, some of which makes good sense.
Is it racism, for example, to wish you daughter would marry within her race?
Is it racism to be wary of strangers of a different race who may or may not share your customs, ethics or traditions?
Is it racism to consider common stereotypes when dealing with a stranger of another race?
Is it racism to prefer that your favorite club admit only members of your race?
Recall the widely circulated Jesse Jackson quote to the effect that he was relieved to discover that the two young men following him down a dark street were white. Was he being a racist?
The word “racism” has become a useful political tool. It conjures up images of holocausts and pogroms and Birmingham lynchings. But politicians, intellectuals and the equal rights industry have used the word so indiscriminately that “racism” has joined the ranks with “fairness” and “justice” and “equality,” words that have the unique characteristics of meaning whatever you want them to mean, yet, at the same time, having no useful meaning at all.
When Charlie Rangel refers to welfare reform as racist, he makes it impossible to condemn real racism.
So, in a country that calls itself a free society, is not whether some individuals harbor racist views, but whether government policies are based on racism.
A quick survey of state and federal programs does, indeed, turn up a few that look suspiciously racist: Affirmative Action, Minority Set-asides and EEOC quotas, to name three.

Many people are saying that a person is racist only if he/she acts upon that racial feeling. However, this word is discrimination.

I honestly do not believe you have to act upon anything to be racist. The only problem with the word is that it has carried such a bad connotation in the past 3 or 4 decades (and rightfully so) that people believe it should be reserved only for the most radical of ethnocentrists, and maybe only for those people affiliated with radical supremist groups.

However, if you are on a plane and get nervous because the guy next to you looks darker than white, lighter than black, and obviously frustrated, you are a racist. If you lock your door "unconsciously" because you are parked and two black guys are walking on either side of your car, you are racist (now if you do this for anyone, understand that is different). And if you see a family of Hispanics walking by on the sidewalk and automatically assume they are poor, you are being racist. You are also stereotyping, but you are being racist.

Many times, the reason racism never stops - only changes from overt to covert - is because we do not want to admit to ourselves that we are having a racist thought. If each time we see those black guys walking on either side of the car, we decide not to panic and lock our doors, then we won't subconsciously stereotype each black we see as such. Same for all races. We have to be blunt about calling our own thoughts racist in order to end the disease, because denial is a stong perpetuator.

And I'm not just pointing the finger: I have done it myself, and I believe that it - in conjunction with learning other cultures - has allowed me to see people for who they truly are, and not what I have been taught by society that their skin color dictates them as. And I still have a ways to go, because I know that everytime I see someone wearing or sporting a rebel flag, I subconsciously label them as a racist redneck and get *** NOTICE: THIS WORD IS AGAINST THE RULES. FAILURE TO REMOVE IT WILL RESULT IN A STRIKE. ***, but I'm working on that.

Just wanted to share.

UGA Boy wrote:
Many times, the reason racism never stops - only changes from overt to covert - is because we do not want to admit to ourselves that we are having a racist thought

[COLOR=red]I get a little uneasy when others try to get inside my head to tell me what I "really" think.

If each time we see those black guys walking on either side of the car, we decide not to panic and lock our doors, then we won't subconsciously stereotype each black we see as such. Same for all races. We have to be blunt about calling our own thoughts racist in order to end the disease, because denial is a stong perpetuator.

[COLOR=red]Stereotypes are based on observation and the law of averages. You would be foolish to ignore the probabilities simply so you can feel righteous. A few years ago there was a flap in Boston about cab drivers who refused to pick up young black men late at night. It is a terrible injustice for young black men, most of whom are law abiding, but how many cabbies should die for them?

--Pedro

Pedro,

Surprise! The Snipers were black. Surprise! Rudolph the Olympic City Bomber was not foreign.

Maybe it is a time out for racism. And for, "How many cabbies should die?" I guess I am assuming every cabbie got home safely by keeping those coloreds out of their cab.

Thank goodness for racism!

It's amazing to see how people who do the discriminating see no problem with it, and don't see why others do. There cannot be equality with racism becase someone is always getting the short end of the stick.

But as long as it isn't the person doing the discriminating, I guess its okay.

If I saw a stranded woman on the road in the rain, I would probably stop to pick her up. If I saw a stranded man, I probably wouldn't. I guess that makes me sexist.

If I see a group of Hispanics, and they look poor, I will assume they are. I don't believe that makes me a racist. It does make me observant.

IMO, racism is pretty much what the dictionary would define. Belief in racial superiority and ill treatment, disparagement, or aggression against another race.

Are you saying there is no risk involved in delivering pizza to high crime neighborhoods, or a cab picking up young black men late at night, or a woman walking many city streets at night?
When there are risks, the prudent thing is to weigh the risk against the benefits. Is this racist? I think not. I suppose it would be comforting words to the widow of a dead pizza delivery man: At least he wasn't a racist.

One of the hurdles in the general race debate in America is that we have been conditioned to see nearly everything through the lense of politics and race.

You seem to speak in terms of racism and discrimination as if they were the same thing. Racism (narrowly defined - see my other post) is unacceptable. Discrimination (the ability to tell the difference between things and make useful choices) is necessary, even laudable.

Another observation: You used the word equality. In what sense do you mean it? Are you implying that all persons should be equally treated in all circumstances?

I am not saying one should have to go deliver pizza and drop off someone in the middle of Iraq.

What I am saying is that just because someone has black skin does not make them a criminal. In fact, if you wanted to think along those standards, the cabbies should be refusing to serve WHITE people because according to the statistics at the FBI WEBSITE, you will find that violent crimes are more likely to happen by whites percentage wise than blacks.

Yet if someone refused to serve you because of the skin you were born with, you would be angry. So why would it be different for any other race?

Mrs. Pigpen, numerous studies have shown that men are more aggressive than women, so I don't know. What I do know is that the sooner the US learns that fearing evil does not mean fearing "color", we can be...yes Pedro...equal.

And by that Pedro, I mean that a person's life won't be different because his skin is a little more tan.

I didn't know we were debating the morality of racism, I thought we were just defining it personally. I was pretty surprised to see how many people think only actions are racist, that thoughts are not. I personally think that any preconcieved notion anyone entertains about others based on their race is racism. You don't have to act or speak on your thoughts to be racist, simply thinking them makes it so. That doesn't mean your good or bad, that is where actions come in to play. Often times, you can not control what thoughts pop into your head, the difference between a good and bad person is whether they act on bad ideas or not.

Actually, while a higher percentage of crime is committed by whites, a higher percentage of blacks than whites commit crimes.
This is a situation where the dream conflicts with the reality. As to your comment that "fearing evil" need not "mean fearing 'color,'" I think this is a reckless use of the word fear. The impulse to assign fear as the motivation for someone who thinks differently is not helpful.
But, returning to the point of this thread - the definition of racism:

I know what it is like to be the only melanin-advantaged person in a crowd of pasty people. Every whisper, every glance, every smile can be thought to have a hidden meaning. But, maybe not.
Real racist attitudes are private thoughts, and beyond the reach of law. (This is, unfortunately, less true today than in the past.) Public discriminatory acts, whether rooted in racism, or any other reason, can, by consensus, be made the subject of law.
Current U.S. laws are more than sufficient to penalize acts of discrimination. But, racism, being beyond the reach of law, will always be with us to some degree. Those Americans who are people of color had better realize that our finite supply of time and energy is better spent working out our lives within that reality than railing against the unfairness of life.
It is not useful to think of racism and discrimination as if they are the same thing. We can work to end discrimination, and we have. But, unfair as it may be, racist attitudes can be changed only if people of minority racial groups conduct their lives in ways that expose the lie of racism.
It is to my advantage to befriend a dog and show him that I mean no harm, rather than kick him for what I think he might be thinking. Would you call this “acting canine?”

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I do not believe that racism is necessary right or wrong. I think that instinct surpasses both right as wrong being a natural act without outside influence. Perhaps racism is an act of instinct, we are all in some way racist or hold some sort of prejudice to someone or something...just a little prattel, its really not so heinous

Racism. One of the worlds great evils, if not the greatest evil. History has shown us how dangerous "group think" is and what horrors it has led to. It's primative and tribal. MLK had it correct when he said "content of character and not color of skin". That a color blind society is the ideal society where one looks at the individuals character not their "group". Which leads me to believe that there are only two races........the decent and the indecent.

Racism today is indeed a one sided affair,our 'progressive' society has made it fully acceptable for a member of a minority group to slur, slang and basically belittle anyone of the majority.look at television, you will see gays, blacks,and women all with intelligent characters,and white males,and also rapidly growing in these areas, hispanic males as doofs and clutsy idiots. This nation if it is to grow culturally must quit making a mockery of those who built it and you cant have an equal share of the pie if you use techniques as these to obtain it.

Would have to agree with several points already made.

To me it’s a preconceived idea that an entire race possesses certain beliefs and their behavior is predictable.

Racism is a mindset, most likely learned from those who have had the greatest influence in an individual’s life. Action is not required to have preconceived ideas about how a person of a certain race will behave or think.

Acting on racists beliefs is discrimination.