Are Americans Racist?

the KKK is giving me some trouble here at home - it's very weird , because they are so holy about it .

 

Stay away from trees. And ropes.

 

Hell yes we're racist. Some believe( as usual) that the media is the ONLY REASON that racism exists here. (" if it bleeds, it leads--that's the criteria for news stories. Everyone knows that.} Or they should. But the only way racism is going to be addressed is by the media.

Some 'a you youngins did not go through the 40s- 50s- 60s as I have ---you can have no recollection of the lynchings, murders, and the general way blacks were treated--very RECENTLY.
Read the blogs on this situation. They are eye openers.

I suppose all the black people that live in the vast ghettoes in this country live there because they're stupid or feckless. Anyone can get so low --that there's no way to get out. Anyone that thinks that racism has finally been beaten back is living in a white world and has not walked in the shoes of black people. As close as I've gotten to anything like prejudice, is when my hair was very long. Got plenty of comments-----" boy, he's a cute one, ain't 'e." That's nothing compared to that which you cannot change.

 

I was under the impression that most countries have some sort of minority-related tension. Its a human problem, not an American problem.

 

Well, to answer the OPs question--of course SOME are racist. But there are plenty of good folks out there that don't particularly like

the way blacks have been and continue to be treated.

 

Racist? Perish the thought, what despicable history could you come up with to make these claims!!

 

It is true to say that other countries have racial problems but to me that seems like a very complacent way of looking at one’s own countries situation, it can seem like you are trying to justify the unjustifiable with a shrug and mumble of ‘they’re doing it as well’

I think many in the UK are racist in a lot of ways, few people are openly racists and are frowned upon my the majority, but many others are casually racist - the kind of racism that begins with “I’m not a racist but…” or “some of my friends are black/Asian but…” and to me part of that is “Yes but many of them hate white people, and that’s racism…” well yes it is but what is being said - that one form of racism is justified because there are other forms of racism?

 

It seems to me that a certain degree of Social Darwinist thinking can colour how the situation is seen and the kind of responses given.

If you have a tendency to see peoples social and economic condition as being a ‘natural’ outcome of their abilities, intelligence and work ethics [even their morals] then it could colour how you see such people, and if that socio-economic group is predominantly made up of a certain ethnic group then it could result in something like racism it not actual racism.

I mean for historical reasons black households have traditionally had some of the lowest median incomes in America according to the US census, it could be very easy if you had a Social Darwinist bent to see this and conclude that this was due to black people being lazy, more criminally minded [street crime is more often done my lower economic classes and often involves violence] and can even come to see them as less intelligent than the honest, brighter and harder working people further up the economic tree, who happen to be more white.

As said such thinking could colour the response to the issue in many ways that could be seen by those on the receiving end as looking a lot like racism.

Seen as criminally minded and violent there could be an acceptance of them being more watched and searched and since they’re presumed to be more dangerous then why shouldn’t the police and armed citizens take appropriate precautions in any confrontation (a shoot first ask questions later mentality).

Seen as lazy, right wing and mainly white politician’s call for their benefits to be cut and such people might even think what’s the point in spending resources on educating ‘them’ when they could go to those better off and coincidentally whiter children that are more likely to benefit from it.

Now I’m sure right wingers will claim that they are not racist and not targeting any ethnic group, but many do seem to base their ideas on rather Social Darwinist thinking and when the group that does seem to be targeted always seems to include certain ethic groups then it’s not surprising that some might see it as behaviour based in racism.

 

personally I dont really care what kind of broad brush the UK media is trying to paint America which is why I didn't give more of a response than, "it happens everywhere."

institutionalized racism exists and there are individuals here who are racist for sure, but your media is neglecting to report on all the citizens' journalism coming out of Ferguson showing blacks and whites matching peacefully side by side.

America is a huge, diverse country and we've mostly all figured out how to get along with each other. The people who haven't will be left very far behind within the next 50 years.

 

Mel

I should add that the commentator I was talking about was American, I believe a senator.

 

Does anyone know what racism is? I think it's a word taken out of context for many things, I think the true term should be culturalist. Me personally, I don't see any difference in my fellow humans, skin color doesn't really come into it.

 

Yorik

I agree I think we are all human beings but that’s not o say that I as a white person in a predominantly white country knows what it is like to have grown up here as a non-white, especially since only a generation ago hotels could have signs saying “no dogs or blacks”.

 

Recently watched an Australian documentary about attitudes towards aboriginal people there.
The things some of those folks said about the aboriginals (blacks) was pretty much some of the worst I've heard, so racism isn't solely relegated to America.

Balbus, why is it so many of your threads have a "trollish" feel to them and always target America/Americans?

There are some fairly racist attitudes and actions going on within your own borders.
Wouldn't your efforts be better suited dealing with those issues at home as they would have a direct impact on your daily personal life much, much more so than anything going on in America concerning racism.

 

Prejudicial treatment of groups is common world wide. The U.S. uncommonly has a guilty conscience about it that is projected world wide..

 

It was worse than that. It used to be so rare for hotels to accept black customers in the US that long distance trip planning for black families with cars was very difficult. An old brochure listing all known east coast lodging places for people of color is on display in the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro.

 

true, but it really goes way back before concepts such as "control" or "government" were ever thought of.
It simply comes down to the basic survival instinct we all possess, as you stated, and by empathetic extension we include others most like ourselves under that umbrella of survival/protection, and hence "racism" is born.

But as you say, we have evolved enough that our conscious thoughts can and often should supersede our instinctual behaviors and responses, but sadly I guess not everyone has evolved that far yet.

 

But... we can learn that there are more important things to have in common with someone than appearance. That has to be our hope for the future.

 

Gas

I’ve explained why I’m here many times – I have an interest in politics I come here because it is mainly frequented by Americans and so is a good place to discuss US politics.

BUT my political interests are not just confined to US politics, if you wish to discuss an issue related to Australia or Britain or anywhere else I’d be happy to get into a debate about it.

I started this thread because I heard an American politician saying that racism could bring about the end of the republic, I thought this was a bit strong and so I was asking people here - is racism so prevalent and powerful in the US (or parts of it) that the view that it could end the union is a valid one?

Maybe I should have titled the thread ‘Are Americans that racist?’ but hey it seems to have begun an interesting discussion.

*

I’ve been a long time supporter of Australian aboriginal rights and you might want to check out the writings of journalist John Pilger on the subject. And try reading this

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1999/09/geno-s07.html

I mean for pity sake the British/Australian colonists used to hunt aborigines for sport.

But just as people have pointed out here about younger American been less likely to be racists well the younger Australians I’ve meet [ and there are many in London] seem to be very much against racism and understand the harsh treatment aborigines have and are still receiving.