RE: Definition of Racism (without rent-a-riot)

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Fri Aug 10 2001 - 09:59:06 MDT


Russell Blackford writes

> Lee said
>
>> Racist:
>> One who is antagonistic towards someone else based on that
>> person's race alone.
>
> I think this captures a lot of it. But it might not be antagonism - someone
> who feels friendly contempt, or who feels pity for an "inferior" race, would
> also be racist.

Yes, I concur. The wordier version should read, "One who is antagonistic,
or feels pity or contempt (or admiration or respect) for someone else based
entirely on that person's race alone."

I'm deliberately keeping this at the personal level. I will allow that
someone may have great respect for (or disdain for) an entire *group*
of people---as a statistical group---without necessarily being a racist.
It is merely necessary, in this latter case, that their prejudice does
*not* extend to the numerous exceptions of their general admiration
or contempt.

For example, I have enormous respect for the intelligence and
intellectual capabilities of those who trace their entire ancestry
to the Hungarian Jews once living in the Carpathian mountains. But
in order not to be a racist, I must admit that a particular person
of this group might turn out to be quite dumb, and to be capable of
entirely forgetting about his or her ancestry.

Lee



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