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

From: Joe Dees (joedees@addall.com)
Date: Fri Aug 10 2001 - 11:38:59 MDT


('binary' encoding is not supported, stored as-is) >Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 10:43:03 -0400
> Mike Lorrey <mlorrey@datamann.com> extropians@extropy.org Re: Definition of Racism (without rent-a-riot)Reply-To: extropians@extropy.org
>
>Joe Dees wrote:
>> >
>> >>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. And what if it's based predominantly on the person's race
>> >but also on something else?
>> >
>> >I think it's a term that can do with a lot of careful unpacking whenever it
>> >is used in serious intellectual discourse.
>> >
>> I have already stated that I feel concescension to be a more insidious form of racism than hostility. As for multiple bases for prejudice and discrimination, I do agree that most racists 'bundle' cultural and genetic differences, and make little or no
>attempt to distingush between them, or even give the matter much thought. After all, bigotry is a cognitive shortcut for the intellectually lazy; it provides the bigot with a ready-made, cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all opinion of people whom they just m
>et, without all the mental hassle of actually interacting with and evaluating them as individuals - kinda like considering all pickup-with-a-gun-rack southerners to be fascist racists or all folks who wish reasonable restrictions placed upon gun ownership
> to be commie pinkoes.
>
>While most of your statements here are very laudable, Joe, your last
>displays an apples and oranges analogy.
>
>While there is no connection between having a gun rack in your pickup
>truck and being a racist (there are plenty of people with gun racks who
>are not), advocating a specific, authoritarian-leaning political policy
>is totally different from owning an item like a gun rack.
>
>Your phrase about 'folks who wish reasonable restrictions' would only be
>consistent if you said something like: "kinda like considering all
>southerners who advocate segregation to be racists or all folks who wish
>reasonable restrictions placed on gun ownership to be commie pinkoes."
>
Actually, few people segregationists are NOT racists, but another example might apply; opposition to forced busing may be motivated be the desire for one's children to attend their neighborhood schools. And if it's authoritarian to endeavor to keep guns out of the hands of children, convicted criminals and the mentally defective or deranged (restrictions I consider reasonable) while retaining firearms access for sane law-abiding adults, then it's a good authoritarianism.

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