Is everyone a little bit racist?

Yes, I think so. I think we can work hard to become aware of our prejudices. Once conscious, they are easier to get rid of.

I don’t think that public denials are necessarily untrue though.

Racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and tons of other prejudices are things that aren’t “cured”. Everyone – yes, everyone – has the capacity for racist thoughts. It’s important to open your assumptions and thoughts for evaluation on a regular basis to make sure you haven’t adopted some racism. More importantly, a society must make sure that its institutions are not racist.

Relevant.

After watching Roots, I was a bit racist for a few minutes, lol.

Racism seems like it can be so many things. The easy answer is to say yes. We all have some kinds of racist attitudes. If I see a bunch of young black men walking down the street towards me at night, and they’re wearing gang colors and talking loud and aggressive, and I racist for crossing the street and trying to avoid them? Or is that just being sensible?

If they were white, and I still crossed the street, is that being sensible, but not racist?

Is racism very distinct from classism? The fact that blacks are generally of lower incomes than whites, and I avoid people who look like they could be dangerous (who also tend to look poor, what with dirty clothes or sports clothes and loud voices, and maybe they seem drunk) seems like I could be avoiding poverty, but it looks like I’m avoiding black people. Which is it?

Is avoiding scary looking people classist? Racist? Should I not be scared of people who look scary to me? I dunno. I’ve lived in the city for many years. I haven’t been robbed yet. Not everyone can say that. I’m careful about who I get close to.

I know many middle class, highly educated blacks. I hang out with them and have no fears. But people who don’t speak English as I know it seem more dangerous. Is that racism? I’d like to think not, but I’m sure many people would think it is.

@SavoirFaire Great show!.
I think there are people who really are not racist, but only you know if you are or not. If you recognize it in yourself, you may not be able to get rid of i, but you can consciously not act on it. My test is, if I walk down the street with someone not like me, am I “aware” of it? If the answer is, “yes”, I remind myself that there’s a bit of racism still there. I’m proud to say it happens less and less.

Sure, everyone is susceptible to having preconceived notions about race. The key is to recognize that these are stereotypes and not to act based on them; that is what makes the difference, not the initial racially prejudiced thought.

@SavoirFaire That’s exactly what I thought of when I saw this question!

Yes, I think just about every human being can be racist, sexist, etc… to a certain extent, no matter how much they deny it. We are all human, and we all have little judgmental thoughts from time to time, that shouldn’t be vocalized. =0)

I’m actually an equal opportunity racist, however, and have little prejudices against every race out there, including whites.

Damn. @SavoirFaire beat me to the Avenue Q link.

I agree that everyone has prejudices, everyone racially profiles from now and then, but despite the song, I’m not sure if I’d describe everyone as “racist”. To me, racism is much stronger than having prejudice or racially profiling. Racism is a belief in the inferiority of people based on their race. Maybe people’s prejudices do indicate some thoughts on that level, but I tend to think racism is a little bit stronger of a term.

I agree with @DominicX, people can often be prejudice and everyone can be a little judgemental from time to time but I think the word “racist” is thrown around far too much. I remember when my grandmother was staying with her sister in London and she told me that her sister was the only white person on the street. I asked her how she felt about it and she said that at first she felt uncomfortable and “out of place” staying there but then she started chatting to the “lovely” old Indian woman next door and it was all ok. My grandmother wasn’t racist for feeling uncomfortable, she doesn’t dislike people because of the skin colour and she wouldn’t wish ill of anyone but she had obviously judged these people before getting to know them and then, when she actually had a conversation with the next door neighbour, she realised that this woman suffered from the same aches and pains as she did and was equally as pissed off by the shitty weather we’ve been having of late. Basically, my grandmother assumed they were different until she looked passed the colour of skin and noticed all the little similarities.

The pope only wears white…....fucking racist bastard!

@DominicX @Leanne1986 But surely there’s a difference between “racist” and “a little bit racist.” I take it that “a little bit racist” here is supposed to be referring to the subtle ways in which race influences behavior, even if it doesn’t result in outright discrimination. I agree with that the word “racist” is too quick off the tongue for many people. Still, it doesn’t seem completely inappropriate to use the term here. Anything else might even trick us into thinking our more subtle prejudices aren’t “really” a problem.

I would like to agree with those that say there is a difference between “racist” and “a little bit racist”. It is still profiling. The difference is that one typically means looking at a particular race in a negative manner and the other is about making assumptions based upon differences in skin tone or other stereotyped characteristics.

To answer the original question…I just don’t know. People become PC and keep their inner feelings about race to themselves. At one point, I would have said that my ex-BIL was the most non-racist person on the planet. Then he proved this thought wrong. When he and my sister had their second daughter and she wanted to play with her older sister’s doll, my sister bought the same model of doll but with a different skin color. She figured that they could use the same clothes and could easily tell the dolls apart. The BIL blew a gasket. “No daughter of mine will have a ____ doll!” It was something that she never expected, and this was after 10 years of being married to him.

@wundayatta If they were white, and I still crossed the street, is that being sensible, but not racist?

I denno, but in the example you give with the blacks, I’d cross the street; as much as I would if those guys were wearing gang colors and talking all aggressive, but were white instead of black. There’s a lot of white people like that I avoided back in Winnipeg. Indians, too. Man I’m such a Hitler.
GA though, there is a difference between racism and perception, although I suppose perception can often lead to conviction. But if you live in a big city like I did, then you know that anything can be applied to everything.
It’s this small town here that’s a piece of shit; nobody likes blacks, and women are inferior. I don’t even know why I’m still here. :( The hatred and judgement can’t even be bothered to be diverse. Pfft.

Is everyone slightly racist? Well, everyone judges and develops mindsets and convictions, about everything. Everyone is racist as much as everyone really gives a shit about what’s better; X Box 360 or PlayStation 3. me and my dumbass examples But as @DominicX points out, I think racism has to be taken above that and solidified into a belief that follows a certain definition, and isn’t the everyday stuff people go by. Although I do believe that racism is nothing but a vessel for man’s need to hate, it is something that’s taken very lightly a lot, when it comes to judgement, and how it seems people don’t realize that it’s a natural thing to judge others. I’m not defending racism whatsoever, since what I’m saying applies to every day life and how much of an asshole your neighbor is. Hatred is everywhere, and no matter its magnitude, it cannot be escaped, whether you’re the one who hates, or are hated.

Everyone has judgements, preconceptions and shit, but not everyone applies it to a height that defines racism, as it’s currently defined. Then again I denno. Racism doesn’t have to be all hardcore and in your face to affect someone, whatever the shape it takes. Something about fear and hate, and how those subjects are so colorful that they sneak into everything, giving definitions we look at, instead of the root. Not that I know anything about any root. Everyone can hate. I can hate black people as much as much as I can hate my own family, but as far as I understand racism, besides it being a vessel for hatred, is that you have to apply it. I mean one is still racist if they really think some people or cultures are inferior. But does everyone who peddles racist shit even really believe that, or do they translate something they don’t understand into something that’s easy for them to understand? Despite what I’m saying about hatred being natural, I do think that exactly because of how racism is hucked around too much for what it really means. Although showing mankind’s history of oppression and violence towards his brother, I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to flame this post. o shit wat?

@SavoirFaire Yes, perhaps.

@SavoirFaire that was absolutely the first thing I thought of when I saw this question. Great show.

I think it depends on what your definition of racism is though. If racist means preferring the company of other people from your own cultural group, then yes I think everyone is, just a little. But if racism means believing that people from other cultural groups are inherently inferior to your own, then no, I don’t think so.