| RHYMEFESTkillah |
11-23-2006 05:20 PM |
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ahh sorry, but you're wrong on this one....everybody can be a racist....
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No, everyone can have prejudice, but racism DOES require power to be exerted.
Think of it this was, is what makes a racist, racist, is the fact that he dislikes the other person because of their skin color, then the way to solve in would be for blacks to simply change their skin color, which has been attempted. This however, obviously solves nothing in the mind of a racist which proves that skin color is not what makes a racist, racist.
What makes a racism racism is the use of oppression to retain power. You cannot retain power if you don't have it in the first place.(Power here being used synonomously with majority) Whites are by far the majority in this country thus the ability to be racist applies exclusively to them.
Try reading beyon your websters dictionary, and look at the way your country's judicial system defines racism. I'll quote an article for you guys...again.
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Originally Posted by www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/caleb/racism.html
Prejudice by itself does not constitute racism, however. Neither does power by itself. But when people use their position of power, be it political or institutional, to reinforce their prejudices and to enforce them so that as a result of their racial prejudices the life chances, rights and opportunities of others are limited, the result is racism. Thus, the simplest definition of racism then is: Racism is prejudice plus power. On the basis of this definition, while all people can be prejudiced, only those who have power are really racist. African Americans, Latinos, Asians and American Indians?the powerless in American society?can be and often are most prejudiced toward Whites on an individual basis, but they are not racists at the structural, institutional level. Within this understanding of racism, to be a racist you have to possess two things: 1) socioeconomic power to force others to do what you desire even if they don't want to, and 2), the justification of this power abuse by an ideology of biological supremacy. Keep in mind that what often is described as racism in society today, is really nothing more than prejudice and discrimination. While a Black or Latino person, through the use of a gun and/or intimidation, can force a White person to do as he?as an individual?desires, this is an individual act of aggression, not a socially structured power arrangement. At present, however, only Whites have that kind of power, reinforced by a belief in an ideology of supremacy, both of which constitute the basis of racism in America today.
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I'm not making sh*t up when I say that the definition of racism implies power, and I have read on these topics more than I could possibly describe. I'm guessing that people like you, RAR, haven't read about this, and are confusing prejudice with racism.
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In response to the word ******, the word cracker was used
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Cracker is not racist unless you are an immature child. Cracker means nothing and has no historical significance. I'll say it again that White Europeans are the only group of people in this country who have not faced oppression of any sort. Cracker doesn't mean anything and isn't reminicient of your oppression, or of discrimination against you. A white person is not capable of empathisizing with a black or a latino simply because they have never been part of a race that DOESN'T give them advantage over another race. This is called "White Privilage" which is a very popular theorem, and before you tell me that racism works both ways, look it up. Prejudice and racism are NOT the same thing. |
