03-14-2018, 02:27 PM
(03-14-2018, 01:07 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: But my question is, can someone have racial biases and stereotypes and still not necessarily be a racist?
I think that question is not so easily answered since I'm told that everyone has some degree of racial bias and everyone stereotypes to some degree. If that is true, at what point does it cross the line into actual racism? Or do you feel that there is no line between the two?
What are your thoughts?
Some racial stereotypes are true.
They only become a problem when an individual judges another individual based on a racial stereotype.
No one can watch track and field or the NBA and deny that genetically African Americans as a group are athletically superior to white people. But you can't just randomly pick a white guy and a black guy and claim the black guy is a better athlete. That would be racist.
Even when you adjust for socioeconomic variables like income African Americans are more likely to commit violent crimes and have multiple children by with multiple mothers. That is probably a cultural issue more than a genetic issue, but it is a true stereotype of a race. That being said, you still can't say an individual black person is more likely to be a criminal than an individual white person.
When I meet a black person I don't fear him more than a white person because I know there are plenty of crazy violent white people. I don't treat them any differently until I know more about them.
But on the other hand the African American community needs to acknowledge the problems they have within their own culture if they ever want to fix them. The glorification of gun violence and misogyny in gangster rap music is damaging their entire race. Lots of white people listen to gangster rap music also, but it is not influencing and shaping our culture the way it is in the African American community.
