Racism or Reality?

Racism is bad. I am against it and racist people.

I have seen first hand what race-based violence can be and it is not pretty.

I just don't think I could ever stop making race jokes. As long as that's all they are.( My buds love to crack at me for my Puerto Rican and Canadian background haha.)
 
What people are getting hung up on here is the shit that's verbal. But that's just one part. That's not the whole issue, and you can't just black and white it and say "Racists are bad" because fact is, most people don't even know what they're doin is racist. read the article about the "Pie in the face" moments that Questlove talks about.

the problem is, the shit is ingrained in your culture. it is about how you were brought up. words like Nigga, niggarette, gook, cracker, nigger, chink, jap, habibi, what have you, that's miniscule. Those are insults that you know are made to hurt people. You are brought up to understand those are curse words. and when you say them, you're

A: trying to purposefully insult someone.
B: acknowledge someone in a derogatory way.
C: completely oblivious to the fact that these are negative words.
D: Trying to lessen the power of these words by desensitizing them. (good luck with that)

allowing racists to openly talk... For one, how do they know they're racists? just cause people tell them? and what's their usual response? "I'm not tryin to be racist I'm just tryin to be. I'm sorry if I offended you. didn't mean to" but never the less you did. But the thing is, they don't know they're being racist. That's my point.

why?

because racism is inherently ignorance.

the shit goes hand in hand. The shit is so buried within your upbringing that you don't even realize that it's there. The stereotypes that exist, they exist for a reason. At this point, it's part of who you are. it's not easy to just uproot this and deny its existence. No, but Immortal Technique does make a point.. It needs to be discussed. it needs to be talked about. it needs to be brought out of ignorance. So there's no longer that, "I didn't know I was being racist" excuse. Because right now, in this moment in time, it's locked in deep.

and when you start talking about other people's personalities, when you talk about or even criticize them.. They're going to get defensive. And some people are going to be stubborn, some closed minded, some open.. and this is another problem with racism.

because not only is it based on ignorance, but it's also based on your upbringing. How do you even stop that? for you? it may be too late. but for future generations, they still have hope. but the first step is to bring racism out of the realm of ignorance. and that requires a lot of discussion on racism.
 
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The requirement for an open and honest discussion on any topic is that all opinions on that topic are valid.

All of them. No exceptions.

Which means judgement goes out the window. And self-awareness, and therefore vulnerability is a must have.

See, when we request an "honest, open discussion" on a sensitive topic, we usually don't want an open, honest discussion on the topic. What we want is a debate in which we can win.

For example, if I "wanted" an "open discussion" on racism, I won't be seeking honesty. I'll be seeking ways to get/force my opponent(s) to agree with my views. If that occurs, then I'll say "We had an open discussion on racism, and we made progress!" If it doesn't then I'll say "We had an open discussion on racism, and we made congress!"

That's like being soldiers with full armour on, attacking each other with weapons.

An open honest discussion is throwing down all weapons, and taking off every single piece of armour we have on each other until we're all facing each other naked. Defenceless. Vulnerable.

But there's no way we can be honest with each other without first looking at where we're dishonest with each other. That's why I said what I said. Evil cannot pass unless it's embraced.
 
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