When we find something "negative" out about ethnic minorities, why..

[Sava]

I agree with che

[Japher]

If you assume the difference is because of race first (especially if you are looking at something as unrepresentative as skin colour rather than a genuine ethnic grouping), and writing off any other societal factors then it's racist.

If you can prove that no other cultural / social things have an influence then say what you want.

Why?

Cultural and Social specificities are inherent to certain races. Race is a factor inherent to culture, is it not? If not, than AA is wrong, and I am just as much a Native American as any Cherokee ever was.

Also, note that culture is determined by a specific race within a specific society. This gives rise to “Chinatowns”, “Ghettos”, “Little Italy’s”, etc… The factors that determine the attitudes, attributes, and practiced abilities (not what they can do, but what they DO do) of people from that area are determined by social norms intrinsic to the people who reside in these areas. Thus, by throwing out cultural and sociological specifications I would be, by default, throwing out race as a factor. By addressing race one is automatically addressing culture and society.

You may say that it is prejudice, and yes it is. However, prejudices do not come without merit (except for Tass being mormon), and in the case of crime, AA, and other such programs/profiling, without statistical significance.




Yaay!! I fed the Troll

[pchang]

Its funny to read a white male writing about ethnic minorities. Whites and males are both minorities on this planet.

[Japher]

Whites and males are both minorities on this planet

And, are also subject to social prejudisms... Most of which I fit

PA, IMO, has a point. "White Men Can't Jump", we have no rhythmn, we can't rap, we like NASCAR, etc... These are awful prejudisms. Yet, no white man is pointing a finger and yelling "racism"... Yet, if you say "Black Neighborhoods see more crime" (a bad stat.) you get called a racist just as quickly as if you say "Black people are better a certain sports" (a good stat)...

Catch-22

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp


If the difference you are noticing is that, on average, black people have a darker shade of skin that white people, I'll heartily agree.

If the difference you are asserting is that black people are more likely to commit crimes than white ones then I invite you to provide your corroboration, and I look forward to ripping it to shreds.

How about putting your balls on the line, Parky?

I think that on average black people have bigger dicks than white people

Jon Miller

[pchang]

stop making Japher defensive.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Originally posted by Jon Miller


I think that on average black people have bigger dicks than white people

Jon Miller

I'll measure up nicely against any black woman out there.

[ErikM]

Well said Japher.

I find it mildly amusing that in American culture it is socially acceptable to say something like "French are frog-eating cowards", "Russians are drunks", or "Germans are Nazis" while if someone does as much as to hint for some correlation between crime rate and the race (or what have you), he will be immediately labelled as the racist.

[Space05us]

Race should be ignored altogether.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by Caligastia


Is it fair to lump everyone who believes in racial differences in with a negative term like "racism"? Believing there are significant racial differences does not necessarily make one a bad person.

There are some racial differences, for example some races have larger and/or narrower arteries, have higher or lower brows, some have larger skulls. Of course this is all "on average".

I don't think Cali meant it in a racist way, because there are observable, anotomical differences between races. However, this does not translate in any way to intelligence, which I don't think he ever suggested.

Although there is growing evidence that some isolated races (like Aus. aborigines) might have different learning styles than the rest of us, but this still doesn't mean they are less intelligent.

[Japher]

I agree Space, however ignoring race does not eliminate racism... especially since it is always the "minority" that brings up how "different" they are all the time.

[The Mad Viking]

Re: When we find something "negative" out about ethnic minorities, why..

Originally posted by Park Avenue
When we find something "negative" out about ethnic minorities, why are people so quick to shout "racism"?

Wen you associate a negative trait with an ethnic minority, you presume that any individual of that ethnic minority has a prediliction towards that negative trait.

That is about as textbook a definition of racism as you can have.

You know, maybe if it is found that one sector of society commits more crimes, then that sector is more criminal.

Do you understand that this is a chicken and egg argument?

Hypothetically speaking, IF racism against blacks exists in society (& the criminal justice system)-
you would see more blacks stopped by police
you would see more blacks arrested by police
you would see more blacks charged by prosecutors
you would see more blacks convicted.

This would lead someone from the planet ZORK, conducting an impartial review of crime statistics, to conclude that blacks COMMIT more crimes.

Yet there is actually no evidence for this. White committing crimes may not have been stopped; they may have been let go with a warning; the prosecutor may have decided there was not enough evidence; the jury may have found their pleas more believable.

Your position is that you BELIEVE blacks commit more crimes because of some trait magically linked to their skin colour, jumping ability and affinity for collard greens.

From that viewpoint, sure, blacks must be more criminal.

But you must know, there is a great chasm between committing crimes and being convicted for them.

Most crimes go unreported. Most reported crimes go unsolved. Many guilty parties are acquited. Heck, many crimes are attributed by the courts to innocent parties.

Given that racism is known to exist, how can you discount it as the factor that generates the statistics that support racism?

[Solly]

"White committing crimes may not have been stopped; they may have been let go with a warning; the prosecutor may have decided there was not enough evidence; the jury may have found their pleas more believable."

All of which you provide no proof for.

"Your position is that you BELIEVE blacks commit more crimes because of some trait magically linked to their skin colour, jumping ability and affinity for collard greens"

I never said anything about crime. But it is true that the differences can be linked with skin colour (and I never said because of their colour)

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


Technically it does.

There are no significant differences between races, as we are all about 99.99999% genetically identical. And the .0000001 is the information which determines your skin color and other various family and/or ethnic features. But these do translate into racial differences, so Cali is correct.

Though keep in mind you're also 95% identical to a chimp, and 50% gentically indentical to a banana.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

So every time I eat a banana I'm 1/2 cannibal?