Today on Facebook I learned....

[Gendo]

Judging people based on the color of their skin is NOT RACISM!

[Cassius Clay]

Some jabroni on RFS tried to draw a bizarre distinction between "treating people badly based on race" and "believing black people are inferior". That's it's not necessarily "racist" to believe the latter as long as you don't practice the former. I believe there are a lot of white people that actually think this way on some level because I've seen a lot of cognitive dissonance that points to this. 'Cause they hold certain beliefs about the inferiority of other races that they think are "true"...but they don't want to think of themselves as racist, so they define racism in a way that absolves them.

[Gendo]

Ha, funny because that's basically the opposite of what this guy is saying... (I think) he's saying that it's racist to consider black people inferior, but it's NOT racist to treat black people badly because they're black.

[Cassius Clay]

Yeah...don't know what he/she means then. But I do know that racists play a lot of mental gymnastics with the definition of racism to avoid the label.

This is something that I've found fascinating and very meaningful lately, but the only thing worse that a terrible person is a terrible person that wants to believe or pretend they're good. Why can't bad people just be honest about who they are? Just own your shittiness and stop being a coward. But, they want to be dicks while maintaining some kind of righteousness(probably so they can still get protection from society, since that's kind of the perk of being a "good person"). They want to keep doing bad shit, but keep they're consciences clean and escape accountability...and not do the actual work it takes to keep your conscience clean. Just play word games and twist the truth to accomplish that. And this type of moral laziness is something that I think explains a lot this madness in politics and social justice. How the truth is so twisted...how the POV of racists/sexists/fascists/authoritarians turns truth backwards, inverted, and inside-out.

(And if you watched first season of Fargo, I realized that's really the difference between the main villains. One is a psychopath who owns who he is, and the other is a cowardly psychopath who still wants to believe he is good).

[Gendo]

What he means in general is that racism must have animosity behind it. That is to say, it's not racist to use statistical analysis to make decisions about people. So if statistics show that a black person is more likely to be a criminal than a white person, then it's not racist to take more precautions around black people than white people. In other words, racial profiling isn't racist. Racism must involve an actual dislike or hatred of a group of people based on race.

[Cassius Clay]

Well, that is pretty much like saying "it's not racist to belief some races are inferior as long as you don't dislike them for it".

In other words: I wanna be able to feel superior to black people, but I also want to retain some virtuousness so I'll just conveniently define racism in a way that serves that cowardly agenda.

[aels]

Racism is lynching. Anything less than that is not racism, it's just helpfully pointing out facts, like the fact that all black people are criminal moochers, and if you criticise these facts, it is political correctness, which has gone mad. Anyone who is not in the Klan is not racist, although actually people in the Klan are not racist either, they are just trying to preserve their heritage and if black people are allowed Black History Month then white people are allowed to advocate against black people living in their communities (all communities are white by default, unless they're poor, in which case they are black communities that are dirty crime ghettos you should not live in). It's not racist to point out that races are different, for example, white people are better at everything and should naturally be in positions of power, while black people are good at running and Asians are good at maths and they should probably stick to their areas of expertise and not branch out (white people's areas of expertise are everything, except crime, which is only committed by black people on black people, or brown people on America). Anything preceded by the words 'I'm not racist' is not racist. And you can call black people the n-word if you're like, really mad at them, because you were not personally alive during slavery and therefore you have nothing to do with it even if you continue to enjoy the benefits of embedded white supremacy. Also if black people are mad about white supremacy, maybe they should just work harder to be better because you were never handed anything because meritocracy because bootstraps because affirmative action means that all black people can now go to Harvard and take your jobs (all jobs are white by default, except crime, which is a black person job, or underpaid manual labour, which is for illegals, who should go back where they came from).

I can't believe I have to explain these very simple facts.

[Cassius Clay]

And I never thought I'd say this, but I guess what I'm getting at is that there is something almost respectable about a "bad person" who owns who they are, and doesn't try to escape accountability for it. Bad people who try to dishonestly and cowardly shift accountability off themselves are literally the worst kind of people alive. And that is what most racist and sexists are(individuals and institutions/systems). Reminds me of Malcolm X's quote about the wolf and the fox.

Ta-Nehesi Coates addresses some of the psychology behind it here(with a more charitable tone):

[Cassius Clay]

Racism is lynching. Anything less than that is not racism, it's just helpfully pointing out facts, like the fact that all black people are criminal moochers, and if you criticise these facts, it is political correctness, which has gone mad. Anyone who is not in the Klan is not racist, although actually people in the Klan are not racist either, they are just trying to preserve their heritage and if black people are allowed Black History Month then white people are allowed to advocate against black people living in their communities (all communities are white by default, unless they're poor, in which case they are black communities that are dirty crime ghettos you should not live in). It's not racist to point out that races are different, for example, white people are better at everything and should naturally be in positions of power, while black people are good at running and Asians are good at maths and they should probably stick to their areas of expertise and not branch out (white people's areas of expertise are everything, except crime, which is only committed by black people on black people, or brown people on America). Anything preceded by the words 'I'm not racist' is not racist. And you can call black people the n-word if you're like, really mad at them, because you were not personally alive during slavery and therefore you have nothing to do with it even if you continue to enjoy the benefits of embedded white supremacy. Also if black people are mad about white supremacy, maybe they should just work harder to be better because you were never handed anything because meritocracy because bootstraps because affirmative action means that all black people can now go to Harvard and take your jobs (all jobs are white by default, except crime, which is a black person job, or underpaid manual labour, which is for illegals, who should go back where they came from).

I can't believe I have to explain these very simple facts.

That pretty much covers it.

Psych! That's just the tip of the iceberg!

[aels]

And I never thought I'd say this, but I guess what I'm getting at is that there is something almost respectable about a "bad person" who owns who they are, and doesn't try to escape accountability for it. Bad people who try to dishonestly and cowardly shift accountability off themselves are literally the worst kind of people alive. And that is what most racist and sexists are(individuals and institutions/systems). Reminds me of Malcolm X's quote about the wolf and the fox.

Ta-Nehesi Coates addresses some of the psychology behind it here(with a more charitable tone):

I feel the same way. I would rather deal with an open bigot than a self-serving one who treats accusations of bigotry like you've personally insulted their sainted mother. I tend to get frustrated with people who are all 'Yes, I am an asshole but at least I admit it', like their honesty is a big enough virtue that it mitigates the asshole part but the only thing worse is someone who is an asshole and won't admit it. I was speaking with my sister a couple of days ago about how I prefer open misogyny to dealing with microaggressions because it is so much easier to engage with and doesn't lead to you wondering if you are going mad.

[Cassius Clay]

I feel the same way. I would rather deal with an open bigot than a self-serving one who treats accusations of bigotry like you've personally insulted their sainted mother. I tend to get frustrated with people who are all 'Yes, I am an asshole but at least I admit it', like their honesty is a big enough virtue that it mitigates the asshole part but the only thing worse is someone who is an asshole and won't admit it. I was speaking with my sister a couple of days ago about how I prefer open misogyny to dealing with microaggressions because it is so much easier to engage with and doesn't lead to you wondering if you are going mad.

True. Interestingly, whenever I've witnessed black people call white racists "white devils", it's never just because of racism...it's the deception. Racism is bad enough, but the deception just takes it to another level. I'm talking levels and levels and levels of deception...including convenient self-deception/willful ignorance. To have so little empathy for your fellow man that you have to twist reality to this degree...to gaslight. to victim-blame, to concern troll...all the borderline psychologically abusive tactics. And to frame things in a way to have enough plausible deniability, where it's unclear just how self-aware they are about what they are doing(whether they are being intentionally crafty or just being lazy...or both)...never just own what they really believe. It's maddening. It's fucking devilish.

[Cassius Clay]

Based on everything I've said, which psychopath would I have more respect for? Joffrey Baratheon or Ramsay Bolton?

[aels]

I don't watch GoT but from what I know, Ramsay Bolton?

[Cassius Clay]

Yes, Ramsay Bolton, the mother of dragons..

[Derived Absurdity]

Racism is lynching. Anything less than that is not racism, it's just helpfully pointing out facts, like the fact that all black people are criminal moochers, and if you criticise these facts, it is political correctness, which has gone mad. Anyone who is not in the Klan is not racist, although actually people in the Klan are not racist either, they are just trying to preserve their heritage and if black people are allowed Black History Month then white people are allowed to advocate against black people living in their communities (all communities are white by default, unless they're poor, in which case they are black communities that are dirty crime ghettos you should not live in). It's not racist to point out that races are different, for example, white people are better at everything and should naturally be in positions of power, while black people are good at running and Asians are good at maths and they should probably stick to their areas of expertise and not branch out (white people's areas of expertise are everything, except crime, which is only committed by black people on black people, or brown people on America). Anything preceded by the words 'I'm not racist' is not racist. And you can call black people the n-word if you're like, really mad at them, because you were not personally alive during slavery and therefore you have nothing to do with it even if you continue to enjoy the benefits of embedded white supremacy. Also if black people are mad about white supremacy, maybe they should just work harder to be better because you were never handed anything because meritocracy because bootstraps because affirmative action means that all black people can now go to Harvard and take your jobs (all jobs are white by default, except crime, which is a black person job, or underpaid manual labour, which is for illegals, who should go back where they came from).

I can't believe I have to explain these very simple facts.

that is honestly the best paragraph ever

[OpiateOfTheMasses]

I dunno. It is a bit strong. I don't think you're ever really meant to use the N-word. But then I suppose black people sometimes use it, so maybe it is alright...?

Carry on. As you were.

[aels]

Marv said I could.

[Derived Absurdity]

For realz though, I'd like to bring this back to something I said in an earlier thread and to which no one except Anakin responded to (if I could). Cuz I think it's relevant. How plausible is the idea that people like the OP is talking about believe ridiculous shit like that primarily because the word "racism" has been completely bleached of all meaning? Now it's basically just a stingy mouth-noise that you don't want landing on you. That's how people can seriously say things like, "I believe black people are inferior, but I'm not racist!" And the conspiracy theorist in me says that this has been engineered mostly purposefully, to hide the fact that society is still virulently racist and to sort of cordon it all off on this evil word/concept that doesn't relate to anything. The word functions mostly as a sin-eater. Sort of like rape and rape culture.

[Cassius Clay]

For realz though, I'd like to bring this back to something I said in an earlier thread and to which no one except Anakin responded to (if I could). Cuz I think it's relevant. How plausible is the idea that people like the OP is talking about believe ridiculous shit like that primarily because the word "racism" has been completely bleached of all meaning? Now it's basically just a stingy mouth-noise that you don't want landing on you. That's how people can seriously say things like, "I believe black people are inferior, but I'm not racist!" And the conspiracy theorist in me says that this has been engineered mostly purposefully, to hide the fact that society is still virulently racist and to sort of cordon it all off on this evil word/concept that doesn't relate to anything. The word functions mostly as a sin-eater. Sort of like rape and rape culture.

Well, in a sense, there could be some sort of "conspiracy" behind it; but, I personally think the label has been watered down and twisted primarily for the psychological reasons I've already stated or alluded to. There's a bridge between the internal guilt complex of white individuals and the larger social implications and purpose of white supremacy. Basically, white supremacy is not going anywhere, so in order for people to be able to "live with themselves" and/or be consistent with certain values they have about what it means to be a good person, they have to lie, justify/rationalize, and twist the truth(because it's easier than fighting white supremacy and/or they lack the empathy for non-whites to take the actual virtuous option of fighting white supremacy). It's cognitive dissonance.

There are natural failures of human psychology(things that make us morally inconsistent like confirmation bias, double think, moral licensing and other forms of self-deception) that these ideologies can thrive in. A lot of the time, for most "good people", these failures are mostly harmless. But, the more morally corrupt among us(and the more corrupt parts of ourselves) really take advantage of these aspects of our psychology to advance their evil. This is the reason I stress that the way we talk about rape/rape culture must be very simple/straightforward, as to not over-complicate and leave disingenuous assholes room for any type of plausible deniability. I've read multiple stories about women who's resistance and verbal "nos" were ignored by potential rapists until the women explicitly named what was happening(by saying "I don't want to be raped", or "this is rape"). Once the rapists heard, they suddenly would stop and flee. The dishonest fucks were being deceptive about what they were doing, trying to take advantage of grey areas and the potential for "miscommunication"("she's just playing hard to get", "no doesn't always mean no"), but once the word rape was used, they realized that there is no way they can follow through with it without it being crystal clear to both parties that they had committed a crime. That is the way the dishonest and selfish mind functions....recklessly twist reality in order to justify their own evil. I've also read stories were some men were asked questions about their experience with rape(without ever using the word rape), and how some basically admitted to being rapists but without realizing it. Because they had dishonestly rationalized it to themselves.

I saw 'Spotlight' over the weekend and there was a scene in the movie that reminded me of this psychological phenomenon. Where Rachel McAdams goes to question a molesting priest, and he has rationalized his crimes so well and trying to get around it with some bizarre technicality in his mind(by claiming he didn't get pleasure out of it) that he doesn't even try to hide it or have any shame/remorse.

[Anakin McFly]

@aels - post that on Reddit and see how many people think you're being serious and agree with you

[phe_de]

@aels - post that on Reddit and see how many people think you're being serious and agree with you

Well, POEs law does exist...