Hey all, I am trying to garner more perspectives of what people think of racism. I am going to use "racism" since I feel more people can relate to it; though of course, ultimately, I am trying to gauge respones to discrimination as a whole. How does this work? Simple, simply answer all the questions below. You can elect not to answer questions you do not wish to answer. Or if sometimes you feel that it is too hard to verbalize your thoughts, you can choose not to write your answer down as well. 1. What is racism in your own words? 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Thank you for participating!
1. What is racism in your own words? Conscious prejudice and/or discrimination against individuals based on ethnicity, culture, or nationality. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? Depends. If A's physical preference is due to underlying prejudice against other ethnic groups, then yes. If it is truly a purely physical preference (like only being attracted to people with blond hair, for example) then no. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? Yes. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? Yes. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? Yes. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes.
1. What is racism (I'm substituting racism for discrimination in my answer) in your own words? Judging a person in ways that you can only judge them once you have gotten to know them before you have gotten to know them. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? No; A just knows what he likes. A big part of a relationship is that sexual connection, so one can't ignore that in the name of open-minded-ness. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? If that is his only reason, then no, but he does have serious issues with his priorities. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? Again, if that is his only reason, then no, but as a part of the entertainment industry, he does have a responsibility to alter public perception for the better, so again, he has serious issues with his priorities. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? Same answer for B. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes, but depending on how much higher than percentage is, it is justifiable.
1. What is racism in your own words? Personal hatred towards a specific ethnicity. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? No. One can't help what turns them on. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? No because A does not hold a personal vendetta against race "purple", only his customers do and he's trying to maximize profits. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? No because again, no personal vendetta. It's profit driven. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? No. Same as 3 and 3a. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes. He shows a personal retaliation to this specific race and has something against them. Now where's my damn $20 off coupon?!
1. What is racism in your own words? Racism is the discrimination or abuse towards a person or persons purely due to the colour of their skin, or country/countries of origin or heritage. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? A could be racist, and this is quite irrelevant: the preference of the purple race does not affect how racist or not A is. A could prefer purple because s/he thinks that purple skin looks nicer, or the most common hair colour and texture of the purple race looks nicer than those of the other races. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? It depends on the situation. If the skin colour is a tie-breaker between two potential employees, then it would not be racism, because A is doing it to appeal to the customers. If a purple person does poorly in an interview and a "green" person does well, but the purple person is hired for the skin colour, then that could be racism. If the "green" person is refused interview due to skin colour, that is most probably racism. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? No, because purple is considered sexier, and by definition, most purples will be sexier than most greens. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? Probably, as they are simply stereotypes which are easily disproven. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes, because the taxi driver is stereotyping the purple as a criminal. However, if purple looks to be a criminal e.g. waving a gun around, that changes it entirely: the taxi driver is not racist if the purple looks like a criminal for reasons other than race.
Blindly judging and making assumptions of others based on ethnicity. No. I'm sure this can be fueled by racism, but by itself I don't think it's racism. No. The customers may be racist, but that doesn't mean the business owner necessarily is. Though, the owner could be more progressive and hire a different race. Neg. Again driven by profits, not by racism. Same as above. Yes. He is making assumptions about an entire race that is completely his own doing.
1. What is racism in your own words? Racism is the belief that one is inherently superior to another because of their ethnicity. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? I don't think A is racist for that reason alone. If they are only physically attracted to race "purple" because they believe all other races are inferior and thinks or speaks out on how no other person should want to be with any other race then they're probably racist. Physical preference doesn't constitute racism. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? I don't believe that A is racist in this situation either if the hiring process is based solely on what the customers prefer. (The customers might be racist though) 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? It depends on how A determined that. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? A wouldn't be racist but A's customers would be. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes, he is assuming that race "purple" people are dangerous solely based on genetics. It wouldn't be racist to not pick up people who are dressed in gang colors and look a bit rough but to not take into account anything other than race in this instance would make the taxi driver racist.
1) In my opinion, to define racism we have to outline what race means. Race is the construction of a 'racial image' that is used to identify a specific group of people. Then, certain negative attributes are assigned to that group so as to justify social, economic and symbolic oppression. That's why race and racism are so tightly intertwined: you need to establish 'race' as an objective biological distinction (which is not) to isolate a group of people and then accuse them of having bad qualities owing to that 'race'. 2) Not necessarily. But I do think we're wired to desire certain traits depending on our culture. 3) Well, he'd be putting profit before equality, which is what people tend to do in trade societies. He wouldn’t be racist as in exerting direct violence over someone, but he'd be complying with a racist request so as to succeed in business. 3a) Again, said person may not personally have bad feelings against someone of a certain 'race', but still wouldn't mind contributing to their segregation if that meant a higher check. Even more so in this case, considering we're talking about an industry that has a pivotal role in shaping people’s perceptions (as opposed to, say, a baker who only hires white people). 3b) Same as 3. 4) Yes, but it would depend as well on how he justifies his decision. If he claims people of a certain 'race' are naturally prone to committing criminal acts, then he's undoubtedly racist. If he understands that criminality is a social problem but he takes such resolution simply for security reasons, then we could call his measure drastic or excessive but not racist as in believing there are inferior 'races'.
1. What is racism in your own words? Racism is discrimination - acted upon or not - against people of a different race to oneself. Racism can be against either certain colours (e.g. black) or certain nationalities (e.g. American). 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? I do not think A is racist because races tend to have different types of features e.g. afro hair is most common in black people, and very pale skin is most common in people of Persian descent. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? I'm not sure about this one. I'll edit this later when I have an answer for you. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? Hmm... I don't think so, if he discriminates solely on those grounds. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? If this extends to positions where whoever A hired would not have to interact with customers, then yes. Otherwise, I'm not so sure. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? If his justification is "well, "purples" are natural criminals, so I don't want one of those in my cab", then yes. If it is "well, I understand that not all "purple" people are criminals, however they're more likely to be criminals so I don't want one in my cab", it'd be a bit drastic but just about acceptable in my eyes. Sorry for the non-committal answers.
1. What is racism in your own words? The discrimination against people with physical or cultural differences justified by the unsupported assertion that "races" exist within the human species. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? Yes, but everyone discriminates when they choose a partner. We discriminate by gender, personality, physical appearance, age, sexuality and more, because we want them to have qualities which do not render us uncomfortable and which attract us. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? Yes. There is no justifiable excuse for doing so other than to admit the racism. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? No, but they assume that the viewers are. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? No, as they are trying to stay afloat financially; however, the customers are very racist. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes; he could simply avoid trips to high-crime areas of the city if he truly doesn't want to risk anything.
1. What is racism in your own words? Negitivly discriminating against an individual or person due to the colour of their skin/their race 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? No. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? Yes 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? Yes for ONLY hiring purple people 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? yes 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? yes
Thanks for all the responds... You guys make me very happy! :icon_bigg:icon_bigg I was actually quite surprised by some of results by the way, which is why I am going to post a follow up question; so it would be great if those who answered "yes" on number four answer this as well. 4-F1: Back to the taxi driver who avoids picking up "purple" pessengers; now suppose that he tells you: "I understand that not all "purples" are criminals, but I know that the risk is higher, hence my actions are based on the increased risk". Do you think he is racist? Do you think you should advice him to ignore the higher risk? [I just rephrased the question a little bit due to the ambiguity pointed out.] 4-F2: Do you think that it's possible for some discrimination to be "justified" or "warranted"? 4-F3: To you, does the word "racism" carry only negative connotations to you, or do you feel that "justified racism" can exist? thanks everyone! Hope you guys enjoyed the discussion though
1. What is racism in your own words? When someone has something against anyone of a different race to themselves. (ie "I'm not racist, I just cant stand all them foreigners coming over here" "...well you are racist then, aren't you. -_- " ) 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? Not particularly, you're attracted to who you're attracted to... but then if A really liked someone who wasn't purple but refused to go out with them just because they werent purple, that'd be on a bit of another level... 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? Yes. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? yes. Everyone deserves an equal chance. And A shouldn't be exploiting his employees by using them for sex appeal only anyway, he should hire them on the basis of their talent and skill, not their physical appearence. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? Yes, as it will be helping to strenghen the customers' stereotypes rather than break them. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes, he could be leaving that poor innocent purple person out on the cold street at night where he could get attacked by the real criminals who could be of any race, physical apperance, age, gender, background etc. If he did pick up the purple person and he started displaying unacceptable vehaviour he'd have the right to kick him out though as it would be based on that individual's behaviour rather than a sterotype against an entire group of people who dont necesarily have any connection with each other. 4-F1: Back to the taxi driver who avoids picking up "purple" pessengers; now suppose that he tells you: "I understand that not all "purples" are criminals, but I know that the risk is higher, hence my actions are based on the increased risk". Do you think he is racist? Do you think you should advice him to ignore the higher risk? Advise him that t "higher" risk is probably just the fack that the media hype is focussed on "purple" crime, and letting stories about, say, green crime slide. Its the same with everything really... everyone has stereotypes of who they think are more likely to commit certian crimes. Here's a prime example: it was in the news a while a go that a supermarked wouldnt let a mother and her 4 year old child in because the 4 year old was wearing a hoodie. Just because people associate hoodies with crime doesnt mean all people wearing hoodies are criminals (least of all 4 year olds), just as just becase people associate purples with crime doesnt mean all purple people are criminals. 4-F2: Do you think that it's possible for some discrimination to be "justified" or "warranted"? No. It's silly. Just because one person does you wrong doesnt mean you should hold something against an entire race/group. I cant stand people who say things like "I hate all purples because my gf left me for a purple". I once knew a guy who tried to tell me that it was ok for HIM to be homophobic because his friend told him he wasn't gay, then a while later came out to him, and he couldn't stand that he'd "lied" to him about it therefore decided to have something against all gay people ¬¬ 4-F3: To you, does the word "racism" carry only negative connotations to you, or do you feel that "justified racism" can exist? See above. I think I may have overthought this at places
1. What is racism in your own words? Using discriminant behavior towards people of certain races based on pre-conceived notions about that person's race. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? Well, I wouldn't really consider love and physical attraction to be the same thing. I realize they go hand in hand, but they are not necessarily one in the same. So no, I would say A isn't racist in this scenario. A doesn't believe that all purple people act a certain way, A just knows that when it comes down to it, they don't generally find themselves attracted to purple people. 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? Yes, in an indirect way. By only hiring purple people, A is justifying their customer's racism and is supporting it by proxy. 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? I suppose in this instance I would understand hiring mostly purple people, but certainly not ONLY purple people. That's a thin line and it's difficult not to cross it. Regardless of it's mostly or only, though, A comes off as a bit of a douche bag in this scenario. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? Yes! See question 3. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes. The taxi driver is assuming that because someone is purple, they're probably a criminal. It doesn't matter if they know not all purple people are criminals - if they assume they're a criminal for being purple, they're racist.
1. What is racism in your own words? Racism = Prejudice and discrimination against people of certain ethnicity, race or cultural background. 2. If A only prefers race "purple" when it comes to love because A is only physically attracted to race "purple", do you think A is racist? No. Going by that same logic, I'd be a sexist. We cannot decide whom we are attracted to, right? ^^ 3. If A only hires race "purple" because A's customers prefer the race "purple", do you think A is racist? Yes/No. A might be forced to act in this way regardless of his own opinions because of orders from higher authorities. It's not the right thing to do, though, and A might get more customer's from races not "purple". 3a. Suppose A is in the entertainment industry, where sex appeal sells, and A determined that a majority of the customers are physically attracted to race "purple", would A be racist for hiring only race "purple"? Same answer as above. 3b. Suppose A is in an accounting industry, however, A's customers have formed bad stereotypes against any other race, and prefers race "purple", would A be racist for only hiring race "purple"? Same answer. 4. Suppose statistically, there is a higher percentage of criminals being race "purple". Of course, not all "purples" are criminals, but if a taxi driver does not want to take the risk, and hence does not pick up race "purple", is the taxi driver racist? Yes.
