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Is it a good thing to be oblivious of racial stereotypes?

Is it a good thing or a bad thing to be oblivious to the very real stereotypes which


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Desensitisation begets it's own dangers. Being inured to prejudicial conduct increases the likelihood of dismissing it where it manifests more subtly, rendering it an even worse oversight for it being a conscious choice rather than a lack of familiarity. Add to that the potential for organised contentious groups to proliferate in the face of this self-imposed apathy. It may be that over-education creates more problems then none at all. Not that indifference and complicity are to be encouraged of course, but that perspective could become an issue where race is formally instituted as a universal baseline, via undue emphasis.

Race issues ought to be stressed as products of inequality. Not as opportunities for application where none previously existed. In other words, they should be reiterated as problems to be resolved. Not as conditions to be maintained into perpetuity.
 
Yay! Post alteration! Upstairs, too.
 
MLK advocated a color-blind society, so I'd think he would be proud. The idea was for a person's race to cease to be a thing of any importance; therefore if society loses all notion of racial stereotypes then how could it not be a good thing?
In that case, we wouldn't describe it as being oblivious.
 
Other, because I really don't think it matters. People need to stop being offended at every little thing. If someone is genuinely ignorant of something, instead of being a complete tool by berating them, and shouting "racist!", people just need to tell the guy. Getting offended and butt hurt by menial crap is just as bad as the jackass who doesn't know he said something offensive to that person.
 
I picked "other" in the poll, because I don't think it's necessarily either good or bad to be oblivious to racial stereotypes. As you explored in the post I quoted, that could mean a lot of different things, some of which are bad, some of which are not. I'll add another wrinkle:

I was watching a comedy special by a guy named Jim Jeffries recently. And as part of his routine, he was telling a story about being on a plane and getting into a contentious argument with this big black guy sitting next to him. The black guy, who had the aisle seat, was taking the inside armrest that under normal rules of plane etiquette typically belongs to the guy in the middle seat (in this case Jim Jeffries). Eventually the flight attendant comes over and decides to split these guys up. Since the big black guy was more in the wrong, she told him he needed to find another seat somewhere further back in the plane. At this point Jim - who is Australian - stands up and shouts triumphantly "get to the back of the plane!"
To a black man. On a US flight.
Now, most of the people on the plane hadn't really heard the altercation, but surely did hear a white dude loudly telling a black man to get to the back of the plane. This did not sit well with the other passengers. Jim, being Australian, didn't realize what he'd done initially. So was it better that Jim didn't really realize how racist that sounded? Personally I have no idea. But it was damn funny.

Unless Jim crawled out from under a rock yesterday he knew exactly what he was saying. It's not as if there's no racism in Australian society and standing up and triumphantly telling a black guy to get to the back of the plane can only have one implication.
 
It all comes down to intent (conscious and/or subconscious) and perception, the old puzzle of how humans communicate.

There are folks who will ALWAYS hear racism from a person of another race, those who are flat out racist, those who don't want to be racist at varying positions on the path, and those that can be, at least for parts of their lives, past it.
 
Unless Jim crawled out from under a rock yesterday he knew exactly what he was saying. It's not as if there's no racism in Australian society and standing up and triumphantly telling a black guy to get to the back of the plane can only have one implication.

Oh dear god. I'm not saying he didn't figure it out pretty quickly (he did, after all, use it in his show). It just didn't jump out at him right away. And why would it? The back of the bus thing is a piece of US history. It's uniquely meaningful to us. Foreigners aren't necessarily going to immediately make the connection to Rosa Parks. Also, it's a comedy show. Lighten up.
 
Oh dear god. I'm not saying he didn't figure it out pretty quickly (he did, after all, use it in his show). It just didn't jump out at him right away. And why would it? The back of the bus thing is a piece of US history. It's uniquely meaningful to us. Foreigners aren't necessarily going to immediately make the connection to Rosa Parks. Also, it's a comedy show. Lighten up.

Lighten up?
The back of the bus thing is known about wherever people speak English and read newspapers. I'm a foreigner, to you, and I know about Rosa Parks. It's not an obscure reference. I've been to Australia and I'll guarantee you it 'jumped out at him right away'. The only difference between Australian and American racists is the ones in Oz don't hide or minimize or apologize. They just flat-out are.
 
Lighten up?
The back of the bus thing is known about wherever people speak English and read newspapers. I'm a foreigner, to you, and I know about Rosa Parks. It's not an obscure reference. I've been to Australia and I'll guarantee you it 'jumped out at him right away'. The only difference between Australian and American racists is the ones in Oz don't hide or minimize or apologize. They just flat-out are.

Or you could get all butthurt about a comedy routine. That works too.
 
Or you could get all butthurt about a comedy routine. That works too.

Doesn't bother me at all. You're making an issue, not me. I'm just pointing out that an Australian definitely knows the 'back of the bus' reference re. racial history. Kind of naive of you not to have picked up on that.
 
Doesn't bother me at all. You're making an issue, not me. I'm just pointing out that an Australian definitely knows the 'back of the bus' reference re. racial history. Kind of naive of you not to have picked up on that.

1) You're the one who brought it up as if it mattered. So you're the one making it an issue.

2) I'm not saying, nor have I ever said that Australians don't get the reference, I'm just pointing out that it wouldn't necessarily be at the forefront of their minds in the context at issue.

3) You'r still taking a comedy routine far too seriously, and that's kind of funny. :shrug:
 
1) You're the one who brought it up as if it mattered. So you're the one making it an issue.

(sigh) Scrolling back, looks like I replied when you brought it up. Or were you hoping to be ignored?

2) I'm not saying, nor have I ever said that Australians don't get the reference, I'm just pointing out that it wouldn't necessarily be at the forefront of their minds in the context at issue.

And I'm saying you're wrong.

3) You'r still taking a comedy routine far too seriously, and that's kind of funny. :shrug:

I'm not taking it at all seriously. Doesn't mean anything to me. Get your giggles where you can.
 
Damn you people and your "pop". It's soda god damnit, stop being confusing with your language.

that is all.

;)

I was a teenager when I met my first deep south transplanted family (they were from Alabama... California was a culture shock, lol). When my boyfriend's sweet mother said to me, "Would you please carry me to the store?" I just stood there with my mouth open, wondering how in the heck she expected me to carry her anywhere, since she outweighed me by at least 80 pounds!!!

That's when I learned you don't drive or take someone to the store in the south... you "carry" them. Oh, and you don't carry bags or buckets... you "tote" them! I learned a whole new culture from those wonderful folks! :lol:
 
I was a teenager when I met my first deep south transplanted family (they were from Alabama... California was a culture shock, lol). When my boyfriend's sweet mother said to me, "Would you please carry me to the store?" I just stood there with my mouth open, wondering how in the heck she expected me to carry her anywhere, since she outweighed me by at least 80 pounds!!!

That's when I learned you don't drive or take someone to the store in the south... you "carry" them. Oh, and you don't carry bags or buckets... you "tote" them! I learned a whole new culture from those wonderful folks! :lol:

:rofl That's funny Di! I would have thought the same thing!
 
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