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Can Racists be Good People?

Are racists good people?

  • Total voters
    44
Most People who would be considered "racist" are usually in 2 camps.

1. Poor People from a dominant race who feel threatened and feel like they are loosing the small Security they have and find an enemy, and the poor of other races or ethnicities are usually the easiest and most obvious to blame.

These are you're general stereotypical racist poor white person in the United States, or whatever ... I don't think they are bad People, I think their racism comes from fear, that's it, it manifests itself negatively and has bad outcomes, but I don't think it comes from an evil Place.

When I see some skinhead from the trailer park, I don't hate him, I feel bad for him, it's sad.

2. Then you have the racism that comes from a genuine sense of superiority and disdain for those who are seen as lesser than them ...

That's the more "country Club" racism ... I think that comes from a bad Place, and generally it's both racism and classism, and comes from a sense of superiority, and real disdain.
 
Are racists good people?
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Only with or to other racists, birds of a feather thing. no vote, not enough options
 
X Factor said:
On the heels of reading how it's just totally ok and no big deal to accuse people of racism because, hey, it doesn't mean you're a bad person if you are, I'm wondering if most people agree.
Are racists good people?
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Need a minute to get the poll up.
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Racists are very bad people.

Good examples are the WWII Nazis and some people in the USA who are always ready to re-fight the Civil War.

We will probably always have people like that, but they'll never rule this world.
 
TeleKat said:
Depends.
Simply being a racist does not automatically make you a bad person.
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 The problem you'll run into is that severe racism can often manifest itself in bad ways. Take the KKK for example. Or the Nazis.
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Believe what you want to believe, I have no use for racists and won't associate with them.

I'm talking about Nazis and those who would like to see the South re-fight and win the Civil War

I could say a lot more, but that should tell you how I feel about racists. :roll:
 
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I think they can be good people as long as the realize others don't agree with their views, and their views don't alter how they function in society. You can not like someone, and still show them respect as a person.
 
X Factor said:
Do you think accusations of racism should be made lightly? I'm sincerely asking for your opinion on that (not at all suggesting it's something you do). And the reason I ask is that it's occurring to me that, for some, it may be no big deal to say that about someone because to them, it's not the same as saying they're a bad person.
By the same token, it's difficult to not take extreme exception at being accused of it.
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Anyone who doesn't want to be called a racist shouldn't engage in racist behavior, pretty frickin' simple.

If you don't want to be a accused of it -don't do it. :roll:
 
shrubnose said:
Racists are very bad people.

Good examples are the WWII Nazis and some people in the USA who are always ready to re-fight the Civil War.

We will probably always have people like that, but they'll never rule this world.
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They did, for a long time, European Imperialism.
 
I struggle with this question a lot. I live in an undeniable racist area. I have talked on this forum before about my hometown so I wont go into it again, but it is white, I am talking very white to this day. Growing up here I never seen a minority of any kind until we started going to church in the big city. I get racist email from my Mother and other family members on a regular basis. Sitting around having a beer Friday evening with my friends down at the legion the Furegson riots came on and the discussion turned to the N****** exhibiting normal n***** behavior said it proudly pointing out he aint racist. I was raised here and really did not know any better until I moved away in the Marine Corps and for years after I got out I lived in Philly returning to my home town in late 80's. It was culture shock. I really could not vote because I dont know if they can be good people or not. I guess at best they are very ignorant. But I dont know about good. Others are just haters.
 
shrubnose said:
Believe what you want to believe, I have no use for racists and won't associate with them.

I'm talking about Nazis and those who would like to see the South re-fight and win the Civil War

I could say a lot more, but that should tell you how I feel about racists. :roll:
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How was that statement construed to mean that I'm fine with racists?
 
Thread needs to define what sort of racist we're talking about. The kind that denies the existence of systemic privilege or the kind in the KKK? The former can still be a good person and is not even a racist in the common sense of the word, just ignorant. We're all ignorant about some thing. The latter, of course, is a bad person.
 
TurtleDude said:
ever see the movie THE WILD GEESE. mercenaries sent to rescue the proper president of an african country

one of the mercenaries was a Boer who constantly insulted blacks including the president his mercenary unit freed. IN the end, the racist south African died protecting the black president from attackers. I guess actions spoke louder than words
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That's an old movie with roger moore. I am surprised anyone remembers it.
 
shrubnose said:
Anyone who doesn't want to be called a racist shouldn't engage in racist behavior, pretty frickin' simple.

If you don't want to be a accused of it -don't do it. :roll:
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Ah, it does seem simple, alas, it's not. Apparently one can be guilty of racism regardless of what they think or how they act.
 
X Factor said:
On the heels of reading how it's just totally ok and no big deal to accuse people of racism because, hey, it doesn't mean you're a bad person if you are, I'm wondering if most people agree. Are racists good people?

Need a minute to get the poll up.
Click to expand...

No one is "good" or "bad", they are some of each. Absolutes do not exist.
 
X Factor said:
On the heels of reading how it's just totally ok and no big deal to accuse people of racism because, hey, it doesn't mean you're a bad person if you are, I'm wondering if most people agree. Are racists good people?

Need a minute to get the poll up.
Click to expand...

I think you should have defined what being a racist is in your mind for the purpose of this thread. Lynching blacks or wanting to is never good but wanting your children to marry in their own race could be by some to be considered racist thinking. The two extremes here are not comparable.
 
Redress said:
No one is "good" or "bad", they are some of each. Absolutes do not exist.
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You realize you just ended that with a statement of an absolute, right? And I actually do believe that some people are bad, like in my example of someone cruel to animals. I could never see someone like that as being sort of good too.
 
In my 3D life I know very few people who are racist. The question though, can racists be good people, is ridiculous. Define good people and you will have your answer. This is much like the international health care ranking which seek to prove that countries with universal health care coverage are the best nations for health care. One of the criteria that weights the survey heavily is does the country have universal health care coverage. The US does not, so aside from leading the world in technologies, access and facilities, the US always ranks lowly.

It's the same with this topic. If your definition of a good person allows for racism you get one answer, if it doesn't, you get another.
 
X Factor said:
Do you think accusations of racism should be made lightly?
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No I do not, and in American politics all too often it is thrown around very casually and without much thought.

Besides the Nazi's we had there's only one regular member here who I find overtly racist and I'll tell him that without a problem.

Again though, a person who has racist tendencies is not necessarily a bad person based on that one aspect of them, also depending on how racist they are and how that racism manifests itself in their daily lives.

Take my step grandfather for example, as racist as he may be, I don't think he'd bat an eyelash about saving anyone from a burning building regardless of their race because that was his duty, had his racism manifested itself in refusing to help that person, that was what would make him bad.

Another point I'd like to make is having studied Stormfront for some time, one of the most sobering aspects of that community is that some of these people are just normal people, they live among us and they harbor these deeply seated racist beliefs and they genuinely believe that them, their families and their race are in danger from race mixing, reverse racism etc.

I don't think they're right, but not all of them have that belief strictly out of hate and want to commit violence against anyone, it's fear as well and the way they were brought up and love for their family who they're genuinely concerned about, they're as much a victim of circumstance as anyone could be in that situation, like my step grandfather who was probably taught that his entire life in Northern England in the 30's, 40's and 50's.
 
X Factor said:
On the heels of reading how it's just totally ok and no big deal to accuse people of racism because, hey, it doesn't mean you're a bad person if you are, I'm wondering if most people agree. Are racists good people?

Need a minute to get the poll up.
Click to expand...

Yes, but I think the decent racist is getting less and less common.

Almost all decent racists, it seems to me, are people who are racist because that's the culture they grew up with. They're mostly elderly, although there are still a few here and there who just had a very isolated cultural experience growing up.

They tend to be racist to a degree that is roughly 20% less than whatever they grew up with culturally, and it's typically a somewhat impotent belief. They mostly know the times have changed and some of them don't even resent that -- they just grew up how they did, that's what they got used to, and they haven't really let go of it. Some are worse than others.

A lot of us have a grandparent who is racist in this manner, myself included. Yeah, my grandmother is kind of racist. She also believes in separation, because that's how things were in her day. She still treats a black person fine if they come over though. And like most people of her type, she's a good person in all the ways that count. She doesn't hate anyone -- she just grew up however she did, and she's too old to change now.

It can be a little embarrassing to hear them, especially those who are so old that they don't always remember to limit saying such things to close company, but most of us get it's just a product of their time, it's not going to change, it's not going to hurt anyone, and they lived through WWII damn it, so don't argue things with them. Their blood pressure is bad enough as it is, and they should just be left alone to enjoy the twilight of their lives without people fighting with them.

But those people are dying. Not just from age, but also because the insular communities that held on to that are getting less and less insulated.

Most younger racists are not particularly decent people. They didn't get that way passively, by community osmosis, the way our grandparents did (or a limited number of people who came from the remaining insular communities in this country). They got that way by active distaste or even hatred which they then chose to aim in the particular direction of race.

They cultivated that within themselves, they are more likely to spend time going on about it unprovoked, they are more confrontational to people around them -- including of races they don't like -- and it just generally makes up a bigger part of their personality.

It isn't just that they're racist. It's what kind of internal reality it took for someone growing up in a society that disavows hating people based on superficiality to wind up that way anyway. And if you can bare to be around them for long enough to find out, there usually is some kind of point in time where they decided to be that way.

People who harbor those kinds of feelings usually aren't particularly good people.
 
Actually I think you are talking about access to healthcare. And yes, how many citizens can access your system is an appropriate thing to measuer when rating a system.
sawdust said:
In my 3D life I know very few people who are racist. The question though, can racists be good people, is ridiculous. Define good people and you will have your answer. This is much like the international health care ranking which seek to prove that countries with universal health care coverage are the best nations for health care. One of the criteria that weights the survey heavily is does the country have universal health care coverage. The US does not, so aside from leading the world in technologies, access and facilities, the US always ranks lowly.

It's the same with this topic. If your definition of a good person allows for racism you get one answer, if it doesn't, you get another.
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mak2 said:
Actually I think you are talking about access to healthcare. And yes, how many citizens can access your system is an appropriate thing to measuer when rating a system.
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Not trying to derail the thread but universal healthcare is about access, not quality. The point is wether or not a good person can be racist is established by your definition of good person.

I saw something this morning which I thought was illustrative. The vast majority of fouls called in the NBA by white referees are called on black players. Are the referees in the NBA racist? The power of statistics is how you spin them.
 
Good question. but is the majority of playing time played by black players? You just need to understand what the statistics are saying.
sawdust said:
Not trying to derail the thread but universal healthcare is about access, not quality. The point is wether or not a good person can be racist is established by your definition of good person.

I saw something this morning which I thought was illustrative. The vast majority of fouls called in the NBA by white referees are called on black players. Are the referees in the NBA racist? The power of statistics is how you spin them.
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mak2 said:
Good question. but is the majority of playing time played by black players? You just need to understand what the statistics are saying.
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Which was his point, I believe.
 
X Factor said:
On the heels of reading how it's just totally ok and no big deal to accuse people of racism because, hey, it doesn't mean you're a bad person if you are, I'm wondering if most people agree. Are racists good people?

Need a minute to get the poll up.
Click to expand...

only to their own people,IMO
 
By definition, no. Being a racist is a deal-breaker, period.
 
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