Reverse Racism?

Ha, barely five posts and here I am, stirring stuff up. But you guys seem to be a reasonable and articulate community on the whole, I guess there aren't that many better places to bring it up.


Is it just me, or has it become very easy to hate on the white folk in America? Right now, it seems that the last thing you want to be in this country is white, male, straight and Christian. Even my college adviser said that this was right now the "combination of death". Even in passing, it seems that white folk get passed up for school and jobs in the name of affirmative action (a policy so nebulous and ill-defined it could constitute its own debate). In addition to this, white stereotypes are still extremely pervasive and perfectly acceptable to use. Such might include the stupid American in this, how the comment "white people can't dance", or the phrase, "That is so white!" is still alive and kicking, and the truly horrid idea that seems to permeate our culture: the white people on the whole are still super-racist. This last idea is the worst, because racism obviously varies from individual.

I mean, I'm full Hispanic and female. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think I'm seeing a trend. Your thoughts?

I'm white, male, straight, and Christian. Am I racist? No.

I don't mind the stereotypes, though. We deserve them after hundreds of years of racism, and intolerance.

Now that I think about it, I guess I have been sort of noticing that.. I'm white and female, and I do sometimes hear some slurs like "white trash" being thrown around every now and then... Still, I can't exactly say that white people are being oppressed, when you think about what, say, the African-Americans had to go through even in very recent history. :/ There's always going to be stereotypes of... just about every group, I'd say, and uh...

...Yup, I totally make sense. *snort*

Zangviper said:

I'm white, male, straight, and Christian. Am I racist? No.

I don't mind the stereotypes, though. We deserve them after hundreds of years of racism, and intolerance.

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So regardless of the short-shrift they might get from other races who have suffered at the hands of people who have been dead for decades or even racist whites in the present, you guys deserve it?

By that logic, shouldn't we still all be ribbing Germans about the Holocaust? Or what about me? My mother comes from Sinaloa, Mexico. Much of the culture there is derived from the Germans who immigrated there before and after World War II, many of them former Nazis. Should I be lumped into a category that I don't necessarily belong to because of my racial history?

And why should I get preferential scholarships BASED on my race alone? I got a thing in the mail last year that was part of some Hispanic-based scholarship thing. I should not be part of their demographic at all, because normally, because my family owns land, I would NEVER QUALIFY for government aid.

Wow, you're only three posts into the thread and you've already invalidated it with a comparison to Nazis...

I'm not sure if 'reverse racism' is a very good term; it's racism if it's judging someone based on their 'race'; it doesn't matter who does it and to whom.

DeskRage said:

Right now, it seems that the last thing you want to be in this country is white, male, straight and Christian. Even my college adviser said that this was right now the "combination of death".

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That is absurd. Being a part of a majority isn't a "combination of death"

Oh, and just so you know, "white trash" is a term commonly used by white people to describe rednecks. It's hardly a stereotype of white Americans.

Zangviper said:

Oh, and just so you know, "white trash" is a term commonly used by white people to describe rednecks. It's hardly a stereotype of white Americans.

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Clearly you only hang out with white people.

Dezzuu said:

Clearly you only hang out with white people.

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Actually I mostly hang out with Asians. Your point is?

that non-white people use it to describe white people

As a white person, I can say that white people do in fact use white trash to refer to rednecks/trashy white people in general.

I should know, I'm surrounded by white trash.

Watershed said:

that non-white people use it to describe white people

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I never said they didn't.

Zangviper said:

It's hardly a stereotype of white Americans.

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Yes. Yes it is.

Equinoxe said:

I'm not sure if 'reverse racism' is a very good term; it's racism if it's judging someone based on their 'race'; it doesn't matter who does it and to whom.

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You are right. The title is something of a misnomer. My apologies.

And yeah...white trash is a fairly prevalent stereotype.

First off, I hate you for making this thread.


Racism = prejudice + power. It's very simple. Given that western society as a whole is white supremacist....

Just want to say that I haven't spent the past millennium enslaving non-whites, kay?

And I've never met a black slave, either. I've met plenty of black folks who act like I enslaved them once or twice, and Hell, a Chinese guy once gave me a bollocking for taking all the tea(???), so yeah. It doesn't feel good, especially as I've done something I view as racist, what, twice, and the second was because I couldn't understand her accent.

Anyway, saying that because the majority is white, we can't be prejudiced against is, well, wrong.
Just because some guy who's only similarity to me is skin colour is in power doesn't mean I'll get preferential treatment. Hell, the whole point of Affirmative Action is to give non-'white males' an advantage, which, in my opinion, is unfair. If a group was going around giving only white people scholarships, there'd be a shitstorm.
And yes, I sound whiny, because I am. I am, next year, hoping to go to a university, and if I miss out because of racism, I'd be a little pissed. Hell, that's why I chose not to make my race public on UCAS.
I mean, I have had no advantage at all.

tl;dr white guy bitching

First off. There is a difference between white privilege and white people enslaving everyone else. Why are you comparing the two?

Second! You are not the person who is able to make the calls whether you're being racist. Starting off by going I'M NOT RACIST is an easy way to show that you are on the defensive and will ignore everyone who says something you don't like.

But back on white privilege. Here is something you should read. And here is something you should read if you think that there's no issue with racism anymore because slavery's done with.

The thing when people start comparing things like racist slurs with slurs against whites is that sure, you can call them racist if you define racism as "prejudice based on race", but being able to define a word to include both of them doesn't mean they're the same thing in a meaningful way. Slurs against white people where they're the majority aren't threatening; you just roll your eyes and laugh it off. On the other hand, when you're stuck in a system that discriminates against you, it takes on a whole lot more meaning if people use racist slurs against you, because you know they have the power to actively oppress you and make your life hell, and the fact they're using these slurs may indicate a willingness to do so, conscious or subconscious. That's what the "Prejudice + power" thing actually means: in some sense minorities can be racist against majorities, but that racism is awfully harmless compared to when majorities' prejudice against minorities manages to keep them down and hinder them from succeeding in life and achieving their goals.

I don't really like affirmative action because it misses the point horribly, but it may be true that the change in attitudes that actually needs to happen won't just come about by itself unless something like this is done. :/

If I met a black person (or asian person, or hispanic person, whatever) who genuinely DID NOT like any white people the same way KKK members do not like any black people, then that guy would definitely be an asshole and in the wrong (I mean who does that?)

But I think we all can take bit of good natured ribbing like "white people have no rhythm" or that website "stuff white people like" because in reality white privilege is definitely a real thing (see the above post) and black people have to deal with waaay more equally inane stereotypes (i mean the watermelon thing? where does that come from?) and unlike black people no one looks at a white person and instantly thinks "wow, now THAT guy probably can't dance" but some people do look at a black person and think "I hope that guy doesn't steal my wallet". In an ideal world anyone would be able to make any well-meaning joke about any race and have everyone laugh but we are far from that ideal.

Also "white trash" is not a racist term. If anything it's racist against BLACKS, for implying that "white trash" is a notable separate category apart from the vast majority of trash, which is black. And even if you don't buy into that above statement then you have to realize that white trash refers to a very specific group of people, not all white people. It's the same with the Stuff White People Like website, it doesn't refer to all white people but instead a very specific group of trend-following 20 somethings. Whether it's wrong or right to discriminate against those groups is debatable, but the fact remains that a white person decides to follow certain trends and be grouped in with those people. A black person is born into the role of "black person", and can never really be anything else. You wouldn't call, I don't know, Paul McCartney "white trash" but anyone from President Obama to a homeless man on the street can be called a nigger.

You said westerners are White Supremacist. I said that I haven't done anything deserving of that. Saying that, because I'm white, I'm racist is itself racist. In fact, saying 'white people' anything is racist, as is the same with every minority.
If I say that 'black people' are all racist against whites, will that be considered racist? I don't think 'black people' anything, so I don't see why I should be considered racist because of the colour of my skin.

And the first document you posted, I sorta failed most of White Priviledge checks.

Then again, I'm talking from Britain, so I guess there's a lot more equality here. Except in London, but hell, everyone hates each other equally there.

And I don't get the second one? Since when has appearance really mattered on this forum? I mean, I find white skin colour more attractive than black. I also like tits more than dicks, am I homophobic?

And Butterfree, I get what you're saying, but just because racist slurs against whites aren't harmful to the majority, they're harmful to the individual.
I realise that America has a helluva lot more racism, so it's worse to be bad there, but hey maybe they should just make stricter laws to ban racism, or something? I mean, that would restrict freedom of speech, but ehhhh.
Allowing racism against whites just separates different colours more, just like Affirmative Action.

Or something, I don't know what I'm talking about, like, obviously.