"People Of Color"

[kvnchrist]

 

Because there are always various inequalities which exist in the world due to economic status, place of origin, language spoken, religious beliefs, or even which family you belong to. In the US, you have a large number of people from pretty much all over, and with the exception of certain very specific genetic traits, people stopped being able to identify across groups and just settled on those things which could be figured out quickly or from a distance.

 

There is no unification because people are always at odds with eachother over resources, social rights, and ability to be around others who are most like themselves. Or they are actively trying to establish themselves as being different from the majority or perceived majority as a means of creating their own group solidarity or impressing their beliefs on others. Because of this, there will always be some sort of discrimination, prejudice, or social exclusion, even if we all had the same exact skin pigmentation.

 

The only thing that might ever change along these lines is that some day people may stop being so quick to take offense to passive or conversational prejudice or atleast taking everything so personally. But, that is a long shot at best.

 

I think you could put all of that under the heading of fear. People are afraid for not getting what they want or loosing what they already have. What is really crazy is that in America we've seemed to place barriers on political ideology as we used to that of color. I wonder what the world would look like if people would be as appreciative of what we have as we are envious of what we don't?

[brokenergy]

A catch all term developed in America to describe everyone that are not white American. It's sort of strange considering that they are (for example) lumping Turks with Arabs and with Perisans and others in West Asia as one group, considering that these are distinguished groups with their own culture and customs. It's also used to point out 19th and 20th historgraphy and diminishing of anyone who is not of Western European appearance in terms of culture, intellect and achievements. So it's sort of a larger counter movement to current ideas that are still perpetuated from 19th and 20th centuries that people who are not Western European had no great achievements or empires, when it is not the case at all.

 

Stepping around the issue of race is really difficult. For me, I try to treat everybody as "people" and race-neutral, but that isn't always going to work. I don't think there really is a perfect solution; "person of colour" could easily be construed as polite or racist as much as my attitude of neutrality.

 

The same thing happens with gender identity. You can treat people as gender-neutral and eventually somebody with a particular gender identity will scream at you. Sexual identity is even worse because no matter how polite you are, no matter that you don't actually feel any conscious prejudice, some "demisexual" or "quasi-sapiosexual" is going to scream at you for refusing to acknowledge them.

 

People are a game of minesweeper even if you aren't a particularly prejudiced person. I'm a moderate, centrist person who doesn't have any prejudices that they're aware of and who's politics favour an equal society with as few borders as possible. And I get yelled at all the time-often by the exact groups people I've protested for. It's just the way life is, you can't really be universally polite however hard you try, and your actual politics rarely make any difference.

 

By treating people as "neutral" you are also running into the issue of colour blindness, where you don't see people's differences and issues that they had to deal with in the past and present. This is especally important when you consider that in many part of our media the white person is considered as default and others like blacks, asians, and the first peoples are either are either regulated in the side lines as side kicks or worse treated as chariactures of their own ethnicity. Look at the number of stories where there was positive stories with people who come from Iraq for example and contrast that with the number of negative stories that come from there. I can tell you now that there is a huge bias and people who watch the news assume that all people who come from that region are either running away from war or dirt poor (not that there are not people who are not fleeing from war or are poor) and that the country and it's surrounding neighbours is as dry as the American dust bowl and live in conditions that are comparable 19th century, when it isn't the case at all in many of these nations.

 

So, yeah there is an issue of bias in our media and in our society in general, it's just many people don't seem to see it and it's consequences that it impacts to minorities. When was the last time when you saw a major Australian television production with someone who isn't white? Or a show like Home and Away and Neighbours have more than one person who is asian or aboriginal in their cast? Considering that Neighbours is shot primary in Melbourne, it's strange that there is only, like what? one Indian couple and a South Korean exchange student for a while and the rest Aussies, when in where I live in Sydney, I have a Chinese family, a Polish family, a Lebanese Muslim family and Indian family in my block alone, and I live in what is considered the "Bible Belt of Sydney", so there are "suppose" to be tons of white folks going to church. Do you now see the problem, where there is not a lot of positive people examples of people of different faiths and ethnicities in our media today and where I long for a setting to create a nation that is equivalent to Safavid dynasty of Persia if we are going medieval, or Parthian or Sasanian Empire if we are dealing with fantasy Rome? Because it's really grating that when people create settings, they seem to lump Turks, Arabs, and Persians as one group, when they are different people with different cultures. It's like lumping all of Eastern Europeans as one group, when there are several major nations that settle there in one time or another that is not Russian, German or Austrian.

[Vagrant0]

 

 

I think you could put all of that under the heading of fear.

It's not all fear... Fear is just a main component of it. Ignoring fear, you also have people who characterize other groups based on a limited set of experiences related to a few individuals within that group. Some of these can be positive things, such as seeing a group as being hard working, good at a certain skill, possessing a certain good quality because that quality is encouraged by their native culture, ect. Even though this isn't negative, it is still a bias and succeeds in altering your behavior around individuals who are seen as belonging to those groups.

[edgeburner]

Excellent discussion....A lot of thought provoking points.

Personally, it s my everyday experience (in the US ) is that most folks, whether they be black, white, brown, or whatever, aren't overly concerned with this sort of divisive terminology, They seem to take the quality of the individual first and foremost. It is the politicians, the race baiters and any other folks that think they can benefit from the divide that promote this "separatist" mentality....Including the sensationalist media.

It is just a shame that every time there is an issue like the recent Ferguson, Missouri incident, that the divisive hate-mongers have to land in town and muck up the waters with the one-sided take and no chance/reason for actual justice attitude....Along their (perhaps unwittingly) allies in the MSM.

[Arcadiast]

various "N-Words", coloured, black, african american or crackers, whitey, white people, caucasian etc ....does those people have names?

 

Thats the problem why we will never be free of racism. We love, yes love, to put people in groups. Makes it easier to have an enemy does it not?

 

Imagine the following situation. Your friend is white, really white...however he decides to take a long vacation in a very sunny place and comes back very much healty brown.....do you call him brownie? or do you call him by his name?

 

Thats it...really there is no more to it. What is it to you what skin color someone has whose character and presence you might very well enjoy? Besides, neither are "Black" People really black nor "White" People really white. They have varying degrees of skin color. The human Skin can actually change its color given time and reason to do so. A person who has fair skin will get darker in sunny regions over time and generations while a person with dark skin will get more pale over time and generations.

 

So what does skin color say about anybody?

[edgeburner]

 

Thats it...really there is no more to it. What is it to you what skin color someone has whose character and presence you might very well enjoy? Besides, neither are "Black" People really black nor "White" People really white. They have varying degrees of skin color. The human Skin can actually change its color given time and reason to do so. A person who has fair skin will get darker in sunny regions over time and generations while a person with dark skin will get more pale over time and generations.

Nice one....Pigmentation lol.....If I actually met a person that was pure white or pure black I would be rendered utterly speechless.

 

But, none-the -less, people always insist on separating races with their choice of words, and yet, trying to eliminate the "color barrier" at the same time?

 

Sooner or later it ( no racism/color distinction) will happen. But. it will be when the PC liberals let-up. Not the so-called racist conservatives.

 

I've spent time in both the 'North' and the 'South' and I'll tell you what....The 'races' mingle much better in the south. They are honest friends...not friends of political convenience.

[edgeburner]

 

It's not all fear... Fear is just a main component of it. Ignoring fear, you also have people who characterize other groups based on a limited set of experiences related to a few individuals within that group. Some of these can be positive things, such as seeing a group as being hard working, good at a certain skill, possessing a certain good quality because that quality is encouraged by their native culture, ect. Even though this isn't negative, it is still a bias and succeeds in altering your behavior around individuals who are seen as belonging to those groups.

Aye....:groups" being the key. When we get to the point where we judge "groups" on their politics, their honest opinion....and not their skin color, their race , their religion , ect.

 

Heck, maybe we'll even get to the point where there are no 'groups'.......just people.

 

That won't happen in my lifetime, I'm sure of that.

[Deleted1205226User]

 

 

Just exactly does that term refer to?

In the mind of a lot of people white is a synonym of pure, clean, untouched.

I think white people have chosen to name themselves white for that reason.

Although when I look at my skin I find it more pink, close to the color of pigs.

But I doubt anyone will called themselves "pig-skinned". That doesn't sound superior race enough.

 

It is interesting to note that many white person are making effort to have a tan, while there is also a market for products that lightens skin for darken ones.

[Beriallord]

Why does the criterea for indentifying someone have to be based on who is White and who isn't? Seems divisive to me in times where people are trying to put race aside.

[HeyYou]

Why does the criterea for indentifying someone have to be based on who is White and who isn't? Seems divisive to me in times where people are trying to put race aside.

They are? Hhhhmmmm..... from what I have been seeing, the 'game du jour' seems to be announce loudly that "race is no longer an issue", all the while, we have both sides screaming about racism.....

 

If a white cop shoots a black person, we have rioting in the streets. If a black cop shoots a white person, you don't even hear about it. If that isn't racism, what is it?