Racism...

With the apparent increase in racism and the society getting increasingly divisive, I can't but ponder if these are closet racists who are thinking that now their racism has been legitimised and they can openly show their true colors or this is a brand new sentiment based on current affairs.

Secondly if you are a target of racism, how best to deal with it?

 

I believe it's a mixture of many things that has fed people's prejudice and fears. Unfortunately too many have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

Today's circumstances has brought racism to the fore. Racism has existed for a very long time, as has sexism, egotism and the need to be better than others. I think it's part of being human. We all have something we don't like and we build prejudices based on things we've learnt over time whether right or wrong, true or false. I believe it's really about the fear of the unknown or only knowing part of a story.

On the other hand we have people who profit greatly by preying on people's fears. Newspapers for one make a lot of money exploiting it because it ticks all the boxes. It's stories they won't get sued over. It generates interest. It gets both sides angry and excited. It generates millions of hits and therefore more revenue etc. Then there's the many organisations who get funded by exploiting people's fears. The scarier they make things for you the more they are given to fix the problem.

I'm not a victim of racism per se but I could be considered a victim of sexism, of weightism, of many things people might say about me but I simply refuse to call myself a victim of anyone or anything but myself. Arseholes are simply not as smart as me, and for that I mostly forgive them. What's the point of taking on their problems? In one ear and out the other just as quickly.

 

It seems that we are quite intolerant but have a great ability to veil our intolerance, just looking at the historic data of health care, promotions etc. it would seem that a huge number of people have to be discriminatory to achieve the results that we have. Also you are right we get discriminated for weight, height, clothing etc.

The good thing is that non racists have a better chance of success and happiness.

 

Intolerance of "others" is actually part of the human instinct for survival. Its part of the DNA, put there by millions of years of survival and evolution. If you have any doubt of how true that fact is, look at the bigotry of those who scream the loudest for tolerance:

Bigotry in the Academy Awards:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/18/entertainment/oscars-boycott-spike-lee-jada-pinkett-smith-feat/

Bigotry in Academia
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/opinion/academias-rejection-of-diversity.html

Study finds certain minorities consider themselves to be the most racist subgroup within America.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/pub...s_view_blacks_as_racist_than_whites_hispanics

Famous actors who champion "tolerance" calling gays "faggots" and blacks the N word:



I agree that we, as a species, should evolve and become more tolerant of each other, but it's hard to do in a culture where accusations of intolerance are used as a rallying cry for intolerant bigots who hate.
http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56595
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gERsTy2GiPM

That's pretty easy. Don't allow yourself to be victimized, and don't think of yourself as a victim.

Every day I read hate filled articles in the news about how I should apologize for my race and "white privilege", by people who would try to denigrate me for no other reason than the color of my skin. I'm an atheist, but were I a Christian, I would be doubly the target of the very same group of hateful people, who also freely discriminate against people by virtue of their religion.

On a personal level, I changed my hiring practices last year. My $29 background check now includes a report of what appears on a candidate's facebook page. Needless to say, those having a site littered with hate filled memes that seek to stereotype people are immediately disqualified.

Its a tough job market out there. Let the haters fester in poverty.

 

Racism has been institutionalized in the U.S. for years and I have been a victim of it because I am not a "protected" minority. There are laws and court rulings that give preference in hiring, educational opportunities and more to certain groups of people based on their race. For example, if you are applying to any college or if you are applying for many jobs and you happen to have been born Black, or Hispanic, or Native American, you get additional points added to your "score" and a big advantage over people that do not have that particular skin color or race. Pointy-headed liberals think that this racism is a good thing and most of their constituents agree, so it is rampant and they are not in the closet. It's ugly.