How far have we come in regards to race?

So, here we have a toddler's shirt, made as merchandise for the webcomic Order Of The Stick. It's a nice design, all in all, and I thought that if it were put in a proper store it would sell quite well, even to people who haven't read the comic. But then I wondered how much better it would sell if it had a white guy on it.

The issue isn't necessarily the shirt. The issue is that I had to wonder. All our schools are integrated, and in theory our laws are equal, but how much do our social problems persist?

(Disregard whether OOTS fans will ignore Roy's race when buying the shirt. It's true they're the demographic important to the shirt's real-world sales, but they're hardly normal people.)

Or they could be normal people who enjoy the comic.

I think we still have a lot of issues to work out. When we pretty much stop worrying about racial identity as a whole then our problems with that will likely go almost entirely away but the chance of that happening is a long ways off.

All our schools are integrated

Um, no. No they're not.

You need to let a few generations cycle by.

"But then I wondered how much better it would sell if it had a white guy on it."

People are going to be more inclined to pick figures that are their ethnicity. There are a lot more white people then black people.

How is that racist?

Well, it proves that "colour blindness" is kind of bullshit.

Scools are intergrated in theory, it just because America still has ubran center that are predominantly white. Canada, not sou much. This is because Pierre Turdeau liberalized the immigration policy. Sure, it let more people come in, but a good chunk of African and Carribean immigrants end up in bad neighbourhoods and their kids become criminals.

edited 20th Nov '10 7:05:43 AM by Erock

Less well than I would like, better than I had feared.

There's an hour-long video on a speech by Tim Wise concerning this, if you're interested.

It depends on where you are. I live in Georgia, and it's kind of a mixed bag. We've progressed in that non-white people can do a lot more. Also, there is less blatant racism, unless you go to some crazy place in the middle of nowhere. But Georgia is very segregated. Even the richest black people in the state live in areas with only other black people (and maybe some old white person who can't or won't leave the area).

Also, in terms of media, we have not progressed much in my opinion. I very rarely see any show that has a non-white person as the main character. The only ones that have become really popular(that I can think of) are kids shows, like Dora The Explorer, Ni Hao Kai Lan, or Avatar The Last Airbender(yes, technically it's a kid's show because that's who it was marketed to really).

edited 20th Nov '10 11:27:05 AM by wuggles

Given the choice, most people will naturally self-segregate. People like being near others like themselves, and homogeneity breeds social trust. This isn't racist behavior, believe it or not.

In Georgia it usually has racist undertones because when black people move into a mostly white neighborhood, the white people will slowly move out because they are "increasing crime" or some other arbitrary reason. Or alternatively, real estate agents will only show black people areas with other black people.

One of the biggest problems in my estimation is cultural ignorance. A lot of bigoted values come from a lack of understanding about cultural values (on ''both'' sides). It's easier to make fun of someone else's culture because it makes you feel superior about your own. Furthermore, because not all cultures are equal (most people wouldn't argue that countries which look the other way on slavery, rape and pedophilia are wrong), many people simply figure that this justifies ALL Values Dissonance. For example, I've often seen cases where because Japanese people have an obsession with cuteness and effeminity, that it's alright to snub their nose at just about everything that comes from their culture.

@comodapoltrona: It's the fact that people think that other ethnicities aren't enough like them to feel comfortable interacting with them on a daily basis.

The more that other people's culture is different from yours, the more they aren't enough like you to get along easily. In particular, a language barrier exponentially increases the challenge. People with very high social intelligence can deal with this. For the average person, the reasonable thing to do is stick to people who think, speak, and act like you do.

So, ceteris parabis, we would expect greater social distance in the US between Anglos and foreigners than between whites and blacks, and more distance between them than working class and middle class people of the same ethnicity.

edited 21st Nov '10 2:36:01 AM by Rottweiler

I call shenanigans. Intelligence has nothing to do with how well one gets along with different people; it's how frequently one's daily life brings them into contact with them, how friendly said contact is, and how much their own routine hinges on it remaining civil.

Do you seriously think a white American with an IQ of 90 would be able to navigate Hispanic, Indian, and Chinese culture on a daily basis without committing vastly more faux pas than one with an IQ of 150?

Interaction, friendliness and civility does not inherently lead to cultural blending or understanding. Two people from different cultures can go to the same school, work at the same job, or even live on the same block for years and develop nothing but contempt, but openly act graciously and civilly.

edited 21st Nov '10 2:43:48 AM by KingZeal

I see it all the time.

Point taken. However, it is preferable to outward displays of hostility.

Maybe. It can also be more harmful in the long-term.

I don't doubt that it happens and that it's not a problem, it's just that people who harbor racist feelings almost always broadcast them at some point, thus making it slightly difficult for them to keep up a facade of civility.

It depends on how well they play the game. The worst bigots are excellent liars.

True.

Western cluture is superior. *fkees*

edited 21st Nov '10 7:54:43 AM by Erock