Race- Privilege, Relations, Racism, etc.

I can see Imca's point, but the situation as described (which even if it's the word of one person, we don't have much else to go on) seems to imply a level beyond simple ignorance and insensitive views borne of inertia.

Also, while I agree that education and giving people the benefit of the doubt is often more constructive and should be your first response most of the time, it's a two-way street. You should have the good sense to ask why what you're doing is supposedly wrong, which apparently hasn't happened.

edited 22nd Jan '18 6:05:06 PM by Draghinazzo

He's an adult, his education is in his hands and he doesn't want to be educated than no-one can educate him.

You are required to read the course materials and to reference them in your posts. If you do not, you will lose marks and possibly fail.

This student referenced one of the articles assigned for the course. He did so while claiming that the article supported his point, which it does not. At that point he's engaged in academic dishonesty because he's either lying about having read the article or he's lying about the content of the article, and either way he's lucky not to be getting hit with an ethics charge.

"He's from Asia and it's homogeneous there" isn't an excuse I'm prepared to accept. For one, I've got a lot of Chinese kids in this class, and most of the others, while making the occasional tone deaf statement, managed to avoid coming out in support of the Klan (and one of them posted the most scathing indictment of the film's racism I've yet to read). Secondly, this isn't elementary school. We don't make exceptions for you based on your background. The only question that matters is, "did you do the course work and did you do it well?" Anything else is irrelevant.

edited 22nd Jan '18 6:11:13 PM by AmbarSonofDeshar

In that case he can go screw himself with a rusted rake.

The problem was this looked like leaving him to drown in the ocean without offering the line first, but if the line was offered and he didn't take it, then it is his own damn fault.

Nor should one be made, just help should always be offered before condemning some one, and it was not clear he had had that and then ignored it before this.

edited 22nd Jan '18 6:30:42 PM by Imca

Having worked as a TA, sometimes it's not our job to go Righting Great Wrongs. If someone doesn't understand a point and wants to learn, yes, it's important to help them work it out, but if someone comes to class, claims to do the reading, and still insists that Birth of a Nation isn't a racist film - it's not a TA's job to fix that anymore, at least not by any means other than explaining that it's inaccurate and docking points. Like Ambar said, TAs aren't counselors. If someone's not getting the point after receiving a 15% on an assignment, they're not going to listen without a greater investment of time, effort, and likely emotional labor than it's fair to ask a grad student (assuming here) to invest.

I agree with this. I was only a TA for 2 semesters, but this is pretty much what i think.

Not sure if this is the spot to post this. Normally I post in the general US Politics thread but this isn't really appropriate for it. But since I have seen some news articles posted here I though it'd be relevant.

Racist letter warns Idaho youth soccer coach to ‘be careful.’ Instead, he’s fighting back.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/soccer/article196558079.html

The gist is the coach of a youth soccer club found a letter on his Jeep referring to the (7-10 year old) boys he coaches with racial slurs and threatening him to quit or "be careful". He's doing nothing of the sort, instead reporting and publicizing what's happened to get some action going. One thing I thought worth mentioning in particular:

The coach's Facebook post on the matter:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1392441384199152&id=794215060688457

edited 25th Jan '18 1:41:05 PM by sgamer82

So the US didn't even need the Cold War to justify horrific murder on its behalf, and explicitly against other peoples' freedom, independence, and prosperity.

Shame.

Fuck yeah, good on that coach. I hope that getting more public attention on the issue scares off the racists.

Never did. Check out the Indian Wars, sometime.

Warms the heart. Hope they get through to the kids whose parents are saying that shit.

I have a friend that keeps saying that Racism is inherently Lawful Evil ,and that equality can be only archieved for the Chaotic Good anarchists. Becuase State-allowed racism cause more damage than individual racist millitias (but equality only works when is thanks to a individual charismatic rebel, goverment equality tend to be useless or opressive, goverments should not do anything).

I think that he is simplifing a lot of things, and downplaying the danger that Individualist militas can do to the Civil rights movement.

I mean, he still says that the concept of race existed for all history. Because calling other cultures barbarians is the same as XIX century racism.

edited 26th Jan '18 7:36:44 AM by KazuyaProta

I think seriously applying D&D morality to any real world phenomenon is fallacious and foolhardily, also Lawful Evil doesn't necessarily involve the state. It just requires any orderly and methodical evil.

Anyway the damage caused by racism is societal and institutional, racist militias are a strictly micro concern comparatively.

edited 26th Jan '18 7:41:22 AM by Fourthspartan56

If a person is using D&D alignments as a tool in a serious argument about morality than they can be safely written of as an idiot.

It was a jokey thread, but it turned into a weird discussion about how the state was inherently bad and how anarchism is the only thing that could save us from all social issues.

edited 26th Jan '18 7:42:14 AM by KazuyaProta

Anarchists can be pretty damn racist, for the record, but I suspect that's not what your friend is saying, exactly. 'True' equality and freedom are only possible when they are held to be absolute goods unto themselves, that's a common enough sentiment. I don't know that I necessarily disagree, but the problem lies in getting the majority of people to prioritize them in the same way. People *like* security and control, and they're conditioned, by evolution no less, to be afraid of someone else getting there first.

Yeah, racism is a concept that can exist in any form, and anarchism wouldn't stifle it and in so many ways can make it worse.

Rightly so. We're evolved so cunningly that those of us with the eager impulse to overthrow the unjust order for the greater good are as sincere and honest about it as a lover telling their beloved I do! or I will love you forever!. Then they actually get there and, lo and behold, their priorities change. We say things that are sincere and honest and from the bottom of our hearts as far as we know in the moment, things that will get us in the best position to spread our seed, and then when we're there those things turn out to have been lies, and all the more effective because we didn't even know we were lying!

edited 26th Jan '18 7:55:29 AM by TheHandle

To avoid derailing the Islamophobia thread, what about one of my "favorite" aspects of racism, and the one that I know more because I have see it All the time.

The glorious White Worship.

That is, by far, the most common type of racism in Peru, where white people are the minority, but a powerful (socially) minority. Our TV Shows are starred for white people, our models are White woman, our most popular writer is a white Men that identify himself as a Spaniard (yeah, the same nation that conquered us).

edited 26th Jan '18 8:38:41 AM by KazuyaProta

I'm going to play my "actually lived in a (sorta) anarchist community for six years" card here and say lol. Anarchism has a variety of advantages at certain scales but nothing about it solves all social issues, it in fact is very at risk of tyranny of the majority occurring.

I suspect we have an anarchism thread somewhere, I can go into detail either there or in the general politics thread.

edited 26th Jan '18 8:42:58 AM by Silasw

While I think that a anarchist community can work, I dont think that it had the potential to help us with a globalization for now. Or social issues like racism, the only difference is that people that self identify as anarchist tend to be against racism, not any virtue of anarchism itself.

Anyway, I am the mood to discuss about Internalizated racism, because it is hilarious.

While the system can help perpetuate racism, I think anarchism can't do anything to put a lid on it.

Also, you could move your post from the Islamophobia thread here? I really like discussing that class of things, especially the Latinoamerican idea of "mejorar la raza" ("improve the race").

Which is Improve the race by having children with white woman.

This is a real idea in Latin America. Is hilarious and sad.

edited 26th Jan '18 8:53:01 AM by KazuyaProta

@ Kazuya Prota In African American culture, there is a stigma in some circles that if you date or even marry a white person then you are going Uncle Tom. Or even accused of turning back on your heritage. I say bull, because I give my blessing to every person who dates outside, as well as those who date inside as well. The reason is that given how black men were even killed for even daring whistling at a white woman, I say it's a middle finger to those past injustices. I say as long as you appreciate and respect black women just as well as white women, I see no reason to have bad feelings for you dating them. Also everytime a white woman dates black man makes a white supremacist cry.

Edit: Here it is.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14244286340A30744100&page=67#1660

edited 26th Jan '18 8:56:25 AM by firewriter

This was pretty much rampant in South America.

Brazil had a whitening policy during the Imperial era and the early republics that incentivized the immigration from white European countries such as Germany and Italy in order to bleach the country. Given that Italy and Germany were going through a lot of troubles during the 19th and early 20th century, finding immigrants was pretty easy.

They were all promised land and property in Brazil and a steady job in agriculture, mostly on the coffee plantations in states like Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The catch? It was basically slavery in the form of indentured servitude, where the immigrant workers would play off their debts and acquire their promised property with their work on the fields.

But one of the main goals was exactly to import a more white population to Brazil, specially since the Government was very wary of all those ex-slaves outnumbering everyone.

So they esclavizated white people in order to protect the white race.

When you are so racist that you enslave your own race in order to avoid that minorities become the new dominant culture.

That is the opossite of the people here, where White people that date indigenous are see as White saviors taking pity of the poor indigenous, while the Indiginous are finally bettering their inferior race by mixing with the great White people.

edited 26th Jan '18 9:52:46 AM by KazuyaProta