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Can you be racist towards white people?
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Of course you can. You can be racist to anyone. The only thing that changes is how common the racism is and how much of a problem it is for the people who suffer it.
sure, im sure me viewing white america as cultureless is racist.
but thats the impression i get from them unfortunately. most of white america abandoned their ancestors culture a long time ago. white culture to me is just whatever corporate america feeds them as american culture.
but thats the impression i get from them unfortunately. most of white america abandoned their ancestors culture a long time ago. white culture to me is just whatever corporate america feeds them as american culture.
If you mean discriminate someone exclusively for being white, technically.
If you mean systematically oppressing their lives for centuries to pipeline their lives into slavery and genocide, then PFFFFFF
If you mean systematically oppressing their lives for centuries to pipeline their lives into slavery and genocide, then PFFFFFF
I think you can definitely be petty and cruel toward anyone, but racism requires a kind of power differential to be effective or true racism. I'd suspect if "white people" or whatever person of caucasian descent were a minority group in a country and considered a secondclass or non-citizen, definitely racism could happen against them.
Like let's say a white community of expats in China gets targeted for a lot of hate or systemic policing against them. I'd say that would be pretty racist.
Like let's say a white community of expats in China gets targeted for a lot of hate or systemic policing against them. I'd say that would be pretty racist.
Yes, particularly in countries where they are minority, be it in number or because they don't have power.
Let's remember that racism encompasses more than just institutionalised racism, and anyone can experience casual racism.
Let's remember that racism encompasses more than just institutionalised racism, and anyone can experience casual racism.
Yes. Once in highschool at an arcade someone said "try that again white boy" to me after I beat them in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Ever since then I knew it was a possibility ✊
Also this is an obvious example of when it can be a yes.
To be fair, it gets a little tricky when you're the product of five or six distinct cultures all wrestling for dominance.
I never actually understood, why is racism against white people required to be systemic racism? Is individual racism (or whatever you would call the opposite of systemic racism) against a white person not possible? Even more curious is, can individual racism exist against a white person in a society where systemic racism against them cannot?
I'm legitimately struggling to think of a context where white people are institutionally disadvantaged in a Western country.
I think it just comes down to categorization, a race-based attack on a white person could be called racism but it simply pales in comparison to the racism on an institutional and cultural level that minorities face. That doesn't mean it cannot be hurtful.
The only legitimate example of anti-white racism I can think of is that in Liberia? (or some other country) white people cannot be citizens or something.
I think it just comes down to categorization, a race-based attack on a white person could be called racism but it simply pales in comparison to the racism on an institutional and cultural level that minorities face. That doesn't mean it cannot be hurtful.
The only legitimate example of anti-white racism I can think of is that in Liberia? (or some other country) white people cannot be citizens or something.
Basically, per a more acedemic definition of racism, you cannot be racist against a racial group which clearly has the most power in a society.
Yes. Though based on some of the responses here and with other posters I've chatted with, a lot of people on this site dont think so.
Yes and it also is important to address because hatred begets hatred and will only fuel systemic racism against minorities. Also there are some countries where there is systemic racism against whites. I have seen this occur in Africa, at least.
Between the earliest days of romans "bringing civilization" to germanic and frankish savages by the means of conquest and slavery to the third reich declaring slavish people a genetically diseased, inferior offspring of the aryan master race just last century, yes, you very much can.
The idea of a holistic "white people" is very tinted by american history and culture to begin with, when in europe most "anti-white" racism is coming from slighty different "whites" to begin with, because racism in europe has never been exclusively about skin-color.
Even today you can still find plenty of anti-polish racism in germany.
The idea of a holistic "white people" is very tinted by american history and culture to begin with, when in europe most "anti-white" racism is coming from slighty different "whites" to begin with, because racism in europe has never been exclusively about skin-color.
Even today you can still find plenty of anti-polish racism in germany.
My flawed understanding is that basically against a minority, ALL instances of racism contribute to and strengthen racism on institutional and social levels, which is (at least a major part of) why racism against a minority is so harmful. This doesn't happen to white people (at least in America/the West?) so I've seen people say it can't be called racism at all without those power structures.
So the entire 'you can't be racist against white people' argument is Western/America-centric?
Basically this is what I subscribe to. You cannot separate racism from power because it is always about power.
Comments like this live in a bubble. Are we talking specifically about America? Europe? The world? White people in Zimbabwe are a minority who are forced off their farms, killed, ethically cleansed, and targeted specifically for being white. Is this not to be addressed?
I am of the understanding that racism as a definition requires political power backing it. It requires one group to be disadvantaged.
It's otherwise just prejudice/pettiness and/or violence.
You can be a dick to just about anyone for any stupid or arbitrary reason, but it doesn't count or have the bite of racism unless the reason is related to a person also being politically disempowered in some way for their ethnicity/skin/religion (these factors often combine).
So it's more complicated than just "people are mean!", but I understand why people would be compelled to trying to simplify it, since it's a lot easier to understand if it's just "they are being mean about my race, therefore racism".
Absolutely. They just don't have the deal with systematic racism (at least in white dominated cultures).
This is really silly. People need to stop making this distinction as if it somehow makes sense . Happens too much in this forum.
Yeah you can racially discriminate against anyone
I think a lot of the Discourse around this question is somewhat pointless because even if anti-white racism in America/the West is called racism, then we can simply say "On account of it being exacerbated and enforced by institutional and cultural power structures, racism against minorities is inherently more harmful than racism against white/dominant people".
I have a feeling that'd also be called racist by many people who hate the prejudice + power definition.
I have a feeling that'd also be called racist by many people who hate the prejudice + power definition.
In the North America/Most of Europe it is possible to be racist to white people. However, given the way those societies are structured racism against Caucasian people is pretty much a non-issue.
It's like asking if it's possible for birds to speciest towards cats. Yeah it could be, but cats are the predator with all the power so it doesn't matter.
It's like asking if it's possible for birds to speciest towards cats. Yeah it could be, but cats are the predator with all the power so it doesn't matter.
This is ultimately a semantic argument. The answer is determined by whether the majority of people in language group consider it useful to describe racial prejudice against white people as "racist". Some people fall on one side but other people fall on the other side. If you're looking for a more objective answer you won't really get it here, Era is not a sufficiently random sample.
I'm far from an expert, but generally yeah. But given the influence the West has on the entire world it probably applies to more than just Western countries.
But you could say you can't be racist against a different racial group in another country if they have a clear power advantage.
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