So, I think my family is racist

[whitehawk]

Not my immediate family, but my family that lives in Florida (I'm Canadian) and a few others.

They voted for Trump in 2016, and probably will again in 2020. I've never agreed with them politically, but we always got along as family.

But tonight on our whatsapp group chat, we were talking about the recent shooting, which eventually led to my uncle bringing up some racist stats, and then it just got worse...

Not sure what to think. Like, it's bad enough I can confidently say they are racist. They just don't know it themselves; therein lies the problem today.

 

[Deleted member 9145]

They voted for Trump

how did you not know then

and yes they are racist based off what you said in the OP

 

[Taki]

But tonight on our whatsapp group chat, we were talking about the recent shooting, which eventually led to my uncle bringing up some racist stats, and then it just got worse...

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wh-wha?

 

[Taki]

They voted for Trump

how did you not know then

and yes they are racist based off what you said in the OP

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[EdibleKnife]

Best thing you can do is call them out when they say racist shit because they most certainly won't listen to minorities. You have the influence needed to try and educate them. You're not a bad person if you decide to ignore them but making sure that they don't stay comfortable in their racism around family is the least you can do if you're interested in changing the landscape of this country.

 

[Imtehman]

Not sure what to think. Like, it's bad enough I can confidently say they are racist. They just don't know it themselves; therein lies the problem today.

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i think the problem is the word racist and racism has been redefined and that the word doesn't mean the same thing today as it did during the 60's.

 

[Just_a_Mouse]

If they voted for Trump do you really need to ask?

Posting racist stats is another classic recruiting tactic.

 

[MrSaturn99]

I know the feeling: coming to terms with the reality that half of my Mom's family are racists in the wake of Trump's presidency was very difficult for me.

Thankfully most of their Facebook shit is just advocating Trump's glory rather than posting racist shit, although my uncle thought it would be funny to send my Mom and I some anti-Islam propaganda (it was a parody of "Imagine There's No Heaven" by John Lennon).

 

[SaviourMK2]

I'm not sure if simply voting for Trump makes them racist, all it tells me is that they're dumb.
I also can't say unless I knew what racist stats are being discussed.

I say for now, keep your distance.

 

[curiouscharles]

Just confront them man.

My family is pretty damn good about this stuff.

But as British Columbians, they still toss out A LOT of "casual Asian racism".

In this day and age, I call them out EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I'm lucky because they react quite positively to it, whereas your racist ass relatives probably won't.

But, it's YOUR job to try and do something about it, just as it's MY job to do something about any racist white people in my own life.

I'm not sure if simply voting for Trump makes them racist, all it tells me is that they're dumb.

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Nope, it means they're racist.

It's the one single thing you can assume if someone voted for Trump - they're FUCKING. RACIST.

[and yes, also very dumb]

 

[okayfrog]

What was the context for the racist stats? Was it something like "but what about *insert image here*?"

 

[curiouscharles]

What was the context for the racist stats? Was it something like "but what about *insert image here*?"

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Probably the classic "black on black crime" stats, or something.

 

[Lightning hand5]

The best thing you can do if you continue to associate them is use Socratic questioning and just get them to elaborate on why they believe what they believe and how it helps them. Does it help them sleep better at night if they think black people are dangerous? does it make it easier for them to do well at work or feel happy if they think Mexicans are simultaneously leeching off the country while stealing jobs and bringing crime? is it comforting to believe that Muslims are a bigger threat to them than white supremacists who shoot up schools and churches?

 

[Fleck0]

I'm not sure if simply voting for Trump makes them racist, all it tells me is that they're dumb.
I also can't say unless I knew what racist stats are being discussed.

I say for now, keep your distance.

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It's enough, he ran on an openly racist platform.

 

[whitehawk]

Probably the classic "black on black crime" stats, or something.

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Precisely this. Exact quote:

Amazing but true...If you don't count black-on-black gun murders the homicide rate in the USA is the same as western Europe, Canada and Australia !!

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I then tried to point out to them that it's racist to blame black american for a situation that white americans systematically put, and then kept them there.

And then my other uncle...

Anerica is a pretty fair place. Fairer than most for sure. There are so many opportunities out there for someone to get help to life themselves up. The blacks of the 60s might've had reason to feel disenfranchised and had a lot of doors closed in their faces. Not any more. What they do to one another today is on them. There is no chance in hell that you can lay that at the feet of anyone else. There's is way too much free access to free and complete information that anyone can choose to be anything. If they keep killing each other, that's a choice and on them. No one else. So back to the point, Ted is not making a racist remark. Can't confuse opinions with facts. Take out black on black crime, and our stats fall in with the rest of the world. Then look specifically at the "mass" shootings and other mass "killings" since columbine. All done by highly motivated people. All done versus "soft" targets. Guns held by "good" people slow down and stop the bad guys from doing even more carnage.

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The blacks of the 60s might've had reason to feel disenfranchised and had a lot of doors closed in their faces. Not any more.

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The blacks of the 60s might've had reason to feel disenfranchised and had a lot of doors closed in their faces. Not any more.

Click to shrink...

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

i think the problem is the word racist and racism has been redefined and that the word doesn't mean the same thing today as it did during the 60's.

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Um, explain?

 

[Pirateluigi]

i think the problem is the word racist and racism has been redefined and that the word doesn't mean the same thing today as it did during the 60's.

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I'm gonna need to see some receipts on this one

 

[Heshinsi]

I'm not sure if simply voting for Trump makes them racist, all it tells me is that they're dumb.
I also can't say unless I knew what racist stats are being discussed.

I say for now, keep your distance.

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Not just voted for Trump but probably going for the double down come 2020. Just checked the ledger and yep, they're marked down as certified racists.

If you took a cricket bat to my head and gave me a pretty good whack, I might have enough brain cells misfiring to maybe, kinda accept someone being ignorant enough and just plain stupid to have been duped into voting for Trump in 2016. But someone who has seen what's been going on in the past year and still wants to vote for him again, yeah that person is a racist.

 

[Autodidact]

At least you can actually admit as much, unlike many well-meaning white people who deny that their families have always been bad people.

 

[bionic77]

The weird thing about these people is that they have no problem acting, thinking, or saying horribly racist things.

But ever with that they never want to be called a racist.

 

[EdibleKnife]

At least you can actually admit as much, unlike many well-meaning white people who deny that their families have always been bad people.

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This. You'd be surprised how many people don't even want to take this step to admit the obvious and instead play around with semantics or blame others for being "un-empathetic".

 

[Milennia]

My Dad is vehemently racist ever since I was a kid I knew it
The shit he would call people right in front of me was foul and he is a big guy so people never approached him about it, we don't speak and haven't for some time, he is a troubled person deeply

Also my Floridian cousins are as well
I also think they are lower than dirtt

 

[SaviourMK2]

Nope, it means they're racist.
It's the one single thing you can assume if someone voted for Trump - they're FUCKING. RACIST.
[and yes, also very dumb]

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See you can't say that, you can say a lot of them are racist but you can't say they're all racist. My elderly uncle for example, he's one of the sweetest dumbasses I know. To my recollection he's never brought up ethnicity or said anything disparaging toward black, hispanics, gays or Jews. I can vouch he's not a racist, but I can't say he isn't one of the most gullible people on the planet.

I genuinely believe some people believed in Trump's magic solution dribble because he spoke on a level of low level IQs and latched onto desperation.
I snap a lot and say that Trump voters have everything they have coming, and it's true, when given overwhelming evidence that Trump was a con artist, rapist, racist and a will turn on them faster than Benedict Arnold.. they need to be reminded of their poor choice, like any child who doesn't do what the grown ups say.

But like angels, the Illuminati, earth flatters, there are people who genuinely believed his "magic solution" BS. My uncle is my proof that there are just dumb, gullible people with no ill will toward other another ethnicity

 

[Christian]

My IMMEDIATE family definitely has some racist tendencies, unfortunately. Really makes me sad. I bought three copies of Between the World and Me as Christmas gifts and handed them out. I got some seriously dark looks, and I doubt anyone read it, but I made my point. It really sucks, and there's not a lot you can do to change it.

 

[Just_a_Mouse]

Precisely this. Exact quote:

I then tried to point out to them that it's racist to blame black american for a situation that white americans systematically put, and then kept them there.

And then my other uncle...

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Looks like the usual racist bullshit, down to the fantasy of the harmonious gun totin' white society that functions so well without black people. Up to you whether you want to waste the energy arguing with them, or decide they are just too ingrained in their beliefs to be swayed. I just stop talking to people like this now.

 

[Deleted member 176]

Not my immediate family, but my family that lives in Florida (I'm Canadian) and a few others.

They voted for Trump in 2016, and probably will again in 2020. I've never agreed with them politically, but we always got along as family.

But tonight on our whatsapp group chat, we were talking about the recent shooting, which eventually led to my uncle bringing up some racist stats, and then it just got worse...

Click to shrink...

It's like racist bingo. The only question OP is if they normally make a conscious decision to be less openly racist around you, or if youve just never noticed it before.

 

[jdstorm]

Precisely this. Exact quote:

I then tried to point out to them that it's racist to blame black american for a situation that white americans systematically put, and then kept them there.

And then my other uncle...

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Just ask why he thinks factoring out those stats is OK for the US but not other countries that also have all the same type of criminal statistics.

Ask him what other stats shouldn't be counted and ask why. Then explain the flaws in his approach.

Then blatantly ask him if he thinks Black Americans are Americans.

To work through this type of situation while encouraging empathy is important. Whats more important is to confront the underlying belief system that makes him think this is OK.

 

[ctj]

Even if you give someone who voted for Trump the benefit of the doubt, they are still at best indifferent towards racism. The dude fucking started his camapign by calling Mexicans rapists. To not know that Trump is a bigoted piece of trash you would have to be living so far under a fucking rock that you wouldn't even know that he was running for president in the first place.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

My grandfather sent a chain email saying that 6 million jews (with high accomplishments) died and we replaced them with 20 million Muslims that are a blight on the world. How do you think that made me feel?

 

[DrBo42]

Did you get hit with the "What about black on black crime?!" old chestnut?

 

[gozu]

My condolences. You can save them, maybe, but it will be a long hard road. Maybe take them on a trip abroad to cure them.

 

[Deleted member 7130]

Reminds me of what a strange thing it was to process when my mom vented her racism against Native Americans in front of me.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

Is there even a short response that can be made to that? lol

I feel like we need a thread or info dump on how to succinctly respond to these frequent ignorant comments of "But black on black crimes!" and the many other racially-driven nonsense out there.

 

[tintskuecha]

It wouldn't be a family without having a few racists

 

[AnansiThePersona]

@ racist stats being related to the recent shooting. What does that have to do with the killer? He was a white guy.

 

[Pekola]

@ racist stats being related to the recent shooting. What does that have to do with the killer? He was a white guy.

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It doesn't need to be logical. Just like racism isn't.

 

[whitehawk]

It's like racist bingo. The only question OP is if they normally make a conscious decision to be less openly racist around you, or if youve just never noticed it before.

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I think it's because I'm 25, and when I was younger I wouldn't talk politics with them. We lived so far apart that we never got to see each other too often. We got a whatsapp group recently for the entire family, and ever since Trump it's gotten heated and political for a long time. I've suspected they are at least diet racists, but I know my uncle has done a lot of work helping underprivileged and often black children so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Tonight was when he crossed a line though.

 

[Deleted member 7130]

@ racist stats being related to the recent shooting. What does that have to do with the killer? He was a white guy.

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Bigot logic: Cruz = brown illegal alien cartel bad hombre huuuuurrrr duuuuuurrrrr

 

[woodcutter]

It wouldn't be a family without having a few racists

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we all have or had that one uncle.

 

[DrBo42]

Bigot logic: Cruz = brown illegal alien cartel bad hombre huuuuurrrr duuuuuurrrrr

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Or they plug in another ethnicity with a poor population and question why gun control isnt brought up in those instances. Like the motivation of gun violence in a poor neighborhood is directly comparable to a mass shooting. So if you don't call it out everywhere you can't call it out anywhere. And if you call it out everywhere you're just trying to take my guns away and you're unamerican.

 

[whitehawk]

They always bring up Chicago as an example of why gun laws don't work. Municipal gun laws don't work though. Smuggling guns across state or city borders is laughably easy. Whether the gun is legal or illegal.

 

[Typhon]

Nope, it means they're racist.

It's the one single thing you can assume if someone voted for Trump - they're FUCKING. RACIST.

[and yes, also very dumb]

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See that I can't agree with. My Dad voted for Trump because he's is a hard line conservative. He's certainly not a racist, ignorant absolutely, but he doesn't have a malicious bone in his body.

Everyone votes for different reasons, I don't believe that all conservatives are mustache twirling Nazis. A lot of their beliefs are abhorrent but think for most it comes from ignorance and too much Fox News.

That doesn't justify their beliefs but I refuse to accept that every last Republican votes out of a malevolent hatred for minorities.

 

[greenbird]

The weird thing about these people is that they have no problem acting, thinking, or saying horribly racist things.

But ever with that they never want to be called a racist.

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If they're like a lot of my family, they assume they're safe inside their bubble, and have rarely been challenged about it throughout their life. My family looked shocked as fuck the first time I called them out on it, and then angry shortly after.

 

[Deleted member 14377]

I realized my family (grandparents) was racist when I was a kid. One of my best friends in grade school was black. He was NOTHING like they joked about. They're homophobic too. Life is funny though, because my mom is a one of the butchiest lesbians and my uncle married an indian woman. They've come around after my mom came out and my uncle brought my aunt around, they're in their 60s and 70s, and lack some finer understanding, but have come a long way. People can change. It just sucks that it took them just getting to know something or someone they didn't understand, they wouldn't have grown out of this shit had they not and they wouldnt have willingly associated with other races or the LGBTQ. They regret being so ignorant, I'm glad they got to change.

Hope yours wake up one day.

 

[astro]

It was quite heartbreaking when I found out my sweet grandparents who were always there for me and were so kind, loving, and respectful had some deep seeded racist and homophobic views.

They didn't ever speak about it, I only found out when we discussed Brexit. I get it's a generational thing, but it was still horrible.

My sister is gay, she was married to her partner, and my step-grandfather made it known he didn't agree but he would attend regardless. It made my sister feel like shit, so I find it hard to just shrug this stuff off.

I couldn't stand to be around younger, more direct family members who shared these views.

 

[Snarfington]

I thought for a long time my Dad was pretty smart and tolerant and all that shit. With recent politics he's completely upended over the past 2 years to talking about the Soros conspiracy, EU plans to crush Britain, the Russians working with Hillary, etc. Of all these things the one that made me saddest was seeing him sit down at a mall and watch someone walk past in a Hijab. He looked at this poor woman walking past with utter contempt, looking her up and down with a look of disgust on his face. I can't imagine him doing that two years ago, but honestly I can't tell if it's the divisive politics and right-wing disinformation wrecking his brain or that I was just blind to it this whole time.

He's still my father and I love him but man, it's just depressing.

 

[astro]

I thought for a long time my Dad was pretty smart and tolerant and all that shit. With recent politics he's completely upended over the past 2 years to talking about the Soros conspiracy, EU plans to crush Britain, the Russians working with Hillary, etc. Of all these things the one that made me saddest was seeing him sit down at a mall and watch someone walk past in a Hijab. He looked at this poor woman walking past with utter contempt, looking her up and down with a look of disgust on his face. I can't imagine him doing that two years ago, but honestly I can't tell if it's the divisive politics and right-wing disinformation wrecking his brain or that I was just blind to it this whole time.

He's still my father and I love him but man, it's just depressing.

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I feel like a horrible person, if my mother began thinking this way and couldn't be reasoned with I'd disown her entirely.

 

[SecondNature]

Nothing good comes out of those family WhatsApp groups

 

[Skies]

Sorry OP. It sucks when you find out.

My dad was openly racist. Like buying confederate money was his MAIN hobby. He also once tried to hang a confederate flag from our house.

Yeah.

Fox News was a main stay on the family room television at my house.

 

[Deleted member 39214]

Voting for Trump does not make you racist , they most likely held those views well before trump came along.