I wouldn’t say it’s “good” but it is what is. Humans connect with each other through shared experiences. Growing up black in America creates a unique cross section of obligate life events. Regardless of your culture or environment, there are things that connect you to other black Americans. Some black people prefer to engage with that identity, others prefer to ignore or actively avoid it. But either way, it’s a choice that defines a significant part of their personality.
Social_Discussion@lemm.ee 4 days ago
You people on Lemmy are racist af!
themeatbridge@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I’m not sure who you mean by “you people” but that sounds kind of racist.
No but seriously, I don’t think it’s racist at all to describe shared experiences, as long as you don’t presume to know someone’s life experiences by the color of their skin. For instance, a lot of black people experience police discrimination in America. Being pulled over for no reason, needing to stay calm and respectful in the face of fascism, these are normal, common experiences that can traumatize a person. Talking about those experiences with people who have lived them can help you process and heal from the trauma.
A white person can also be pulled over by police for no reason. It could be because of the way they look. They may have been afraid that the police would randomly decide to murder them in broad daylight. This experience can happen to anyone, but because it disproportionately happens to black people, they are able to discuss it in short hand. “You been pulled over?” “Yeah, DWB. Motherfuckers.”
Two white people would not have the same conversation. “I got pulled over.” “Speeding?” “No, no reason at all.” “That happened to me once. Broken tailight, the cop was really nice about it.” “No, man, like he seemed angry and suspicious, and I thought he was going to arrest me or shoot me or something.” “For real?! That’s wild. You should call a lawyer and sue his ass.”
It’s not racist to describe these two realities. It’s not racist to ask about these experiences to learn from other cultures. It is racist to assume that these experiences are universal. You couldn’t say for sure that these are the experiences of a particular individual based on their race.
Social_Discussion@lemm.ee 3 days ago
No matter how many excuses you will find to justify racism it’s just not morally acceptable. As long as we won’t stop making such a big thing out of what peoples skin color or ethnicity is we will never get rid of it.
The fact that people with dark or bright skin get discriminated and unfairly treated is a shame and it NEEDS to stop now instead of trying to justify why it is the case and keep on doing it.
themeatbridge@lemmy.world 3 days ago
So we stop it by pretending it doesn’t happen? Act like nobody experiences discrimination, and they won’t? Forgive me, but that’s incomprehensible logic.
Racism isn’t acknowledging differences, it’s demanding them. And demanding we treat everyone the same ignores the reality that different races live. We stop racism by celebrating our differences and learning from each other so that we might be more open to each other. To pretend we’re all the same is to ignore that which makes us special, and it is racism to expect the same from everyone regardless of their life experiences.
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