What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[Luke]

I think the further we divide and classify people by ethnicity, the more we perpetuate racism.

Skippy. Awards including "First White...", "First Asian..." or "First Black..." only spur racism. Neil Armstrong wasn't classified as the first "Scottish, Irish, German man on the moon".

[Jmustang1968]

Yay, so now right-wingers or conservatives are racist?

In my experience, yes (and homophobic, xenophobic, sexist...). Maybe it's just the area I live in, but I've been surrounded by it my whole life, so I can't help thinking that because I see it every single day. Sorry.

And so conversely all left wingers are lazy, hippies, tree huggers, professors at small liberal arts schools , and bohemian artists right?

[dsheinem]

But still, your quote of a douchebag doesn't really address the comment made by retrodude implying that right wingers are racists.

Just because Maher is a douchebag doesn't mean he's wrong. His quote does address the implication by suggesting that it isn't accurate, but also raises the consideration that people who are racist (e.g. views of race-based intellectual superiority, pro-segregation, etc.) are likely people who would identify as right wing/conservative (and vote Republican).

And so conversely all left wingers are lazy, hippies, tree huggers, professors at small liberal arts schools , and bohemian artists right?

Hey, we have 10K students!

*hangs head*

*hugs my Silver Maple*

[Ack]

And so conversely all left wingers are lazy, hippies, tree huggers, professors at small liberal arts schools , and bohemian artists right?

Hey, we have 10K students!

*hangs head*

*hugs my Silver Maple*

I for one can't wait to see your artwork!

[prfsnl_gmr]

Also, can we please leav behind the tacit assumptions that racism is a strictly southern problem and that racism in the south is more pervasive than it is anywhere else in the country?

I have lived in the midwest, northeast, and southeast. While I have certainly met racists in all three regions, the vilest - and youngest - were all in the northeast. Moreover, people in the midwest - which is 99.99% white - like to talk about how open-minded and accepting they are of minorities, but all of there views on minorities are derived from popular culture. The south, which has a lot more minorities then either region, is much more integrated and, at least in my experience, the racists here tend to be older (and, honestly, dying off).

Personally, I think that the south gets a bad reputation because - unlike other areas of the country - minorities actually live here, and the south - unlike other areas of the country - actually had to confront issues of race on a large scale at an earlier date. (That said, I have only have experience with Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The deep south might be really bad, but I have not spent much time there.)

Finally - and to the United States' credit - the most racist and xenophobic people I have ever encountered were in Europe.

[AppleQueso]

Also, can we please leav behind the tacit assumptions that racism is a strictly southern problem and that racism in the south is more pervasive than it is anywhere else in the country?

I have lived in the midwest, northeast, and southeast. While I have certainly met racists in all three regions, the vilest - and youngest - were all in the northeast. Moreover, people in the midwest - which is 99.99% white - like to talk about how open-minded and accepting they are of minorities, but all of there views on minorities are derived from popular culture. The south, which has a lot more minorities then either region, is much more integrated and, at least in my experience, the racists here tend to be older (and, honestly, dying off).

Personally, I think that the south gets a bad reputation because - unlike other areas of the country - minorities actually live here, and the south - unlike other areas of the country - actually had to confront issues of race on a large scale at an earlier date. (That said, I have only have experience with Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The deep south might be really bad, but I have not spent much time there.)

Finally - and to the United States' credit - the most racist and xenophobic people I have ever encountered were in Europe.

This is an interesting point. Thinking about it, most people I know that have pretty racist views tend to come from small towns and neighborhoods that have a near nonexistant non-white population. Seems like since they don't actually interact with people of different races often, they form these wild preconceptions about them.

[prfsnl_gmr]

This is an interesting point. Thinking about it, most people I know that have pretty racist views tend to come from small towns and neighborhoods that have a near nonexistant non-white population. Seems like since they don't actually interact with people of different races often, they form these wild preconceptions about them.

This has also been my experience. The south has been (to a certain extent, forcibly) integrated, and young people here are much, much more likely to have co-workers, friends, and neighbors who are black.

[dsheinem]

racism in the south is more pervasive than it is anywhere else in the country?

I think that this is well documented:

http://www.floatingsheep.org/2012/11/ma ... se-to.html

[Luke]

Also, can we please leav behind the tacit assumptions that racism is a strictly southern problem and that racism in the south is more pervasive than it is anywhere else in the country?

Finally - and to the United States' credit - the most racist and xenophobic people I have ever encountered were in Europe.

Last thing is first. You are dead on with Western Europeans.

First thing is last. My experience with racism is different in corners of the States. When I moved to NC (around my middle school years) I was frequently called "NL" (Nigger Lover) by my upper class friends. It infuriated me, but I also had people throwing spitballs at me because I was a Yankee, so I figured I was just surrounded by jerk-faces.

And not to tout, but I made straight A's every year, in every class for the three straight years of middle school. When my Mother asked the principal of my Middle School why I wasn't places in advanced courses, the principal responded with "AG isn't for Niggers or Yankees". When I was I growing up in Chicago, I advanced two grades in one year (I made up for it by spending three years in grad school).

In my limited experience, the South is at least more vocal about their obvious racism.

Oh wait... I meant accidental racism.

[Ack]

racism in the south is more pervasive than it is anywhere else in the country?

I think that this is well documented:

http://www.floatingsheep.org/2012/11/ma ... se-to.html

I read that, but I don't necessarily agree that it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that more racists live in the South. First, their search methodology for Twitter means that someone saying the phrase "I own a monkey butler, and Obama was reelected" could be considered racist. Second, it does not seem to take into account the normalization of certain terms in certain groups, so if an African American tweeted "My nigga Obama was reelected!," it would be flagged as racist by their search criteria. Third, it uses only one medium, Twitter, to support its case. More studies would need to be conducted to determine exactly who uses Twitter in each region, such as those which show Myspace is generally used by lower income individuals versus the use of Facebook by upper income individuals.

Does it show a large enough gap to engender concern? Yes. But the study still has flaws. And there is also Luke's concern: that these areas of the South may simply be more vocal and forthright about their racism.