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Can a person say something racist but not BE a racist?

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It's almost a cliche. First, someone talking about blacks makes reference to fried chicken, watermelon, monkeys or dogs — or even uses the indefensible N-word. Then, along with the inevitable apology, comes the kicker: I'm not racist.

The latest denial is from golfer Sergio Garcia. Asked a joking question about having dinner with his adversary Tiger Woods, Garcia said: "We will serve fried chicken." He later apologized for what he called a "silly remark," then added, "but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner."

Perhaps the Spanish-born Garcia was unaware that chicken stereotypes have been used for at least a century to denigrate African-Americans. Maybe he was unaware of attitudes buried in his subconscious mind. As the backlash increased, Garcia did apologize further, calling his remark "totally stupid and out of place."

But by then, he had secured a place on the lengthy roll of people who have offered justifications for statements widely considered offensive.

How can words so hurtful be so easily brushed off? And what does the word "racist" even mean if it doesn't encompass people who use racial slurs?

"I think it's human nature that if you're a racist, you don't want to admit it," says conservative radio host Mike Gallagher.

"If Tiger said, 'Let's serve tacos at dinner with Garcia,' the world would go crazy," Gallagher said. "When a bigot tells a bigoted joke and they get called out on it, the pattern is, I'll say I'm sorry and maybe it will blow over."

The pattern is unmistakable. Said golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, after joking that Woods shouldn't order fried chicken for the Masters champions' dinner: The comments were "misconstrued." Said comedian Michael Richards, after responding to a black heckler with a lynching reference and the N-word: "I'm not a racist." Said actor Mel Gibson, after claiming that Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world: "I'm not a bigot."

The phenomenon has been even more pronounced since Barack Obama became America's first black president:

— Montana's chief federal judge resigned after emailing a joke in which a young Obama asks why he is black and his mother is white. The punch line involved a dog. "Although (the joke) is racist, I'm not that way, never have been," Judge Richard Cebull said.

— After drawing national attention for selling an anti-Obama bumper sticker that said "Don't Re-Nig in 2012," creator Paula Smith of Hinesville, Georgia insisted that neither she nor the sticker were racist. She called the uproar "amazing and entertaining."

— New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino was pilloried for sending an email labeled "Obama Inauguration Rehearsal" that showed an African tribesman dancing. His response: "I'm not a racist. I'm proud to have created jobs for hundreds of people of every color and ethnicity."

— Arizona radio host Barbara Espinosa said she "voted for the white guy" and called Obama a monkey. Asked if that was offensive, she replied, "I'm anything but racist."

Clay Routledge, a social psychology professor at North Dakota State University who studies the ways people defend themselves against psychological threats, said they often engage in "self-deception": They may think they're a good athlete, for example, or have an outgoing personality — or do not have racial biases.

"People have narratives about themselves, self concepts, a whole host of attitudes that they want to think about themselves," said Routledge. "A lot of times they match well, but sometimes they don't."

Other psychologists go further. They blame "implicit bias" — unconscious attitudes based on the way racial groups are commonly portrayed in the public space.

Using scientific studies that measure how quickly people associate words like "black" with "criminal" or "Asian-American" with "foreign," these researchers conclude that many people — of all backgrounds, not just white people — are unaware of their own racial biases.

Phillip Atiba Goff, a UCLA social psychology professor, says this may be what happened with Garcia: "He was trying to be funny. In the moment, especially if you're nervous and not thinking, stereotypes come to mind very quickly."

Goff emphasizes that having an unconscious bias does not mean someone is a racist — it means he or she is a human being who has absorbed ubiquitous information.

So, can a person say something racist but not BE a racist? Might people who make racist statements be telling the truth when they say they are not racist?

Goff says it depends on the individual — but that the rush to brand people as racist obscures the bigger issue of the harm caused by their statements.

"Let's have a conversation about why (Garcia) said it in the first place, and why these moments seem to come up so much," Goff said. "We should be able to say, 'You know what, that was one of those implicit bias moments.'"

Whatever they are called, such moments come up every day for Logan Smith, a journalist who runs the Twitter feed YesYoureRacist. He started about eight months ago, after noticing a plethora of tweets starting with "I'm not racist, but."

Some of his favorite examples: "I'm not racist but having a black president is just not smart," ''I'm not racist but black people scare me," and "I'm not racist but I can see where Hitler was coming from."

He said most of the tweets seem to come from teenagers: "They didn't grow up seeing 'coloreds only' water fountains, or civil rights marches in the papers, or apartheid on TV, and as a result, many of them simply don't understand what racism means," Smith said via email.

"They think that unless they're actually lynching a black person or something, they're not racist," Smith said, "because they don't understand things like institutionalized racism or inferiorization, and the historical context of their statement."

Many might not know the ugly history of chicken and black stereotypes.

In the early 1900s, periodicals and postcards commonly displayed images of black people as grotesque, simple-minded "coons" obsessed with chicken and watermelon. From the 1920s to the 1950s, a three-restaurant chain of Coon Chicken Inns was popular around Salt Lake City, Seattle and Portland.

So when people associate black folks with chicken, the past often rushes into the present — as in a famous routine by the black comedian Dave Chappelle.

"A lot of black people can relate to this. Have you ever had something happen that was so racist, that you didn't even get mad?" Chappelle said.

He then tells a story about walking into a restaurant, contemplating his order with the counterman, and "before I even finish my sentence he says, 'The chicken!'"

"All these years I thought I liked chicken 'cause it was delicious," Chappelle said. "Turns out I'm genetically predisposed to liking chicken!"

© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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66 Comments
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Some guy makes a reference to blacks eating chicken, and the world screams bloody murder.

Jamie Fox says it's great to "pretend to kill white people,' and everybody is A-OK.

9 ( +15 / -6 )

Everybody likes fried chicken. Who cares?

6 ( +9 / -3 )

i dont get the chicken thing?? im guessing black americans eat it a lot?? so is it racist to say japanese eat sushi, or australians eat vegemite sandwiches?? maybe it is generalizing. maybe if you looked down on the food....but even then....food?? i think those who define racist need a little more defining.

11 ( +15 / -4 )

i dont get the chicken thing??

Fried Chicken is very common in southern cuisine, and "Soul Food" is essentially just southern food - blacks took that culinary tradition with them when they migrated to urban areas across the country. There is nothing racist about the image of black eating fried chicken (or watermelon for that matter). Rather, the problem is the way that image has been historically used to belittle blacks. Hence some caution and sensitivity is warranted (as is usual with racially charged issues). Assuming that a black person must like fried chicken because he or she is black is racist - even if relatively benignly so. The problem with such thinking is that it encourages stereotyping, and is ever so slightly dehumanizing in its own way. It's funny that you mention the need for more definition - these concepts are rather well defined, though they may be new to you. I would recommend an inquisitive attitude rather than a dismissive one; this issues may seem silly on their face, but in actuality hide a rather ugly and painful historical reality.

14 ( +14 / -0 )

Generalizations cannot be avoided. They are part of human nature. We need to categorize things. It is how we are wired.

What matters is the intention of the comments. If there is a racist intent, then such generalizations are wrong. For example.

Japanese people eat a lot of sushi. A generalization trying to describe food habits in Japan. Not racist.

Those sushi eaters in Japan. Obviously an attack and probably racist.

You are Japanese so we prepared sushi for you. Not racist, though clearly a generalization based upon race.

We know you won't eat anything else so have some sushi. Probably racist as the intent is clearly negative.

I think it really does come down to intent.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Assuming that a black person must like fried chicken because he or she is black is racist

i dont know, isnt that like assuming that foreigners cant use chopsticks because they are not japanese? i think most people would have the 'get over it' attitude if anyone complained about that

0 ( +3 / -3 )

i dont know, isnt that like assuming that foreigners cant use chopsticks because they are not japanese?

I think you are missing the big picture, here. It's not so much the thing in and of itself, but the thing in conjunction with hundreds of other small things. It's also the thing in connection with a long and ugly history.

I should also note that there are plenty of foreigners who can, do, and even prefer chopsticks. Some of these do indeed take offense at not being treated as capable, whether it be chopsticks, language, etc... I am not one of these, but I assume you could see how having constant assumptions made about your capabilities and character merely due to a perceived group affiliations might wear on a person after a while.

People are individuals; I have have found the best policy is to treat them as such.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Is it racist if you don't know about it? I love fried chicken and watermelon and am as white as can be. Up until a few years ago, I didn't know that those 2 items were associated with anything other than awesome summer food! So one of my friends and I went out for lunch and I suggested KFC. She was quite happy to go and then we went back to my place for watermelon. A few days later I saw something indicating that what I had done may be construed as racist...I didn't even have the slightest clue because I was never taught that stereotype. I felt bad and asked her later if I offended her. She just laughed and said no. However, I learned that I can and perhaps do things that seem racist without even knowing!!

4 ( +7 / -3 )

People are individuals; I have have found the best policy is to treat them as such.

so youre the one! but seriously, i couldnt agree more. but i think racism is the wrong term in this case. racism involves an element of superiority. i dont see how assuming that one race has dietary proclivities involves any sense of superiority.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

What does racist mean? It means that you believe that your race is superior.

Umm... how does saying that Mexicans might like tacos, or Black people might like fried chicken, or Japanese people like sushi, or Scottish people like a nice slice of blood pudding in any way imply superiority? To my mind these are just generalizations about what people in particular cultures/countries like to eat. A generalization may be inaccurate, but it is not automatically racist. It does show a certain lack of respect for not asking the individual's preference, but it can also be well-intentioned, like stocking some tea in the house when you're having a British visitor, because they might prefer tea over coffee.

Yes, I understand that there's a lot of history to the fried chicken stereotype in the U.S.... but the guy who made the comment ISN'T from the U.S. He is from SPAIN.

In effect this is a type of racism, assuming that everyone, everywhere is familiar with U.S. history and customs, with the undercurrent that this must be true because the U.S. is so important and superior. Wake up call U.S.A., accusing a foreigner of racism on the assumption that they MUST know about the U.S. because it is "the greatest country in the world" (according to Obama's inauguration speech) is a form of racism.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Two different pair of shoes! Joking about races and really being a racist who despises other races are two very different things. But there's a fine line between making harmless jokes or making tasteless jokes. Anyway, what's always much more annoying are the naive people who brand everyone instantly as a racist at the smallest misstep. By definition anyone who recognizes different races is a racist! You can't have different races without racism.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

If I say the Chinese eat everything but the leg of a table. Is that racist?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Seems mostly fine to say anything about white people but not black. There is racism and bias in all races and nationalities.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

“If Tiger said, ‘Let’s serve tacos at dinner with Garcia,’ the world would go crazy,” Gallagher said.

Huh? No it wouldn't.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Seems mostly fine to say anything about white people but not black. There is racism and bias in all races and nationalities.

The difference is one is the majority and the other is the minority.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Everyone knows that black people being racist about white people is fine; but white people saying anything even slightly racist against black people means they are members of the KKK.

Jamie Fox is one of the worst. His "black people are the most creative people in the world" (can't remember the exact wording) comment would have been plastered all over the news f it had been a white person saying it about whites.

Racism is fine if its black people being racist.

3 ( +10 / -7 )

There is a difference between white people and black people using racist language. In both cases its wrong and unacceptable. But the whites in the US will always have the upper hand, they will always be advantaged and society will always be nodding to their favor. For a white person to make a comment to a black person is to kick someone who is trying to get up.

It's not an eye for an eye. The playing field isn't level.

For Garcia to say something to Tiger Woods is a double injury because he is also disqualifying him from connecting to his mixed culture. Even though he has a unique background, he is, and will always be the stereotypical racial profiled "black guy."

1 ( +5 / -4 )

“If Tiger said, ‘Let’s serve tacos at dinner with Garcia,’ the world would go crazy,”

No Jesse, they would probably just jerk their heads back in bewilderment since "tacos" are from Mexico. Everything else was spot on though.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

In every definition of "racist" that I've checked, all include the meaning that the person making the remark is doing so to distinguish the other person as inferior and himself as superior to another race or races. Mr. Garcia's remark may have been considered insensitive by some, but hardly racist. I imagine that Mr. Garcia might like fried chicken, too, so he can hardly feel superior to Mr. Woods. In any case, should we really expect that everyone everywhere knows the history of every race in the U.S. and what they consider insensitive? Do you know what a Spanish person would consider an insensitive or even racist remark? I doubt it. Good manners dictate that once we learn we have offended someone or hurt their feelings, even unknowingly, we should apologize. Mr. Garcia only needs to say, "Sorry, I apologize for my comment. I didn't mean to be insensitive." That's enough.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Thomas AndersonMAY. 25, 2013 - 06:18PM JST Seems mostly fine to say anything about white people but not black. There is racism and bias in all races and nationalities. The difference is one is the majority and the other is the minority.

Whether you're a minority or majority is irrelevant, if you're being a racist swine it doesn't matter if you're black or white, you're still a racist swine and should be treated as such.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

There are two kinds of jokes using racist language or subject matter: those making a comment about the racism involved, and those using the stereotype as the point of humor. The latter is racist, the former isn't. Anyone who cuts a racist joke that isn't making a comment about racism (thus being editorial humor) is exercising racism, whether they're racist, or not. And in a small way, it serves to perpetuate racism.

The humor of a racist joke is born of disdain, or at best ignorance, and that's why it's bad. Period. Racist jokes are "funnies" made at the expense of a target population. Just like an off-color joke about women is sexist and derogatory unless, again, it's editorializing humor.

Ignorance is no defense. If a person makes a derogatory racist joke, but is ignorant of the fact, the joke is no less derogatory and the teller is no less ignorant. Even if it's acceptable to the audience, the fact remains. The question is why do people think such a joke is funny? Because whether they admit it or not, they are buying into a racist paradigm - and that sustains it.

Once these things stop being considered funny, or even remarkable or noteworthy, they will vanish. Until that time, it's really necessary to educate everyone that this isn't acceptable. There's no such thing as harmless racism.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The playing field isn't level.

exactly right. affermative action has kept the playing field uneven for years. blacks get preferential treatment for university admission, government jobs and housing. americas last acceptable form of racial discrimination.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Can a person who is not vulgar per se make a vulgar remark? I think the parallel can be drawn for people who are not racist but thoughtlessly or inadvertently--if they don't know about the cultural flash-points for (say) fried chicken and watermelon--may make the occasional racist remark or think a racist thought.

I think the sensible approach is to understand that we are all racists. We are hard-wired to ostracize and demean what is other. To be a non-racist, therefore, is an ideological choice in the way that being a vegetarian or Christian or a Buddhist is a philosophical or spiritual choice. Such a choice involves a conscious practice.

Being human, people will lapse. In the same way that vegetarians will occasionally eat meat or believers of any ilk might commit an act inconsistent with their faith, people who fundamentally choose not to be racist may slip up.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This whole crying over "it's okay for black people to be racist, but not white people!!" is hilarious.

White people are the majority, therefore they already get preferential treatment by default. Had white people ever been victims of social and racial prejudice and discrimination in the US for example? Nope. As the majority, they already have enormous social privileges and advantages. They rarely have to worry for being white.

The racists in Japan say the same thing. "Why can't we say anything bad about the Zainichi Koreans, but the Koreans can say bad things about us? It's not fair!!!"

The difference is one is the majority and the other is the minority. As the majority, they are never to be socially discriminated against or disadvantaged for being Japanese in the Japanese society, no matter WHAT things are being said against the Japanese people. While for Zainichi Koreans, being the overwhelming minority, would have to live in constant fear that anything that is said against them could turn the majority against them, which means that they would be enormously socially disadvantaged (which already does happen quite a lot).

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

White people are the majority, therefore they already get preferential treatment by default.

any examples, stats, evidence to back this up? or were you just planning to throw this nonsense out there and hope nobody called you on it?

Had white people ever been victims of social and racial prejudice and discrimination in the US for example? Nope

now youre omniscience covers every white person in the usa? this is a ridiculous statement, tom

0 ( +1 / -1 )

any examples, stats, evidence to back this up? or were you just planning to throw this nonsense out there and hope nobody called you on it?

LOL. Think, my friend, think! It's ridiculous to assume that the majority could ever be discriminated against in the first place. They have the overwhelming numerical superiority on their side.

now youre omniscience covers every white person in the usa? this is a ridiculous statement, tom

Okay. Had white people ever been SYSTEMATICALLY discriminated against by the society? No.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

or even uses the indefensible N-word.

"The indefensible N-word" has a very interesting history indeed. Martin Luther King, Jr. never had a problem with it. The word suddenly fell from grace after 1970's but it still lives in some place names such as Negro Creek (US and Canada).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro

0 ( +0 / -0 )

you said they get preferential treatment. how so?

Had white people ever been SYSTEMATICALLY discriminated against by the society? No.

yes. its called affirmative action. it is systematic discrimination against one race in favor of another.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

you said they get preferential treatment. how so?

By being the majority. They are more likely to be hired than the others and so forth.

yes. its called affirmative action. it is systematic discrimination against one race in favor of another.

No, it's not. It's about leveling the field since statistically minorities are less likely to be hired than the majority.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

ok, tom, since you cant seem to provide anything but an opinion, lets look at some stats. so you want talk opportunity, there are 8.2 million white americans living in "deep poverty" compared to 5.2 million black americans... while yes that is a larger share of the total black population, the point is that there are many many white people out there with the same lack of opportunity, and yet it is this very population that is the most culturally acceptible to characterize and belittle.... calling them poor white trash, rednecks, yokels, hillbillies. so while yes, it's completely awesome to be a rich white person, if you are poor it is actually very advantageous, from an opportunity perspective, to be a minority. www.nclej.org/poverty-in-the-us.php

2 ( +3 / -1 )

ok, tom, since you cant seem to provide anything but an opinion, lets look at some stats. so you want talk opportunity, there are 8.2 million white americans living in "deep poverty" compared to 5.2 million black americans... while yes that is a larger share of the total black population, the point is that there are many many white people out there with the same lack of opportunity, and yet it is this very population that is the most culturally acceptible to characterize and belittle.... calling them poor white trash, rednecks, yokels, hillbillies. so while yes, it's completely awesome to be a rich white person, if you are poor it is actually very advantageous, from an opportunity perspective, to be a minority. www.nclej.org/poverty-in-the-us.php

Okay, so 3% of the whites are in deep poverty, while 13% of the blacks are in deep poverty. Thank you for proving my point and I didn't even have to bring up any stats myself!

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

the opportunites are there for the minorities via affirmitive action, but not poor whites. there are 3 million more whites in poverty who need help but wont get it because of the color of their skin. doesnt that sound like discrimination to you?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Seems like here, the concentration is on America as usual. Racism occurs everywhere, humans are human regardless of their colour and have an natural bias towards those they can identify with. Society though can make the way people think different, as most people want to be part of the group and parrot the majority.

0 ( +2 / -3 )

Everybody likes fried chicken. Who cares?

Is it racist to say, KFC sucks?

Just poking at a little humor.

What a lot of people don't understand is that, during slavory, most blacks got all the scraps that the slave masters didn't want, pork, rinds, entrails all the less quality meat of the pig and chicken, although healthy and in abundance, the slaves just ate usually pork and mostly chicken. Beef was more expensive and owning and eating beef, showed people your wealth and status, always the best cuts. The same goes for fruits, in particular, watermelon. As with the chicken, it was the fruit most blacks could really only get there hands on and that wasn't that blacks had a lot of choices, from this, is how the legend started that blacks love "chicken and watermelon" and it stuck and later generations of whites believed this to be true. Even today if you go to the Deep South, the majority of blacks eat the same foods. Throughout the generations, blacks learned to take these scraps of food and made some updated modifications and "Soul food" was born. I don't think nowadays that most blacks feel offended when they hear those comments, I'm not trying to generalize, but it depends on the context of the remark.

Clearly, I think that there is some beef going on between Garcia and Woods, difficult to say if Garcia is a racist, but as long as they can work out their differences and take their rivalry on the course and they play a competive game, that's where it all counts.

3 ( +2 / -0 )

Obviously a lot of the people making these types of ugly remarks are racists or "closet racists", and of course some people making these stupid remarks are not, they are just clearly stupid! There is no cure for stupid.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Thomas Andersen - just a hypothetical from your responses - If I, as a non-american white person,visit the USA and engage in conversation with a black man who makes derogatory statements about my race, is that racism?

I am not part of the white majority as Im not American, Im not applying for jobs or using education. Im not part of the white American majority which you claim gets preferential treatment.

Im intrigued to know how your logic plays out..

1 ( +1 / -0 )

You can have an opinion or make jokes about anything period.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Thomas AndersonMay. 26, 2013 - 11:19AM JST Okay. Had white people ever been SYSTEMATICALLY discriminated against by the society? No.

White South Africans in modern South Africa. ... and their justification? The U.S. racist myth that it is impossible for black people to be racist to whites. Racism is possible both ways. If you maintain that blacks (or any other racial group) are immune from racism then you're proposing that they're superior... and are thereby guilty of racism automatically.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The liberal American media monopoly has done a bang-up job at propagandizing and sensationalizing PC agendas whenever and wherever possible. If they cannot contort and twist an existing story, they will just fabricate one instead. They almost have the victims believing that they deserve the blatant slander. But in truth, the issue of racism, hypocrisy, and bigotry are still alive and thriving in America. However, it is the constant barrage from the left that is the guilty party and not the other way around. The rest of the world is clueless to this and buys everything that comes from American media as gospel. For instance, one may call a person (specifically a white male) from the southern half of the United States a: redneck, hick, hillbilly, inbred, uneducated idiot, Gomer, etc...and nobody seems to see that kind of language as racist or bigoted. WHY? It is OK to call a black person a n(i)gger or a Latino a sp(i)ck, a Chinese a chink? So why is slander towards white males in southern USA given a pass? The northern yanks love to call us Confederates and show documentaries about slavery. They themselves had slaves while most of us southerners did not. Many of us were working beside the slaves on the plantations. For the most-part, only a few wealthy landowners had slaves. Furthermore, it was the northern yanks that massacred the native Americans to the point of genocide, not us southerners. This is revisionist history in the making folks. And as far as the chicken remarks, SO WHAT! Grow thicker skin you minority pandering hypocrites. Nobody buys the down-trodden, woe-is-me rhetoric anymore.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Thomas Andersen - just a hypothetical from your responses - If I, as a non-american white person,visit the USA and engage in conversation with a black man who makes derogatory statements about my race, is that racism?

Well if you were say British, then you'd still probably get preferential treatment for being white. Why? Because you still have the white majority on your back. You can not be singled out for being white, so to speak.

I'm not saying what is racism or is not racism. I'm simply saying, in the social context, it would be very difficult for the majority to be socially disadvantaged or degraded. When was the last time say, a straight person got bullied for being straight? That would be very difficult, since bullying implies the socially strong (the majority) oppressing the socially weak (the minority).

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

For instance, one may call a person (specifically a white male) from the southern half of the United States a: redneck, hick, hillbilly, inbred, uneducated idiot, Gomer, etc...and nobody seems to see that kind of language as racist or bigoted. WHY?

And ARE those white people ever socially disadvantaged whenever they're called hicks, rednecks, etc? Well... no.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Funny thing is that there was an international survey done as to which country is THE MOST racist and sorry to say, but the US and the UK were NOT in that category at all, in fact, in the survey the US and the UK were seen as THE most tolerant.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325502/Map-shows-worlds-racist-countries-answers-surprise-you.html

1 ( +2 / -1 )

And ARE those white people ever socially disadvantaged whenever they're called hicks, rednecks, etc? Well... no.

YES! It is called Affirmative Action. The Point Preferential Program. No Child Left Behind. And how many organizations are specifically race based if you Google it? More than I can count, however I don't see any that say, for instance, Caucasion College Fund, National Organization for the Advancement of White People, La Raza Blanco, etc...do you know why? Because it is the WHITES (specifically white males) who are disadvantaged the most. When we commit a crime, nobody makes excuses for how we are just a "product of our unstable and disenfranchised environment". No, we don't get to make excuses for bad behavior like others do. It is by no means equal.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Wow... you still think Affirmative Action is discriminatory, when it's simply leveling the field. There is no hope for you.

Because it is the WHITES (specifically white males) who are disadvantaged the most.

If the whites were so disadvantaged then the American society would collapse. You're just as bad as the ultra-nationalist Zaitokukai who claim that it is the Japanese who are discriminated against by the Zainichi Koreans. lol. There really IS no hope for racists.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

I don't want people to get the wrong impression of me with my aggressive posts. I can only speak of my experiences of living in a low income, predominately black, neighborhood for over 20 years. So allow me to clarify my point by saying this: The time for pandering according to race or gender is over, provided that we wish to evolve as a species. NO MORE EXCUSES!!! We should become color blind and get rid of PC propaganda that is constructed to inflame and incite hatred rather than forgetting the differences. Just one set of rules for EVERYBODY. No exceptions. No more double-standards. No more bolstering the side of one group as compared to another. We should all be treated equally once and for all. Equal under the law with strict over-site. That would be, by definition, "Progressive" and would allow ALL people to move forward. That is the point I wish to make.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Laymans

Yes, exactly. No one wants to touch this with a 10 foot pole! No one wants to admit it, but what he says is true. Minorities especially in the US now at this point and time, have virtually EVERY advantage to excel, advance and get anything they want, because of their race and Affirmative Action. If you are White male, it's going to be and is harder to find employment. So when ANY minority says they can't get this or that, then it is mostly themselves holding them back, yes, I said it. Can't blame Whites, our current President was voted in the first time mostly by Whites. This whole thing that Whites are racists and hate minorities is so played out. And if America and all Whites are racist people like Obama, Martin Luther King Jr. Booker T and others would have never even had the chance if Whites were all that bad and evil. Yes, you do have some crazy White racists that hate minorities, but you have also minorities that hate Whites. Do you think Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, China, Russia would ever let a Black man or a Mexican man be President. Heck, I don't even think Canada or Australia would, an Aboriginal...no way. As a person that is of mixed heritage, I can relate to both sides and I really understand and really agree with people like Laymans, but the liberal media will have you believe that all Whites are racist, intolerant and want to keep the country White. I just don't get it. Upholding the law makes me a racist? Go to Msnbc, they traffic ONLY in race. Dyson, Sharpton, Hayes, all of them play up the White guilt. The sad thing is, people will automatically assume that because he just made that statement, he's an outright racist. People are not focusing on the message, but what he said and that's sad.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@bass4funk I know what ya mean, dude. But there are so many people out there that cannot see the truth because of the brainwashing that is so popular in our schools. And you bring up some very good points of how many countries who speak of "American racism" are themselves closet racists and hypocrites. And the PC drones of this country cannot stand the idea of a level playing field. Where fairness and justice prevails. Do you think that future social scientists will exonerate us who were brave enough to speak-out against this PC, double-standard, bigotry first? If so, it will be the beginning of a new era and the TRUE end of racism and bigotry.

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How many illegal immigrants does America have right now? At least 11 million?

And most of them in California. Cali is The most bluest state in all of entire Union. Whites pretty much lost it, meaning that White people are a minority in the 2nd largest state. Illegals, gays. Point is, California is a complete melting pots. I think it's great, that is what makes us as a nation, that is why minorities know Calif. is a safe haven, criminal without back ground checks is entirely ok accepted, but if you are White and use any derogatory foul language, you can get arrested. I could never understand it

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@bass4funk Yeah, I don't understand it either. The government and PC police do not have their priorities straight. Instituting E-Verify, enforced with strict fines, would have made self deportation a reality. Problem solved. But NO, they (amnesty advocates) choose to focus on the use of race-baiting rhetoric instead of dealing with the underlying problems of the bigger picture. It's funny how they are strict constitutionalists when it suits them and alternately come down with amnesia when it doesn't. I cannot wait for the world to move on and stop pandering to the selfish lawlessness of the extremist fringe both left and right. I am praying for the rise of the Independent centrists in America to become the majority.

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I think it is time the social guilt conscience in North American with regards to blacks be over & done with. How long do you want this to go on? There's already a 'black' President and every Hollywood movie I have seen have already portrayed 'good' blacks over 'nasty' whites since time immemorial. How much more racial payback does American society wants on behalf of the blacks in America?

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Interestingly, the examples in the article only relate to comments towards people who aren`t caucasian. Why is that? Jamie Foxx has made derogatory comments towards white folks and not even a raised voice against it. Hypocrisy gone wild. Time for everyone to get on an even playing field cuz the world is stooping lower and lower. Time to look forward.

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Gotta love internet boards and the overabundance of people defending racism as long as its against blacks and not say...Japanese? If Garcia had said "We'll serve him whale testes with sweat and sour dog" or something like that I wonder how many of you would be mentioning Jamie Foxx.

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Gotta love internet boards and the overabundance of people defending racism as long as its against blacks and not say...Japanese? If Garcia had said "We'll serve him whale testes with sweat and sour dog" or something like that I wonder how many of you would be mentioning Jamie Foxx.

No one is defending racism, but for many minorities and Cable news like Msnbc traffic in racism all day. People like Jackson, Sharpton make a living doing it everyday. Ever wondered how Jackson makes money? What's his job? If in anyway shape of form you disagree with Blacks or Latinos, you are a racist and that is so unfair and uncalled for. You see what you want to see. Are their some pockets of racism in America, sure there is, but overall, America has come a very long way since the 50's. Many Whites don't want to associate with minorities often NOT because of their color, but they have to walk on egg shells worrying about offending them, then it is better to stay away, than to take a chance, offend someone and to be called a racist. Blacks and Latinos nowadays hold jobs in very high positions, including the WH. If America was that racist, Obama would have been President. Think about it.

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The question really is this: "Can someone say something that others perceive as racist and not be racist?"

The answer is: Of course!

Many Whites don't want to associate with minorities often NOT because of their color, but they have to walk on egg shells worrying about offending them, then it is better to stay away, than to take a chance, offend someone and to be called a racist.

I'm a white guy who's approaching 60 and who has lived in Georgia most of his adult life. Back in the days when my awareness of my racist beliefs came to haunt me, I used to reason just like the quote above. There came a time when I surrendered to a greater Truth -- one that directed me to see that the poorest and the most oppressed are the ones most loved by the Almighty. And since real love drives out fear, there is no reason to walk on "eggshells." People know who really loves them, and who's just putting on an act.

To many of the folks who share my racial background, all I can say is that, to me, your sheets are showing.

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i dont get the chicken thing?? im guessing black americans eat it a lot?? so is it racist to say japanese eat sushi, or australians eat vegemite sandwiches?? maybe it is generalizing. maybe if you looked down on the food....but even then....food?? i think those who define racist need a little more defining.

You don't get ANY of it. African Americans don't eat fried chicken any more often than any other race in America. Your examples are not equivalent to what's being discussed here. To frame it in a Japanese perspective, it would be similar to saying or implying all Burakumin like natto. Understand? You take a SUBSET of the population (and make sure that it's a subset that has been generally looked down on), not the entire population, then attribute a SECONDARY food, not a nationally-liked food, to their preferences.

If we were to equate what Garcia said to your examples, he would have had to say that he would serve hamburgers or pizza and nobody would have batted an eye. He didn't do that, though. He specifically chose "fried chicken" - which isn't going to be on the plate of ANY athlete - but it sure meets the racial stereotype of what an African American supposedly prefers to eat.

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You don't get ANY of it. African Americans don't eat fried chicken any more often than any other race in America.

I know what you're trying to say, but I'm fairly positive this statement is statistically false.

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To many of the folks who share my racial background, all I can say is that, to me, your sheets are showing

It goes both ways. Whites are not the only ones that can wear sheets. There are enough minorities that wear invisible sheets as well. Why is it that people like Jesse Jackson who uses the race card every time and get a pass. It's the exact same thing, he's using race to profit and polarize the issue, take advantage, that's racist, not to mention slick and unfair.

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Whites are not the only ones that can wear sheets.

They are the only ones who, historically, have worn them.

Why is it that people like Jesse Jackson who uses the race card every time and get a pass.

It would appear to me that the ones most sensitive to this are whites who feel their race should give them the special privilege of nullifying any attempt to correct a horrible injustice. I am sure some feel it was better in the days when a black man who didn't act the way a white person thought he should was taken out and severely beaten or killed. (See: Emmett Till.) Not many whites I know can say they have been victims to that kind of institutionally sanctioned violence; whereas many African-Americans can.

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Racist, no - insensitve, probably.. Can Tiger out golf sergio? most definitely.. let the clubs do the talking.

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The phenomenon has been even more pronounced since Barack Obama became America’s first black president:

Barack Obama is NOT America's first black president. He is the first mixed, black and white, race president. Too many people get this wrong, and inadvertently come across as being racist by calling him thus.

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Barack Obama is NOT America's first black president. He is the first mixed, black and white, race president. Too many people get this wrong,

When the cops pull over someone who looks like Obama, he's black.

Besides, the vast majority of African-Americans are what you call "mixed."

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When the cops pull over someone who looks like Obama, he's black. Besides, the vast majority of African-Americans are what you call "mixed."

So? It doesnt change the fact that he is of mixed heritage. The thing is in the US if you look black, people will refer to you as being black. Which in a manner of speaking is racist too.

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So? It doesnt change the fact that he is of mixed heritage.

And so is Jesse Jackson -- only a bit farther back perhaps, and from multiple streams into the gene pool. It all depends on how much you want to make of this "mixed" thing.

The thing is in the US if you look black, people will refer to you as being black.

The important thing in the US is how you want to refer to yourself. If Obama wants to refer to himself as being black, nobody should have to argue with him.

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yabits that's true and I agree! It really never occurred to me one way or the other until I was reading or watching something Morgan Freeman wrote or said way back.

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There is a two-faced approach to the issue that is allowed to persist without the proper punishment, it makes it look like a boys club where what matters is what you say, not what you actually think. I don't believe it is, but it will feel like it is, unless Garcia is fired from all media commitments.

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FYI to JT: Check out the current controversy about Paula Deen in regards to this topic.

It ought to be worth a hundred comments or more.

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