From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Fri Aug 03 2001 - 21:40:50 MDT
"Mitchell, Jerry (3337)" wrote:
>
> >> A couple food stamps and a bottle of ripple.
> >
> >This latter bit is pretty typical of the racist comments that appear so
> often on this list. Does this kind of statement really lend anything to the
> discussion other than advertise and promote the prejudices of the writer?
>
> Here's a good example of the mis-use of the word Racism and why it gets
> thrown around at everything possible.
>
> Racism is:
> a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities
> and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular
> race
>
> Discrimination on the other hand is:
> The act of discriminating, distinguishing, or noting and marking
> differences.
>
> Is it racist to say that blacks drink ripple? No. (this doesn't say anything
> about any race being inherently superior) Is it discriminatory? Yes.
Saying blacks, a race of people, drink ripple as a statement
about race and about relative value (not to mention taste) is
very much rascist.
Conflating discrimination with noting differences is a
contemptible attempt to avoid facing an ugly remark. It ignores
the other meaning of the term:
3 a : the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating
categorically rather than individually b : prejudiced or
prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment.
- samantha
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