Ok I think it is mostly about intent. (The example of a person of color calling another person of color an offensive name. They have similar life experiences and therefore a common bond and no intent to think one or the other superior.) It is as simple as this, yet this is what makes it so complex an issue.

Often I have seen people on these threads ascribe "racism" to something that they are absolutely dead wrong about. They have n clue about the "intent" of the poster. There are several people here just ready to ascribe racist to anyone who disagrees with them. They have no intent of doing the heavy lifting to find out any sort of context, it is easier to scream racist than it is to talk to people.

Race baiters are just as bad. I have said it before. The more you scream race and it is NOT the issue, well the fewer people who suffer from it that can be helped. People will and have started to get the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome and it is a very bad thing.

So why not spend a few man hours and figure out that the charge is true, rather than just ascribing it to the person because you generally disagree with someone?

Landmark


On 2011-05-08 07:39, Woland wrote:
Heard many - understood any?


"Some of my teachers thought so."

Care to expound upon your statement.

The context was Talmudic arguments. I think you got caught in the crossfire.

Danny; thank you for saying what was in my head. If people could understand the rules of intelligent argument these boards would be a tad more educational. Me thinks.

These days strong nationalism is called racism. Convictions to ones religious practices is called racism. Even a pride in ones own history is called racism. But they are not. So long as we misuse and accuse others of racism, we will continue to draw a veil of ignorance over those with opposing views, and in doing so end the discussion. This just leads to more ignorance or a lack of understanding of those different from ourselves. Not different as humans, but different when it comes to customs and beliefs. How will we interact with others without even a basic understanding of our differences and how we might overcome them? Just asking?