Race

[HenceForth]

Although this is a very broad question, it's something I've been wanting to ask an oline community for a while now.

Race. How do you think/feel about it?

[Haley]

Race. That's a very... ehh... way to put it.
It's more of "environmental adaptation needs"

Race, in general, is one's adaptation to their ancestral home. People can make fun, left and right, about someone's ethnical features, but we're all different because our bodies required different things way back when.

The following is not meant to poke fun at anyone or cause harm.

People with bushy eyebrows most likely had ancestors in desert/sandy areas. Dark skinned people lived near a lot of sun. Fair skinned people weren't exposed to sun much. Shorter people were able to obtain food from shorter areas. "hairy" people lived in areas where heat was needed.

Race, really, isn't a determiner of someone's personality, wealth, or social being. Just a survival mechanism.

/le sigh
if only the dumb KKK and prejudice people of the world could only see that...

[Chu]

Race doesn't really mean much to me in particular. In fact I don't really know my own; where I'm from that is. Then again I'm not interested in my origin, so I won't go into that.

I don't really know where to go with this topic. What bothers me with people, besides being so, well, racist, is that when they think of "race" they merely think white or black. As Haley pointed out though, there are a lot of other things in one's race besides skin color.

[iMystery]

It doesn't make a difference to me.

[HenceForth]

[Zaoki]

I think what iMystery means is that a persons race doesn't affect their opinion on the person. And it shouldn't. To make a huge stink about someones race is one of the things that has kept human society from ever finding peace or advancing as a whole.

[Haley]

The thing is, acceptance comes with exposure. If a white kid lived in a very culturally rich place with many ethnicity, than that kid isn't going to judge them and more as think they are individuals. They wont see race.

Now, another white kid who lived in a pretty much all-white town, that child will think much differently about other races.

This, unfortunately, goes for special needs, too. The ones who are uncomfortable around them and/or treat them all on the same level, probably haven't been around them much.

This policy of exposure vs. opinion goes for absolutely everything.

:earth:

[Kira Bella]

I personally don't judge people on their features or their skin colors. I am a judge of personality. I don't score black people for being black, or asians for being "yellow". (Never really got that color from seeing an asian american, but what ever...). I see THEM.

But I do have to say that when I see a black person, wearing baby phat everything, talking "lyke a gangsta, yo know whats I sayin?!" and acting like they are "tough shit" then I instently think, Ew... Why do they act that way?

I know many black people that are smarter then myself, and much more eduacated. Sadly, I don't think of them as BLACK, because the black name has been dragged thru the mud as lazy, no good and... gang rapisit or other silly things like that.

Just like my asian friends. They are treated like they should always be smarter then others, and they should be skinny. And yet I have a friend who is 325 pounds and 5'4". Yes. He is asian. No, I don't think of him as "the smart asian guy".

Like Haley said, people look and act different because of ther lifestyles. I still think it is sad that I can grow up in the same place as the "hip hop black kids" and turn out the way I did, just because I am WHITE....

[Kushina]

I do not judge on race, and I do not mind who or what race you are, I will love you just the same, I do not care if you are black or asian. But I do not think that it is a big issue, people just make it a big huge issue that they are some odd race or some odd color or some thing. I also believe that it is some kind of genetic thing and also some kind of genetic adaptation that people get

[Angel]

You're supposed to run a race, not judge people based off of their's.

Races don't define people. They're just there. I don't look at people's races when I see them. I don't care if you're black, white, brown, yellow, green or blue; I judge you based on character.

I hate racism. That's all I'll say.

[HenceForth]

I don't actually think that you can honestly say that race dosn't matter to you, people are socialized since birth to have some racist cognitions, i really think it's inevitable.


Haley, I'm not trying to single you out here but you brought up an interesting point; Racism is subconsciously everywhere, it's ingrained in people and institutions. Rasicm isn't just something that people can do.
I guess an example would be;
Inuit teens have a incredibly high suicide rate, one of the 'factors' that is beleived to contribute to this is that they have problems with their identity, because popular culture says you need to have certain things that you can't get living in a remote community.
Dosn't this count as a form of racism? Would understanding eliminate this?

[Haley]

[vampirebox]

No such thing - only different breeds that must be cared for a little differently - ie darker skinned people fare better under sunlight than do people with pale skin.

Race only becomes an issue when someone is fulfilling their stereotype.

[Mungo Boo]

I don't think people should be judged for their race. You can't choose your own anyway, your just born that way. Also, you shouldn't be judged for what someone else your own race did...

[Haley]

That does remind me.. In the seventh grade, there was a Korean boy named Ben Cho. Really nice guy and I was a friend earlier on, but we spread off by this point. We are sitting in health class, and our ethnicities came into question. I told him I was German. "Oh wow, gross, a Nazi."

He laughed. A few others did as well. How terrible.