Is it racist to say that America is racist?

[billbuckhead]

Poll question: Is it racist to say that America is racist?

[Dorian Gray]

1. Absolutely not..

America is NOT racist. Some people who live in America may be, but you can't make a generalization about the whole country in that way.

[billbuckhead]

5. Do you know what percentage of the prison population is African American?

Hispanic? Native American?

Actions, not words and platitudes.

[Dorian Gray]

10. So....

that doesn't make AMERICA, a national construct, racist.

There is no overwhelming RACISM. Sure, we can discuss institutional racism, if you'd like. It exists. But, AMERICA is not racist.

Perhaps, though, you are deflecting the feelings of your friends regarding Obama onto AMERICA? Because I would certainly say
that some of the people you know are racist. (Regarding your other thread tonight.)

[billbuckhead]

15. America is not racist with a prison population of 41% Black and 31% Hispanic?

What's the general population? Around 12% black and 13% Hispanic? Don't BS me that America's not racist. I want to know that if acknowledging this fact is racist

[Dorian Gray]

27. America

can not feel emotions. You just don't get it. It's not one giant MONOLITHIC THING.

[cigsandcoffee]

2. No, but it's a stupid generalization. n/t

[knowledgeispwr]

8. Completely agree...

it really irritates me when people generalize about a nation of 300+ million people.

[billbuckhead]

3. This is the first poll I put up on DU I won't vote in myself

I think the vast majority of internet polls are either push polls or freeped. I'm looking for a truth here.

[cigsandcoffee]

4. What truth are you looking for? n/t

[billbuckhead]

11. What really is racism?

What does it really mean? If a white guy can help black people more than a black guy can vs if a black guy can help white people more than the white guy can vs can a Hispanic guy split the difference between whites and blacks and help Hispanics at the same time vs Asian financial dominance that brings order to the world vs a blossoming Islam under attack vs............................

It's all very sick bullshit but please don't tell me it's not about race.

[cigsandcoffee]

17. Don't tell you what's about race? America?

It's not really clear where you are going with this. If you're looking to single out America as racist, you just couldn't be more wrong - it's got no more racists per capita than anywhere on Earth, and probably less than in many countries.

[billbuckhead]

22. America was founded because the Brits were going to outlaw slavery

Then we marched the "Indians" out of the east into Oklahoma inspiring the Turks to do the same thing to the Armenians.

Then Texas seceded from Mexico mostly over slavery.

Then we fought a civil war over slavery.

Then there was that filipino genocide thing we did.

Yada, Yada, Yada,

[cigsandcoffee]

34. Every world power has shameful parts in their past.

And I'd like to note that America was not founded because Britain was ending slavery - that's just ludicrous.

Care to check in to the history of Britain in Africa or China? How about the Dutch or Belgian colonies? France? Germany? Repulsive shameful acts in all of them, and much racism within those countries today.

Perhaps you're putting some undue expectations on your own country. Condemning modern America for events hundreds of years in our past is akin to condemning FDR for putting the Japanese in camps. One must look at the totality of a situation and cast judgments based on the morality of the time. Progressive nations progress. They're not ideal to begin with.

I think America is progressing nicely. Think we'd have been discussing gay marriage or a woman/black President 50 or a hundred years ago?

Learn a little patience, for Christ sake, and get some perspective.

[greyl]

9. Care to provide the context for this poll? nt

[Breeze54]

13. Oh, I think you already voted.

:eyes:

[billbuckhead]

18. In reality I can't really vote since I've been Diebolded here in Atlanta, Georgia

I've never really felt my vote counted since Max Cleland and Roy Barnes lost on those black boxes.

[Breeze54]

21. Are you missing a few cards from your deck?

WTF has Diebold got to do with your stupid poll on DU?

Smoke another one, bucky and make it last. :eyes:

[XemaSab]

6. Nice post, Oprah

:eyes:

[Heidi]

7. No, not racist, but perhaps bigoted. (nt)

[B Calm]

12. North America or South America?

[B Calm]

26. I never found the people in Venezuela racist, but that's in South America.

[MedleyMisty]

14. Without the context of the other thread

I don't think you're going to get the "truth" you're looking for.

It's not racist to say that America is racist. That would be generalizing about a nation, not a race. And even then I wouldn't say that it was a bigoted generalization, because the US is chock full of institutional racism and so it is a valid generalization.

But it is racist to say that we shouldn't vote for Obama because of his skin pigmentation.

[billbuckhead]

16. Much of America is still tribal and won't vote outside their tribe

Should we lose evrything over that?

[cigsandcoffee]

19. Much of every country is tribal and won't vote outside their tribe.

Where's this Utopia of racial harmony that you're comparing America to? Zimbabwe? France? Greece? Brazil?

[Dorian Gray]

29. You think?

The OP is trying to make some point, but he's not making it clearly or succinctly.

But, whatever justifies to himself that Obama is a bad candidate solely because of his skin color. :eyes:

[cali]

20. idiot. poll.

is it unfair to say the OP is racist? Nope. Not after reading his last thread.

[tom_paine]

23. Wow, talk about a schizophrenic pair of threads!

On one thread, you are villifed and excoriated as a racist for bringing up that pertinent point regarding Obama.

On the other thread, apparently, you have 90% support for the fact that bringing up that point.

:silly: :crazy: :silly:

[Dorian Gray]

30. 92%

think that America is NOT racist, therefore won't vote against Obama solely because he is black.

This poll in no way supports his thesis in the other thread. He's proven nothing. Well, other than he is a fool obsessed with Obama's race.

[tom_paine]

35. I wasn't busting on him, I was supporting him.

So please don't try to score "insult points" off a post which was supporting the very person you are trying to insult.

:silly: :silly:

[flashl]

24. 250 Blog Participants = Blog Against Racism Day

Blog Against Racism Day

[Snarkturian Clone]

25. Most of the posts labeled as racist on DU

are barely ever truly overtly racist. Some peruse the board all day looking for anything that can be construed as racism or bigotry so they can have a chance to chastize someone publicly and feel better about themselves.

Rarely do I see posts that are overtly and directly racist, and usually they are deleted pretty quickly. I see other posts that are construed as racist by duers with bad reading comprehension and get deleted because they get alerted by those people. I see other posts where someone says something indirectly refering to another race in the text somewhere and duers jump all over them.



I guess my post isn't fully on-topic.. oh well too late- you read it!

[SmokingJacket]

28. It's an over-simplification, though.

A good chunk of Americans are downright racist -- the kind that *really think* other races are less human than they are. Say 20%?

The rest of us just carry the usual burden of prejudice that is more or less part of the human package, and that we fight every day.

[Dorian Gray]

31. I am an idiot....

I voted NO because I misread the title of the thread. I thought it was just "Is America racist."

Having said that, I don't think it's RACIST to say that America is Racist. But I think it is a total misrepresentation of the country. It's not one giant monolithic whole. And you didn't say America is racist. YOu said that your "yankee buddies wouldn't vote for Obama because he was black." That's racist. And who the hell refers to Northerners as Yankees anymore. That's just weird.

[lumberjack_jeff]

32. I am america, and so can you!

How can such troubled logic fit into such a short sentence?

[LeftishBrit]

33. Obviously not. Americans aren't a race.

The statement may be true, false, or (like most such statements) partially true; but it's not *racist*.