rolling "Is This Racist?" thread

The Brooklyn B's would be a dope cheerleading squad; beyonce could lead
also, how quickly they forget:
http://www.motheringhut.com/images/art_fever.jpg

he's not a business man he's a contributing greatly to our local economy while offending the delicate conservative sensibilities of a shill working for a corrupt media company man

can we change the title of this thread to "let's congratulate ourselves for not being THAT white person" since that's what this thread has turned into

http://www.columbiacountyobserver.com/master_files/images/2009_County_News_images/09_0319_Fl_Crown.jpg

"And in other news, we've found more examples of racism on the Internet. You all want to hear about it?"

this is the 4th largest newspaper in the country!

Pretty sure the Observer is far down on the list.

suggesting that he might as well name the cheerleaders "Brooklyn Bitches" because that's HOW HE DO
i think it's a lil bit racist
it's primarily a lil bit stupid

NY Post is the worst newspaper in the world

I thought that distinction fell to Every British Paper Except the Guardian

can we change the title of this thread to "let's congratulate ourselves for not being THAT white person" since that's what this thread has turned into

― I'M THAT POSTA, AAAAAAAAAH (DJP), Friday, May 4, 2012 12:42 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i like how the thread title implies a naivety to posting the most racist things we can find - is this... racist? *hold up klan hood*

Yeah, kinda shitty. On the other hand, if net attention gets someone like that "The Talk" guy fired, I'm all for that.

I was not actually wondering whether or not that was racist maybe I should have searched for a ny post thread

within a day of starting up, this thead had become a place for both genuine "is this racist?" questioning and unambiguous examples of racist bullshit. there's nothing wrong with this, so far as i can see, and certainly no reason to get nasty about it.

is this racist^

i dunno, ask deej

dan wasn't being nasty

there's something at least a little sharp about "let's congratulate ourselves for not being THAT white person".

though, yeah, "nasty" was overstated. <3 dan, apologies for getting snippy in return.

Regurgitating this ignorance and hate on to a thread that was supposed to be more about videos made by the Black Keys isn't going to change anyone or get anyone fired or raise awareness of how the New York Post is an awful, vile publication.

well 'I guess I posted it in the wrong thread' I had no idea this one was secretly a signaling game about how not racist you were

lol "secretly"

http://i.imgur.com/b2FNZ.gif

so we should avoid discussing obvious examples of racism because that tends to make us look like we're trying too hard to seem other than racist

good to know

you should avoid using the space to talk about ambiguous racial issues to talk about blatant, obvious racism as if the two were equal or as if you were confused about blatant, obvious racism, you big whining baby

New Question <-- this exists for a reason

I mean, we could actually go for the question that everyone seems to want to avoid or not really think about, which is "is it racist to flood the thread that's supposed to be a conversation about the ambiguity of racism with example after example after example of obvious, blatant racism" if you really want to take the "no topic should be forbidden!" martyr stance here

I was secretly trying perform racism by flooding this thread but also signal non-racism by posting a news story about racism

it was going to be...my greatest feat

I mean, we could actually go for the question that everyone seems to want to avoid or not really think about, which is "is it racist to flood the thread that's supposed to be a conversation about the ambiguity of racism with example after example after example of obvious, blatant racism" if you really want to take the "no topic should be forbidden!" martyr stance here

seems an interesting question, honestly. i'm not inclined to think of it as racist, precisely, at least wr2 how the thread has actually progressed, but i'd wanna have that discussion before passing judgement.

since this thread has gone back and forth over the past few months between conversation about things that might be racist and things that obviously are, both discussed constructively without much too much clusterfuck trouble (sorry dayo), i don't think it's "whining" to defend that use.

the weirdly aggro slam on white people who don't want to be "THAT white person" strikes me as way whinier than anything i've said, but maybe i'm missing something. wouldn't be the first time...

Speaking in very general terms, my reaction to recent posts on this thread have been "just what is being asked here? do they wonder if this [really obviously racist thing] is offensive? or are they moving into the 'this is racist' category, in which case what kind of discussion are they trying to provoke?"

And as I've stated earlier, some of these posts do appear to fall somewhere between smug and outright race fetish. I'm not going to look into the hearts and minds of the poster on the other side of the computer, but it is very hard for me to produce another reason for why we have this parade of racist bullshit trotted out here every other day.

Guys...I was trying to come up with a way to tell you all this...but

I am....THAT white person.

no offense to all the other white ppl ITT you guys do fine work but i think my record speaks for itself

I had no idea this one life was secretly a signaling game about how not racist you were

hey iatee, robin hanson'd that for u. no need to thank me.

just personally, i've found this thread to be quite useful, not least cuz i've said some stupid fucking shit here and been called on it. also because the last few years have been kind of eye-opening to me in terms of the amount of blatant, obvious racism that's crawled out from under a rock and into mainstream american politics. of course, my surprise is reflective of nothing but a privileged white guy's ignorance, but i figure that a late education is better than none at all.

i count on ILX for a lot of things, mostly cuz i don't spend a lot of time trawling around the internet. i would probably never have noticed many of the things discussed itt if they hadn't been posted here. so it's a useful resource for me. if there needs to be a separate thread for "obviously racist bullshit", then fine, so far this one seems to have comfortably accommodated both. i guess i have a lot of faith in the intentions and intelligence of ILXors. with a couple clear exceptions, i don't see much trolling, smugness or race fetishism itt. maybe i need a perspective adjustment, i dunno...

maybe we don't need a separate thread for obviously racist bullshit for the same reason we don't have a white history month
makes u think

because all the threads are for obviously racist bullshit?

what's the subtext here? that ppl posting racist things are doing it bc they're either titillated by the racist thing they posted, or titillated by the outrage they can work up over the racist thing they posted? to the first - ppl will always be interested in terrible taboo things and hopefully titillation and disapproval can exist simultaneously. to the second - is there real harm in ppl giving themselves props for not being as racist as the NY Post? on one hand, yes, it's superficial satisfaction at a time when more important structural issues are being ignored. at the same time, it is good to remember that racism in america is mainstream and outrage over obviously racist things can hopefully boil over into not obviously racist things. like maybe it's not a terrible idea to keep racist sensors tuned and conscious.

nb i'm sick and feeling like crap so if this makes no sense i apologize

can we change the title of this thread to "let's congratulate ourselves for not being THAT white person" since that's what this thread has turned into

― I'M THAT POSTA, AAAAAAAAAH (DJP), Friday, May 4, 2012 12:42 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

truth bomb

I am really not ready to deal w/ the complex moral responsibility of having posted a news story to the wrong thread

jfc the amount of bad faith on this site

truth bomb

― some dude, Friday, May 4, 2012 11:51 AM (1 minute ago)

smug bomb, but don't sweat it, lots of people confuse the two

next time, iatee, try posing your question on this thread.

lol

i agree w/ iatee that there seems to be a quickness to think the worst of ppl posting to ilx. it's better, tho, than the ilx culture when i first got to ilx and posters said and did really reprehensible things to one another.

IDK I think DJP is right, it's a little o_O to have a rolling museum of random internet racism thread

*wins Not-That-White-Guy game*

okay, how about this for "is it racist"

what if you're trying to point someone out of a crowd. can you say "he's that black guy" or "he's the asian guy over there". pointing out a guy by race feels wrong but it also feels like a dumb white guilt thing to intentionally avoid pointing out someone's race when you know it's the best way to explain who you're talking about

michaeljacksoneatingpopcorn.gif

"Which one is Colin Powell?"

IDK I think DJP is right, it's a little o_O to have a rolling museum of random internet racism thread

*wins Not-That-White-Guy game*

― Scott, bass player for Tenth Avenue North (Hurting 2), Friday, May 4, 2012 1:59 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

bullshit, I invoke sumai.

it's better, tho, than the ilx culture when i first got to ilx and posters said and did really reprehensible things to one another.

― Mordy, Friday, May 4, 2012 2:58 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well

okay, how about this for "is it racist"

what if you're trying to point someone out of a crowd. can you say "he's that black guy" or "he's the asian guy over there". pointing out a guy by race feels wrong but it also feels like a dumb white guilt thing to intentionally avoid pointing out someone's race when you know it's the best way to explain who you're talking about

I am not gonna lie, watching people bend over backwards to avoid describing someone by their race in wholly innocuous conversations is one of the funniest things to me

i have been called "the guy with the guyabera" in a crowd of black dudes which prompted another guy in the crowd to say "you mean white boy?"
i'll take either

smug bomb, but don't sweat it, lots of people confuse the two

― 10. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – Tom Cruise (contenderizer), Friday, May 4, 2012 2:54 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i don't think you get that what DJP is talking about is in part the inherent smugness of constantly pointing out people who are less enlightened than you on the subject of race