Is Apu from the Simpsons racist?

Most of the poor people in the US are white. Think hard about how we view "privilege". It's a class issue, NOT a race issue.

 

Right??? The president of the United States suggested an entire ethnicity are rapists and referred to the good people in the KKK in Charlottesville but it’s been decades since there’s been a racism issue

 

Naw, my anecdotal experience is way more indicative of reality.

All joking aside I think there are some valid points being made. I'm not going to pretend to know what others go through or toss out other people's experiences simply because I didn't experience them. If someone were to ask me, "is race a problem in America?" my first response would be, "Why are you asking me?"

My second would be yes, of course there is, because the people who are in a position to know that seem to think so.

 

But, in truth, people don't judge white people who are poor in the same way as blacks. I think the problem is that because we (white people of today) weren't the causers of the harm done to minorities (in times past), we feel offended that any prejudice could ever come our way. ''I wasn't responsible for ....'' I hear that sentiment a lot, and while that's true, I don't have to experience racism, to empathize with it. I don't have to be the perpetrator of racism and racist tactics, to realize that it's wrong. Unfortunately, there is a stain on American history that affects all of us. Maybe pendulums swing in opposite directions so far out of the way, that we never repeat that history. All we should hope for is that it settles in the middle eventually.

 

No she's not. She didnt claim to know anything about him except that he wouldnt know what it was like to be a person of color in this country. Which is factually true. As a white person, neither do I.

White men can have an opinion on whatever they want but when they proclaim that racism isnt a problem anymore they shouldnt be surprised when they're corrected and reminded that their own experience doesnt negate the experience of people who actually deal with racism on a regular basis

And if you're going to claim that racism isnt a problem you probably shouldnt turn around 2 seconds later and pretend to be a victim of racism

 

Yes she did:

[QUOTE="Kerri, post: 8215117, member: 2971]

Stop with the mansolaining please. It’s arrogant as a white straight man to talk about how little racism there is in the country just because you don’t experience it.[/QUOTE]

How does she know Jetstoned hasn’t experienced racism? It’s a baseless assumption

Racism is a problem. It’s a two way street. And people like you and Kerrigan don’t seem to get it. Assuming that white dudes have had everything in life handed to them, is just as racist as assuming that black dudes can’t get ahead in life without a handout.

 

Sometimes I get hit with racism from people who i didn't realize WERE racist. Like my parents.

I remember as a kid when we'd drive thrust certain parts of Philly one of my parents would say, 'lock your doors.' You know why? Because suddenly we were in a predominantly black neighborhood. Years later never realized how that effected me and what it teaches.

Couple years ago I took my dad to a bar on 2nd street in south Philly. Nice area. He goes, 'years ago it was better. '
'How so dad?'
'Didn't have all these blacks around.'

It was a nice neighborhood. Yeah, some black folks were around. I was like damn, my dad is racist as shit. Tearing down a nice neighborhood because some blacks folks were around.

If I asked him if he were racist, he'd say no. Guaranteed.

If I'm not racist, probably isn't because of what my parents taught me. But the kind of crap I just mentioned is just the more obvious stuff. What about all the shit in my head, upbringing and environment I'm not aware of? Just gotta be humble and vigilant i guess.

 

How does she know Jetstoned hasn’t experienced racism? It’s a baseless assumption



Racism is a problem. It’s a two way street. And people like you and Kerrigan don’t seem to get it. Assuming that white dudes have had everything in life handed to them, is just as racist as assuming that black dudes can’t get ahead in life without a handout.[/QUOTE]

....she was literally replying to him explaining that he doesnt think racism exists anymore

And just because someone recognizes that systemic racism is still an issue and that black people and other minorities very obviously have different experiences, it doesnt mean they think white people have everything handed to them. No one has said that.

 

My mom did this a couple of years ago. We drove into a black neighborhood, not a bad neighborhood at all, just a predominately black neighborhood. She didnt say anything but I noticed she reached over and locked her doors. My mom isnt a racist.i've never heard her say a negative word about any other race or ethnic group, she treats everyone the same, she's a liberal and would be horrified that she ever did anything that could be perceived as racist....but that incident really showed me how we can have these ingrained racial biases and not even realize it.

 

Sometimes I think those are the most insidious and destructive. I remember after a police shooting Pres. Obama had mentioned that... Hearing car doors lock while walking by sort of thing. I thought 'Holy shit!' as the memory of my childhood came back to me, 'my parents did that!!'

Also never occurred to me back then that PEOPLE CAN HEAR YOU LOCKING YOUR DOORS! Oh man I'm kinda chuckling at it all. Not sure why.

 

By this reckoning it seems like by virtue of our color, "white" people of my generation are somehow "required" to "pay" for shit we didn't do. I was a baby in the early 60s, in northern California and yet, I am to somehow pay for the guilt of the KKK and such. Fuck NO.

I have absolutely never judged nor "hated" anyone on the basis of their race. So the very idea that someone has a weird pass to hate me simply because of my color is absolutely wrong.

Your argument is identical to that which created "Debtor's Prisons".

Think about that.

 

I agree, but how are white people paying for the past transgressions of American history?

Do you honestly feel oppressed, though?

My argument is that we should empathize, at least understand, where some of it may come from. The pendulum theory is a valid one, because history does have an effect on present day problems. It's kind of naïve for any of us to think that the civil rights movement for example, would simply erase racism off of the planet. And let's just pretend like all that never happened in the past. Racism is a heart condition, an attitude...and that is why it's hard to legislate it out of existence. Even though I didn't live through it, it still makes me sad that it even happened. I don't feel guilty, though. I can feel sad about someone else's plight, without feeling guilty.

 

He is the butt of jokes because he works at a quickie Mart not because of his race.

 

Im glad my car doors lock when I put it in drive. I can never be called racist for when I decide to lock my doors.

 

Is Dave and Ava racist ?

 

Are you so sure you're not just projecting those racial biases on her? If nothing was said by her, why do you assume her locking the doors was due to her racial biases?

 

....she was literally replying to him explaining that he doesnt think racism exists anymore

And just because someone recognizes that systemic racism is still an issue and that black people and other minorities very obviously have different experiences, it doesnt mean they think white people have everything handed to them. No one has said that.[/QUOTE]

I’m constantly amazed by people’s responses. He openly doubts there’s any systemic racism. The rise in hate crimes is a hoax. The well documented pay gap isn’t real because he knows a woman that makes more than him. He outright ignored the LGBQT rights part as well as blatant racism that came directly out of the mouth of the president (a man btw that was convicted of racism in housing discrimination). And then by then, he’s the victim. It’s really very arrogant and cowardly

 

Because i was there and I understand cause and effect. I'm sure.

 

Having racial biases is not the same as being racist though. I actually think everyone has biases to a certain extent.

 

I suppose you're right. I really don't know. I mean I'm certain everyone has certain biases but whether or not they qualify as racism, even unconsciously I'm not sure. I guess I could give my parents a break. But I won't. LOL

(Kidding really, they did the best they could with the tools they had)