What makes something racist?

[Sorry if this has been done before.]

Anyways what makes something racist? I asked that question to a few friends and they said it's when someone says something and is purposely trying to demean their race. Others said that its racist if it only applies to a certain race. Some people also said that it's only racist if the other person is offended by it.

I dont really know what I think about it. I hardly ever get offended by things that others say to maybe me...'Racist' I only call them ignorant and go about my business. And someone of another race could say something that's 'racist' and it'd be offensive while someone of the same race could say the same thing and it not be.

 

It's when it offends someone of another race with something like a steriotypical impression or
if you treat someone of another race like they are below you or hating them just because of there religion.If you truely hate someone because they're an ******* or annoying and there of another race it doesn't count.

 

But what if it comes out this way but really isnt intended to be offensive like that?

 

Then you aren't racist.You didn't do it on Purpose so your
ok.

 

I consider something racist when it offends a certain race by making them feel inferior or just feel insulted. Sure some people don't intend for their comments to be racist, but sometimes they're taken that way and its considered racist.

I think its determined by whomever hears the comment whether its racist or not. Either that or the person saying the comment intends for it to be racist, then its definitely racist.

 

pretty much offenseive generalizations are considered racist.

 

That's pretty stupid.

Racism is pretty much thinking that a race entirely different from yours is inferior and stupid,and you wish to act tough by saying things about them and be steriotypical.

 

Most people will consider racism to be negative reaction to different ethnic groups. I'd like to say that racism is both the positive and negative aspects in terms of differentiating people simply because they "look different."

Anything of the sort that falls into the division of people simply due to race/color or the particular attribute of someone who is considered "different" can be considered racist, imo.

Our very own news stations, talking about getting the "black" vote and the "Jewish" vote and the "white" vote. It's completely racist because they're causing a separation of power between people and making them feel different than one another. Everyone thinks that news stations aren't racist, but the very underlying purpose of calling things the "black" vote, etc., is to propose division.

 

I would say by knowing what makes a racist is by saying a word about the other person's race and is offended by it. If teh person accepts it like examples are the "n-word" to black people and then they would use it as a greeting to one another or the black person him/herself uses it to other black people as name calls or greeting. I hear this everyday in my school and never saw a fight............. except once. One white person hated the comp class and then the black person said to calm down and then the white said the "n-word" and then the black was offended and then had a fight. The white was expelled and the black still goes to my class for trying to calm the white down. That is when you make him into a racist.

 

Being racist pretty much just has negative connotations to me. It doesn't matter what a person's ethnicity is, though some people try to insist that the 'underdog' can't be racist because they are getting picked on more. Anyone can have prejudice to another group, though I find it silly, based on stereotypes, listening to others who are racist, or having a bad experience with one person so it slides off to blame the whole group of people generically. I also believe racism is there when people try to give a 'race' characteristics in the positive such as saying 'all oriental people are more polite and benevolent than western people'. No one can really know that for sure and there are just nice people wherever you go and also some jerks.

There are things people look at that I don't consider racist, such as local traits in a population, studying the difference between frizzy and straight hair, features that are genetic phenotypes etc. That really is just examining things but when someone tries to use it as a reason to consider a 'race' lesser human, it is obviously racism.

Anyone can be racist, even if they don't say anything obnoxious to get a fight out of someone. Racism is a fear and can grow to a hatred, just as homophobia can grow to hating homosexuals. People who consider that a person is so different from him/her and it is intimidating or angering to that person, that person harbors some form of racism. Only really through interaction and acceptance and seeing how similar people really are does it stop. Ethnicity certainly doesn't mean that there are bound to be more 'bad' people because of it. In a way, racism I think stems from the old trait that humans have of protecting your local people from outside threat. Those who have risen above and also claim people of different color skins etc in their group obviously aren't racist anymore. Those who continue to see them as outsiders, whether they live right next door or not, they have some work to do.

 

1 sentence answer: Any form of media, speech or idea that discriminates a certain person based on race and nationality.