sabtraversa
I know, it’s been a while since I said I was going to discuss this matter.
I faced several challenges while trying to write about this topic, and for one reason or another, I often lacked the right mood and motivation to get it done.
On a happy note, my attempt allowed me to learn quite a lot about history or events that took place more recently, and I realized I was not born to be a journalist. Not at all, but that won’t stop me. However, your help would be greatly appreciated. You can ask me questions, show your interest or even link to articles you’d like me to bring up.
Sharing your experiences would also help me. It’s hard to describe a reality if I’m unable to compare it with what happens elsewhere.
Let’s start by defining what “racism” is.
“Prejudice, discrimination or antagonism towards people of a race, usually deemed to be inferior to one’s race.”
Prejudice: negative opinion or feeling that is not based on facts or reason;
Discrimination: unfair treatment that is often based on prejudice;
Antagonism: abusive behavior, either verbal or physical, due to prejudice.
However, it seems to me that the definition of prejudice is poor, as facts can be easily be manipulated and make a prejudice turn into a “fair opinion”. By being manipulated I mean that, most of the time, factors aren’t kept into account when facts are discussed. This is called “propaganda”, a plague that is unfortunately widespread and leads to hate, fear and intolerance.
It’s okay to share news or stats, but I believe it’s important to not exploit them for political reasons. Mass media tend to bring up the worst of humanity, even in my country. It would help to have more people like Deepizzaguy to balance things out.
Prejudice isn’t limited to race, but racism is. It is not always as clear as it seems, I still happen to read the word mistakenly put in the wrong context:
– Racism but it’s about nationality – that’s xenophobia;
– Racism but it’s about gender – that’s misandry/misogyny;
– Racism but it’s about sexual orientation – that’s homophobia;
And so forth.
I know, I haven’t said much about Italy this time, but I thought it was necessary to define the terms and get to know your opinions and expectations before going in depth.
I always prefer a Q&A approach than walls of text, and I’d like to use that format on the next posts. I can’t promise I will, though.
I hope the topic is not too controversial and look forward your comments.
Thanks for reading!
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Question of
Have you ever been a victim of prejudice in form of discrimination or antagonism?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
If so, was there a time where prejudice was related to race, i.e. racism?
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Yes
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No
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N/A
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I’m lucky that my race is the majority in my country … (We have 4 major races)
but we talk and put a lot into preserving racial harmony …
However, we still stereotype each races … and there are indeed certain prejudice here … they don’t get blown up, fortunately.
Sorry, I’m late on reading your posts!
I’ll take a long time but I’ll catch up 🙂
Thanks for visiting and reading, it means a lot to me, take your time. ?
As long as abuse or discrimination don’t take place, joking a little about stereotypes can be fun. Self-deprecating humor, or at least not taking everything too personally, is not very common but often helps with life. ?
Yes, I’m glad most of the people here are quite accommodating and tolerance, with a handful of exceptions. But of course we only make jokes of a particular race when non of them is around :p Say about talking behind their back…lol
? No no, I meant also joking in front of them, especially if they’re a friend of yours, or know you are not a bad person and can take the joke. ?
At best, they think “this is about few people of my race, not about me”.
Same for sexist jokes, if I know a person is respectful towards women but I hear him saying a sexist joke, I don’t overreact but try to laugh along.
you can’t really apply the term racism to sexual orientation…
That’s true, yet I saw that happening. I haven’t seen it occurring with sexism instead.
if someone is giving you a hard time about your gender, sexual preference or age, they aren’t racists, they’re just jerks…
Are you implying racist people are not jerks? Just kidding ?
I would use a stronger word for them
I believe that nowadays, people promote tolerance more often than before. Nevertheless, this problem still exists. It is very interesting to read your research
Exactly, governments have been working towards that direction. We have laws against discrimination while schools teach tolerance and mutual respect.
Yet someone always finds a way to destroy the hard work by exploiting the flaws of the human species for a personal gain.
Thank you very much for showing your interest, it really helps me! ?
I haven’t been a victim yet. But I know that there is more and more of this in the world.
True, it seems like mankind is facing a regression instead of evolution. It’s saddening.
To be frank, I don’t want to discuss this topic because the more you discuss, the greater the issue becomes.
It gets complicated and one must be careful to not harm anybody in the process, which can be difficult.
Important post you have written. Thankfully I have never been involved in a racism situation. But I know many that have.
Thank you! I’m glad you were never involved. I think I have, but it was nothing compared to what some people go through. ?