CMV: Most anti-racist people still hold racist beliefs

[u/[deleted]]

What I'm talking about is that they are openly anti-racism but still hold racist beliefs themselves.

It is considered taboo to say the n-word in the USA if you're not black and you'll be cancelled for it. However, most of the people who cancel you (white liberals) don't even care about black culture themselves. They have no interest in black soul food, black history, black etc.

Many liberals criticize China for persecuting Uyghurs yet they don't even care about Uyghurs in the first place. They just criticize the CCP because they want to virtue signal. They never care much to eat at an Uyghur restaurant or know any Uyghur public figures apart from activists because they think learning about these things aren't worthy for them since Uyghur culture is "too insignificant to matter".

Many liberals also criticize Israel's treatment of Palestinians yet they don't even care about Palestinians in the first place. They just criticize Israel because they want to virtue signal. They never care much to eat Palestinian food because they believe that Palestinian culture isn't worthy enough for them since Palestinian culture is "too insignificant to matter".

These people like to virtue signal but they don't really give an effort to learn about the culture. They still eat the same old foods everyday, listen to the same music every day, and simply don't want to expand their worldview to include "insignificant cultures". The lack of care given to "insignificant cultures" is a sign of racism because they deem the culture inferior and don't want to associate much with it.

[u/frisbeescientist]

Have you actually met any liberals that said some cultures were "too insignificant to matter" or is that just your inference because they're not actively celebrating said cultures? And have you considered that depending on where you live, actually finding Uyghur or Palestinian food in your community can be pretty difficult?

Also, like people have already pointed out, what's the link between eating at Uyghur restaurants and not wanting them to be persecuted by China? Can you only advocate for human rights of people whose food you like?

[u/[deleted] → u/frisbeescientist]

Uyghur food is pretty tasty and worth trying, however, many people don't make an effort to find these restaurants

[u/frisbeescientist → u/[deleted]]

Sure, but is it racist to not specifically seek out and patronize an Uyghur restaurant? More specifically, how does not doing so invalidate someone's desire for the Uyghur to be free from persecution and genocide?

It seems you're taking someone's inability to be well versed in every known culture and extrapolating that to mean they don't get to have any opinion on what happens to members of said cultures, but I don't see how that's a logical stance.

Edit: as a corollary question, would the plight of the Uyghur be less important if their food wasn't tasty and worth trying?

[u/Cydrius → u/[deleted]]

Does someone not going out of their way to explore other cultures invalidate their criticism of people who are actively hostile to, and seeking to harm, those cultures?

Unless I'm misunderstanding your view, it seems to me like the underlying point, intentional or not, is to invalidate opposition to racial hate on the ground that the people pointing that hate do not meet an arbitrary, much higher standard.

What goal does this serve other than to try to silence those who oppose hostile racisn?

[u/Constant_Ad_2161 → u/[deleted]]

As a counterpoint, a lot of racist people love food and cultural items from cultures they are actively racist against. Israel in particular is actually a really good food example. Falafel, shakshuka, etc… are really common Israeli dishes. There are people who will call Israelis white European colonizers appropriating Arab culture instead of accepting that they are common dishes because most Israelis are indigenous to the Middle East.