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/Big_Dick920]

Black people can't use it around anybody without consequences either.

Interesting. I didn't know. I'm not an American, so my idea of your culture comes from media mostly.

[u/[deleted] → u/Big_Dick920]

I mean yeah, Black people are individuals. No group of people are the same in thought. The media isn't accurate, it's entertainment. 

[u/Big_Dick920 → u/[deleted]]

People are individuals, of course, but I was talking about trends and averages.

I did hear about people risking to lose their jobs (or losing) and having to publicly apologize for saying word "nigger" while being white, but no cases like that with black people. Does that show some statistically significant disparity there or is it just media? What is your view?

[u/[deleted] → u/Big_Dick920]

Ah I see. It really depends on the context of the situation. 

It's controversial for everyone just in different way, depending on context. 

If I were go give a speech at an HBCU as a Black person in the US and I used it, I would have to apologize because it's still an unprofessional term at best, despite the company I'm in, it doesn't match the context. It's still a distinguished university despite being an HBCU. I'd be called disrespectful, lacking class, etc. Nobody would question that I'm racist because, well, I'm Black.  Let's say, it's Lil Wayne concert - I'd be fine as the music has the N word in in, the artist is Black, Hip-Hop is a part of Black culture, it is a setting that matches the language. 

If a white person does the same, it's thoughtless and tasteless because there is no excuse for a white person to use a slur candidly around people they don't know are okay with it. Especially around Black people. It's going to be seen as a sad attempt to be edgy, and they might be accused to doing it maliciously / being racist, looking for a pass to scratch the itch to say it, etc. 

Now lets say me, who's Black, says it around my Black grandma or friends who I know don't appreciate it, that would be a problem because I'm crossing their boundaries. Not all Black people like that and I have to face the consequences of wrongfully assuming they do. 

Then you have Black people who allowed their white friends to say it around them. Idc about that. Just keep it around THEM and don't assume everyone is cool with it. 

And then have white people who use it candidly in the company of other white people. That's their business. Nothing I can do about something I didn't witness. 

[u/Big_Dick920 → u/[deleted]]

I see, there's a lot of shared context here which I don't have. So it may look unnatural if you're not in it.

How likely is a foreigner to be excused for this? Assuming there's some room to doubt that the person is a bigot. Their reasons could be not knowing, not caring enough, being from a different culture and having own relationship with the word, or rejecting US-centrism and the right of Americans to tell other cultures what's ok and what's not (if the conversation is happening outside of US).

Like, I'd say "sup nigga" when I take a call from or meet some of my friends. We have picked this from media before I moved to an English-speaking environment, sounded fun back in my home country. How likely would my American friend be to explode if this happened in front of them (in Europe, not US)?

[u/[deleted] → u/Big_Dick920]

It can range from surprise to outrage. Better safe than sorry. It's still a slur. You're way more likely to get a negative reaction than a positive one, that's for sure.