Kendrick

This argument is facile beyond belief.

I can use "particular words" to effect all three of the definitions for racism.

Also note that the definition didn't specifically mention burning crosses, concentration camps and gas chambers. They're still racist though.

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Klion D'Gar

Is it alright at any time to insult someone? Probably not. The fact the words are 'racist' shouldn't make them any more offensive than someone mocking someone weight, sexuality or deceased family members.

It certainly wouldnt make you a racist to use a word; no more than it makes you a fisherman for GOING fishing.

Klion D'Gar

None of thsoe things are inherintly racist. The British put Boers into camps and that had nothing to do with race. The racism was in the intent behind them.

And likewise I could gas all the disabled people (whichHitler did) and still not be a racist.

Kendrick

I'd be pretty happy accusing of a man stood next a river with a fishing rod of being a fisherman.

I'd say he had definite "fisherman" tendencies.

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Klion D'Gar

Then you do not know what a racist is. You know a word and you use it carelessly to describe someone using emotivate language, which in this example was used during an obviously heated exchange.

Klion D'Gar

What if it turned out he was not catching fish, rather he was testing the water pollution? I'd say you have definite bigot tendencies by the amount of assumptions your making.

Devlin

Aah, my mistake :] Nigger and paki are just uses of emotive language! Excuse me while I write them in a delicious haiku!

If you really think its fine to call someone a paki in an argument, then in my book you're either a racist or are simply trying to be controversial

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Devlin

And calling a man fishing a fisherman is not a very relevant analogy

A black person you can tell instantly from their skintone, no?

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Kendrick

This is still particularly specious sophistry.

What you're saying is that nothing, not words, not actions are, in and of themselves racism.

Apartheid, for example, is just a particular way of governing diverse sets of people. Nothing "inherently" racist in it.

You can't just define racism out of existence.

Yes racism has to start somwhere in the human mind, but I'm arguing that words (like "nigger") and actions are tools of the trade. They're the standard ways racism is enacted, and in using them you risk being labelled a racist.

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angels_and_daemons

Well if a black person can use a word without being nasty in its use, then either a white man CAN or the rules you use to decide this are themselves discriminatory... you can't have it both ways...

I'm a lesbian, though I preffer the word dyke, it's only one sylable for starters so quicker to say, it also feels a little less pretentious. But to say I can call myself a dyke but a straight person can't seems a little like double standards.. where do you draw the line at who can say what? Should the dictionary add an ethnic/religious/sexual prefference ket to each word?

Context and tone convey a LOT of meaning I think, possibly more than the word itself.

Sally Buttons

Klion, I think most of the people on here have got a better idea of what a racist is than you have.
So go on, enlighten us. What IS a racist? I can't wait to see your definition.

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Aeribian IV

Sebastion Coe

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Klion D'Gar

No, I am saying that racism is a viewpoint. The things you associate with racism - holocaust, language used and so forth - can be used by people who are NOT racists.

And although calling someone a nigger may be something a racist would do, it doesn't make you a racist to use it. kapiche?

A fisherman is not just someone who fishes, it's someone for whom fishing is part of their lifestyle. I have been fishing a few times in my life, but I am not a fisherman.

Klion D'Gar

A racist is someone who believes another race to be less equal. Theres nothing more to it. Racism is a belief, not a word or an action.

If I didnt promote someone in work because I thought blacks were less capable than whites, THAT is racism.

If I call someone a nigger during a heated exhcange, the word may be considered racist, but it doesnt make me a racist. Especially if I have black friends (which I do).

Kendrick

Well he did have a fishing rod...

As for bigotry, thats a different matter. Bigotry (if you refer back to your beloved dictionary) refers to an intolerance or prejudice.

If I'd gone upto the water treatment specialist and said "I hate you fishermen" then yes, the charge of bigotry could be levelled at me.

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