Disposition

[fast]

I'm from South Carolina, and if one things for sure, there are no shortages of blacks here, so I've been exposed to them all my life, and although I'm not overtly racist, there's something about their disposition that I can't quite put my finger on that (on many occasion) puts me off. It's not their skin color, and it's not their race per se, but there seems to be some unidentified trait (at least unidentified by me) that underlies the people that we ordinarily refer to as belonging to the black (or African American) race.

I don't think this sometimes subtle trait is specific to blacks only, but I speculate that it's so prevalent among them that we mistakenly associate racism as being a product of disliking blacks because of their skin color. I understand that strong racism may be a function of learned behavior (or being brought up in an atmosphere of rampant racism), and it's so easy to think (as so many do) that people are judged based on the color of their skin (and they are), but if my speculation is true, then if blacks were white, we would still have a problem with them, but the problem wouldn't be identified by the color of their skin.

People are different, yes, but there are similarities and differences between certain groups of them, yet I can't for the life of me find a way to articulate just what it is I'm noticing about black people when I get this wave of clarity of thought that convinces me that there is something not just different but disliked.

See, it's not the people, not the race, and not the skin color. It's more like an attitude that members of any race can have, yet it's not so much attitude (yet interestingly enough, this mystery trait tends to surface when they have an attitude) as it is some kind of disposition. I don't notice it all the time, and I've noticed it in a few non-blacks.

In many ways, it reminds me of our ability to quickly glean whether a person (even without an accent) is from up north or down south. It's very easy for many southerners, for instance, to be put off by the demeanor of certain northern people. If all northerners were pink and of a race of their own, I bet the underlying issue of the ensuing racism would be blinded to the fact they were pink, much like this mystery trait to which I speak is the culprit behind a tendency to be prejudice against blacks.

Is there any hint of truth in this, or am I just wildly speculating?

 

[GenesisNemesis]

I'm not sure what you mean.

 

[fast]

I'm not sure what you mean.

I have long suspected that racism isn't about race but rather some trait peculiar to those of a race.

 

[none]

I'm not sure what you mean.

I have long suspected that racism isn't about race but rather some trait peculiar to those of a race.

yeah the problem is with your race.

 

[NobleSavage]

I'm not sure what you mean.

I have long suspected that racism isn't about race but rather some trait peculiar to those of a race.

You are about to step into a minefield of shit, but I think you have good intentions.

Can you give me an example of a trait you don't like that is peculiar to a race?

 

[fast]

I have long suspected that racism isn't about race but rather some trait peculiar to those of a race.

yeah the problem is with your race.

It doesn't make sense to dislike an individual because of skin color.

 

[none]

yeah the problem is with your race.

It doesn't make sense to dislike an individual because of skin color.

I agree, I was being facetious, so lets look at the features of people of different races, do you look like a problem or is it just what you say that seems racist?

 

[fast]

I have long suspected that racism isn't about race but rather some trait peculiar to those of a race.

You are about to step into a minefield of shit, but I think you have good intentions.

Can you give me an example of a trait you don't like that is peculiar to a race?

I use the word, "trait," but it's likely a mistake to do so. There's a saying that you can take the boy out the country, but you can't take the country out the boy. It may be something culturally instilled through upbringing in certain geographical areas--and may have nothing to with race (Caucasians in this instance). Surely there isn't any one trait so peculiar to a race that it applies to everyone.

 

[fast]

It doesn't make sense to dislike an individual because of skin color.

I agree, I was being facetious, so lets look at the features of people of different races, do you look like a problem or is it just what you say that seems racist?

Oh goodness, it's not about looks at all! The general idea accepted is that people dislike black people because of their skin color, but that doesn't make sense. People say they don't like black people, and I'm sure many mean it, but why on earth would skin color be the reason?

 

[NobleSavage]

How about we talk about Romani Gypsies instead of black people.

Here are two threads to start off the discussion:

What makes Europeans hate Gypsies so much?

IAMA [I am a] Roma gypsy AMA [ask me anything]

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Do you have any black friends? How are they different or like your white friends?

Do you have any whites you dislike, and I mean on a personal level? You can only sort out your thoughts if you apply those thoughts to specific individuals. Don't be surprised to find that you are indeed a racist to some degree. We all are. It's something we manage for the good of the community, however large or small.

 

[fast]

How about we talk about Romani Gypsies instead of black people.

Here are two threads to start off the discussion:

What makes Europeans hate Gypsies so much?

IAMA [I am a] Roma gypsy AMA [ask me anything]

But I don't have the experience of picking up their subtle nuances.

 

[NobleSavage]

You are about to step into a minefield of shit, but I think you have good intentions.

Can you give me an example of a trait you don't like that is peculiar to a race?

I use the word, "trait," but it's likely a mistake to do so. There's a saying that you can take the boy out the country, but you can't take the country out the boy. It may be something culturally instilled through upbringing in certain geographical areas--and may have nothing to with race (Caucasians in this instance). Surely there isn't any one trait so peculiar to a race that it applies to everyone.

Ok, when you use the word culture I can agree. I hate ghetto culture. I hate when black kids try to do good in school they are ridiculed as being "white". I could go on, and on, about all the things I dislike about ghetto culture. At the same time I've had a black boss who was a great guy. I meet some black kids in college who were every bit as sophisticated and smart as my white friends.

 

[NobleSavage]

yeah the problem is with your race.

It doesn't make sense to dislike an individual because of skin color.

I'm not sexually attracted to many black women. Is that just a preference or is it racism?

 

[NobleSavage]

How about we talk about Romani Gypsies instead of black people.

Here are two threads to start off the discussion:

What makes Europeans hate Gypsies so much?

IAMA [I am a] Roma gypsy AMA [ask me anything]

But I don't have the experience of picking up their subtle nuances.

Ok. I just thought it might lead to a more open discussion of race because it's not as emotionally charged as black/white - at least on this board with a majority of people from the US.

 

[fast]

Do you have any black friends? How are they different or like your white friends?

Do you have any whites you dislike, and I mean on a personal level? You can only sort out your thoughts if you apply those thoughts to specific individuals. Don't be surprised to find that you are indeed a racist to some degree. We all are. It's something we manage for the good of the community, however large or small.

Lol. I get along with blacks better than I do whites sometimes, and there are certainly things about many white people that I could say a thing or two about.

I'm white.

Me, a racist? Just the other day, I looked up and saw a black guy walking up to the door. I told the lady to just act natural--there's a black guy coming in. She looked and was for a moment worried because she thought I knew something about him. See, she was black. I was cuttin' fool with her. I get along with just about everyone and have a knack for being able to say just about anything that might otherwise come across as offensive. But, online, my tone and wording certainly digs my hole.

 

[fast]

It doesn't make sense to dislike an individual because of skin color.

I'm not sexually attracted to many black women. Is that just a preference or is it racism?

Hmmm. That's tough. I would never marry (well, I say never) a black woman, and though it's preference, I can't honestly say it's JUST preference, which means there's more to why I wouldn't, and I don't know if that's racism or not--maybe.

 

[Unbeatable]

I'm from South Carolina, and if one things for sure, there are no shortages of blacks here, so I've been exposed to them all my life, and although I'm not overtly racist, there's something about their disposition that I can't quite put my finger on that (on many occasion) puts me off. It's not their skin color, and it's not their race per se, but there seems to be some unidentified trait (at least unidentified by me) that underlies the people that we ordinarily refer to as belonging to the black (or African American) race.

Though you're surely aware of this, it's worth noting that "African American" is merely a subset of the black race. There are black people in Africa, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, etc. You're talking about something that you tend to notice among blacks, but these are apparently blacks in South Carolina, an even smaller subset than "African Americans". It's feasible that there is some mystery trait that South Carolinan blacks have in common, just as there would be something that South Carolinans in general have in common. Further, there would be traits that American blacks/Americans in general have in common which wouldn't necessarily be shared by blacks/non-blacks from other countries.

People are different, yes, but there are similarities and differences between certain groups of them, yet I can't for the life of me find a way to articulate just what it is I'm noticing about black people when I get this wave of clarity of thought that convinces me that there is something not just different but disliked.

Well, it's possible to subdivide the group "black people" into various subsets. For example, as I've done above, you can subdivide us by regional and national origin. Then you can look at individuals from each subset and determine whether the thing you're perceiving is distributed equally amongst subsets or if it's clustered more among particular subsets. You might also consider subdividing us by class, as mannerisms can certainly vary with one's socioeconomic strata.

See, it's not the people, not the race, and not the skin color. It's more like an attitude that members of any race can have, yet it's not so much attitude (yet interestingly enough, this mystery trait tends to surface when they have an attitude)

I don't understand this parenthetical. There are different kinds of attitudes that a person can have. What does it mean for a trait to surface when a person has "an" attitude? Does it surface no matter what kind of attitude the person has?

as it is some kind of disposition. I don't notice it all the time, and I've noticed it in a few non-blacks.

In many ways, it reminds me of our ability to quickly glean whether a person (even without an accent) is from up north or down south.

Is this a real ability? I would be cautious of selective perception here (counting the hits, ignoring the misses). But supposing it is actually true that you're able to do better than random chance at determining this without hearing an accent, then it would be from some combination of body language and other physically observable features, basically the sorts of features that a cold reader or Sherlock Holmes would pay attention to in order to draw inferences about a person. Except since you didn't hone this skill on a conscious level, you're not exercising it systematically on a conscious level. Your senses are taking in the information and some module in your unconscious mind is analyzing it and drawing inferences, without you actually knowing what your inferences are based upon. There's some "northerner" pattern in your head somewhere and when you collect enough data points to match that pattern, an alarm goes off and tells your conscious mind where the person's from.

 

[fast]

I use the word, "trait," but it's likely a mistake to do so. There's a saying that you can take the boy out the country, but you can't take the country out the boy. It may be something culturally instilled through upbringing in certain geographical areas--and may have nothing to with race (Caucasians in this instance). Surely there isn't any one trait so peculiar to a race that it applies to everyone.

Ok, when you use the word culture I can agree. I hate ghetto culture. I hate when black kids try to do good in school they are ridiculed as being "white". I could go on, and on, about all the things I dislike about ghetto culture. At the same time I've had a black boss who was a great guy. I meet some black kids in college who were every bit as sophisticated and smart as my white friends.

What I've noticed does tend to manifest more often with the uneducated and tempermental, but I've also seen it elsewhere.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I'm not sexually attracted to many black women. Is that just a preference or is it racism?

Hmmm. That's tough. I would never marry (well, I say never) a black woman, and though it's preference, I can't honestly say it's JUST preference, which means there's more to why I wouldn't, and I don't know if that's racism or not--maybe.

That 's certainly racist. Prejudice is judging an individual by a group identity.