Does systemic racism against blacks even exist anymore?

Post Reply New Topic

I would quote the line from Agent Smith in the Matrix comparing humans to a virus (ironic given the current circumstances) but I guess everyone knows that's how we roll.

Maybe the earth is trying to flush this 'human virus' out of its system with antibodies?

I believe the earth is like a living thing.

I think climate change will ultimately be our undoing rather than COVID, but if Gaia is trying to expel us then it seems to be working.

Honestly I believe it's a mix of both. There will probably be worst pandemics than Covid to come.

There may eventually be more pandemics. Whether from Wuhan's wet markets (which are still thriving) or from bio-weapons research which also continues unabated.

Yeah, but I think the narcissism of small differences thing is underestimated as a cause, Scott Alexander wrote a brilliant piece some years back about it, it's worth a read:

https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i ... -outgroup/

Not sure about the author but his reference to Freud:
Freud spoke of the narcissism of small differences, saying that “it is precisely communities with adjoining territories, and related to each other in other ways as well, who are engaged in constant feuds and ridiculing each other”. Nazis and German Jews. Northern Irish Protestants and Northern Irish Catholics. Hutus and Tutsis. South African whites and South African blacks. Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. Anyone in the former Yugoslavia and anyone else in the former Yugoslavia.

Can be easily explained in terms of access to adjacent resources of living space, resources, food etc. To put it another way we are more likely to squabble with a family member or a neighbour due to simple proximity more times compared to somebody living in another state.

This comment brought to you by the petulant child who was whining and whimpering about civility a moment ago.

I have lots of opinions. But so far, they seem to hurt your widdle feewings. Boo hoo.

And so now you've decided to try to put on some big boy pants and act the tough guy.

Too bad I'm all out of "At Least You Tried" stickers.

It's hardly impressive, simply making claims about someone as if they're true, in order to make them look bad. For example, is that you, Satan? Do you still beat up the elderly to pay for your crack addiction? Just cos I can ask a made up question doesn't mean the question has merit. Frame me however you want, it's still you just playing pretend in your own imagination, with no actual bearing on the real world. It doesn't matter what you call me, nothing changes.

It's just a childish gimmick to draw me into an argument where we both just insult each other - rather than talking about the subject at hand. By trying to keep me defending myself from your silly claims, you're also trying to keep me from continuing to rail against stupid-ass racists. If you can turn it into a shouting match, it ceases to be a relevant conversation, even though dialogue is still occurring.

Fortunately, one of the benefits of being long-winded is, I have more than enough words to point out your crap, point out other crap, point out all kinds of crap, and still get back on topic for more.

It IS kinda funny though. Those who spend the most time whining about how long my posts are, usually seem to spend the least time actually reading them, and simply aim for the lowest hanging fruit to use as a target for a half-assed one-liner comeback so they can high-five themselves for the sick burn.

As long as you keep the spotlight on me, you can keep it off of yourself. Saves you from facing scrutiny.

Fear of outsiders is LEARNED, not hardwired. If it was hardwired, we wouldn't need to constantly be TOLD who and what we should be afraid of. Kids will run up to literally anyone, that's why they have to be taught "stranger danger". If it was hardwired, kids would already instinctively know that. We LEARN this tendency from a thousand little influences in society.

I have to laugh, HARD, at the suggestion that "all humans are violent and nasty and murderous, looking for reasons to kill each other", apparently except those innocent and friendly and completely not-racist white people, who totally don't do that and would never even dream of it!

Conflict occurs when there's an unmet desire, such as "I need food". If you need food, and there's only one source of food, conflict occurs when someone else also needs that food, and also tries to acquire it. This mattered more when there wasn't enough food to feed everyone, but today, there generally is.

It's not that people come up with excuses to kill each other. It's that they come up with excuses for why they deserve the resource more than the others, and when there's not enough to go around, and acquiring this resource is necessary to live, like food or water, people will fight for it, not cos they're violent animals, but cos people will fight to survive, to stay alive. People will generally fight to survive.

The simples form of this is expecting two kids to share one toy. A more adult version is two guys both aiming for the same job promotion. "This is why I deserve the toy / job!"

In this way, "all lives matter" is a cop-out. Of course "all lives mater", but to some people, SOME lives matter more than others, even though they "all matter". Even a slave owner thought his slaves' lives mattered, insofar as it mattered that the save did the work that made money for the owner, and a dead slave can't work.

When people say things like "they're only 16%", you can already tell there's a bit of a sliding scale as to how much people matter.

"Fine people" indeed.

Answer me one question. How would you honestly feel if every white person on the planet just vanished?

By asking if you are who I think you are? Because you're sure acting and sounding a lot like a certain serial troll who has lurked here a long time under a lot of different names, and it would explain a lot about your animosity. So, is your name Anton F, and are you still in the Seattle area? Your age is right, about the same as mine, and while the woke pose is new, the vitriol and the specific language used is not. It's kind of an important question, as I don't like to waste my time on trolls. Sure sounds like I struck a nerve though, do you still think that Violator changed your life when you heard it for the first time?

there is a very big chance that there would be far fewer people who looked down their noses at me because i am less intelligent, accomplished and able than they are.

Actually I think you are quite enlightened Blabs.

thank you good buddy but i am a bit sensitive about higher-social-rank ableists around me in my snooty little town [useta be just a logging town that now has put on airs] who look down on me as riffraff. heck, i should start a riffraff club

I come across as a clean-cut, well spoken, well dressed decent fellow who is middle class and I don't have friends outside of my immediate family either. It happens to all of us at some point. People are picky.

I agree with cyberdad, I think you are very intelligent auntblabby. But I understand where you are coming from, all my life I have been made to feel as though my thoughts and opinions were of less value than everybody else's too.

And I do understand why people are so angry with white people at the moment. But... I dunno. The whole woke thing makes my head hurt just thinking about it. I get tired of being forced to feel like being born a white boy (especially from the deep south. You know? That region of America everyone loves to hate when they need a good scapegoat) somehow makes me inherently a bad person. And don't even get me started on the marxist agenda of BLM...

I get that people are fed up with capitalism, but replacing our system with another system known for failing is insane in my opinion. I mean think about it, Marxism only works if everybody in a Marxist society agrees to NOT be selfish. And let's face it majority of Americans dont have that capability to not be selfish. We will most likely wind up with a dictatorship oppressing the masses if we go down that route.


I wish we could come up with a new system for our country that actually works for everyone instead of copying outdated systems.

we have the gov't we deserve.