My issue with the #BLACKLIVESMATTER movement

[VeganIncubus]

Lorenzaccio

So you would judge one person, actually, an entire generation of people with white skin based on the actions of their ancestors.

I can't actually talk to you because you assume too much. You wouldn't know of my problems, assuming that I'm an over privileged white guy living in some gated community somewhere. I'm a foreigner in my country, with a very low income family, trying to get by in my studies. Now that we got the personal stuff out of the way, perhaps you can stop assuming things. Just because I'm white, doesn't mean that I'm not facing persecution too. I'm not in the USA, so my persecution, race-wise, is limited to insults, and the occasional violent attack from ignorant people. Luckily, that only happened once.
So yeah, I have bigger problems than game deals.

White people have made it worse, yes. But my point still stands, my view can still have an impact and I can still help if I choose to. Many abolitionists were white, despite the fact that society at the time was telling them to be slavers. It takes more guts than you think to rise up against your own people and to fight for people who, for the most part, despise you.

arrow Yes. Because this country was built through slavery and by the killing of Africans and Native Americans and others brought in to work for whites. Whites still profit from their labour. And their cities are built on their bones.

arrow You don't have to live in a gated community to enjoy white privilege. Your skin grants you protections that no other skin colour can count on. At least in America and much of the West. You don't have to make a lot of money, but your skin colour and ancestry gives you certain safety-nets. The thing about white privilege is that you can ignore your own privilege and not think about your race at all, because it rarely ever factors into your daily dealings with people.

arrow Good whites demanding praise for not being racist assholes and black-bashers. Or for not lynching them or anything. What about Jim Crow laws? Where were the decent white folks?
So, you're saying that without white abolitionists there wouldn't have been an end to slavery? That black people owe white people something? That they owe them their freedom?

So, wow, they decided to do the decent thing and suddenly they're heroes. Suddenly they should be raised up and put on a pedestal.
Forget MLK. Let's put up some white man up there for black people to look up to. Be white. Be real white because whiteness is simply better.

[Kaltros]

Lorenzaccio

White people have made it worse, yes. But my point still stands, my view can still have an impact and I can still help if I choose to. Many abolitionists were white, despite the fact that society at the time was telling them to be slavers. It takes more guts than you think to rise up against your own people and to fight for people who, for the most part, despise you.

On the other hand, the abolitionists mostly wanted to end slavery so they could get all the blacks out of their country and send them to places like Brazil or Liberia.

So which is more racist? The slave-owners, or the abolitionists who wanted to ship the freed slaves off the continent altogether?

[They Came to Kill GSK]

Kaltros

Lorenzaccio

White people have made it worse, yes. But my point still stands, my view can still have an impact and I can still help if I choose to. Many abolitionists were white, despite the fact that society at the time was telling them to be slavers. It takes more guts than you think to rise up against your own people and to fight for people who, for the most part, despise you.

On the other hand, the abolitionists mostly wanted to end slavery so they could get all the blacks out of their country and send them to places like Brazil or Liberia.

So which is more racist? The slave-owners, or the abolitionists who wanted to ship the freed slaves off the continent altogether?

The slave owners.

[Kaltros]

They Came to Kill GSK

Kaltros

Lorenzaccio

White people have made it worse, yes. But my point still stands, my view can still have an impact and I can still help if I choose to. Many abolitionists were white, despite the fact that society at the time was telling them to be slavers. It takes more guts than you think to rise up against your own people and to fight for people who, for the most part, despise you.

On the other hand, the abolitionists mostly wanted to end slavery so they could get all the blacks out of their country and send them to places like Brazil or Liberia.

So which is more racist? The slave-owners, or the abolitionists who wanted to ship the freed slaves off the continent altogether?

The slave owners.

Why? At least they can stand being on the same continent.

[They Came to Kill GSK]

Kaltros

They Came to Kill GSK

Kaltros

Lorenzaccio

White people have made it worse, yes. But my point still stands, my view can still have an impact and I can still help if I choose to. Many abolitionists were white, despite the fact that society at the time was telling them to be slavers. It takes more guts than you think to rise up against your own people and to fight for people who, for the most part, despise you.

On the other hand, the abolitionists mostly wanted to end slavery so they could get all the blacks out of their country and send them to places like Brazil or Liberia.

So which is more racist? The slave-owners, or the abolitionists who wanted to ship the freed slaves off the continent altogether?

The slave owners.

Why? At least they can stand being on the same continent.

While forcing those people to labor for their comfort on pain of mutilation.

Kal, I swear, saying that people wanting to free slaves were more racist than people wanting to enslave people...there's edgy then there's just plain frightening.

[lambs and lions]

I think it is interesting that the black lives matters website mentioned black trans women. Because we have had 9 trans women killed so far this year, all of them black, all of them killed by blacks. The reason black trans women have such low life expectancy is because the black community is extremely transphobic and tends to kill them at an alarming rate. Whats more black trans women have an extremely high rate of suicidy because the black community is so horrible to them.

I think it is interesting that black lives matters is addressing black trans women, because it might mean that they are actually looking at the killings the black community is doing.

[Kaltros]

They Came to Kill GSK

Kaltros

They Came to Kill GSK

Kaltros

Lorenzaccio

White people have made it worse, yes. But my point still stands, my view can still have an impact and I can still help if I choose to. Many abolitionists were white, despite the fact that society at the time was telling them to be slavers. It takes more guts than you think to rise up against your own people and to fight for people who, for the most part, despise you.

On the other hand, the abolitionists mostly wanted to end slavery so they could get all the blacks out of their country and send them to places like Brazil or Liberia.

So which is more racist? The slave-owners, or the abolitionists who wanted to ship the freed slaves off the continent altogether?

The slave owners.

Why? At least they can stand being on the same continent.

While forcing those people to labor for their comfort on pain of mutilation.

Kal, I swear, saying that people wanting to free slaves were more racist than people wanting to enslave people...there's edgy then there's just plain frightening.

It's a common complaint that whites are racist for segregation, and for not letting blacks into high quality schools where whites predominate.

So if local segregation is racist, isn't continental segregation more racist?

[Chahklet]

In my own mind, black lives matter. My kids matter.

[Lucky~9~Lives]

Kaltros

They Came to Kill GSK

While forcing those people to labor for their comfort on pain of mutilation.

Kal, I swear, saying that people wanting to free slaves were more racist than people wanting to enslave people...there's edgy then there's just plain frightening.

It's a common complaint that whites are racist for segregation, and for not letting blacks into high quality schools where whites predominate.

So if local segregation is racist, isn't continental segregation more racist?

The argument is that local slavery - not merely local segregation - is more racist than continental segregation.

[Kaltros]

Lucky~9~Lives

Kaltros

They Came to Kill GSK

While forcing those people to labor for their comfort on pain of mutilation.

Kal, I swear, saying that people wanting to free slaves were more racist than people wanting to enslave people...there's edgy then there's just plain frightening.

It's a common complaint that whites are racist for segregation, and for not letting blacks into high quality schools where whites predominate.

So if local segregation is racist, isn't continental segregation more racist?

The argument is that local slavery - not merely local segregation - is more racist than continental segregation.

More racist? Or just more unpleasant?

[Tigress Dawn]

Wow. Lots wrong with this.

For starters, the biggest problem is that racism has become more passive aggressive instead of out in the open. It's much harder to prove someone is being racist now.

For example, look at the justice system. Black people tend to get a harsher punishment than white people within the legal limitations that the law will allow. In fact, I'd say they get the average punishment (example: crime X gets 5-10 years, they'd get about 6-7) which on paper in a vacuum is fair punishment for the crime. However, a white person will get 4 years, plus probation. Which on paper in a vacuum can look reasonable if the judge states they seemed remorseful and not a threat to society. This trend continues and next thing you know we have an overwhelming amount of black people vs white people in prison.

The problem then becomes hard to find a solution to. Do we insist everyone get a harsher punishment? Lighter punishment? The sentencing isn't equal because crimes and circumstances aren't equal case to case. It's why minimum sentencing laws are failing miserably. So we can't say, give people lighter sentences regardless, and give harsher sentences regardless. We can say to treat people fair, but the judge genuinely sees black people as more of a threat. Even black people see other black men as a bigger threat than white men.

The only real solution is to shift society's attitude. How do we do that? Exposure and getting it on the conversation table. Once upon a time, while I was in high school, it was a huge ******** deal that we had a gay straight alliance club. Now, it's no big deal simply because of social shift in attitudes.

Everyone knows it's wrong to be racist, not everyone knows how systematic and covert racism affect people. That's important to at least get people thinking about. Societal shifts take far, far longer than laws. We're in the middle of a societal shift. Everyone is equal on paper, but not in practice (as per my example above).

[X of Castigation]

Divine_Malevolence

Saying the world's no longer racist is incredibly naive, but I will give you that today it's probably more about affluence and the lack thereof than race.

Even if race still seems to be a pretty damn big factor.

The poor'r just easy to demonize and deject.

No, no, no. I have black friends, so when I call them feral urban street youth it's okay.

[The Peppermint Bunny]

Tigress Dawn

Wow. Lots wrong with this.

For starters, the biggest problem is that racism has become more passive aggressive instead of out in the open. It's much harder to prove someone is being racist now.

For example, look at the justice system. Black people tend to get a harsher punishment than white people within the legal limitations that the law will allow. In fact, I'd say they get the average punishment (example: crime X gets 5-10 years, they'd get about 6-7) which on paper in a vacuum is fair punishment for the crime. However, a white person will get 4 years, plus probation. Which on paper in a vacuum can look reasonable if the judge states they seemed remorseful and not a threat to society. This trend continues and next thing you know we have an overwhelming amount of black people vs white people in prison.

The problem then becomes hard to find a solution to. Do we insist everyone get a harsher punishment? Lighter punishment? The sentencing isn't equal because crimes and circumstances aren't equal case to case. It's why minimum sentencing laws are failing miserably. So we can't say, give people lighter sentences regardless, and give harsher sentences regardless. We can say to treat people fair, but the judge genuinely sees black people as more of a threat. Even black people see other black men as a bigger threat than white men.

The only real solution is to shift society's attitude. How do we do that? Exposure and getting it on the conversation table. Once upon a time, while I was in high school, it was a huge ******** deal that we had a gay straight alliance club. Now, it's no big deal simply because of social shift in attitudes.

Everyone knows it's wrong to be racist, not everyone knows how systematic and covert racism affect people. That's important to at least get people thinking about. Societal shifts take far, far longer than laws. We're in the middle of a societal shift. Everyone is equal on paper, but not in practice (as per my example above).

Thank you!