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<p>Does one have a right not to be offended, or to order that others don’t do things that they find offensive?</p>
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The way that I’d put it is that people have the right to be offended, and the right to point out that the behavior in question is offensive. Whether their rights go beyond that depends on the context and the applicable law.</p>
<p>I think US law gives WIDE latitude for adults to act in what some or even most may think is an offensive manner. Of course private institutions are not so limited. But it’s not a matter of laws. Just policy.</p>
<p>Oh, but I am black.</p>
<p>So I think I would know.</p>
<p>Also, the parents of that child may wanna tell their kid to express himself some other way lest he be shot walking home from somewhere with tea and skittles.</p>
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<p>Trayvon Martin wasn’t wearing a basketball jersey and bling. He was wearing a hoodie and he wasn’t 11 years old. Don’t get carried away now.</p>
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<p>Is there one monolithic black culture? (or white culture for that matter) I don’t think so.</p>
<p>There isn’t.</p>
<p>But stereotypes and idiocy aren’t a part of our culture (I don’t even know if we have one, quite frankly).
Only ignorant blacks celebrate trash.
Thought you should know.</p>
<p>When an exclusive group, such as members of a fraternity, mocks a racial group that is a minority on their campus, it’s a form of bullying, imo, and should be taken as seriously as if it were an individual that was being mocked.<br>
If people “aren’t sure” whether something is racist or not, ask members of the affected race. It’s not that hard.</p>
<p>So, if just one Irish person is offended by a St. Patrick’s Day party featuring shamrocks and green beer, it’s racist. This definition leaves pretty much anything that one doesn’t like subject to being called “racist.” </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong. I’m not defending the Duke party. I’m just trying to figure out the lines here, and so far I just get a lot of “I know it when I see it.” I don’t disagree, but can we come to a bit more clarity?</p>
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<p>1) What if it’s a non-exclusive group doing the mocking - what if it’s just a bunch of guys hanging out as opposed to fraternity members? What does the exclusivity of the “mockers” have to do with it?
2) What if the racial group isn’t a minority on the campus? Are you saying that racism / bullying against Asians couldn’t exist on, say, a UC campus that is heavily Asian? I don’t believe that to be true.</p>
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<p>There are no clear bright lines. While certain things clearly fall on one side or the other according to most people (like the Duke ΚΣ party in question), there are other things that are a matter of interpretation (how about the never ending Adventures of Huckleberry Finn disputes in school boards?). Some people will call everything that they disagree with “racist”, while others won’t believe that something is racist unless it involves white sheets that are not on beds, dunce caps with hoods, and burning crosses.</p>
<p>I think the line that is generally recognized, if we are going to attempt to quantify it is this: when the group is in the minority and does NOT find it funny, then it is offensive to them.</p>
<p>When the group is in power, or in the majority, and does not find it funny, people say, “tough luck.”</p>
<p>I think white men feel this way sometimes these days.</p>
<p>But, that seems to be the line. And I think the reason, subliminally, we all agree with this is that at one point or another we have been in the minority or disempowered group, and we knew that it was very difficult to be understood or heard. It is also a common technique of the power group to belittle the compaints and to call the complainants whiny.</p>
<p>However, it is easy to see it does not take long for the white guys to start complaining when they feel slighted. </p>
<p>I think it’s a power thing, finally.</p>
<p>disclaimer: I am not arguing FOR or taking this position, just trying to define what people think and why.</p>
<p>All of this is why I have so much trouble with the idea that humor almost always ridicules someone. And wonder if it says more about the audience than anything else?</p>
<p>I really liked Hunt’s definition of comedy :)</p>
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<p>…and there are people everywhere in between on the issue. There is no right answer/hard line. That is why it is important not to ASSUME that someone’s actions are intended to be racist, and to take a hard look at your own actions, both from the host’s perspective in putting on the party, and from the outsiders perspective in how he reacts to it.</p>
<p>So what if it was racist? I mean, really, so what? Get upset, protest, etc. But move on. If I were in charge, I would insist that the Asians who are protesting this racist behavior similarly write a protest to the communist party chairman in China protesting the racist treatment of Tibetans in China and also write the Japanese Prime Minister protesting against the racist treatment of all non-Japanese in Japan. When those letters are stamped and mailed, I would take their umbrage over the Duke fraternity incident a bit more seriously. Until then, psha! Get over it. Asian on Asian discrimination is rampant and pervasive. The Asians at Duke will just mau mau this incident to effectively demand more Asians at Duke to make Duke prove its racial sensitivity and to compensate for the “insult.” Ugh.</p>
<p>Is intent and understanding necessary for racism? Aren’t some actions unknowingly racist yet still racist?</p>
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<p>Why? They do not necessarily have anything to do with (or any influence over) the governments of China or Japan. After all, if the people in question are Americans, they have just as much right to say things about things happening in the US as anyone else.</p>
<p>What you are saying is similar to blaming Japanese Americans for bombing Pearl Harbor or Arab Americans for Al Qaeda terrorism.</p>
<p>@karen
I don’t think the number of Asians will dramatically increase.
I think this’ll be swept under the rug as usual.
I don’t really think Asian Americans have much say in the governments of other countries. </p>
<p>I can’t exactly call up African dictators and tell them to cease the oppression. =O</p>
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<p>I think intent is necessary for an action to be racist. If there is no intent, then it might be considered insensitive or ignorant, yet innocent of racism.</p>
<p>An example would be the costumes worn at the Duke party. I honestly did not know that the conical hat and robe where symbols of racism against Asians. So if I were to have worn that outfit to a costume party yesterday, I don’t think you could rightfully label me racist for it. You could say I was ignorant, which might be true in that regard. But I would not have worn the outfit to mock Asians. I would have worn it to go to the party looking like a Chinese person, just like I might have worn a fringed dress and feathers and braids to look like a Native American. </p>
<p>Now that I’ve said that, I’m sure there are people who will say that just dressing up as a person of another nationality is racist. I don’t think that.</p>
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Of course! And letters of protest to the Chinese and Japanese will have no effect whatever. But, that’s not the point. The point is to emphasize to the Asians at Duke that they are as racist as any so let’s not get too high on the high horse.</p>
<h1>138 If a student is raised in an atmosphere of prejudice and arrives at college ignorant - it is impossible to consider any of the student’s actions racist? I can think of many examples of behavior I would find unequivocally racist even though the result of ignorance. It seems to me quite a few writing seminars/college courses explore this idea. Some HS course work does, too. Sometimes there are exercises and assignments designed to point out to students prejudices they don’t realize they have. When my kids had classes like this I found it pretty educational to try some of those exercises myself. Big surprise. :(</h1>