Is it possible to discuss race fairly without someone getting offended?

[spookyskeptic]

I ask this because of a conversation I had recently. Someone criticized President Obama and someone argued that the criticism was only because the President is black. The criticism was strictly about policy. That said, can we ever really have a good faith and open discourse on race?

White people are afraid to bring it up because they'll be accused of being racist, no matter what they say. There's a topic on college admissions here on the PG where someone had to clarify that they didn't mean to sound racist, despite having never posted anything that could have been construed as such.

It's also difficult, I think, for minorities to discuss because so many people in the white majority don't really get the experiences of growing up not being white. Accusations of entitlement and double standards seem to be inevitably raised.

So, fellow debaters, do you think that we, as a society, can ever have a civil and open discussion on race or do you feel that too much damage has been done?

 

[SuperBowser]

I like this topic. I'm not really sure what to discuss though.

My university contains more cultural groups than you can shake a stick at. I've made a super multicultural group of friends over the past 4 years. My student house comprises: an english evangelical christian, an english strong atheist, a north indian agnostic, a south indian hindu/deist and an international pakistani muslim. Despite our (many) differences we get along incredibly well. We've had the opportunity for conversations and debates most would never attempt and I think we're all better for it. Having said that, I wouldn't explore many of the topics outside these friends.

It's difficult to discuss race for several reasons.

a) choice of language may be poor
b) people are naturally defensive of their cultures
c) past experiences may promote hyper-defensive responses
d) some people are dumb
e) some people are genuinely ignorant
f) some people are racist
g) people fear being labelled racist
h) people of the ''wrong'' ethnicity are perceived to lack true insight or understanding

If you pretended each letter was a single person, the available permutations above make for some pretty terrible group conversations. This makes it difficult to ever have a pleasant debate concerning race with the general public. To discuss such topics, I think several issues must be addressed. I'm not old enough to know if things have improved, but I would guess they have.

A random story: A new society opened in my uni called BLACS: It is for black people. Everybody is invited, of course. All the black people call it ''blacks'' and that is how it was announced in our lectures - a lighthearted joke. Despite such encouragement, everybody in the year spells out the letters, much like American heathens spell out SNES . They do this not for preference but for the intense fear of being labelled racist. Unfortunately, I was not aware of this the first time I spoke about BLACS. 'twas a funny/trainwreck conversation.

 

[TheOriginalSmasher]

While this is interesting, and can go into great discussion, the simple answer is: Yes, i is possible, but unlikely.

 

[Dre89]

The same thing can be said about women as well.

 

[Dre89]

Why have I been infracted for that post?

All I said was that discussing women is a delicate issue, just like race, because people fear being labelled sexist?

How on Earth is that infratcion worthy?

Someone please enlighten me on how I can get infracted for a non-argumentative statement...

 

[#HBC | Dark Horse]

Dre, not all mods can decipher what you said.

They probably thought that was a one-liner joke.

 

[Dre89]

Dre, not all mods can decipher what you said.

They probably thought that was a one-liner joke.

People like CK and RDK always post one liners insulting me and get away with it, then I get infracted for this.

 

[#HBC | Dark Horse]

Probably wrong place, wrong time.

 

[Teran]

People like CK and RDK always post one liners insulting me and get away with it, then I get infracted for this.

Forum Support is the place for you.

 

[#HBC | Dark Horse]

That place never works. At least for me.

 

[Sucumbio]

People like CK and RDK always post one liners insulting me and get away with it, then I get infracted for this.

Actually RDK has gotten infracted multiple times for his posts in the DH.

CK is a mod. Mods don't get infracted, if a Mod requires discipline its taken care of by an admin, normally.

Teran is correct. As I said in my PM to you, take it to Forum Support which is where you go when you want to contest a moderation.

 

[#HBC | Dark Horse]

Wait, I heard a guy say mods still get infractions. Is this wrong?

If it is, that explains EE.

 

[Dre89]

To Sucumbio's credit, he did reverse the infraction.

 

[GoldShadow]

Okay, back to the discussion on discussing race!

 

[Dragoon Fighter]

I do not see why not as long as both people in the conversation are completely unbiased in the subject. I supposed with politics factored in that would make it relativity rare. (Unfortunately)

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

I don't really know what kind of discussion you mean. If you mean insulting someone of a racial minority because of something offensive/negative they did (related to their race or not), then I certainly hope so. If someone accuses me of being racist when I say, "Obama did a piss-poor job dealing with the deepwater horizon catastrophe", then they belong to the much-maligned (with god reason) race of the 'tards.

The only other way I can really read this as being meant is along the lines of "is it possible to discuss if one race is better than another without someone getting offended". And in that case... No, it's not.

 

[Bookworm]

Can we discuss homosexuality without someone getting offended? Judging by the thread here, the answer is no.

The thing is, I don't know who should feel more offended, the gays who read it, or Dre, because he/she was constantly attacked, and it looked like he/she was trying to avoid personal confrontations and was trying to be rational about it