How do you think DU does discussing matters of Race?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

Very poorly. It always seems to be one sided.

I'm thinking of Nancy Pelosi's hijab "scandal" from a week or two ago.

There was a big thread, several hundred posts, and you'd think based on the replies that DU was filled to the brim with hysterical, foaming-at-the-mouth bigots.

I then started an actual poll on the issue and it got some sixty replies from sixty different DU individuals and nobody had a problem with it. I suspect the latter thread was far more representative of DU.

In discussion differences are exaggerated. When it comes to what should actually be done, the differences between the positions shrink to be almost non-existent.

Bryant

by things like "differences are exaggerated."

What differences are you talking about? Differences between races? Differences between thoughts on racism?

whether or not Imus was racist, or whether or not it was unacceptably racist?

I think most of those people are trolls, and are the same racists that showed up in the flamey Pelosi thread, and are non-representative of DU.

I would have to go back and look up all the responses.

Bryant

I am truly amazed and the amount of intolerance on DU. I am also shocked at the naivete and lack of knowledge regarding racial issues.

This shows that there isn't much difference on the left or the right when it comes to race. I'm starting to understand why there are Black Republicans.

is naive and ignorant about racial issues. Yep, that's good old liberal thinking, acceptance of other people's points of view etc. :eyes: If someone doesn't share your views they're a bigot? Get real.

You are assuming too much. Another thing that is done a lot over here.

Shameful

...at the naivete and lack of knowledge regarding racial issues". I would assume that's your point of view, or is it written in the DU guidelines somewhere? Yes, that's your point of view about racial issues here at DU. Don't dissemble, it's so unbecoming.

No darling it's a lot deeper than that. It's not my point of view that there is naivete and lack of knowledge. That's not opinion, that's a quantifiable assessment.

I told you already, Stop assuming. That's unbecoming also.

you're entitled to YOUR OPINION. A quantifiable assessment? That too is your opinion. :rofl: Some people just can't admit they're wrong. No ill will intended, I just find your unwillingness to admit that what you said is your opinion and not fact, humorous. It ends here. Take care. :)

Opinion: Imus is not a racist

Naivete and lack of knowledge: Black people have an issue with homosexuals because of their upbringing in the church.

Does this help you. Both of these statements have been posted on this forum. One I have no problem with because it's their opinion. The other is shameful because it is naive and shows a lack of knowledge.

Do you understand now?

*********I knew this was going to take a long time*************

I did not know that. "Lack of knowledge" implies somebody who thinks they have that knowledge.

I am not gonna assume that you can demonstrate that knowledge. That would be naive.

When I was little I believed in Santa Claus. I can measure the validity of that statement just by the fact that it is not true. This is not my opinion.

You may think somebody is naive for not believing in Santa's big white privilege, but can you prove it as readily as you can prove Pythagorus?

Whether I can prove would depend on who the child is. Wouldn't it still be untrue whether I can prove it or not.

There are statements made on this board that are based on a stereotype. Some of these are perpetuated as truth. Those are the one's where the opinion doesn't changed. These are naive statements and they lack knowledge. This is measured(quantified) by the truth.

+1 :thumbsup:

Yes it is messy and awkward and often mindboggling, but everyone manages to have their say. Granted in General Discussion we have more zingers, pot shots and name calling than actual discussion on race but overall, on the whole of DU I think a real discussion does take place.

the opinions and reactions however are sometimes a little upsetting though.

But hey, that's life. We don't always agree, and even after a heated conversation, we still end up all the better, knowing more about both ourselves and others.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=626828&mesg_id=626889

But then, you dismiss it as satire or comedy, much like the "pundit comedians" excuse their excesses, so in your opinion I'm sure the Board does just fine. Reasonable people may differ however.

I don't think you can make the case that most of DU is made up of assholes. If that's your opinion though, I respectfully disagree.

Bryant

n/t

to clear out the assholes from DU.

Bryant

You're not supposed to call people out from other threads.
Lee

When replying to the person directly, it's fair (i.e. within the rules) to cite their posts.

I didn't know that. Thanks for clarifying.
Lee

it's totally legitimate to bring up that post?

I hope that doesn't end up being the case.

Bryant

I personally have nearly 45,000 posts others might choose to cite.
We each have our own sense of 'fair play' and valid logic in forming arguments.

Some people, for example, don't think others deserve the assistance of emoticons in our messages.

I'm not one of those. :evilgrin:

:hi:

Whether you accept his explanation is another matter. But at least point out that bryant69 doesn't use emoticons to indicate sarcasm.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x626828#627336

Really stopped it cold. Good job.

Bryant

I don't countenance such behavior from "pundit comedians," why should I tolerate it elsewhere?

You are truly an inspiration.

The discussions here always strike me as the ones I would have with my friends in college, where we would seriously discuss the "plight of the black man" when all of us were, like, from the suburbs.

I think once we're able to move past that and delve into the prevailing attitudes, beliefs, values and the societal influences regarding race, we do pretty well.

I'd tend to agree.

Bryant

What our life is to come to these positions. Are we just a bunch of armchair academics?

I am one of the ones who has been fighting racism and posting articles about the myth of reverse racism. Where do I come from?

No, not the white suburbs. I come from poverty and abuse. My black friends tell me that is why I "get" it.
My family was very poor. My father's family were migrant farmworkers. Yes, there are a few Anglo migrant farmworkers.

My father used to beat me and my brother until we were bloody and covered in welts. He was also the precinct delegate for George Wallace in our district. Yes, George Wallace.

Bloody, almost unconscious, welts, abuse. My black and Jewish friends all tell me, particularly the shrink ones, that as a child all I knew was that my father hated blacks; he hated Jews and he hated me.

I was put in a state mental institution when I was 15 and this is over 30 years ago in Texas. THAT was awful. I was there for TWO years...and all the races there were together. So I lived with many races and people who had all been abused.

I got out of the hospital 17 days before I turned 17. I then went to the streets where I lived, off and on, until my mid twenties. I have been spit on by people, while begging for a quarter or for food. I have been beaten up, kicked around, etc. Have YOU ever been spit on for being poor? ...and not ONE of the people who spit on me for begging was black. Not one.

I am now 53 and still suffer from my past. I am a lesbian and so have been treated badly for that too. My life has been abuse and yet, I still think I have it better, JUST because I am white, than any black I know. I can still drive through East Texas without getting killed by the Klan.

...that's where I came to my position. I SEE who abuses who.
Lee

Or the exception?

I am sorry though - that does sound like a very rough life.

Bryant

I would hope to hell it's not the norm...<g>

It showed me things. I SAW that the only restaurants that fed me were Mexican or Black. I saw the way people treated people. I SEE the ways people treat people. I saw what got people to these places of Darkness and Despair and Illness. Racism/sexism/homophobia are forms of abuse and I grok abuse.

Lee *hoping no one makes fun of her for saying "grok"*

remains in my top ten (although it's slipped a few slots as of late).

Bryant

:hi:

That alone makes it better than the terrible so many are voting for.

This place looks like a shining beacon of truth in even its darkest moments. Still, the discussions rarelt seem productive. I voted so-so - we do better than most, but it really doesn't accomplish much. The loudest are the most heard. Loud in the context of this site means "having many posts". If your discussion takes up half the page, it doesn't matter that it's just a long string of sarcastic criticism...

Take that to mean what you like.

I think some DUers have insightful, intelligent things to say. Others give voice to emotions such as frustration and anger. I think that these can both have value.

There are a few people who are simply looking to exploit the discussions for reasons that are their own. The ugly things they say are a reflection of their own pathology.

or homophobic stereotype in an attempt to be funny as opposed to trying to be hurtful or disparaging. Amazingly to me they will defend their use of it since it was meant as a joke and therefore apparently members of the minority in question "shouldn't" be offended by it. Asians and gays seem to take the brunt of this, although I will be the first to admit that I'm a little sensitive on both counts.

Either discussions get way too PC or they turn into shouting matches, here or IRL