289
votes
Why is it considered racist to say "White Lives Matter"?
The best statement I've seen of the argument for saying "Black Lives Matter" is in a letter to The Columbus Dispatch from Stanley D. Krider, posted July 25, 2020:
I say “Black Lives Matter” ...
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248
votes
Why is it considered racist to say "White Lives Matter"?
Compare for example how you'd feel if people campaigning that ‘The Homeless need shelter’ were met with the counterclaim that ‘Home-owners need shelter’.
While that second claim isn't false in itself, ...
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154
votes
Why is it considered racist to say "White Lives Matter"?
"White lives matter" is considered white supremacist because it was created and is promoted by white supremacists in direct opposition to black lives matter.
It is meant as a contradiction ...
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121
votes
Accepted
In the US why is nationalism equated with racism?
There are various forms of "Nationalism", but one prevalent belief is that "My Nation is better than others". Racism can be broadly understood to be the belief that "My race is better than others". ...
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111
votes
Accepted
What does Kanye (Ye) West actually mean by "Abolish the 13th Amendment"?
He seems to have meant amending it (quote below) to remove the clause permitting slavery and forced labour as punishment for a crime.
So let us ask this possibly dicey question: What, exactly, was ...
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110
votes
Is it true that Jim Crow laws were primarily promoted by the Democratic Party?
Yes. Following the American Civil War, the Democratic party was the primary haven for America's most machiavellian racists, (some of which set also included active criminals and terrorists), who ...
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80
votes
Is it true that Jim Crow laws were primarily promoted by the Democratic Party?
True, but.
This is a classic case of being true on paper but needing extensive qualifiers to be properly understood by a modern day audience.
At the time when Jim Crow laws were introduced – 150 to ...
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77
votes
How does antisemitism differ from racism?
The easy answer is the same reason that any language has a word: it serves a useful function. English had a lot of words for rain because it rains a lot in England, and the words used differentiate ...
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75
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of the fears of racism associated with facial recognition technology?
People often have the mistaken belief that computers are inherently objective and unbiased – and while they may not hold prejudices themselves, the results that they produce reflect the biases and ...
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65
votes
How do progressive US political thinkers explain anti-black police discrimination in cities where the population and government are majority black?
Let's start with the understanding that in the USA — at least for the moment — political power is distributed, not centralized. This is a feature of our system of governance, not a bug. The Founders ...
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61
votes
Why is President Trump ending affirmative action in college admissions so controversial?
The article you've linked actually describes Affirmative Action (AA) as controversial, not the ending of it. That said, it's fair to say that anything related to AA -- starting it, ending it, ...
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61
votes
Why is it considered racist to say "White Lives Matter"?
Context is important, and the context of these two claims makes a significant difference.
When people say 'Black Lives Matter', the context is a well-documented perception of systematic biases against ...
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56
votes
Help me understand the context behind the "It's okay to be white" question in a recent Rasmussen Poll, and what if anything might these results show?
I am not sure how much "context" you want out of a poll question.
This is the poll:
1* Do you agree or disagree with this statement: “It’s OK to be white.”
2* Do you agree or disagree ...
53
votes
Accepted
Why do white supremacists use the term "Anglo Saxon values"?
The notion of 'Anglo-Saxon values' goes back to the days of British colonialism. One of the more common justifications of colonialism was that the British (Anglo-Saxon) culture was the pinnacle of ...
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52
votes
Accepted
How much of the US media referred to the COVID-19 as the "Wuhan Virus" until it received an official designation from the WHO?
Max Rissuto from DFRLab has analysed this in an article published on March 17th which tests the media bias claims made by Republican politicians including GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy, who tweeted ...
CDJB♦
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45
votes
How do progressive US political thinkers explain anti-black police discrimination in cities where the population and government are majority black?
Systemic racism is a problem wider than any city or department and not the result of personal prejudice or "bad apples". It's far beyond the scope of an answer to explain or debate the ...
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44
votes
Accepted
What is wrong with Justin Trudeau (or anyone) masquerading as Aladdin?
Blackface has a history of being a method for expressing racial caricatures and stereotypes. It was intended to be humorous to white audiences and demeaning towards the black people being depicted.
...
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44
votes
Accepted
What could the US federal government do to reform the police?
How much influence can the federal executive and legislature have on the way in which local policing is done in the USA?
The federal government can influence state and local police agencies in the ...
- 13.2k
42
votes
Is the prevalence of racial arguments unique to US politics or is it a topic in other Western countries as well?
The debate is not unique to the United States, but it may be more vocal there than in some other places.
I'm writing from Germany. Here, immigrant groups like the 16th century French Huguenots or the ...
- 113k
41
votes
What is the origin of the fears of racism associated with facial recognition technology?
Let me set aside, for the moment, the question of whether current facial recognition technology (FRT) accurately distinguishes the facial features of non-whites. There is some evidence that it does ...
- 73.4k
40
votes
Why do white supremacists use the term "Anglo Saxon values"?
Like most motivation questions, we can't answer definitively (unless the group in question have commented), but we can make some intelligent guesses.
"Anglo-Saxon" means the people descended ...
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39
votes
Why is it considered racist to say "White Lives Matter"?
Black Lives Matter is a prescriptive statement. It's saying that black lives should matter, and shouldn't be treated the way it currently is American society.
White Lives Matter is a descriptive ...
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38
votes
What is wrong with Justin Trudeau (or anyone) masquerading as Aladdin?
Preface: As an Arab I don't particularly see any problem with his costume. I've put on white makeup before as part of a vampire costume. But blackface wasn't really a thing in Arab culture the way it ...
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37
votes
Accepted
What does the term "White Privilege" mean?
White privilege is an academic concept that has recently been brought into the mainstream discourse by social media campaigns and movements like Black Lives Matter.
It's basically a theory that white ...
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37
votes
Why do BLM protestors continue after all four police involved in the killing of George Floyd are facing charges?
Do you really think the problem is limited to those 4? Why on earth would someone sit on a handcuffed person's neck for 9 minutes, 3 of which that person having no pulse? with 3 colleagues watching? ...
33
votes
In the US why is nationalism equated with racism?
What makes Nationalism (as in "my nation is the best") bad?
Because it can be meant in two ways, both pretty frequent, and one of them is bad for one's own nation. And people frequently unconsciously ...
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32
votes
What does the term "White Privilege" mean?
The clearest way to understand white privilege is as a set of hardships that white Americans are less likely to experience than those of other races (other factors like income being equal).
Everyone, ...
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32
votes
Accepted
Is this remark from Senator Lindsey Graham (Rep.) actually racist?
Let's get academic about it. I think the term racism is often used to address a basket of discriminatory positions.
The folks over at Oxford Dictionary on Racism
Prejudice, discrimination, or ...
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30
votes
Is the prevalence of racial arguments unique to US politics or is it a topic in other Western countries as well?
Possibly the most distinct aspect of US racism (and perhaps in a few other nations) is the overarching importance of skin colour over other traits, which is understandable considering its history. In ...
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