Discussion: Racism - Part 3

[DeadPresident]

Racism is based on race. While utterly horrible, treating people different based on their religion or a class system, isn't racism without a racial component. This the treatment of the LGBTQA community is awful in many places. Same for the general treatment of women. And that is terrible. But that isn't racism. It's not the same thing, and to claim it is, is strange.

I don't think you're understanding the new approach to racism, Darth, racism = perpetrated by whites. That is the new, commonly accepted meaning for the word. You're using an outdated model, there is no 'racism is based on race', there is only 'racism is based on white people disliking black people and using their power to mistreat them'.

Also the bold part is factually wrong. Look at the Israel/Palestine situation. Who is seeking to see Israel held accountable? How about the North Korea situation? Systemic prejudice against the LGBTQA community or women isn't being fought against by the right. Relief to those in African, including children and African women is coming from who?

The Israel/Palestine thing is way too loaded to get into, half of the backlash is about the actual problem of Palestinians being treated inhumanely, while the other half is really just people having a legitimate avenue to vent their anti-Semitism and hatred for shifty Jews.

All those issues you mentioned get nowhere near the amount of air time as white people behaving poorly towards black people. A white person calling the cops on someone wearing certain clothing where nobody is injured gets more outrage and discussion than any of those other issues you listed.

I'm referring to the magnitude of backlash in proportion to how bad the actual incident was. A hundred girls kidnapped and raped by Boko Haram in Nigeria gets roughly the same reaction as two guys having the cops called on them in a Starbucks - I find the current US obsession with race counter-productive, that's my point.

And instead of keeping level heads and identifying constructive ways of discussing the issue, the public is all too willing to participate in the circle jerk that only increases racial division and sentiments of nationalism.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Sure - how about my two years of language, gender, and sexuality, critical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and critical discourse analysis course where it never popped up? I was taught primarily about how cis-gendered, heteronormative, caucasian males were the proverbial cancer eroding everyone else's chances at prosperity.

I don't remember this Miss Japan thing, but I'm not stateside which might influence the chances that I would've seen it.

If you're completely objective and take your own personal investment in this way, wouldn't you agree that negative white -> black interactions get a skewed amount of air time? I'm not denying all the things posted in this thread occur, and that they occur far more than they normatively should, but wouldn't you say considering all the issues in the USA that this specific category seems to get a questionable amount of focus? Especially considering Hispanics are a larger group in the US population.

It just seems counter-productive to have an environment where the media creates a hysterical panic that leads people to believe 'the USA is the most racist country in the world', that doesn't help the conversation nor does it move in a direction where race relations improve, IMO.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-her-extra-motivation/?utm_term=.5130b71c961e

Ariana Miyamoto typically maintains the sort of deferential politeness you’d expect from a beauty contestant in a country that embraces formality.

And yet, the biracial beauty queen — who was crowned Miss Universe Japan in March and then immediately criticized for not being Japanese enough — has signaled her willingness to fight back against racism and other traditional attitudes that have led to criticism and even discrimination in the wake of her selection.

In an interview with Agence France Presse, a newly assertive Miyamoto — the daughter of a Japanese woman and an African American man — referred to herself as “stubborn” and said she intends to use her burgeoning fame to break down antiquated cultural barriers.

“I was prepared for the criticism,” the 21-year-old model told AFP. “I’d be lying to say it didn’t hurt at all. I’m Japanese — I stand up and bow when I answer the phone. But that criticism did give me extra motivation.”

The criticism stems from the fact that in Japan, Miyamoto is known as hafu (or haafu) — a word that refers to multiracial or multiethnic people who are half-Japanese. And there is a pervasive feeling in Japan, which is considered one of the most homogeneous places on Earth, that mixed-race people are not fully Japanese, according to NBC News.

“It’s possible that some conservative people might feel Ariana Miyamoto doesn’t fit the traditional Japanese image to represent the country,” Yoko Haruka, a psychologist who makes regular appearances on Japanese TV, told AFP.

“It’s just the shock of the new. But she certainly has the chance to be a pioneer, and it’s an excellent opportunity for Japan to become more globally aware.”

The stigma of being biracial in Japan can be so great that it leads some people — like a close mixed-race friend of Miyamoto’s — to take their own lives. Though Miyamoto was bullied growing up in the port town of Sasebo in Nagasaki prefecture, she told AFP that it was her friend’s suicide that ultimately convinced her to enter the Miss Universe Japan contest.

“I didn’t feel any added pressure, because the reason I took part in the pageant was my friend’s death,” she said. “My goal was to raise awareness of racial discrimination. Now I have a great platform to deliver that message as the first black Miss Universe Japan. It’s always hard to be the first, so in that respect what Naomi Campbell did was really amazing.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37283518

A half-Indian woman has been crowned Miss World Japan, the second year in a row a biracial person has won a beauty pageant in the country.

Priyanka Yoshikawa, 22 and who also has an elephant training licence, said she would use her win to "change perceptions".

Last year, Ariana Miyamoto was the first mixed-race person to win the Miss Universe pageant.

Critics complained then that a "pure" Japanese should have won.

Only about 3% of babies born every year in Japan are biracial, or "hafu", the Japanese word for half.

...

A few years ago, a woman of Indian descent, Nina Davuluri, faced Twitter abuse after being crowned Miss America. Some called her an "Arab", some a "terrorist", and some an "Arab terrorist". Indians, in large numbers, came to her defence.

Now, Ms Yoshikawa is being criticised for having an Indian father and some Indians have taken to social media to advise the Japanese to "get over it". One Twitter user said she won because she "must have deserved it" while another said "after Gautam Buddha, Ms Yoshikawa is the only Indian to make it big in Japan".

In Ms Yoshikawa's case - as in Ms Davuluri's before her - the biggest complaint seems to be the "lack of purity". But some are wondering whether this debate over purity has any relevance in today's globalised world.

As one Twitter user said: "Talent cannot be controlled or ruled by caste, colour, gender or country of origin."

 

[Thread Manager]

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