Excellent article on racism and double standards

[Beet]

Well duh.  Racism is an issue on both sides.  It is just more of a negative issue for minorities because racism helps pereptuate white dominance, so people focus on racism against minorities.  Obviously most people have at least some racial stereotypes.

Indeed. This issue has nothing to do with preferring majorities vs. minorities or group A vs. group B. The unjust behavior of the powerful is much more damaging than the unjust behavior of the weak (with the caveat that no one is completely weak). Ironically, this is one area where conservatives tend to look too much at intentions and not enough on possibilities.

[Beet]

Well duh.  Racism is an issue on both sides.  It is just more of a negative issue for minorities because racism helps pereptuate white dominance, so people focus on racism against minorities.  Obviously most people have at least some racial stereotypes.

Indeed. This issue has nothing to do with preferring majorities vs. minorities or group A vs. group B. The unjust behavior of the powerful is much more damaging than the unjust behavior of the weak (with the caveat that no one is completely weak). Ironically, this is one area where conservatives tend to look too much at intentions and not enough on possibilities.

Can you elaborate on your statement about intentions and possibilities, Beet?

I thought it was obvious. A dictator and a beggar may both want to commit atrocities, thus their intention is the same. But we should be much more concerned about the dictator than the beggar, because the dictator actually has the capabilities to carry out those intentions.

[Beet]

Well duh.  Racism is an issue on both sides.  It is just more of a negative issue for minorities because racism helps pereptuate white dominance, so people focus on racism against minorities.  Obviously most people have at least some racial stereotypes.

Indeed. This issue has nothing to do with preferring majorities vs. minorities or group A vs. group B. The unjust behavior of the powerful is much more damaging than the unjust behavior of the weak (with the caveat that no one is completely weak). Ironically, this is one area where conservatives tend to look too much at intentions and not enough on possibilities.

Can you elaborate on your statement about intentions and possibilities, Beet?

I thought it was obvious. A dictator and a beggar may both want to commit atrocities, thus their intention is the same. But we should be much more concerned about the dictator than the beggar, because the dictator actually has the capabilities to carry out those intentions.

Oh, I thought you meant something far more ambitious than that.  I was prepared for a much deeper discussion of the costs/benefits of affirmative action.

Well, there is a much deeper discussion of affirmative action to be had, but IMO it's an entirely different issue altogether. It has little to do with any ideals and falls outside the scope of this discussion.

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"Some policies," but not all. And even then, it's not necessarily the same. If there are two bad people with equal power, they balance each other out. Neither is able is able to abuse the other with impunity, and therefore there becomes an incentive for compromise. But I agree with you that this isn't the ideal situation either. If at all possible, the goal ought to be to reform people so that they are not attracted towards doing destructive things (including self-destructive).

[Beet]

I think the real long-term answer is to dissolve the whole idea of minority status, at least for people who are currently viewed that way.

Every group who comes to this country starts out as a 'minority.'  And every group save one has eventually joined the majority, or is in the process of doing so.

We need to get rid of the idea that there are any permanent minorities in this country.  Everybody should have at least the potential or promise to become part of the majority, and not be viewed any differently than anybody else.

I realize this is a lot easier said than done.  But I often think that when you compare many of our current policies on race with the ones we had in the segregation era, they're really just the flip sides of the same coin.

We need to find a new paradigm through which to deal with this issue, since what we've been doing clearly isn't working.

Well, I really think the general point goes beyond race to include lots of other kinds of relationships between the powerful vs. weak.

I agree with you on race, although social self segregation is pretty strong. In America, all 'minority' groups should emulate Jews, pretty much.

But Affirmative action is a whole different issue (corporations and the government like it, while most idealists dislike it). I don't really support it, but I see why it continues to survive (and it's not because of liberals).