What makes a viewpoint racist?

[mencken]

...

[This is Eharding, guys]

This guy tried his hand at things a week or so ago.
http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/06/21/against-murderism/

[Antonio the Sixth]

If you need to ask the question, it means you probably are.

[mencken]

If you need to ask the question, it means you probably are.

Ah, so very much like Kafka's The Trial. The offense is not defined, but only used to castigate people the accuser does not like.

Also, notice that I said viewpoint and not person in the OP. Your ad hominem response simply proves my point.

[dead0man]

If you need to ask the question, it means you probably are.

classy like always!

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

If you need to ask the question, it means you probably are.

Given that it is possible his or another's views have been called racist without explanation, and in instances where they had not even considered race in initially formulating their views on any given topic, your line of thought is somewhat less than constructive.

[Gustaf]

This type of debate tends to get very semantic and subsequently unproductive. I'd say a rough everyday definition goes along the lines of:

a) believing that you can neatly categorize people into different racial groups
b) that these racial groups differ greatly from each other in terms of some average outcomes
c) that for this reason it is reasonable to essentialize individuals and define them based on their race
d) and that some groups are then inferior and that political and private decisions should be informed by and strive to reinforce racial hierarchy and separation

Again, this is not necessarily an exact definition but I'd say that it's something along those lines. The underlying issue with a lot of the modern controversy is that racist has become a taboo word. That means that people who are racist will deny it and attempt to reframe their views to not sound like traditional racism. Simultaneously, there are great gains to be had from labeling someone as racist and therefore an eagerness to frame anything an opponent says as racism. This leads to a lot of confusion and general undermining of the concept itself.

[darklordoftech]

A viewpoint is racist if it involves a belief that something is true of everyone that is a given race.

[Kingpoleon]

If you need to ask the question, it means you probably are.

Given that it is possible his or another's views have been called racist without explanation, and in instances where they had not even considered race in initially formulating their views on any given topic, your line of thought is somewhat less than constructive.

Sure, but it's also possible someone started talking about "law and order," "inner city crime," "the stupid thug culture," and "forced busing," was called a racist, and still didn't consciously "consider race in initially formulating their views on any given topic." I agree with you on the premise of innocent until proven guilty, but you aren't quite taking everything into account.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

If you need to ask the question, it means you probably are.

The "Racism Sniffing Dog" of political arguments.

[Santander]

These days, if you get called a racist, you're probably doing something right.

[dead0man]

These days, if you get called a racist, you're probably doing something right.

depends on who is calling you that.  If it's Tony, you're probably right.

[Alabama_Indy10]

How it's viewed by others.

[Mr. Reactionary]

It discriminates on the basis of race.

[Sumner 1868]

Its results.

[ElectionsGuy]

If you need to ask the question, it means you probably are.

And this attitude is why people ask this question.

[Flameoguy]

These days, if you get called a racist, you're probably doing something right.

Only a racist would agree with that statement.

[Person Man]

Any viewpoint that is willfully racial or racist or which one knows or should knows has a detrimental race-based impact based on the evidence readily available. It isn't racist if a viewpoint or policy is willfully and sincerely designed to undue a past derogatory disparate impact.

so
- It is definitely racist
- It is based on racial generalizations
- It is something that is known to increase racial difference

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Its results.

So if I say the N word in the woods and no one is around to hear, it isn't racist??

[Person Man]

Its results.

So if I say the N word in the woods and no one is around to hear, it isn't racist??

We are talking about a viewpoint, not an action.

And even some actions or viewpoints can be racist ironically to stand against racism.

[vanguard96]

Of course some people believe the 'such and such oppressed minority can't be racist' because racism in their views is prejudice & bigotry with power.

If one disagrees with this and are white then one is often considered a racist in that this person is supporting the predominantly white status quo system.

If one is African American or Latina and disagrees with the first statement by many views they are conversely labeled as an 'Uncle Tom', 'oreo', or 'coconut'.

If this view by certain types of people on race is not in itself a racist view I don't know what is - to reduce an individual to a category by the color of their skin - and a shallow stereotype at that and seek to demean them and demand they fall in line with the accepted norm for their racial or ethnic category.

[HisGrace]

If you think some races are superior than others and you show that in your viewpoint.

^^^Don't see why it should be narrower or broader than that.

[Devout Centrist]

--Arguing that a certain categorization of people classified by skin color deserve less legal, political, or civil rights because of their skin color or perceived "qualities" of their race.
--Arguing that races are inferior to others or possess differing qualities from another race on the basis of human "biodiversity"
--Knee jerk reactions of suspicion, fear, sexual atrraction, etc. that arise from implicit bias. This is the most universal form of racism and potentially the least harmful.

Stereotyping could be considered a form of racism, but I would consider that distinct insofar as it's more or less ignorant views about other races, but fueled by portrayals in media rather than political theory.

[Mr. Morden]

If you think some races are superior than others and you show that in your viewpoint.

^^^Don't see why it should be narrower or broader than that.

I don't think being racist requires one to think that one race is "superior" in any objective sense.  You might have a guy whose motivation for treating whites better than other races is just that he himself is white, and so he has a preference for the "in group" that he's a part of.  He could think that even if he thinks that there's no inherently "superior" race.  But isn't the guy still racist?  He'd be a "racial nationalist" so to speak, loving his own race because it happens to be the one he's a part of, rather than because it's "better".  That's still racist, IMHO.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

The line is a bit more blurry these days as it seems as though if someone feels something is racist, it is.  Others here have given pretty clear examples, but it's not so clear today.