[Michael]

To any politically conservative person who wants to answer: How do you define a 'racist'? Over the years, I have read several conservative columnists criticizing liberals for labeling people 'racist.' I never once saw their definition of a racist. What would a person have to do or say for a conservative person to label them racist?

User Detail :  

Name : Michael, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Catholic, Age : 35, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Program Evaluator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Joe]

Sadly, the term 'racist' has become a label equivalent to hatred. A true racist is someone who is proud of the race or group their ancestors come from, believes that the heritage of that race or group is important and must be protected, and believes that those of the same race or group have an inherent relationship because of the shared background. Unfortunately, people confuse bigotry with racism because of the lengths some will go to achieve the criteria listed above. Racism turns into bigotry when the person is willing to achieve the above goals at the expense of another's right to do the same. If you accept my definition and you had never thought of that before, how does that change your view of some whites? Does it change your view of some blacks? If it doesn't do either, I believe it should have, or you're not being honest with yourself.

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Name : Joe, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, 

[FFigueroa]

I would like to say that all humans have racist tendencies inside from our history, but when it becomes a problem is when they are outspoken about it or do things in a way that hurt other races with their power or influences. I hope that helped and would like to know your view.

User Detail :  

Name : FFigueroa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Military, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[John K.]

I know a few conservatives, and while I do not agree with them as much as I might have in the past, I still have a pretty clear picture as to how they generally think. In short, for something to be 'racist' in their eyes, it has to be a direct action or obvious inaction based on race. Most conservatives would agree that the dragging death of James Byrd in Texas was a racist act, and would condemn it. However, they are less likely to see or acknowledge indirect racism, like institutionally racist policies.

Conservatives also tend to deny any responsibility for the effects of past racism or racist policies, such as slavery or the eradication of Native peoples.

Granted, this are generalizations and do not apply across the full spectrum of what is considered conservativism. There can be more 'aware' conservatives that largely label themselves that way due to economic preferences, as well as fully racist conservatives that knowingly act against nonwhites.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 27, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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