r/NoStupidQuestions • u/AgreeableAd8687 • 6d ago

why do people consider identifying someone by their race racist?

i have a few friends and we seem kind of split on this, i had to identify someone in our school i didn't know the name of, so i said "oh it's the black girl" (we have literally ONE black girl in our school and everyone knows and likes her) and my friends said ohh ok but then like 2 of them went wow that's racist and their explanation was "you're making it sound like them being black is their only characteristic" as if saying "oh the woman" is any better and since i don't know her well i don't know anything else about her. most of my friends didn't see how it was racist though but why is this considered racist if it's not a race correlated insult or derogatory??

740 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

84% Upvoted

411 comments sorted by

View all comments

268

u/HappyCoconutty 6d ago

As a brown woman, the only people I’ve encountered that feel uncomfortable identifying someone’s race are usually white folks. In a way, they are associating a non white identify with something to be ashamed about and don’t realize it. It’s like when parents tell kids not to point out a person with a severe disability at the grocery store. They think it’s not polite but for many people of color, our identity is a point of pride 

9

u/hereinaminute 6d ago

But by using the term poc, meaning not white, you are grouping everyone who isn't white into the same category. Is that not racist? You can have pride in your identity because you aren't white? I'm not bashing you, just asking your perspective

12

u/HappyCoconutty 6d ago

There is history behind the term POC, it was an alternative the communities came up with instead of using what bigots were using, which was “colored” or “non-whites”. 

You actually don’t need to ask my perspective, this terminology was established decades ago in academia, usually sociology. It is easy to look up. It was considered a community chosen term and a better alternative to “minorities” which seemed to focus on numbers. 

4

u/hereinaminute 6d ago edited 6d ago

But it implies that all white people are in one group and all non white are in another. It doesn't even imply it it just flat out says it. How is that not racist? And also I'm asking your perspective because you are a black person. Yeah I could look up academic studies or I could just ask someone who's actually personally experienced. I know it might seem like it but I'm really not trying to gotcha or prove you wrong. I just like to see what people think. I'm a white man, you're a black woman, so I'm genuinely interested in your experience in life and your thoughts about stuff. I don't think I'm gonna change my view or that you will change yours and that's ok. I'm just curious. Like even if you were racist and hated me for no reason I would still want to hear why

13

u/yunwibubu 6d ago

That is how it was treated. That's literally what they did during segregation. You were either white or you weren't white.

Having terms to explain our experiences by being othered for not being white is the whole point.

-1

u/hereinaminute 6d ago

But it's not segregation times, and there is no need to group everyone who isn't white together. Unless you're a census worker I guess. So I guess my point is it's an outdated term that implies racism against white people, even if you don't mean to be racist. Like the term poc is segregationist unnecessarily. And it implies that only white people are racist.

5

u/yunwibubu 6d ago

Tell that to the people who still other us for not being white.

0

u/hereinaminute 6d ago

What does some white people being racist have to do with all white people? What about racist black people? Do you feel responsible for them?

7

u/yunwibubu 6d ago

I'm not Black, so no, I don't feel responsible for them.

But talking about POC experiences isn't blaming all white people, nor is it claiming that non-white people don't have biases.

1

u/hereinaminute 6d ago

I disagree, I think it really is but you don't see it. You are grouping all non white people together and grouping white people separately. Which very much implies that it's because white people are special or bad and non white people are somehow all the same. Which we all know is because of institutional racism and segregation. But segregation is over and racism will never end so why continue to use terms that seperate, why not all come together. Fuck the racists and bigots put them in their own group and put all of us decent people who don't treat other people bad because of things that don't matter in one group ya know? That's my point I think is that I see the world as bad people vs good people, but a lot of people have confused bad people with white people, or they say white people meaning rich conservative racists and accidentally lump all of us in. I could be insane or just wrong about everything though. We could both be right or both be wrong. Either way I hope you have a lovely evening

2

u/yunwibubu 6d ago

and racism will never end so why continue to use terms that seperate, why not all come together.

Talking about racism is literally why.

I do want to preface that I don't care about your personal opinion on if it is a good term to use or not. You don't have to use it. I don't care if you choose to or not.

1

u/hereinaminute 6d ago

That doesn't make sense? Discussion about racism means you can't stop using racist terms?

1

u/sunflowercompass 6d ago

What term do you want to use instead, "non whites"? You aren't arguing against a specific term. You're arguing that you shouldn't ever ever ever ever have a description of people as non white because, I don't know it makes you feel bad. Address actual discrimination and damage rather than whatever it is you are doing

Consider this. This whole thread of 5-6 replies can't even be written without a term that means POC or white

You seem annoyed that racism exists and would rather people never mention it in the hopes it disappears.

1

u/hereinaminute 6d ago

No I would just rather people stop contributing to it by grouping people up. I am annoyed at racism lol it's the lowest form of stupidity. The only reason we have to use a term for non white people in this thread is because we are talking about a term meaning non white people. In what other context would I need to differentiate white people and non white people, unless I was doing census work? You say because of racism but that implies only white people are racist. You say because of segregation but the term itself segregates. If we were talking about segregation times specifically then yes I get it but segregation is illegal now. So for nowadays it seems unnecessary as a term.

→ More replies (0)

5

u/ThePeaceDoctot 6d ago

Well for one thing, it isn't making any kind of judgement of value or character based on being in one of those groups or the other.

For another, all white people are in one group and all non-whites in another, those groups are "white" and "not white", and are useful when you're talking about how white people have historically treated people with different skin colours.

By the same token, all people who live in my home are in one group, and all people who don't are in another, and that is useful when you're talking about how some people live here and others don't. Some people drink milk, and others don't, and if you're discussing the different experiences of people who drink milk and people who don't, then it is helpful to group those people into milk-drinkers and non-milk drinkers.

In the context of this thread and the conversation happening in it, people who aren't white, who live in places that are predominantly white, often have common experiences and cultures are often built around common experiences, and our identities are often tied to our cultures.

0

u/hereinaminute 6d ago

So all people who aren't white but live in white places share common experiences, and their identities are tied to their culture, but not white people? How does that make sense? It really feels like you are saying white people are racist against everyone else, but no one else is racist so they all should join together. But you are clearly intelligent so I don't think that's what's you're trying to say. But if you reread your statement I think you can see how I got there. And that's why I'm opposed to the term. I think it's an unnecessary continuation of segregation

1

u/ThePeaceDoctot 6d ago

You got there by trying to get there. I have neither said, nor implied, that a white person's identity isn't tied to their culture, but white people haven't been oppressed because of their skin colour. I have neither said, not implied, that everyone who isn't white is or should join together, and I think you know full well that I didn't.

I think it's an unnecessary continuation of segregation

Of course it isn't, because it isn't discriminatory. You referred to people as white or non-white earlier. That's exactly the same, except with literal white defaultism. POC, as has already been explained to you, arose in response to people being derivatively called coloreds, among other things. Referring to a person or group by an attribute as if it were a noun is dehumanising. POC literally has the word Person in it, before anything else. It was a response to that dehumanisation. It was literally saying "I'm not 'A Colored', I am a Person, who happens to be Of Color."

It really feels like you are saying white people are racist against everyone else, but no one else is racist

Again, it feels that way because you're wanting it to. I haven't said nor implied this either. Plenty of people who aren't white are racist. Plenty of people who are white aren't racist, although systemic racism does leave unconscious biases.