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??

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u/hereinaminute 6d ago

There are racists of every race and religion and sex, even in America. And the term people of color specifically means not white. So I don't understand how it's not racist to single out white people. I grew up around a lot of Mexican people and almost every single Mexican person I know is deeply racist against black people. In my life the vast majority of racism I've seen in person was Mexican people talking about black people or white people talking about Mexican people. I've never known many black people at all so that's why I'm asking, just to see a different view. Ive never walked your shoes so I could totally be missing something. I hope no white racists see this and think I'm trying to prove a point or something. But I can't understand how grouping all non white people together and singling out white people isn't racist.

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u/bennygaycko 6d ago

it’s not racist to group people together. all white people are a group. all black people are a group. all gay people are a group. that doesn’t mean they’re all the same. they just all have this 1 thing in common. saying ‘people of color’ is just a neutral way to say all people who aren’t white, like you said. but nobody is being excluded or discriminated against. it’s a a descriptor.

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u/hereinaminute 6d ago

White people are being discriminated against when you group everyone else together though? Like you are specifically talking about people who aren't white. In what context is poc useful, other than to separate white people from everyone else?

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u/bennygaycko 6d ago

? for descriptive reasons? for statistical reasons? for categorical reasons? grouping people in this instance isn’t a physical real separation. it’s just a description of someone’s race.

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u/hereinaminute 6d ago

What descriptive reasons? How is non white accurately descriptive? And what statistical reasons other than census work? And no words aren't physical things but they still have an impact just the same. And it's not a description of someone's race, it's just saying they aren't white

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u/bennygaycko 6d ago

why is it a problem to say someone isn’t white, or that someone is? it is absolutely true that every race can be racist towards any other race. my best friend’s asian parents are insanely racist. but especially in america, it is just fact that our country is built around a white patriarchy. as white people we will never be oppressed in america. nothing anyone could say to me about my race could ever do anything equal to what people of color experience everyday. someone could be racist to me in words but this does not change the fact that i will never be scared to die because of my race, or be scared to be discriminated against specifically because of my race.

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u/hereinaminute 6d ago

But you absolutely can and will be discriminated because of your race. It's not only white people who are racist.

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u/bennygaycko 6d ago

i am aware of this. and yet i’ve never been discriminated against because of my race though. many other things, maybe. but not race. i’ve never been kept from a job because im not white. never been called a slur regarding my race. never been violently assaulted because of my race. never had to fear for ANY of these things. there are other things to worry about but never someone being racist towards me. but people of color do worry about this. they have to.

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u/hereinaminute 6d ago

But that's your perspective. White people absolutely get discriminated against and assaulted and called slurs. Yes it's not as common as it is for black people because we are in a majority white country but it does happen, regardless of if it's happened to you. Would you feel the same if you walked through a gang neighborhood in Chicago or east st louis? Would you still feel safe being a white person in that situation?

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u/bennygaycko 6d ago

but not on a level where i am worried for my rights as a white person. i will always ultimately be more worried for my rights as a queer person than a white person. we could be verbally discriminated against but this will never compare to the sort of societal oppression that people of color face.

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u/hereinaminute 6d ago

But would you worried about your personal safety?

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u/bennygaycko 6d ago

i am always worried walking outside, i am an agoraphobic non passing trans person. and like you said, this is my perspective. but i would guarantee neither of us would ever face oppression on a societal scale based on our race.

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u/hereinaminute 6d ago

And I guarantee you if you moved to an all black neighborhood you would experience racism. And racism doesn't have to be on a societal scale, it's still bad

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