Minority Rights: Are they just a waste of time?

[@Krysten1785]

You should look up Harvard Project Implicit. Their research has shaped a lot of my own theology on racism, sexism, and any other -ism of the sort. The brain forms associations with the things, images, and ideas we encounter throughout our lives. Have you seen the third Hunger Games movie? At the end when Peta hates Catnis, its because the Peacekeepers tortured him as they showed him images, sounds, and videos of Katnis. This made him learn to associate Katnis with fear and pain. People are constantly forming new connections in their brain. If you repeatedly see more images of men in positions of power than women, you will associate jobs like CEO and president with men. This connection persists even if you decide that both women and men can hold those positions well. (If I say nurse, most people would imediately picture a woman, even if they arent sexist against male nurses) These connections are part of the subconscious mind and effect the way you make decisions (again, even this happens even if you arent sexist). The same can be said for racism. If you grow up seeing image after image of Black people being violent (in news, movies, real life, whatever) you will associate Black people with violence (regardless of whether or not you're racist). These connections greatly affect what you do in situations where your fight or flight response kicks in and your subconscious mind controls your instincts. This response could be partly to blame for why innocent Black people are shot. So...yeah its not entirely the government's fault that we still have racism sexism and all the other -isms In fact, I think the only way to erradicate sexism and racism would be to have a more equal portrayal of who people are. Personally, Im far from what any other women my age are like. I wish media would show more diverse people. And the news needs to stop doing so many reports about Black people involved in shootings because it reinforces the idea that Black people are violent.

[@leeely9093]

I think that's why feminism has acquired such a stigma--because of this sort of reverse discrimination thing. A lot of people concentrate on the least important aspects of a problem or are quick to be offended. It's almost like they're looking to be offended. I think that a lot of this positive discrimination is just proof of the fact that a lot of people still can't look beyond the surface. And if we want to do something about it we should stop caring.

[@leeely9093]

Thank you :) This is something I've noticed for a long time but haven't been able to put into words until now. As I attend an art school, everyone is very into advocacy, but I have a tendency to find logical fallacies in what everyone is thinking (in a sort of unconscious rebellion) and so it's been bugging me for a while. It seems to me a very hypocritical pattern to claim that skin color, etc. aren't important and then continue to make it an important thing. it's almost like positive racism.

[@macedok89]

freedom to do what you want without harming others, that is a huge thing that needs to be defined. you'll always have the d00d who says having his kid see same sex couples is offensive or something along those lines a cheap example, but the point is, even then you'll need an agreement of some sort to set the boundaries of what harm is. how can we reach such an agreement fairly? majority vote. having boundaries on freedom is likely a consequence of any society, the key is setting them properly

[@leeely9093]

The point is that even when we are fighting for rights, we're concentrating too much on what makes ppl different. Gay, black, female... these are things we shouldn't see, as they are arbitrary and superficial. Thus, when fighting for rights, we're still defining ppl by one specific characteristic that they have, rather than just seeing ppl as ppl and not cutting them down into groups.That is why we should fight for individual rights--because that is the only way to avoid dehumanizing a person.

[@rast123456789]

Now Liberals and Conservatives are fighting. All the while both candidates still support, Endless Wars, Forced Purchasing of Health Care, The Bailouts, Central Banks That Enslave Nations With Debt, Torture, Drone Strikes, Indefinite Prison Without Trial, Assassinations, The NSA and The Patriot Act, The Military Industrial Complex, Sopa/Cispa(the bill that will censor the internet destroying free speech), Overthrowing Sovereign Nations and Installing Dictators Stealing Their Resources(Part2).

[@andrewd4413]

It's not as simple as "individual rights" being a solution for all inequalities in America.

[@rast123456789]

Instead of focusing on these atrocities and deliberate abuses of power, which the mainstream media doesn't mention, we are instead divided because Candidate A is for gay marriage and Candidate B isn't. Imagine how strong we would be if we were united and fighting for the rights of everybody everywhere and not pitted against each other.... I agree with you that the government is made up of people but those people do not represent the people it governs.

[@rast123456789]

Everyone is so quick to jump on the positive discrimination band wagon. On tumblr today there was a picture of two white men with a black guy who had a bloody face and everyone was saying how racist white people are for beating him up etc etc. And then someone took the time to find and post another picture of those two white men except they were helping the black man walk after he got beat up by an angry mob.They do the same thing with sexism.Pro minority people can be very closed minded/hateful

[@rast123456789]

Sorry for that really long response but it was the only way I could explain what I was trying to say lol. I mean sure racism, sexism and classism do exist outside of a western government but I think that our government helps propagate the "ism" words of humanity on purpose to some extent.

[@chandlerhamilton3208]

Libertarian right here

[@leeely9093]

But who are you to decide for the majority what is right and wrong? That is what the government is doing. I agree that freedom needs to be defined, but by defining freedom you are restricting it. It's a conundrum and there's really no way around it. I agree with you on your points, I just wanted to play devil's advocate. Or just bring in a point.

[@downey6666]

I think the need to be "Overly Politically Correct", is more a symptom not the underlying pathology, which is there is no real political discourse anymore - they have to be this bland, say nothing kind of people; its not really about policy, its about attacks on reputations (power games).

[@leeely9093]

continued: The world would be a better place if everyone gave less shits. I always say that. On a side note, here is a common Tumblr attitude: "Look at me, I'm so progressive! Look at this photo I posted, look! See how not racist I am?"

[@rast123456789]

YES! If only I could have stated it that eloquently in my video haha.

[@rast123456789]

I have way too many ideas going on in this video. And they are not explained very well either. I actually had this video set as private for a while because it felt off. Anyway, I personally think that people are purposely separated into different groups with different names and given different causes they are fighting for. Then when election time comes around you pick the candidate who supports the rights of Group A and then Group B chooses the other candidate who supports them. (Part 1)

[@rast123456789]

Hmmm.... I tried typing something like five times but it was too long winded and kept taking up all of the character spaces......anyway. I think a big problem is that when freedom is defined it is usually by a senseless majority who have been fed propaganda buy a powerful few with a lot of money and influence.

[@jasthespazzrocks]

I completely agree

[@kentwelve7023]

Ideas so good, they're mandatory. Statism.

[@rast123456789]

They were taken during the civil rights movement.

[@burrkittykat]

This argument illuminates the fact that you have white privilege. You have the luxury of considering yourself to be an individual--and the ability to be judged for your individuality. Minorities have the burden of being judged, first, by their social group(s) and how they're represented in the outside world. I have no control over the impressions people place upon me based on my sexuality/race. However, you as a white male are able to transcend "labels" and become an individual.

[@Krazycutiegurlxxx]

I think that to assume one is being judged for their sex or race is judgmental in itself. Everybody is judged on asinine details regardless of their sex and race. White guy making a video that would piss off an SJW despite the argument being sensible? Surely, he is "privileged". Some would surely argue that he's a racist sexist bigot. Do you see the hypocrisy? If someone can't think of themselves as an individual due to their race of sex, despite relatively few racists/sexists living in the west currently, what they really need is to step outside of such a narrow way of thought. Also, i know this comment was old as fuck, but, idc.

[@burrkittykat]

Sweetie, Frank Ocean just released his highly anticipated album a few days ago which, for me, was very cathartic. So, since I'm in such great spirits, I'm not going to veer away from diplomatic conversation--which I think I've never done, especially concerning this thread. So, yes, people are judged. People are judged for "asinine" reasons. Judgement is probably a facet of the human condition. However, some characteristics fit into a category which have been constructed by society, i.e. race, gender, and sex. While these identities/categories are constructions, this doesn't mean that people are impacted by them in the same way a person would be impacted by, let's say, eye color or (un)attached ears. The aforementioned identities carry with them historical, pathological, and cultural implications that affect one's desirability, accessibility, and safety in a world that prioritizes White socio-economically stable, cis-hetero males. There's some really great literature pertaining to the intersection of race, gender, and class. I would recommend reading the works of Michelle Alexander, Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, and Kimberle Crenshaw, just to name a few. P.S. could you produce for me a statistical figure of racists and sexists living in the West? Deuces!

[@Krazycutiegurlxxx]

Sean F Asking for a statistical figure on that isn't a very good idea. Not many people are willing to admit it if they are racist. That being said, you can tell that there relatively few, because western society at large has a very negative opinion of sexist and racist people- so much so that people who actually are racist and sexist are unlikely to want to admit it. And my point is that SJW's like you say that they want equality, and say that minorities an woman are unfairly treated in ways that significantly impact their lives, yet, you want to judge white cis males and put them at a disadvantage. I, for the record, am a turkish-american female. I live in the ghetto. Society may have once been extremely prejudiced, but in case you didn't notice, you haven't lived in a time where that is the case. So, TLDR, there is still prejudice, but you SJW's aren't helping by whining about white cis males being "privileged" (your way of saying they're treated better than they deserve due to the transgressions of their ancestors). SJW's feed off of a mass victim complex. Some of you are absolutely indoctrinated into thinking that the whole world (which is, of course, under the global white cis male patriarchy of doom) is out to get you. I don't know if you're that bad or not. You still sound sane so far. Either way, i wonder how many females have gone to study SJW courses in college when they could've been studying mathematics or physics or something. Is that how the ideology sustains itself?

[@burrkittykat]

+Hero✩Lydragius Okay so what is a Social Justice Warrior? Is that like Xena, the Warrior Princess? If so, I'm all for it.

[@Krazycutiegurlxxx]

Sean F No. It's supposed to basically be someone who acts like the thought police, but a version of the thought police that tells you you're a bad person for thinking. So like.... Xena the warrior princess if she wanted to tell you that being born white straight and with a penis makes you an invalid and anyone who disagrees is a bigot.

[@hyesunggehring9118]

Have you re-visited this video? Not great.

[@Trec-u]

like most if not all NT's you're a libertarian.

[@biohazardcel]

You're confusing me. Can you explain how capitalism caused racism, sexism, and homophobia?

[@Trecesolotienesdos]

governments? Blame human nature, not governments.

[@rast123456789]

Laissez Faire Free Market Capitalism is the panacea for most of the problems we face in today's society. Why in your opinion is Socialism better?