Race is Not Important... Character Is

SummerMadness

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Imagine the surprise of kids that grew up playing together, only to find when they get to school they are supposed to see each other as the enemy. Must be especially tough on kids of mixed marriages. Suddenly one parent is the bad guy.
That's not what happens. Kids often learn about race because of racism. Many of my black friends were called racial slurs when they were 5- and 6-years old by another classmate. They didn't understand the phrase and would ask their parents what it meant; this led to a pain and anguish for parents, but it is clear that attitudes about race are not learned in the classroom, it is learned from society and its treatment of those considered lower in the social hierarchy. In countries such as India, you can swap race for caste, but it's the same thing. The classroom is not the source, the society is.
 
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muichimotsu

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The OP seems to not realize how people have twisted the word to mean something broader and not the sociological definition that is more commonly utilized in these discussions, to say nothing of the nuance between race and ethnicity that I wasn't as aware of until a few years ago.

Character should be important, of course, but to say that we can never observe race or ethnicity as a factor in someone's experiences as regards prejudice is reductive.
 
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eleos1954

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True or false ??

There is one race .... the human race and many characters within ... and yes the human race is important ... was the Lords pinnacle of creation.
 
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Al Gammate

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All we are doing here is talking about caste systems which is alive and well blatantly used in India to this day. But it is everywhere in subtle ways that are not so blatant. What matters when it comes down to it is we are all made in the image of God. We judge our fellows by character (at least we should). You will know a tree by its fruits. The answer seems pretty simple to me minus the culture or whatever. But the bottom line is we should see our fellow human beings as God see’s them. We are all fallible. We all have our culture and experiences to come from. But we cannot use it as a weapon against each other from either side. That is our hangup in the end. This victimhood identity is toxic when good is not good enough regardless of strides made. Injustices of the long gone days we no longer live in are used as excuses for constantly regressing into the past. What’s done is done. We learn from it but we cannot wallow in it. Moving forward is the only option. Past sins have become a security blanket of excuses not to heal.
 
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Al Gammate

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All we are doing here is talking about caste systems which is alive and well blatantly used in India to this day. But it is everywhere in subtle ways that are not so blatant. What matters when it comes down to it is we are all made in the image of God. We judge our fellows by character (at least we should). You will know a tree by its fruits. The answer seems pretty simple to me minus the culture or whatever. But the bottom line is we should see our fellow human beings as God see’s them. We are all fallible. We all have our culture and experiences to come from. But we cannot use it as a weapon against each other from either side. That is our hangup in the end. This victimhood identity is toxic when good is not good enough regardless of strides made. Injustices of the long gone days we no longer live in are used as excuses for constantly regressing into the past. What’s done is done. We learn from it but we cannot wallow in it. Moving forward is the only option. Past sins have become a security blanket of excuses not to heal.

Hello Michie,

I agree.

Basically, the left-wing news media convinced a lot of very gullible Americans that there are millions or perhaps billions of Neo-Nazi, Skinhead, and Ku Klux Klan members roaming around, ready to pounce on the nearest minority.

This is being done deliberately to divide Americans. The Left wants strife.

"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with P. T. Barnum.
 
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SummerMadness

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Hello Michie,

I agree.

Basically, the left-wing news media convinced a lot of very gullible Americans that there are millions or perhaps billions of Neo-Nazi, Skinhead, and Ku Klux Klan members roaming around, ready to pounce on the nearest minority.

This is being done deliberately to divide Americans. The Left wants strife.

"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with P. T. Barnum.
Can you provide evidence for this claim? Sounds like hyperbolic garbage.
 
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2BeholdHisGlory

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I can think of many situations in which race is way more important than character.

Like any situation where people are making judgements about me before they get to know me. This happens all the time.

The LORD said, ..." for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Just as Jesus did say also, "Ye judge after the flesh"

Racism is shown as far back as

Numbers 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

2 Cr 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

People who know you after the color of your skin just reveal more about themselves
 
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Bobber

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I agree. But I am confused by the point of this thread.
As am I. It seems to draw people into making a choice that doesn't make sense.

Both ARE and can be important depending on what means. I wish many of these type OP's would just explain what they're getting at.
 
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Clizby WampusCat

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Can you give an example?
Medically. Some "races" are more prone to different diseases than others. Cystic Fibrosis is more common in white 's than other races and Latin Americans are more likely to get type 2 diabetes than others etc. So your "race" is a better indication of your health than your character is in that context.
 
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timothyu

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Like any situation where people are making judgements about me before they get to know me. This happens all the time.
I got that all the time over hair so I will agree, skin colour could be a trigger for some people but it would be the same character in those people regardless of whether hair or skin was their trigger. The character applies to both sides . Someone who is the aggressor is so because of character and not skin colour.
 
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durangodawood

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I got that all the time over hair so I will agree, skin colour could be a trigger for some people but it would be the same character in those people regardless of whether hair or skin was their trigger. The character applies to both sides . Someone who is the aggressor is so because of character and not skin colour.
I think most people have implicit bias, even basically really good people. Often a little human interaction will flatten that bias. But in many high stakes encounters there's no time for that. Thats part of the problem we're seeing in policing.
 
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timothyu

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I think most people have implicit bias, even basically really good people. Often a little human interaction will flatten that bias. But in many high stakes encounters there's no time for that. Thats part of the problem we're seeing in policing.
Perhaps a few older folks form Britain will weigh in and tell us why Bobbies no longer found it prudent to carry only night sticks. They were the policing standard for the world for decades.
 
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