Which is more racist?

[FatBurger]

So a couple of days ago I read a passing comment that got me to thinking about racism and reverse racism (using the second term loosely). I wanted to see what WWMC thought about the following scenario:

There is a true story, people know the general story but not many particulars such as specifics about the people involved. In the story, half of the members are one race (let's say purple), and the other half are another race (let's say green). The general public is unaware of the races of any of the members of the story. The story is made into a movie. Now which would be more racist?

Scenario A:
The casting director carefully casts according to race - real life purple people are cast with purple actors, and same with the green people.

Scenario B:
The casting director casts all green people, using well known actors. Keep in mind that green people are by far more common in movies, so if it was fiction, they would likely be cast by green actors.


Is it more racist to ignore the races and cast inaccurately, or to pay attention to the races and cast accurately?

 

[FatBurger]

Ok, new post to give my thoughts without distorting everyone's subsequent posts.

There's a great episode of South Park that I have always found myself agreeing with. The town flag is four white stick people hanging a black stick person. The school chef (the only African American character on the show) wants it changed, and there's a school debate. He's furious that some of the school children want it to stay the same, until they explain that they never saw it as racist, because they didn't even think about the races involved. He has a revelation that they're so NOT racist, they didn't see it as a problem, and just saw it as four people hanging another person.


Now, I'm all for cultural diversity (whether that means race, nationality, or something else). I'm glad that Portland has one of the biggest Cinco De Mayo festivals in the country, among other things. But I often worry that racial diversity, while serving to get us past extreme racism (segregation, slavery, etc.) will eventually hinder us by keeping stark lines between races.


Of course, as someone in the majority (I'm as white as they come), it's generally quite hard for me to see things from the opposite perspective. So I'm curious what others think about this line of thinking?

 

[Joykins]

I don't think either of your scenarios are racist per se.

 

[.Sabre.]

Well......it's better to be accurate. I'm in the majority, myself....but don't give an old boot about bloodline etc.

 

[Loki]

Now, I'm all for cultural diversity (whether that means race, nationality, or something else). I'm glad that Portland has one of the biggest Cinco De Mayo festivals in the country, among other things. But I often worry that racial diversity, while serving to get us past extreme racism (segregation, slavery, etc.) will eventually hinder us by keeping stark lines between races.


Of course, as someone in the majority (I'm as white as they come), it's generally quite hard for me to see things from the opposite perspective. So I'm curious what others think about this line of thinking?

This reminds me of my undergrad days; my friends and I joked that the school claimed high levels of diversity, which I guess it had; there were whites, of course, and sizable groups of African Americans (and a handful of actual Africans), Indians, Arabs, Asians, and religiously, Jews, Christians, and Muslims of varying types and strictness, along with some Hindus, Sikhs, etc. The only problem: very few people intermingled. People hung out with people who spoke the same native tongue, had the same religion, and same phenotypic appearnace. What's the point of diversity of everyone stays in their own cliques?

As to the OP, I don't think either option is necessarily racist.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

This reminds me of an old What's Happening episode. Dee (black) had been cut from her school's cheerleading squad, in favor of a less talented girl (white), for no other reason than supposedly to make sure all races were represented proportionally. In the end, the less talented girl was also cut, to make room for Hispanics on the squad. Dee said it best:

Principal: What we're trying to do is erase the line between the different races.
Dee: Then why do you keep pointing it out?