crysthewolf

BSG!!!!

No spoilers except I can tell you that it does not take a dive, it has remained consistently good and I imagine will be until the last drop of the final episode. This show amazes me. The most recent episode was probably the best of season 4 and easily one of the better ones of the whole show. The writing and acting and the well-thought-out character arcs just blow me away every time.

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1)That looks gorgeous.

2)I just hope the internet doesn't think I'm racist now. ;-)

3) I envy you getting to discover BSG for the first time ... wish I could do it again. Libation's right - show is frakkin' ROCKING THE HOUSE this half-season. Enjoy Season 3 - most of my favorite eps are in there.

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mobobocita.livejournal.com

STARBUCK IS A GIRL.

Yeah, that's all the BSG I know. :P

I like it in one color and you've passed me in Skillz. I can't do anything but straight Knit.

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SKILLZ!!!! ...I haz dem. =D

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Eep, didn't think about that, lol. Sorry. ;)

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But I still have a crush on Starbuck even though I'm a girl too! She's that hot.

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I do too!!!! Um, but I'm bi. ;)

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mobobocita.livejournal.com

*snort*

If only you knew me....

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I'm not! That's the power of Starbuck! ;)

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Lol - j/k.

(I AM racist!)

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echoweaver.livejournal.com

Wow. I've stopped watching 1/3 of the way into Season 4 b/c I'm so frustrated. I should push myself to start watching again and see if I can recover my sense of enchantment in seasons 1-3.

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I'm not.

'Course nobody BELIEVES that, 'cause I'm white, and all white people are racist.

Which I find terribly ironic.

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That's not to say that I'm never socio-culturally ignorant (or clumsy), but there's a distinct difference.

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Well, my personal belief is *everybody's* racist, at least to some degree:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbwNSNLPIfw&feature=related

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I don't think we can really prevent ourselves from having subconscious reactions to people based on both social representations and prior experiences.

For example: I've been harassed by a lot of black men in the past. There are a lot of sociocultural reasons related to their history of oppression that contribute to this dynamic, but I can't pretend it's not there (though I've tried). This, coupled with constant exposure to gangsta rap that is deeply disrespectful and exploitative of women (again, there are a lot of other factors that contribute to this being such a continuously perpetuated image of black men in our society), has led to me feeling generally nervous and on guard when I'm around young black men who dress and speak in certain ways.

Do I *like* the fact that I have this reaction? Not at all.

Is it racist? You bet.

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While I understand the idea behind that sentiment, I don't really believe it. Of course I suppose it depends on how you define "racist", but considering it's such a loaded word (with good reason), I chose to define it more narrowly than some:

*a person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others
*discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion

I think that what people often call racism is really cultural ignorance and/or social clumsiness. I'll admit that I'm sometimes culturally ignorant, and sometimes I'm clumsy, but I'm not racist.

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At the same time, we can't rake ourselves over the coals too much - our brains are hard-wired to create heuristics for reacting to and dealing with the world based on available information. Stereotyping is normal, and even, often, helpful. Stereotypes help us hone our instincts and make rapid decisions of vital importance. So I feel like the answer isn't to deny that it's happening, but to be extra aware of it in ourselves so we can effectively combat it with other means of decision-making when our subconscious, knee-jerk reactions are inappropriate to the circumstances.

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See, that's where I think I a) define racism differently and b) perhaps have more command of my reactions (it's not noble or anything, just something that's a part of who I am.)

I think that racism is a belief, whereas your subconscious reaction isn't necessarily controllable. Now, what you chose to DO with that is up to you (ie, whether or not you're willing to take responsibility for it, and whether or not you allow your actions to be dictated by it), but I still wouldn't call it racism. If racism is a belief that your culture is superior to others, that's rather different than associating a particular appearance or characteristic to a need for self-preservation.

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Which is again why I wouldn't call it racism. Stereotyping I might accept, by a very, very basic definition. But I still find it important to draw a distinction. I don't know that I really think "racist" is a word that should be treated casually.

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But subconscious beliefs are just as much beliefs as conscious ones. If anything, they effect us *more*.

And it's hard to draw the line between racism and not-racism. For example, at what does recognizing a problem within a culture different from our own become racism? And if you immediately find yourself internally preparing to respond to someone from that culture as though they have the same traits, is that racism, or just an intelligent way to deal with people from different backgrounds? Or both?

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I disagree - I think it needs to become much less of a hot-button word. People are so terrified of getting labeled as "racist" that it's actually preventing us as a society from having meaningful discussions about race. If we're terrified of being "racist," we can't even begin to look at ourselves as we really are, and to honestly and productively deal with those issues and feelings. The *desire* to not be racist, while admirable, is not at all the same as actually not being racist. I can't just rid myself of racism and be done with it; it's a continuous process within myself. But if I'm so terrified of this extraordinarily loaded term, I can't even begin.

I think it's much more fruitful if people are able to say, "Yup, I'm racist. And so are you. Let's talk about it."

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For example, a lot of the time you'll hear black people or gay people who have done a lot of work on themselves talk about their own internalized, subconscious racism or homophobia - and how its continuous effect on them, along with their struggle with it, is just a fact of their lives.

I even have a bit of internalized antisemitism, truth be told.

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I honestly believe that to give racism too broad a definition causes two problems. 1- we give ourselves an excuse to discriminate (ie: "Well, maybe I shouldn't think lesser of this person because of their cultural background, but, everybody's a little bit racist, right? So it isn't THAT big a deal) and 2-we diminish the suffering of people who HAVE been racially discriminated against.

"And it's hard to draw the line between racism and not-racism. For example, at what does recognizing a problem within a culture different from our own become racism?"

At the point that you believe your culture solved that problem before their culture did because their race is "lesser" in general. And the point where you believe that your way is superior SOLELY because it is your culture's way, instead of investigating to find out if his way actually works for him.

"And if you immediately find yourself internally preparing to respond to someone from that culture as though they have the same traits, is that racism, or just an intelligent way to deal with people from different backgrounds? Or both?"

That's an interesting one... I don't know that I would call it racism at all considering that when you prepare to respond in a particular way you aren't by default considering yourself superior and your friend inferior. However, while it isn't ALWAYS bad to do this, it can be lazy and cause problems in some circumstances. Is it racist that I ask my Jewish friends if they support Israel? Not necessarily... it's a bit culturally ignorant because I'm not certain of the complete significance of Israel to Jewish culture (and, frankly, I don't know if it's going to offend them or not. It really depends on the person.) I think it'd be lazy for me to simply ASSUME that all my Jewish friends DID support Israel... but I still don't know that it would be racist (because even if they did, it doesn't make me better than them), but it would be culturally ignorant and lazy. I do think that if I assumed that all of my Jewish friends blindly supported the Nation of Israel without asking any questions... that gets a lot closer to racism (there are still some basic issues there to deal with though.)

To me, racism is believing yourself to be superior because of your culture and background. It's not the same as acknowleding cultural similarities and differences... it becomes racism when those similarities and differences make your race superior in general, in your mind, to other races.

I understand simplifying the term, I just think that it causes more problems than it solves... see my first paragraph.

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