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Comment by markyc | Hacker News Reader

you can't say anything anymore in the us because of the pc police

Your statement could indicate a range of opinions ranging from ones I agree with to those that are merely a fig-leaf for blatant racism.

I'm afraid you'll have to express yourself in some more detail and avoid hollow cliches. This is a complex and nuanced debate.

there is such a thing as being overly polite, to the point that your speech is just bland platitudes when your main concern is not offending anyone

and guess what? even then, people are going to get offended

there is a limit to how much you can sugarcoat everything you say in public, and i think the us has passed that limit into oversensitive territory

you are right, it is nuanced

my strategy is to say "sorry" when it's due, rather than overthink every minute iota. of course, i'm not running for office and i don't live in the us

I find the way racism become THE WORST THING in the world wildly amusing. There are 7 000 000 000 people on the planet and all of them are racist. We people are wired to dislike people not like us.

That's exactly because it's a strong, widely shared cognitive bias (wired or not) that it's so important to counter it culturally.

Countering natural behavior with culture is what humans do, for better or worse.

And how is that going for you so far?

Not sure what you are asking exactly (is that rethorical? Or do you expect a real answer?).

If you really care :-) :

I had the chance to be raised and still live in a very mixed part of Paris. There is racism, of course, and for example I can remember how kids of Portuguese descent were the object of mockery back when I was young. (That's significant because today it's put under the carpet as if it never occurred. It seems nobody even remember!).

That makes you think about bias, how bias turn into systematic racism, etc. That makes you discover how people of course cluster around commonalities but also like to share and connect with others when given a safe context.

Racism is quite pervasive in France, and for example younger generations make it a central part of their dialogue and jokes. But many people are working toward inclusiveness too.

Just like women equality and wealth sharing, non-discrimination is not solved thing in any given society: it's a constant challenge to tackle, probably without an end in sight.

It's probably the same for individuals: how can I be more inclusive? Less biased toward others?

I know a couple of Dutch people that moved to Portugal. Surprise, even after living there for 30 years they are still openly discriminated against. My guess would be that such discrimination is so much a part of human nature that (sadly) if you put two people from one group and one from another in a room you'll instantly set off a whole slew of innate responses resulting in the two siding against the one.

It's sad but that seems to be the state of affairs and I don't expect this to get any better in the next couple of centuries. Barring an alien invasion that gives us a reason to play 'us' against 'them' on a bigger stage I doubt humanity will be able to really overcome this particular hurdle. Which is sad because it is a large driver behind all the violence and misery in the world.

I think in practice it takes a certain level of sophistication and intelligence to understand, and be self-aware to the impacts of, racism. I have observed that it is very easy (if not entirely unnecessary) to convert higher IQ members of society to think in ways that are more equitable than race. Do you believe much progress has been made with those who are (to this day) perpetuating the racism? I think there is more awareness, but is there less racism? I also feel that certain "races" are being discriminated against (ie. Asians entrance average to Universities must be much higher than other races, due to competition). This seems to elicit less attention from those who are social justice inclined. I apologize for original message, came off colder than intended.

Given that he is engaging you intellectually and not engaging you with the lizard half of his brain (with it's large stick), I'd say quite successfully.

> We people are wired to dislike people not like us.

a) source?

b) what do you mean by "not like us"? in some ways, no human being on the planet is "like" me, in others, everyone is.

A) Any historybook ever. There was never a point in history in which purple didn't try to slaughter green for green being green.

B) Everything. Me against my brother, me and my brother against my cousin. Me and my cousin against the world. Likeness could be anything that a person deems important. Race, religion, football teams, harry potter vs lotr, dota vs lol.

>There are 7 000 000 000 people on the planet and all of them are racist.

Even if that was true, which it isn't, why do you think that means we should give up and speak or write carelessly? Why do you object to improvement/progress?

Yes it is true. In every country in the world there are marginalized people based on their ethnicity and religion.

Because it is neither progress nor improvement. Thought policing is harmful and stupid.

well that's the problem

you can't say anything anymore without qualifying it to the nth degree and sugarcoating it and making it as bland as possible, just in case someone somewhere feels that some thing you said was some how offending

You can't use pejoratives against people's ethnicity or mental/physical disability in polite society. That's not the same as being actually oppressed, sorry.

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