Comment by _-david-_ | Hacker News Reader

Comment by _-david-_ | Hacker News Reader

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As far as I know it is called reverse racism because they do not think it is possible to be racist towards white people so they qualify it with reverse to make it seem like it is not in fact racism. This why they are attempting to change the definition of racism to say you have to have power as well.

Many of the people who support this law do believe you need to be racist to fix past racism. Ibram X. Kendi, for example, said "The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination."

My question, however, was more about a slippery slope. Once you allow blatant discrimination like this in the law it is only a matter of time until it is used in a way you don't like. Some people think there are millions of white supremcists in the US. If that is the case and racial discrimination becomes legal, will these people still be in support of laws like this when they require whites to be hired? I would guess not.

Basically let's address a past injustice by doing unjust acts in the name of "leveling the play field" and if anyone objects to it we'll just accuse them of what we are trying to do, it baffles the mind how this kind of thinking has bled into every sphere of society.

Good points.

As this is such an emotionally charged topic, they're likely not thinking with such long term logic. It's more of a reactionary thing

The first time I started seeing and hearing the term "reverse racism" was from white people reacting to policies like affirmative action. A decade or so later I saw the movement to drop "reverse". All IME of course.

IME the "reverse" qualifier is used quite a lot more when it's a person of colour targeting a white person with racism.

It's not possible to be Racist towards White people in White majority countries.

"Racism" was invented by Trotsky: a Bolshevik who applied Karl Marx's ideas about class oppression to race. The idea behind Racism is that you have an oppressing race that is Racist towards the oppressed races. The English dictionaries have attempted to change the definition to mean something more like racial bigotry but that's not how people use it. The behavior of the policy makers who argue for this kind of thing still matches Trotsky's ideas.

If you don't like this then stop using their words, what you want to talk about is called "racial bigotry."

Whatever you want to call it: discriminating against someone because of their race is wrong.

Think about how that person feels knowing they are the most qualified to do a job but don't get that job because they were "born the wrong way."

Imagine what that does to the democratic discriminated against: puts them back for generations.

You are wrong. Racism is prejudice or discrimination against people (or a person) due to their race or perceived race. White is a race so it is possible to be racist against whites.

Trotsky did not invent racism. People discriminated against others due to their race before Trotsky was even born.

I don't care if you want to call it racism or racial bigotry or whatever. It exists and it can happen against all races, by any race, in every country.

This seems like the exact opposite of what I’ve experienced. For as long as I can remember, the term “racism” was used to describe behavior that was motivated by racial prejudice. You may be correct about the historical origin of the word, but I’ve only experienced this more structural definition within the last few years, and I think it’s safe to say from the anecdotal evidence available online that I’m not alone.

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