As much as i agree that a persons views are often shaped and molded by their parents you're kinda dicounting a persons ability to think for themselves.

racism is only apparant in an instant. not a person's ability to filibuster, or sell themselves on their good deeds or rationalizing.

No racism is not only apparent in an instant. I was simply saying thats a rather close minded way to view racism considering racism is found throughout all cultures and ethnicities. As much as it is in human nature to try to catagorize a define everything based on appearance that doesnt mean that they are racist. Regardless to each their own, have fun thinking every white person is racist at their core.

This is so wrong I hardly know where to begin. How about some bullet points?

- Noticing someone's race or identifying a person by race is not racism.

-If you think of your friend as your black friend or your gay friend or your Canadian friend, you're probably not very close to that person. Therefore you might in passing identify him by his most clearly distinguishing characteristic, in order to differentiate him from the other friends in your friend group. It does not make you a racist or a homophobe or any other sort of bigot. Are girls being sexist when they talk about their "guy friends"?

- White people do not "directly have racist tendencies" any more than any other people. Racism does have a basis in human nature/evolution, but white people aren't inherently more racist than other people because of their ancestry.

- The thing about your parents being influenced by their parents, etc, making all descendants racist is utter bullshit. Not all children accept what their parents tell them and live by it - if that were the case, there'd never be any social change. People can hold different views than their parents and are influenced by their social surroundings at least as much as they are by their upbringing. And the parents themselves can change their views

- What this guy said isn't right because he's black, it's right because it's right. He wouldn't have been less correct had he been Hitler's own son.

k

Our ancestors trace all the way back to Africa, so if your hypothesis that you inherit your parents views is true, then there would be no differences in the way people acted to each other. As that is clearly not true, then your idea that you undeniably inherit your parents views is also not true.

except 200 years is more recent than a thousand so i think it impacts more than our african liniage

Your argument was that you inherit your parents identical views regardless of your own thought process, the time scale over which the ideas are passed provides no support to your argument. You have to accept that people can have alternate views to their parents or there would never be new societal attitudes, which we know is not true.

i think its ignorant to believe you arent influenced by not only your family views but genetics

ok. hope you don't mind they won't be here for you but swing on by to pick em up

While most groups may have a tendency to prefer people similar to themselves, there is no inherent racism in white people. (in fact, making such a statement is in itself racist. How ironic!)

When I see friends/acquaintances who are black, the first think I associate with them is their NAME. "Oh hey look, there's xyz". Color has nothing to do with how you view friends.

The likely scenario here is that you view people in terms of racial groups. Because this is your perception, you assume that this perception is shared by everyone else.

Society and culture determine how people view each other. Parental influence has little impact once people mature and learn how to think for themselves.

1. never said inherent
2. parents have no effect long term? really? you going with that for your argument?

Let me make my position clear: I am not arguing that racism does not exist. I am not arguing that people do not have misguided conceptions regarding race. What I AM arguing is that white people aren't somehow "more racist". Your opinion is merely driven by your own perception.

I can defend my argument in a variety of ways. I can start by stating that few offspring ever mirror their parent's opinions. As a person matures, they begin to develop opinions of their own and think for themselves. Sure, their might be some latent influence, but you are your own individual.
I can also state that were your perception true, the advances made during the Civil Rights movement or Reconstruction would not have been possible. There were black people elected to congress shortly after the Civil War's end. Such a change was only possible because the people's views changed. Their racial views did not remain a stagnant result of their fathers' perceptions. Lincoln himself is an example of how a man's view of races can and will change.

>your parents
Most white people's ancestors where victims under a feudal system, and were probably serfs. Especially for Eastern Europes.
>but racism
Socities which are filled with one particular race, suprising enough doesn't often discriminate. If you believe African or Hispanic socities don't, you're an idiot. Funny enough Hispanic gangs are trying to ethnically kill off African residents in California.