What's the relevance of pointing out race/ethnicity?

[XXXNoahXXX]

Scenario: You just parked your car late at night and you're walking back to your apartment. Two guys cross the street and are following approximately fifteen feet behind you. Then ten feet. Then five feet. Then they walk past you and continue on down the street.

If these men had been black, I think 2/3 of people I know would add in this detail as a way of highlighting the danger and fear of the situation. Of that 2/3, I think probably 30% would overemphasize "some BLACK guys/thugs/etc.", 30% would say it because duh black people=danger, and the rest would just do it subconsciously.

not sure what that means exactly.

[KotOD]

[ QUOTE ]
In a thread titled, Standard Blockbuster procedure wtf?! the OP posted [ QUOTE ]
Eventually, about 15 minutes later some black guy rings me up.

[/ QUOTE ]It had no relevance to the story at all.

Is this racist? I know all of us do it from time to time, I won't pretend to be innocent on this one. I will admit in everyday conversation I find myself doing this, but definitely not on a message board.

This type of thing bothered me years ago at my grocery store job.

Setting: Lunchroom, 6 of us sitting at a table
Cashier: This guy came in so drunk, he was falling all over the place, he upset some of our customers and we had to kick him out. (pause) He was *raises voice* NATIVE *then looks immediately at me* (yes i am native canadian)

I was offended because I did not see the relevance. I had seen plenty of drunks walk through, white and native alike. Thoughts? Comments?

I think part of this is human nature, and from time to time it's flat out racist. My example = racist as this cashier displayed several occassions of slandering native canadians.

There are times when it becomes relevant, but more often than not, it's unecessary.

[/ QUOTE ]

People categorize and compartmentalize for ease of use. He's distinguishing between the two people working at the register to let you know that they were not the same person. Easiest distinguishing characteristic? Color.


Next at 11, people talk about the make of the car that cut them off. Those bastards.

[btmagnetw]

[ QUOTE ]
Scenario: You just parked your car late at night and you're walking back to your apartment. Two guys cross the street and are following approximately fifteen feet behind you. Then ten feet. Then five feet. Then they walk past you and continue on down the street.

If these men had been black, I think 2/3 of people I know would add in this detail as a way of highlighting the danger and fear of the situation. Of that 2/3, I think probably 30% would overemphasize "some BLACK guys/thugs/etc.", 30% would say it because duh black people=danger, and the rest would just do it subconsciously.

not sure what that means exactly.

[/ QUOTE ]2/3 only makes sense if 1/3 of your friends are black.

[XXXNoahXXX]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Scenario: You just parked your car late at night and you're walking back to your apartment. Two guys cross the street and are following approximately fifteen feet behind you. Then ten feet. Then five feet. Then they walk past you and continue on down the street.

If these men had been black, I think 2/3 of people I know would add in this detail as a way of highlighting the danger and fear of the situation. Of that 2/3, I think probably 30% would overemphasize "some BLACK guys/thugs/etc.", 30% would say it because duh black people=danger, and the rest would just do it subconsciously.

not sure what that means exactly.

[/ QUOTE ]2/3 only makes sense if 1/3 of your friends are black.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol alright maybe i rounded down from 95%

[Peter Harris]

[ QUOTE ]
What is a native Canadian?

[/ QUOTE ]

they make the maple syrup, right?

[JMa]

not only was the person racist but also sexist for pointing out that it was a male that called him up!!

[amead]

Saying that mentioning someone's race is bad because it lacks relevance in a story is unbelievably retarded. Details are what make a story amusing/interesting/relevant, and avoiding them might make you politically correct, but it will also make you a terrifically boring writer.

Imagine reading a novel that avoids physically describing characters because the suggestion that a person belong to any particular race is offensive. That's one novel that I wouldn't want to read.

Racism isn't including a detail when telling a story that helps the reader imagine the situation in more detail, it would be making a suggestion or intimation that someone has a negative trait solely because of their ethnicity.

If you do not see this distinction, you are either racist or a hyper-reactive politically correct thought policing nit (and I'd suggest that the later is more damaging to the social equality movement).

[otnemem]

[ QUOTE ]
And why for goodness' sake did the person point out that it was a guy calling? Was that of any relevance?
Not only is this a clear cut case of blatant racism, but also sexism!

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
not only was the person racist but also sexist for pointing out that it was a male that called him up!!

[/ QUOTE ]
Why do people post without reading threads?

[mason55]

[ QUOTE ]
And why for goodness' sake did the person point out that it was a guy calling? Was that of any relevance?
Not only is this a clear cut case of blatant racism, but also sexism!

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
not only was the person racist but also sexist for pointing out that it was a male that called him up!!

[/ QUOTE ]


Do you people even read the thread before you post?

[kazana]

lol, mason55. A+

took me a while to "get" what you did there, but i figured it out.