Current Events > What would you do if you had a bunch of racist-ass friends?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Would you try and educate them, use your influence as a friend they respect for good, or would you drop them?

Not racists like "it is the goal of the white people to exterminate everyone else". I mean racist like, "white privilege is a myth", and "careful about your bag, there's a couple of aboriginal blokes hanging around looking pretty shifty over there".

This is sort of the situation I find myself in. I have a lot of friends in Australia. Many of them working class blokes, guys that don't consider reading up on cultural history to be any fun, not when you can just go watch the footy at the pub. And anyone who's Australian would know about the low-key racism I'm talking about that apparently everyone has in that country.

I can't exactly extricate myself entirely from these people (unfortunately, many of them are in-laws). And while I know this is something many won't agree with for fairly fundamental and valid reasons, I honestly believe they are decent folk. It's hard to reconcile some of the things they say though.


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Either stop being friends or stop caring

anything other than these 2 is a mistake
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I don't think not believing in white privilege makes you a racist.

Sounds like they're just looking out for your safety and not riddled with white guilt.

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Conflict posted...

You probably can't remove them from your existence entirely but you can definitely make sure not to speak to them any more than you need to.

It's what I would do.

Part of me wants to confront them tbh, but I don't know how productive that would be. I have this feeling at the moment that if I just decide to turn away and be silent any time I encounter racism then really I'm just helping perpetuate the problem. I mean if I can't confront my friends who can I confront?

coh posted...

I don't think not believing in white privilege makes you a racist.

I think at best it makes you ignorant, and at worst it makes you racist. I sense a CE argument coming on, oh boy

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In-laws are a pain. It's 2 different cultures colliding sometimes.

I wouldn't make a scene or speech out of it. (they are just as likely to drop you... or worse. Trust me on that)

But, connect with all of them on all their social medias.

Be cordial.

Make nice so they see you as a person they've invested in.

Then drip drip drip in the more educated views. No walls of text. But a smarter meme or good article or vid is much better as a post on your wall etc. Turn the light on for them gradually and at their pace. (they can decide to read the article or watch the vid etc)
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Kolibri X posted...

Sounds like they're just looking out for your safety and not riddled with white guilt.

It's astonishing to me that you can look at an aboriginal man, assume he is a thief immediately and then also assume that anyone who doesn't feel the same is "riddled with white guilt"

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pinky0926 posted...

It's astonishing to me that you can look at an aboriginal man, assume he is a thief immediately and then also assume that anyone who doesn't feel the same is "riddled with white guilt"

You said they said they looked "shifty". You should keep an eye on shifty people, regardless of race. You sound like an easy target, walking around with your dreadfully genteel head in the clouds. They're looking out for a lamb like you.

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Kolibri X posted...

stuff

I don't use the word cringey lightly but holy shit this guy always says the cringiest shit lmao

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Ain't my job to educate them, and I got enough shit going on to worry about doing so. I've called things out in the past but most of the time I just let it go

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Kolibri X posted...

You said they said they looked "shifty". You should keep an eye on shifty people, regardless of race. You sound like an easy target, walking around with your dreadfully genteel head in the clouds. They're looking out for a lamb like you.

No, I said that they said they look shifty. I'm glad you brought this up actually because it highlights exactly what white privilege looks like. These aboriginal men were standing there doing nothing much at all. And for racists, when you're an aboriginal man and you're standing while being aboriginal, that is "looking shifty". The crime of standing while being black.

Also you can kindly fuck off with the rest of the nonsense you just said, lmao, I'm sorry you think that someone is a pussy for not immediately assuming the black men are out to rob him.

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Conflict posted...

edit: also just ignore Kolibri X lol. Dude's been on a crybaby streak

Heh. That's rich. Because it's always my posts that elicit salty tears and swears from the easily offended usual posters.

pinky0926 posted...

Also you can kindly fuck off with the rest of the nonsense you just said, lmao, I'm sorry you think that someone is a pussy for not immediately assuming the black men are out to rob him.

I don't think you're a pussy but you don't come off as a very street savvy guy. The kind of guy who would put himself into dangerous positions because he doesn't want to look racist or assumes the best intentions from people. But for your question, just accept people as they are or dislike and push away everyone who isn't up to your ideal standards or virtue. Good luck with the latter.

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coh posted...

I don't think not believing in white privilege makes you a racist.

Makes you a bit of a moron.

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Probably be a racist? If I have a lot of racist friends I'm probably already a racist.

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Kolibri X posted...

Heh. That's rich. Because it's always my posts that elicit salty tears and swears from the easily offended usual posters.

I don't think you're a pussy but you don't come off as a very street savvy guy. The kind of guy who would put himself into dangerous positions because he doesn't want to look racist or assumes the best intentions from people. But for your question, just accept people as they are or dislike and push away everyone who isn't up to your ideal standards or virtue. Good luck with the latter.

Please, continue explaining to me what really went down and how naive I was being in the situation that you learned about 2 minutes ago because you read my own anecdote about a scenario I was personally involved in. Your insight is greatly appreciated and insightful. Most people would want to know more about the context in order to make such a stark observation but I appreciate your extraordinary decisiveness.

By the way I'm from Glasgow. I lived in Nigeria for 2 years and Kenya for another 2. By the time I was 10 I knew what it was like to be held up at gunpoint with an AK47 pointed at my face. But feel free to continue the narrative in your head that I'm just one of these snowflake liberals from the suburbs who's never seen a bad situation. Makes it really easy to stomach the idea that anyone who doesn't immediately clutch his bag to their chest in the presence of black men is just lacking street smarts.

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Just dont be friends with them anymore, simple solution.

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My man hit you with the pre-stupid shit "Heh" like he was about to spit the hottest post CE has ever seen lmaoooo

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pinky0926 posted...

Jesus, I walked out of the topic and heard an explosion, is everyone ok?

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DrizztLink posted...

Jesus, I walked out of the topic and heard an explosion, is everyone ok?

We're fine. Kolibri didn't like the idea that someone else conceivably witnessed an act of racism and he felt empowered to correct the narrative.

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