by Toks » Fri Jan 19, 2007 1:03 pm
[quote]Paul H wrote....I only said possibly and not accusing anybody.
I see the situation as 3 unpleasant people being nasty to another person. If somebody see's it as 3 white people against an Indian then they have singled the Indian person out as somebody different and assumed things because of her race (possibly).
Im not sure why everyone is so frightened about labelling someone a racist. By my definition if you make an off the cuff disparaging remark about someone from another race I don't think that makes you a racist.
However if these disparaging remarks are made continually, systematically and are harmful then 'yes' that makes you a racist. But you're still not in the same league as what I'd call a real racist. One who backs these abhorrent view points with actions. For example, refusing to shake someone's hand, not allowing that person to come into their house, refusing to employ them based on colour/ethnicity etc. (all these things have happened to me!)
Jakki, Jade, Joe, Jack and Daniel have all expressed viewpoints that would
as a group put them in my definition as being racist. However looking at their comments individually you could possibly argue either way.
Finding a target (Shipa) to rail against is essential in weak insecure groups. In fact abusing their target would be deemed key to strengthing group position. Its amazing what you can achieve once you've got that consensus and its backed by a set of morals outside the norm.
No matter what we think some 20,000+ people believe Shilpa has been subject to racism thats whats important.
Oh finally, don't get caught out by the red herring in this debate. Jade can't be racist because her father is mixed race. What a load of old bollocks. Some of the most racist people actually date, are married to or even have/had a friend or two who are from the race they're actually discriminating against.