Am I racist for saying...

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Originally Posted by vnx205

It might be if bogans were a race. :)

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We are singled out as such.

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Originally Posted by zulu Delta 534

Any person who lives and breathes and has any kind of pride at all can be called a "Racist".

If they were, that would be an incorrect use of the term.
I know for a fact that I am, and quite proud of the fact, especially when it comes to Football, cricket, Olympics, car racing, and any other competitive situation you may be able to think of.

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Maybe the terms "racist" and "racism" have been bandied about so much by the media and the general public that people are confused about what it actually means.

Cheering on your team is not racist. Being pleased that they have won is not racist. Feeling a sense of pride in being Australian is not racist.

I'm sure those who are interested in refreshing their memory about the meaning are quite capable of looking up some of the definitions of racism that a quick Google (or your favourite search engine) will throw up. :)

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Originally Posted by rb30gtr

We are singled out as such.

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They are a demographic, not a race. :)

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Originally Posted by vnx205

It might be if bogans were a race. :)

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Originally Posted by vnx205

Maybe the terms "racist" and "racism" have been bandied about so much by the media and the general public that people are confused about what it actually means.

Cheering on your team is not racist. Being pleased that they have won is not racist. Feeling a sense of pride in being Australian is not racist.

I'm sure those who are interested in refreshing their memory about the meaning are quite capable of looking up some of the definitions of racism that a quick Google (or your favourite search engine) will throw up. :)

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Originally Posted by vnx205

They are a demographic, not a race. :)

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haha yeah true, although the meaning of the word has surely changed to adapt to its use.
Throwing a term at an individual, whether you are using their actual race, or a term that is derogatory in reference towards their race how they see it, is in my regard a form of Racism. Therefore being racist.

So the term Bogan, whether it refers to us as a demographic or not, we see it as a racial slur. Therefore it is racist. Oh and it also means we can call ourselves Bogan's and no one else can.

A couple of years ago I was in Egypt , the Red sea side , were we were staying there were quite a lot of Russians there also . Believe me a lot of those people are very rude , inconsiderate , they lack very basic manners , and that was not just my opinion , that was the general consensus of most people with the exception of the Russians . If I say this does It make me a racist , I think not .

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Originally Posted by rb30gtr

haha yeah true, although the meaning of the word has surely changed to adapt to its use.
Throwing a term at an individual, whether you are using their actual race, or a term that is derogatory in reference towards their race how they see it, is in my regard a form of Racism. Therefore being racist.

So the term Bogan, whether it refers to us as a demographic or not, we see it as a racial slur. Therefore it is racist. Oh and it also means we can call ourselves Bogan's and no one else can.

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So - using that very odd logic- an intellectually disabled person, if publicly verbally abused, means they have been racially vilified ?? I don't think so

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Originally Posted by jimr1

A couple of years ago I was in Egypt , the Red sea side , were we were staying there were quite a lot of Russians there also . Believe me a lot of those people are very rude , inconsiderate , they lack very basic manners , and that was not just my opinion , that was the general consensus of most people with the exception of the Russians . If I say this does It make me a racist , I think not .

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It sure does.

If you are not happy with them because they are arrogant and annoying, that is fine, but you used the word Russians in the sentence, which refer's to an entire Race of people therefore it was racist.
And the fact that you piece them together as 'Russians', did you survey them all to see if they were in fact all Russians, or could have some being from somewhere else? And Maybe just people having a bad day, or are worried about something that has happened in their lives does not make all Russians arrogant and annoying etc.

Oh and using terms such as 'these people' or 'I'm not racist but..' at the start of a sentence, usually means you are.

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Originally Posted by DeeJay

So - using that very odd logic- an intellectually disabled person, if publicly verbally abused, means they have been racially vilified ?? I don't think so

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If you abuse an intellectually disabled person for being part of a greater group of people in reference to their demographic or location or skin colour or behavior based on their origin then it can be taken as racial. Because they see themselves as representatives of, lets say White Australians as Bogans.
So if a 'bogan' thinks of themselves as a 'white Australian' and the term Bogan offends them on that basis. Then it is taken as a racist comment.

This is one of those topics that is so widely spread, it really comes down to the individual that is being abused, or treated differently and how they perceive the situation.

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Originally Posted by rb30gtr

If you abuse an intellectually disabled person for being part of a greater group of people in reference to their demographic or location or skin colour or behavior based on their origin then it can be taken as racial. Because they see themselves as representatives of, lets say White Australians as Bogans.
So if a 'bogan' thinks of themselves as a 'white Australian' and the term Bogan offends them on that basis. Then it is taken as a racist comment.

This is one of those topics that is so widely spread, it really comes down to the individual that is being abused, or treated differently and how they perceive the situation.

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I would say "bigotry" more closely describes what you are talking about which racism, sexism etc. are more specific definitions pertaing to race, sex etc. While bogans are white anglo aussies, not all anglo ausiies are bogans. The term bogan labels a specific demographic within the anglo aussie population - further still, anglo aussie is not a race. If all Anglo-Saxons world wide could be descibed as bogans then, perhaps, the use of the term bogan in a negative context could be seen as racist.

Still, I see your point about the racial connotation associated with the term but, if comes from someone of the same race (white) then it can not be interpreted as racist and more intended to highlight social differences. I would hazard a guess and say that the use of the term would typically be fore the latter.

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Originally Posted by DT-P38

Like half of Melbourne, I was at the local pool with mrs and kids today to cool off. 5 mins after putting our gear on one of the last spare spots on one of the benches I come back (to put my thongs underneath) and low and behold while no one is present all the gear (ours and maybe three other families) has been pushed to one end and an Asian family has plonked their bags, esky and towels on the bench. Cleverly (not sure?), they also left on guard 70YO grandpa on a chair in front of it all.

So the question now is... am I racist to say:
"In this country...<Insert whatever nonracial, non abusive, query or comment you like>..."?

BTW, we hired a locker for the bulk of our gear and I didn't temper my actual question as well as I would have liked. The family concerned completely left the area about 15 mins later making me feel like a real mongrel.

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If they weren't visibly different to stereotypical white anglo saxon Australians would you still have used the term "In this country"??