it's perfectly fine to believe whatever you believe and have whatever opinions you have, as long as you don't hurt people or try to deny them basic rights
Well this last semester in my sociology class I learned there is a difference between prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice is having feelings/thoughts and an attitude that a certain group of people is inferior due to a certain aspect such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sex, sexuality, etc. Discrimination is action against a certain group of people on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sex, sexuality, etc. So you can essentially be prejudice but not discriminatory and in some rare cases is possible to discriminate without really being prejudice. One can treat someone differently just because they are different without having a specific negative attitude towards a specific group of people.
It's okay to have homophobic, transphobic or racist thoughts once in a while, as long as you know these thoughts are most probably bullshit. We all have prejudice, but understanding that they are lies is an essential step in growing up and becoming a better person.
Believing that sincerely and constantly hating on a certain group of people is okay as long as you do not burn crosses, though... The people you hate/despise will sense it, so that whether you want it or not, you will be spreading your despise around you.
It sounds stupid, but I think it's like being aracnophobic: you are scared of them, but if you don't bother them, they don't bother you - For homophobic should be "if they don't show off their sex life (which the part that your phobic), why deny their right to live in peace??
I'm sorry u.u It was the first -phobic that came to my mind. But actually, beautiful potato is right: i don't want to know about anyone's sex life also. That is PRIVATE, and should remain like that.
Just yankin' your chain. I've got to agree with you and potato on keeping it to yourself, not that they should remain in the closet. Nothing wrong with being who you are, but some folks do seem to preach. Also, with any of these "phobias or isms" it seems that acceptance is not enough for some people; they demand to be loved and welcomed as conquering heroes too. This only serves to put people on the defensive who would otherwise be open minded and welcoming.
There is no greater freedom in America than the right, the very bald eagle, baseball and apple pie mf'er FREEDOM! of absolute and unadulterated ignorance and stupidity!!!
I think you'll find this is not just endemic to America but rather to the entire world. Absolute, unadulterated ignorance and stupidity have no borders.
"It's just my opinion that black people are dumb". No, it's not an opinion, because it is scientifically proven that they are not. All ethnicities are biologically equal in intelligence, it is just lack of opportunity (AND DISCRIMINATION) that may lead to things such as less prominent academics who are black.
No, an opinion is something like, "red is the best colour", because something like that cannot be proven. It is a FACT that black people are no less intelligent than those of other ethnicities.
What you're saying is that someone could say "The chemical formula of water is HO" and that would just be their opinion.
You know I don't think that "it's just an opinion" is a legitimate argument. It was Hitler's opinion that Jewish people were inferior.
This post is just excusing people who are being ridiculous and can't be bothered to push themselves out of their comfort zone.
If it is talking about unintentional racist etc thoughts, then it's different.
Nice goal-post-moving.
"You know I don't think that "it's just an opinion" is a legitimate argument. It was Hitler's opinion that Jewish people were inferior."
Which would have been fine, had he not started rounding them up and killing them. This is exactly what the post is talking about.
"This post is just excusing people who are being ridiculous and can't be bothered to push themselves out of their comfort zone."
Yes it is, what's your point?
Not necessarily. It's entirely possible to dislike black people and still respect their right to live in peace and be happy, just like how it's possible to dislike an individual and still respect his right to live in peace and be happy.
But there are unconscious biases in employment, the law force, etc. You could be a supervisor of a gay dude and professionally respect them, but you likely wouldn't give them as many opportunities or be as likely to promote them.
There's no hard evidence of the effect of unconscious bias, and everyone has unconscious biases for tons of things anyway, even if they don't think they're prejudiced. It's not really something worth noting, for the most part.
Believing that sincerely and constantly hating on a certain group of people is okay as long as you do not burn crosses, though... The people you hate/despise will sense it, so that whether you want it or not, you will be spreading your despise around you.
What you're saying is that someone could say "The chemical formula of water is HO" and that would just be their opinion.
This post is just excusing people who are being ridiculous and can't be bothered to push themselves out of their comfort zone.
If it is talking about unintentional racist etc thoughts, then it's different.
"You know I don't think that "it's just an opinion" is a legitimate argument. It was Hitler's opinion that Jewish people were inferior."
Which would have been fine, had he not started rounding them up and killing them. This is exactly what the post is talking about.
"This post is just excusing people who are being ridiculous and can't be bothered to push themselves out of their comfort zone."
Yes it is, what's your point?
You don't have to like everyone, but you can't hurt anyone