Are you Anti-Racist?

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There's been some positive upheaval on the board lately and just want to make sure we're all on the same page.

Race is something that's usually not taught properly in America. I'm willing to bet that a majority of the folks on this forum come from a similar background as I do — White, male, middle/working class/poor background, probably in a suburban or rural area.

If you, like me, are an adult, perhaps moved to a city and your life changed a bit as you grew older, you've learned how limited a lot of your thinking was in the old life, and how easily thoughts go unexamined in America.

Racism, especially for white people, is a subject you're "not supposed to talk about," like politics or religion or how much your coworker is getting paid compared to you. Ignorance is the oxygen of oppression.

So it's important to talk about... in ALL of our communities! Friends, family, coworkers, classmates, and even, your community of friendly SRB2 players.


So... The question is "are you racist or anti-racist?"


Definitions:
Race = An imaginary concept used to subjugate people based on physical differences. (See also "gender")

Racism = A social structure that enforces a caste system based on physical differences.

Racist = You are actively for the preservation of structures that perpetuate a racial caste system.

Not Racist = You are inactively for the preservation of structures that perpetuate a racial caste system.

Anti-Racist = You are actively opposed to the preservation of structures that perpetuate a racial caste system.

***

My guess is most of us are now Anti-Racist, whereas before we might've been, at best, Not Racist.

So, assuming nobody will be arguing in favor of racism or that "racism isn't a problem," the question then becomes "What are some ways you are being anti-racist in your life?"

Have you recently been talking about racism more with friends, family, colleagues, etc? IMO, talking about it is more important than anything — even donating. Donating to charities is good, but it can also be private, and delegates the hard work to other people.

Racism/bigotry aren't things that can be eliminated in a day. There's no magic wand or silver bullet. They are cultural attitudes built over a long, long time. Unfortunately the only way to really combat those attitudes is by shining a light, exposing it, and rejecting it.

(This should go without saying, but obviously, you should be considerate and thoughtful in your posts. Not just because this is a "sensitive subject" but because that's simply Golden Rule behavior.)
 
i am anti-racist, yeah. always have been. i'm from the city, so i've always been around more "liberal" folk, but you'd be surprised at how prevalent racism is in even these areas. it's crazy.

(also, not super sure about "politics" being allowed on here, but i don't consider this to be a political issue anyway, lol)

we all have an obligation to make society better than it was for those before, and so i do my best to try and do so.
 
i am anti-racist, yeah. always have been. i'm from the city, so i've always been around more "liberal" folk, but you'd be surprised at how prevalent racism is in even these areas. it's crazy.

(also, not super sure about "politics" being allowed on here, but i don't consider this to be a political issue anyway, lol)

we all have an obligation to make society better than it was for those before, and so i do my best to try and do so.

Thanks. I live in Los Angeles, big enough place I don't think I'm really giving myself away, but I come from the Midwest.

I am still morally horrified by the amount of homelessness (which is disproportionately people of color) today as I was 10 years ago when I moved here. I remember walking Santa Monica, admiring the expensive shops and cool cars and homes, and also seeing people with absolutely nothing, begging for change. I had not, in the Midwest, seen much homelessness up close. I've learned a lot about the many forms of racism since then, but that was one of my initial shocks that even "liberal utopias" are not actually very "liberal" or "utopia." The rot in America goes way deeper, and we're specifically taught to NOT think about it.

I've done a lot of work volunteering for homeless shelters (Midnight Mission in DTLA). In fact, I even met my wife volunteering for an educational workshop aimed for disadvantaged kids (the Time Travel Mart in Echo Park), she was leading the workshop and I volunteered, and loved her compassion. She's an animator, I'm a writer, it's great.

I don't consider this political either, but thank you for addressing and supporting the thread.

ClassicNC said:
As of writing it is 3:18 am for me. Then this pops up. A bit weird, dontcha think?

It's 1:14am for me now, and was just after midnight when I posted the original thread. I don't think it's weird. Why do you think it's weird? Maybe it will help if I am extremely upfront with my objectives. I have two.

1) I want to make sure my fellow white bros understand what it means to be "anti-racist." I have seen firsthand too many white bros get totally brainwashed into horrible views because of "edgy edgelord" stuff, which is usually just bigotry 4 kids.

I know there's a lot of white dudes on this forum, and having seen what's gone down with Mystic, it's important to start asking ourselves difficult questions.

How do you think Mystic would've responded? My guess would be "We're not talking about this." and shut it down.

Why? Because nobody will ever say "yes, I'm a racist. Yes, I'm a bigot." They will just decide it's not worth talking about.

But that's only people who don't experience racism or bigotry. "I don't see it, I only see complaints about it, so it must not be real." If you do deal with racism & bigotry, you know how frustrating that dismissive attitude can be.

2) I want to encourage our friends who are NOT white to know they are welcome and supported in this community.

Mystic was never explicitly racist, as far as I know, but it's easy to spot in the way you treat others, in general. If you behave superior/intimidating/bullying in a position of authority in one aspect of life, why would your behavior suddenly change in another area?

How likely do you think Mystic would say something like this? "Thanks for bringing this up. I've learned a lot over the course of my life about how racism impacts everybody's way of thinking, including my own, and the past few years have really opened my eyes to some horrible realities. I'm more actively Anti-Racist every day"
 
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Well, in that case, I'm anti-racist. I'm white, and I have a few black friendos.

That's good to have friends, I love having friends! But I think you should also make sure to be aware of all of the opportunities afforded to be anti-racist.

The way I try to communicate the mission to fellow white guys is, like... we're kind of the "undercover agents" of racism. People are more likely to be racist around people that look like them -- ie, white racist guys will tell another white guy a racist joke. It can be easy to just be passive in that situation, shrug it off. It's important to use that "undercover agent" role to make sure that they know that's not acceptable, and to make them understand why it sucks.

White people have never, as a group, helped another group. Ever. In the history of "white people" it has never ever ever ever ever ever happened, not during the Civil War, not during the Civil Rights movement in the 60s... nada. Some white people were helpful, but never as a majority opinion.

I think that's shameful, but I also think, wouldn't it be cool to live long enough to see a generation of white people who actively want to help? That's the hope.

(Edit -- Sorry if I am seeming preachy. I'm not really preaching "at" you, just preaching in general.)
 
How has THIS never come up in 20 years?

https://twitter.com/MelloMakes/status/1278437007258157063

https://twitter.com/HunnidP/status/1258490876223000578

Insane.

Small thing you could do that would be helpful -- There's no great way to contact Sega directly outside of posting to their socials (Twitter or YouTube or Instagram for Sega/Sonic/Crush40/whoever) and ask them to respond.

Wow, what?! That's insane! How has Sega never payed him?
With that out of the way, I am (and will always be) anti-racist.
 
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I'm gonna be real with you, chief, this thread is about as aimless as they come. Asking a bunch of kids on the internet if they're anti-racist? It's uhh... not the money.


You had any other place to accomplish this discussion where the best response you got wouldn't've been "why are you asking a bunch of kids if they're anti-racist," yet here you are. The thing is, this discussion naturally cannot end positively - because as a discussion, it's philosophically null. It can be reduced to the fundamental concepts of "are you a good person, and what are you doing about it?" I've had enough of the real world in the real world, I didn't come all this way to see a tone deaf goober shove definitions about bigotry down my throat while I try to play my third rate fangame about a fast hedgehog.


This community [that of SRB2, I mean] doesn't even seem to have any sort of historic attachment to the issue, so it isn't as if it's relevant - it just seems like you're trying to net free hero points for bringing up the societal issue that's currently 'in vogue'. If you cared, you'd be doing this years ago. Who knows, maybe you do care, but to be honest with the tone and timing of this thread it's really hard for me to appreciate that possibility in any way.

But fine, I'll play your game.
So... The question is "are you racist or anti-racist?"
Regardless of the intent, this is inherently hostile phrasing. After all, it implies that lack of active resistance is an act of active support. That's not so. Again - this a community full of children - most of them likely grasp the implications of what you're getting at even less than you seem to. The last thing you'd want to do if you wanted to if your intent was to generate support was risk immediately alienating the crowd you're yelling at. Maybe that wasn't your intent, but... with this I can't tell?


Not Racist = You are inactively for the preservation of structures that perpetuate a racial caste system.
I'm confused as to what your goal here is. You suggest to desire discussion, yet, immediately restrict any route of dissonance to mean the same as a variety of villainy. It doesn't make sense to me. Then again, I could be wrong - the possibility could always exist that in your attempt to play the hero, you forgot to consider the room you were in. Again, this isn't merely a community of adults - a bunch of dumb kids are here, too, and given another context I might've even taken you seriously. But... here? Please, I'm genuinely asking you to reconsider.
 
I don't think this is a topic that can be approached matuly when the basic premise of the topic is that "all whites are racist even if they don't know it", and "race is an imaginary concept".

I'm against racism myself, but I'm also against labling a whole group of people racist because of their skintone as that is racist too, even if you're part of the race.

Racism can't exist if the concept of race doesn't exist either.
 
The message board for a Sonic fangame is not an appropriate place to have this discussion. It is an important discussion to have, yes, but not here. Locked.
 
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