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      'Racism isn't always malicious. It can be a white person asking me to “twerk like Beyoncé”'

      Be aware of how you practice unconscious racism through harmful words, attitudes, and interactions, writes Angela O.

      Get Out recently made history as the highest grossing debut for a film ever, and for good reason. While the blockbuster is a satirical thriller, for many, the story is eerily familiar.

      Though the United States has a unique and sordid racial history and Get Out is a commentary on white American liberalism, you don’t have to be American to understand its message.

      It’s told through the eyes of Chris, an African American man who spends a few days away with his white girlfriend and her liberal, well-to-do family. Soon, he confronts the same racist tropes and stereotypical remarks he expects, but hopes he won’t encounter, from some of the friendliest white people he’s ever met.

      Interracial love

      From classics like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner to A Bronx Tale, most interracial love stories depict the obvious and covert experiences of bigotry.

      Aside from a horrifying plot twist, Get Out differs because it highlights microaggressions, revealing how seemingly innocuous behaviours stem from insidious, deep-rooted biases that black people and other groups of colour know all too well.

      But there’s a catch: racism doesn’t always function in the way one would think.

      Dark periods of history

      Even though Get Out is a fictional story, it evokes darker periods in history, in particular, when European doctors attempted to prove black people and other groups of colour were inferior through pseudoscientific practices like eugenics and craniology.

      One of the most well-known examples is of Sarah Baartman, the South African woman who was paraded in circuses and subjected to crude medical studies by European doctors who were fascinated with her African features and large backside, in the early 1800s.

      Those days are long gone, but the subtle racism in Get Out illustrates how the white liberal idealism of a post-racial society is just that, an ideal. In reality, it does not exist, even though many Americans wanted to believe so after the election of President Barack Obama.

      Racism isn’t always malicious

      Whether it’s the fear of asking your white partner if their family knows you’re black, because you know the pain of rejection due to your ethnic background, or being questioned by police or hearing comments about your skin colour and body shape, racism is not always malicious.

      Even those with the best intentions can alienate, humiliate, and “other” a person.

      While a white person may express genuine interest in my curly-kinky hair and attempt to touch it, or assume that asking me to “twerk like Beyoncé” is meant to be an olive branch of sorts, it’s isolating precisely because of the racial overtones.

      Racism is embedded in the human psyche

      As Get Out so accurately depicts, racism is embedded into the human psyche – a disease of sorts that’s always festering beneath the surface. And the danger lies in the gradual shift toward objectifying black people, in seeing only their shell and forgetting their humanity. Racism does not have to be violent or obvious, and that’s what’s horrifying.

      Whether it’s a hate crime or an off-handed remark, Get Out highlights the nuances of racism and what that looks like from a person of colour’s perspective. It reveals how something invisible to one person, can cause a great deal of harm and distress to others.

      So, what’s the solution? As director Jordan Peele says, “be woke”.

      Be aware of how you practice unconscious racism through harmful words, attitudes, and interactions. And more importantly, do what the characters in the film could not – be willing to self-correct, be informed, and have those difficult, but necessary conversations so society can continue to progress and not bury, but kill the monster that is racism, before it’s too late.

      Angela O is a writer from San Francisco covering race, culture, and identity.  

      Opinion: ‘What standard of living do people want? What is required to deliver this?’>

      Zero-hour contracts: ‘Clare has to live with her parents and can’t afford to go to the doctor’>

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      116 Comments
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        Mute Alan Lawlor
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:08 AM

        If an Englishman asks me if I could do some Irish jigs and reels, or asking me why I don’t like Guinness stout, I don’t immediately think “That’s a bit xenophobic, even if well meaning and unintentional”

        To label somebody else with what is a serious allegation (i.e. a racist) for what is simply stereotyping, is rather passive aggressive.

        You should learn to not treat half of what goes on around you or you, as offensive.
        Grow up

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        Mute Dead Dano LoveHate
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:08 AM

        @Alan Lawlor: couldnt agree more Alan,slagging Irish people for eating potatoes,or Italians for eating pasta but if you dare mention black people and chicken in the same sentence you’ll be convicted of a hate crime!..When it’s only satirical stereotyping..get over yourselves,the world can’t move on if you don’t move on,lighten up and twerk like miley Cyrus when I ask you to.

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        Mute ispycoffee
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:15 AM

        @Dead Dano LoveHate: That’s because Irish and Italian are nationalities and black is not a nationality. The black people & chicken comment is offensive because it assumes that all black people are the same, regardless of nationality (amongst other things). Assuming that ‘all X are Y’ is prejudicial at best. In this case, it’s racist.

        How is this difficult for people to understand? Am I just missing something about the general population’s ability to empathise?

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        Mute Dead Dano LoveHate
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:35 AM

        @ispycoffee: You called it right,you are missing something,it’s a called a sense of humour….True racism or xenophobia is barring a race or people from a business or location,or refusing a qualified person a job due to their colour or nationality etc..We’ve all seen the “No blacks,no Irish,no dogs” signs.

        Having a friendly laugh with people for their exaggerated,stereotypically perceived diets or habits is just that..having a friendly laugh…and if people are going to get overly sensitive at a “dance like Beyoncé” or a “you potato eating leprechaun” comment I suggest they type “racisim in the 1960′s” into google images and then lighten up afterwards.

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        Mute Jho Harris
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:06 AM

        @ispycoffee: You seem happy to defend the author who promotes her own brand of racism and turns everything she hears as racism against people who she is defending. I can’t remember how many times she blamed racist behaviour as “white” people, while everyone else are “people of colour” when she only wants to defend other black people, there are brown people but not purple people or green people. This sh!t attitude make racism out of nothing. There is no such thing as ” unconscious” racism it is made into racism to
        create the white people feel bad. I have not seen ‘Get Out’ and when I learned that is was anti racism guilt dressed up in a fictional story and the reported gruesome plot made my mind up about not watching it. It brings my theory that is getting traction every day. If you are white, you only sneeze to upset the other people of colour, many of them just cannot be happy unless they are being upset one way or another.

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        Mute Billiam Donovan
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        Apr 24th 2017, 3:49 PM

        @Alan Lawlor: good man, a complete nonsense of an article. Generation Snowflake.

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        Mute Don Juan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 8:58 AM

        You’re over thinking Angela

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        Mute Ryan Comiskey
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:18 AM

        She’s overthinking herself?

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        Mute Don Juan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:33 AM

        You’re gas. Would love to have a pint with you.

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        Mute Ryan Comiskey
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:39 AM

        Try using a comma next time.

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        Mute Don Juan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:28 PM

        Try not to be a pr!ck

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        Mute Dj
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 8:55 AM

        Bit of a racist yourself there love.

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        Mute Luke Boyd
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:07 AM

        @Dj: she sure casts a tonne of aspersions about people she doesn’t know.

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        Mute Jamie
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:09 AM

        Can black people be racist or is it just white people?

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        Mute Luke Boyd
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:10 AM

        @Jamie: In this day and age blacks are the most racist.

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        Mute Dave O Keeffe
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:43 AM

        @Luke Boyd: I’m just going to assume that was a joke. A broad sweeping negative generalisation about an entire race, Hmmm, I think there’s a word for that.

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        Mute Luke Boyd
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:10 AM

        @Dave O Keeffe: what like the author of this flaming pile of garbage just did?

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        Mute Dave O Keeffe
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:27 AM

        @Luke Boyd: Nope, the author used words like some and not all to be sure that she wasn’t making a sweeping generalisation. You didn’t

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        Mute Suzie Sunshine
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:02 PM

        @Dave O Keeffe: he never said all blacks were either

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:41 PM

        @Suzie Sunshine: no, in fact he said “blacks are…” Which means he is speaking about all black people

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        Mute Science of beer
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:07 AM

        Cateful now dont offend the snowflake

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        Mute Jackson Black
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:23 AM

        May I ask why we don’t hear about racism towards caucasians? Last week I was walking to collect my son from crèche in North County Dublin. I’d to go to the supermarket so I took a different route down through the back of a housing estate I passed a few groups of teenagers (16-20 year olds). One group was playing loud music as I approached two walked towards me 1 stood in front of me the second behind me. The guy standing in front made a gun shape with his hand put his finger on my Forehead and said get the f*** outta here you white b**** or I’ll shoot you. I calmly walked away he shouted after me that he’d basically rape me if he saw me around there again. I rang the gardai who are stationed less than 1km from where the incident took place and I was told there was nothing they could do. Two days later I witnessed an elderly I woman on the train on back end of verbal abuse from some Romanian women after she’d tackled them about begging on the train. She was spat on and verbally abused. I complained to Irish rail I was told we try our best to avoid these situations.
        In the secondary school where I work I’ve witnessed Irish teenagers throw racial slurs at our Irish students who have parents who are from different countries and our nonnational students, but I see this go back the other direction.
        My point is racism exists in all areas of society despite regardless of skin colour however I feel that in this country the racism card is over used and abused. Angela is tarring us all with the same brush whilst painting herself the victim. This article is by no means thought provoking but insulting!

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        Mute TonyD2469
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:34 AM

        @Jackson Black: cool story bro

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        Mute Mick Tobin
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:51 AM

        @Jackson Black:

        - “racism exists in all areas of society despite regardless of skin colour”

        Quite, and the great Belgian singer Stromae (of Rwandan descent) puts it succinctly: the point is not whether we’re racist, since we all are, but how we deal with this fact.

        - “Angela is tarring us all with the same brush whilst painting herself the victim”

        Isn’t that overreacting a bit? Just because she concentrates on the black experience? She’s putting some situations out there that one might encounter or have encountered to contemplate.

        Incidentally, I had one myself watching a Euro 2016 game with a black lad. Switzerland played, and there’s a great action from a black Swiss player. “Where’s he from?”, I ask. “Switzerland”, was the obvious answer. “No but where’s he really from?”, I say. Then the lad says, “Switzerland, and this is what I call unconscious racism.” It made me think, he had a point. I’ve been aware of that since then.

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        Mute Duncan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:46 AM

        @Mick Tobin:

        I agree generally with your sentiments but there’s an aggressive undercurrent when it comes to racism and dare I say it ” black people ”

        I was in holidays in New York a couple of weeks ago and was really taken back by house aggressively racist SOME African Americans were. I couldn’t get my head around how every 2 seconds the “N” word was used when they argued or even spoke with each other.
        I was walking through Time Square with my family and this guy screams ” hey white guy ” as he tried to sell his CD to me. When I said I wasn’t interested he snatched the disc my my hand aggressively. I laughed being amused with the situation and his response was ” that’s right man laugh at the black guy ”
        Now imagine reverse of that situation by skin colour !! It would hit Fox News !!

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        Mute Alfie Munro
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 8:31 PM

        @Duncan: true

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        Mute Alfie Munro
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 8:41 PM

        @Duncan: yes

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        Mute Ciaran
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:00 AM

        I’m offended that your offended

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        Mute Ryan Comiskey
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:17 AM

        *you’re.

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        Mute Matty kinevan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:34 AM

        @Ryan Comiskey: *you’re pedantic

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        Mute Philip Brady
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 7:20 PM

        @Matty kinevan: The guys a clown

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        Mute Niall Cunneen
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:29 AM

        When is it going to get to the stage whereby nobody on this planet speaks to one another,sends text messages or,in a society of free speech,puts their feelings down on paper for fear of offending somebody,somewhere,somehow….this kind of article is getting tiresome as it also assumes that all racist overtones come from one section of society..

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        Mute Robert Rusk
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:45 AM

        @Niall Cunneen: “When is it going to get to the stage whereby nobody on this planet … puts their feelings down on paper for fear of offending somebody.”

        Case In Point.

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        Mute dick dastardly
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:06 AM

        Here we go again let’s beat the western white man with a tick again,if it’s not racism it’s them feminazis

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        Mute dick dastardly
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:07 AM

        @dick dastardly: stick

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        Mute ispycoffee
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:19 AM

        @dick dastardly: Until the white male starts to cop on to himself (in a general sense, rather than specific) then, yes, let’s keep pointing out the problems in his behaviours and beliefs.

        The other option is to continue with the status quo which, historically, has most benefited the white western male.

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        Mute Tom Sullivan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:36 PM

        @ispycoffee: The old “white male privilege” guff showing its ugly face again.

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        Mute BlueSkyThinking
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 8:58 AM

        I predict a wave of indignant bile from the overly-sensitive white male twitteratti who police these comment sections…

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        Mute Awkward Seal
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:21 AM

        “White male”. Jesus wept

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        Mute Matty kinevan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:01 AM

        @BlueSkyThinking: racist

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:33 PM

        I know awkward Seal, the truth hurts doesnt it.
        QED.

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        Mute Ian Walsh
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:53 PM

        @BlueSkyThinking: bellend.

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        Mute Ben McArthur
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:08 AM

        I think she has a point here but doesn’t really think it through. A lot of our older generation were overtly racist, but the funny thing was that it usually only applied at group level. Each individual was taken on his or her individual merits.

        The modern FB warrior spends the day being pleased with how virtuous he is. But he has zero curiosity about the cultures he wants to see as equal. People of a different colour are a project, an accessory, certainly lacking in agency. It’s a view which is anti western, but it’s more white centric than ever.

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        Mute Teddyzigzagbigbag
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:46 AM

        I always ask my wife to twirk like Beyonce. I apologise for being a racist. I also held the door for a woman the other day. I apologise for being sexist.

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        Mute Matty kinevan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:14 AM

        @Teddyzigzagbigbag: I took my daughter’s soother off her the other day. I’m sorry for being pacifist

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:38 AM

        @Matty kinevan: green thumb to that

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:49 AM

        @Teddyzigzagbigbag: Right back at ya man who’s name I can’t pronounce after a few drinks

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        Mute John Mc Grath
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:24 AM

        I won’t assume all black people twerk like Beyonce and you don’t assume all white people are racist.

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        Mute Luke Boyd
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:06 AM

        Thank God this wicked ideology was exposed and rejected in November.

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        Mute Jason Culligan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:35 AM

        Harmful attitudes? You mean like blaming white people for every ill in society which pushes mentally unstable individuals to kill white individuals or torture them live on camera? Your ‘everything white people do is racist’ nonsense has real life consequences and is ironically racist in itself.

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        Mute epo eire
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:57 AM

        Your message seems to be repeated through alot of other peoples comments, although more directly. “Im not a racist. You are a racist” the article was very indelicate & defensively written. I have irish family in london who get comments all the time. I have witnessed “good old friendly irish racism”, when its our nature to mock & do the take p*ss test. If a comment is solely centered around ur ethnicity, it is Racism. The word has no power.It is a description. You give it power by how it makes u feel. If u had to describe ur opinion without associating it to other people & stories u have heard about that race would u still be able to explain why u feel that way? Sometimes it about challenging yourself on ur actions. But dont just I am rubber u are glue it.We are all grown up here… I think

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:37 AM

        @epo eire: Ethnicity and race are not the same thing

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        Mute Children of Evropa
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:36 AM

        Black people seem to be telling the same lies iver and over again, “white people touch my hair”, “white people want me to twerk”. They are emotional paranoid wrecks. They are resorting to inventing racism because there is none.

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        Mute Robert Rusk
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:42 AM

        @Children of Evropa: Hang on. So you’re saying they’re emotional paranoid wrecks now? Can you think of “any possible reason” why that might be so? Yes this article may come across as a bit touchy but to be honest if I had to put up with some of the shizz many people have to put up with purely because of race I’d be a bit touchy and angry too.

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 5:59 PM

        What they have to put up with is invented. It is a lie. They are under the impression that there is this mysterious group of, “white people” hiding in the shadows trying to keep black people from achieving anything. It doesnt exist, whites are just going to work, fishing and teaching and baking and building, they dont care about blacks. There are no white people on this planet who want to touch a black persons hair. It doesnt exist. It doesnt happen. It is all in the mind of blacks because they are parandoid. I see it all the time. If the police stop them for running a red light, “Racism”. If the shopkeeper gives them the wrong change, “Racism”. If the traffic lights turn red, “racism”. It is not real. It doesnt exist. They are now inventing it because there is none there. And there is evidence of this online everywhere. Go on YouTube and watch Fran Ramsey, she is a perfect example of blacks inventing racism. They need racism because if it doesnt exist them they will actually have to hold themselves accountable for their failures. They need racism to exist. I would be a million Euro that the person who wrote this article would fail a lie detector test if asked did someone ever ask you to twerk like beyonce. I guarentee she invented these words. I would bet my house.

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        Mute Brian Farrell
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:02 AM

        I hear you’re a racist now Father.

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        Mute Ryan Comiskey
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:18 AM

        @Brian Farrell: I hear your jokes are old and unoriginal.

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        Mute Teddyzigzagbigbag
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:33 AM

        @Ryan Comiskey: I hear you’d want to pull the broom handle out of your hole ya old fuddy duddy

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:50 AM

        @Teddyzigzagbigbag: you heard that? Which means you & other people are talking about my hole when I’m not around. Seems really gay.

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:57 AM

        @Ryan Comiskey: oh my God you’re such a homophobe like. You’re the reason our country is so is regressive Blah de blah…

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        Mute Awkward Seal
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:30 AM

        I’ve broken this comment into four because of size restrictions as I think there’s a lot that needs to be said:

        PART 1

        Recognising race is not racism. Pre-judging people by their race is, although I’d go further and say negatively pre-judging. Assuming an Asian person is good at maths just because they’re Asian doesn’t really have any harm associated with it.

        In the past the approach to overcome racism was to create a “colourblind” society where people were treated the same regardless of their race. But in recent times, and particularly in the US, that is seen as racist in itself as it ignores the struggles various minority groups have historically endured.

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:33 AM

        PART 2

        So in that sense the author wants her cake and to eat it. She wants a society where her race isn’t recognised right down to getting a compliment on her “curly-kinky” hair yet she also wants a society where black people are inextricably bound together by a shared history, culture and, presumably, a shared ideology of racist discrimination that she expresses here. Of course not all black people share her view but I’m sure that’s beside the point as it highlights how she herself is a racist. Black people are not a homogeneous group that share the same opinions.

        Recently there have been moves to self-segregate races on US college campuses and have black-only “safe spaces” based on the kind of rhetoric espoused by the author.

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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:36 AM

        PART 3

        The irony seems lost on these activists and I’m sure MLK is spinning in his grave considering it doesn’t exactly match the dream he so eloquently spoke about.

        It seems her motivation is to maintain a victim mentality at all times, especially in a society where black people like Barack Obama and Beyoncé have risen to the top, and uses the invented term “microaggresions” to do it. On the face of it it’s petty. The best that can be said about it is that everyday race relations have improved to the point that this is all she has to complain about (although not really). But in reality what she’s doing is pushing the line of what’s considered racist ever further out as a large part of modern black American culture depends on the victim narrative.

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        Mute Awkward Seal
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:39 AM

        PART 4

        There seems to be no thought on whether or not she is doing more harm than good. There are many minority groups in the US that have faced awful discrimination yet have managed to thrive despite that adversary. Jews for instance or Asians, who are actually better off then white people on average. Black people in the US need to move into the future and stop blaming racism for all their problems. Real racism does exist and shouldn’t be ignored (she belittles it here). But these days it seems more like a self-inflicted collar around their necks.

        So back to her central thesis; “racism isn’t always malicious”. If a comment based on race is not malicious, or even harmful, what’s wrong with it as it simply recognises something she herself goes to great lengths to talk about.

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        Mute Tony Hardwicke
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:23 AM

        Dreadful article

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        Mute Ron North
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:25 AM

        I don’t like racists or racism. And I know that quite a number of the commenters here on The Journal are not just racists but activists who spend their unemployed days trying to promote and justify their racism (shame on you journal for allowing this to happen to your site).
        However, I completely disagree with this article and consider it astounding that a young black woman in America can have absolutely no idea what racism is.

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        Mute Brendan Moriarty
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:22 AM

        Fearing asking a partner if their family know you’re Black is racist? Maybe, but if so, it’s not the partner or their family that’s doing the racisming.

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        Mute Suzie Sunshine
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:17 AM

        Wait now .. if i say to a black person that i love their hair or their curls then I am being racist ?

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        Mute Aurin O'Brien
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:51 AM

        Vegans one day, snowflake racist the next. What a shiote article!

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        Mute lez ferguson
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:42 AM

        So only white people are racist then.

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        Mute canuckandgo
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:29 AM

        See it is articles like this that lead to people ignoring real issues like racism, not the kind you think you’re experiencing, but real racism.

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        Mute John Flanagan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:04 PM

        Oh christ, not another wannabe “journalist” airing her grievances on…what’s the subject this time? Ah, so it’s all about racism.The irony is that what Ms Fichter seems to have a lack of self-awareness about herself when she wrote this one-sided article, choosing to ignore the fact that black people can be equally racist towards, not only white people, but other multiracials as well.

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        Mute ÉireBarbarian
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:30 PM

        racism has lost all meaning in the past few years, it’s been weaponized by the media to shut people down, which is unfortunate as racism used to refer to policies such as segregation in the US, apartheid in South Africa.

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        Mute ÉireBarbarian
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:31 PM

        @ÉireBarbarian: I’ll give an example, a young lad in work from Eastern Europe said one Irish girl are ugly and the eastern European are better looking and more loyal, no one batted an eye and just considered that his opinion, he didn’t stop to think about our feelings or the feelings of the men with Irish girlfriends or our mothers and sisters. Is he racist?

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        Mute ÉireBarbarian
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:32 PM

        @ÉireBarbarian: A Nigerian guy another black guy and Muslim said very confidently at our desks said that women should cover up, to him that when he sees a women with her hair exposed he consideres naked and slutty, nor would he date a white women or a non muslim,this was to the shock of the women around him, but we brushed it off as his opinion and suggested that maybe he not say that in future, was this another racist, sexist and xenophobic?

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        Mute ÉireBarbarian
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:33 PM

        @ÉireBarbarian: I was reprimanded at work for saying a country needs border controls so they can plan their infrastructure accordingly because some of the immigrants felt unwelcomed by my comment, I never said anything about deportation, race, religion nationality etc. But apparently, I’m racist for wanting to have my government control the borders so that we can build the adequate infrastructure (such as housing) for the population currently here so we don’t see the madness in the housing situation we currently have, and can plan for the future and those that want to come, so that they are not displacing anyone who already lives here.

        If all the above weren’t racist and I was, then I must be a proud raciest in this upside down world.

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        Mute Stephen Maher
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:16 AM

        Very Strange article,
        I do like to watch Beyounce Twerk though.

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        Mute Justin Devaney
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:25 AM

        I’ll never tell anyone to twerk like Beyoncé again.

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        Mute lez ferguson
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:47 AM

        I think Angela that your racist.

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        Mute slimboyfatty
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:29 AM

        Why can’t we all just be Irish about this. Can I please tell racist jokes can I please mock my gay friends can I just take the piss and say absolutely outrageous shit just to get a reaction.

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        Mute Ron North
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:48 AM

        @slimboyfatty: …and if she had wrote an article about any of that I might agree with her, but she didn’t!

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        Mute Matty kinevan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:15 AM

        @slimboyfatty: No you can’t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! & !

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        Mute Robert Rusk
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:32 AM

        I’m a tall white guy. Very much the privileged segment. A patriarchal oppressor if you will. Everywhere I go I get asked about my height. Ooooh what height are you? What’s the weather like up there? What did your parents feed you? Can you get something off the shelf for me? Reckon you’re tough ya want yer go?

        Making such vacuous statements based on somebody’s appearance, regardless of race is simply “rude”. Now at this stage I’ve learned to laugh it off, and even try to soften the feel of awkwardness for the hapless commentor as they start to realise and cringe.

        That said, I have accounts from friends suffering racial abuse frequently. It shocks and saddens me that my countrymen can be so thick but hey – we’re a society that was until 30 years ago very much isolated from the outside world and largely poor and agrarian so expectations need to be tempered somewhat. Most people I feel understand the general principles of decency so I’m sure we’ll get there.

        So even if being asked to “twerk like beyoncée” is more “rude than racist” perhaps step back a bit and look at the context of how non-white people in this country face a daily barrage of such nonsense.

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        Mute Aurin O'Brien
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:48 AM

        Wait until they find the black vegan for an article next week. What a load of white horse poo!

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        Mute ispycoffee
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:46 AM

        Ignorant, unconscious racism, exhibit A: the comments section of this article.

        Just because YOU can’t identify with something doesn’t mean it’s not real.

        Trying to do what Angela is suggesting here- to become conscious and self-correct your own personal biases and prejudices- is how people wake up and start to see reality and not just what they expect to see.

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        Mute Jason Culligan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:00 AM

        @ispycoffee: So questioning this article rather than accepting it as truth is somehow proof that the author has a point? Social Justice is sounding more like a religion as days go by. ‘Don’t question my beliefs, just close your mind and believe exactly what I believe and you’ll see the world in a new light’.

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        Mute ispycoffee
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:11 AM

        @Jason Culligan:
        ‘Black people seem to be telling the same lies iver and over again’ +
        ‘You’re over thinking Angela’ +
        ‘To label somebody else with what is a serious allegation (i.e. a racist) for what is simply stereotyping, is rather passive aggressive.’

        = ‘Don’t question my beliefs, just close your mind and believe exactly what I believe and you’ll see the world in a new light’.

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        Mute Cram Wood
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:32 PM

        Oh God Angela.
        Get a life.

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        Mute Debbie Fahey
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:20 AM

        Sounds like someone needs a nice island somewhere far far away from all those nasty white racists.

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        Mute John III Sobieski
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 3:24 PM

        @Debbie Fahey: They constantly complain about white people, yet non whites are literally dying all around the world trying to get into white countries. You’d think they would do the opposite since we’re so evil.

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        Mute Careful now Ted...
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 9:34 AM

        I hear you’re a racest now Ted…

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        Mute Patrick Ingram
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:50 AM

        Would a non-white asking a white person to recite a poem be considered racism.
        How can someone asked to twerk be racism.

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        Mute ÉireBarbarian
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 1:39 PM

        @Patrick Ingram: is it racist to ask the native Irish to take the client calls from the states because the other Europeans accents are harder for the clients to understand?

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        Mute Lepanto
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 8:04 PM

        An article from the eternally offended.

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        Mute Matt Donovan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 2:30 PM

        That last paragraph makes it sound like white people are exclusively the problem. “Bad white person, bad! Roll over! Good white person.”

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        Mute Rytis Kurcinskas
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        Apr 24th 2017, 1:25 AM

        That black girl is complaining that there is racism in Ireland ,,, please book a ticket home and off you go.
        This is just the beginning wait 5 more years when black and muslim populations will explode here you ll see how fun it is to let in all the non whites ,, thankfully my nation is poor and does not give out massive payments to “single” black african ladies with 5 kids and a free house issint a right…… So they would not be coming and my nation will stay pure white where as you Irish , and English , Germans,French ,, ,your days are numbered …..

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        Mute Grainne Abdulaziz
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 11:02 AM

        It’s so easy to trigger the Alt-Reich Snowflakes, just hold a mirror up to them and they go crazy!

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        Mute Matty kinevan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:27 PM

        @Grainne Abdulaziz: Hi open borders

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        Mute Grainne Abdulaziz
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:54 PM

        @Matty kinevan: ?

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        Mute Matty kinevan
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:58 PM

        @Grainne Abdulaziz: Oh right. I’m sorry. مرحبا الحدود المفتوحة

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        Mute joe o hare
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 6:08 PM

        Do stereotypes about colour, nationality etc. Come about because there is an element of truth to them.

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        Mute johnp
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 2:22 PM

        Would love to know one country where racism doesn’t exist

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        Mute joe o hare
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 6:06 PM

        Do black people have preconceived ideas about white people?

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        Mute Stephen Finn
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 12:10 PM

        i am afraid all this racist rubbish is getting boring, the only people bringing attention to this is people who are easily offended get a life!

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        Mute A H
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 4:23 PM

        Angela honestly….I saw Get Out last night and it’s absolutely awful and one of your biggest unforgiveable mistakes there is drawing comparisons with it and “Guess who’s coming to dinner” a classic and genius social commentary which has outlasted the generations it spans because of the quality of its writing and actors.

        Get Out is a badly acted badly scripted forgettable “horror” ( not remotely scary) which should have at its most innofensive, been a Twilight Zone episode. It bears no reality to what any real human being thinks and if you want to stamp out people making generalisations start with yourself as you’re certainly doing it above by saying that piece of crap movie is a social commentary on how rich white people think. You’re being incredibly silly stating that.

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        Mute joe o hare
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 6:06 PM

        Is she black?

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        Mute Alois Irlmaier
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        Apr 23rd 2017, 10:03 PM

        I think racism comes from unhappy people and that some are not racist but just bullies who pick on people who are different from them, it is not just race with then as they will pick on anything different in another person even how others see that person compared to them. Most bullies are people with low self esteem who put on a face and attack people who have better self esteem than they have and that is the reason they attack the other person, to lower their self esteem lower than theirs to feel better about themselves and there is nothing like bullies who can turn people onto their side.
        So sometimes racism is not about race but about difference and more importantly about the emotional immaturity of those who do the racism. These people seem to attract themselves to others like them and their actions are then racist, sectarian or some other phobia but at its heart is the fact these people have no confidence or high enough self esteem, they can act that way once they have others like them around but at their heart they are an unhappy child in an adults body. The question is do they know this or just use labels to spread their hatred, makes you wonder?

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        Mute Rosa Parks
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        Apr 24th 2017, 10:24 AM

        Michael Bloomberg criticised the language of “micro aggressions” and “safe spaces” in this speech to Michigan students below. Personally Im strongly opposed to importing Berkeley-style censorship in our universities.

        https://youtu.be/T6k0hINCAzI

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