Look, I don’t know you personally. I grew up on a place where 40/50% of the guys I used to go around and lived on my area were black and I am white. They made jokes about me being white and called me Tuga (Portuguese) while those who I had a good relation I called them blacks because they didn’t felt insulted. I never used the Conguito joke, but this is something that was used here 10/20 years ago. Am I a racist if between a group of friends we make jokes about our colour? Another thing is doing private things on social media, you should think before you post. From this to jump into conclusions this is a neonazi or big mad ultra wanting to wipe out different races is weird conclusions.
Ok firstly, reread my post. I was confused as to how the other poster couldn't understand how a joke about skin colour was being perceived as racist, I didn't make any arguments because I didn't really get want to get involved. More it was just impressive to me that they didn't see why people held that view - not that they had to agree with it.
Secondly, surely you see the issue with a joke if you don't personally use it, but it was something that was used more than 10 years ago. Evidently if something is that old it's probably because times have moved on and people realised it was racially insensitive.
Finally, (I'm going to sound like a dick for a second) I relatively recently graduated from university studying history with a focus on race, sexuality and gender. So I believe the following points due to studying the opinions of renowned academics on the matter. That doesn't make my opinion any more valid, because it is just one opinion, but I'm saying that to let you know that I very much do think before I post on such matters, but I'm no expert - I'm also white and so take my views on race predominantly from black academics, because I couldn't even begin to try and formulate my own original opinions on something I have never experienced.
Ok so, there is a major issue with the word racist currently, because people think it is only attributed to those who have malicious intentions against someone of another race. Racism as an -ism is much more complex than that. Yes you could point to the dictionary and it would state it is prejudice based on the belief that one's own race is somehow superior. However, that is one facet of it. It is also the structural/systemic oppression of a race that manifests itself in a lack of equal opportunity in one's own society. This can be enacted upon consciously, but the majority of the time it is unconscious. It's not a choice but a reaction that is ingrained - a shopkeeper hovering around a person of colour while they're in the store, an employer not interviewing someone because their name looks odd on the application, someone on the bus commenting of someones hair and asking to touch it etc. Most of these people wouldn't realise; 1, that they've made any decision at all and/or, 2, that what they are doing is wrong.
Are they racists? Well yes and no. Yes, because society is on the whole still racist, and so people are likely to mirror society and reinforce the inequality that many people of colour have to face everyday. No, because they don't know what they are doing and their intentions are not bad. Most of the time racism isn't a decision and most of the time it isn't the person's fault as it comes out of a place of ignorance. You should never ever bemoan someone for their ignorance, however, if they are told why something is hurtful/offensive and they continue to do it, well then there is an issue. Unfortunately, people see racism as binary and so immediately think racism equates to being a neo-nazi or a member of the KKK, when most of the time it is much more subtle than that. So let's say no Bernardo is not a racist. However, what he did had racist connotations - it doesn't matter that it was between friends - the fact that it was on a public forum and using a picture/style of picture that is historically linked with very overt racism is the issue. It normalises that type of joke, it doesn't matter that Mendy doesn't mind, it matters that there will be thousands of people who look at that and are reminded that they are seen as 'other' and in many places in the world are looked down on many times a day.
@Zehner (most of the above is also relevant to your response as well) To answer your point, yes that would still be racist. You can't divorce these sorts of jokes from historical context. Using someone's skin colour as a punchline is still problematic. Racism is top down and so jokes of that nature can reinforce all of the points I made above, but if you were joking to a white guy about looking like a ghost in white clothing, you aren't reminding him of racial inequality.
Anyway I never understand why there is such push back on these issues. Especially when there are other posters on here expressing that as people of colour they find it offensive. It's not an insult that people affected find something offensive. If your life is going to be made any worse by not being able to make such jokes any more, then you lead a very intriguing life.
