• Blaine@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    Judging someone (or refusing to consider someone for a job) based on the color of their skin is racism. At least to most Americans. Which is why this is politically smart for the red team. The weird variation where you dismiss racism directed towards groups that were historically powerful is a fringe left idea, recently outlawed even in liberal California when affirmative action was banned.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      No, only ever hiring white people is racism.

      Hiring black people because white people are the ones who almost always get the job is redressing the balance.

      • Blaine@lemmy.ml
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        4 months ago

        I’m just talking about the way most Americans define it. You don’t have to agree, but from a political science perspective, you’re playing a losing game if you stick to that definition. The majority of Californians don’t even agree with it, so imagine how much worse it polls in the rest of the country…

          • Blaine@lemmy.ml
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            4 months ago

            Now you’re twisting my words. I’m not trying to defend Republicans. I’m trying to help you understand the nature and intent behind their words so you realize they aren’t as dumb as you think. Respect thy enemy and all that.

            Most Californians think hiring based on race is wrong, and racist. Across the country, the margins on that get even better.

            Republicans are just playing into that. You can downvote me all you want, but it doesn’t change the political reality of the situation.

            Edit: I just checked - 7 in 10 Americans oppose affirmative action (reverse racism). To quote Biden, “It’s a fact, Jack!” You may support it, but that doesn’t make it a winning campaign strategy.

      • Blaine@lemmy.ml
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        4 months ago

        That would also be racism. Any time you use race as a hiring factor in the US, you are breaking the law and promoting racism.

          • Blaine@lemmy.ml
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            4 months ago

            Racism: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group.

            Putting my PoliSci cap on… Most Americans would say, “Two wrongs don’t make a right. Being racist today isn’t a valid fix for the harms of people being racist yesterday.” And that’s why Republicans win when Democrats focus too much on racial issues - the 7 in 10 perceive it as a new form of racism directed at them.

            Do you want to be right at all costs? Or do you want to win this election?

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              None of which applies to redressing the balance by hiring someone in the minority who would normally not be hired for the job despite being just as skilled as a member of the majority

              Was it racism when Mae Jemison was selected to be the first black woman to be an astronaut? Or was it because most astronauts before her were white men, so it was about fucking time?