What word am I supposed to use instead? I guess I just have to use complete sentences. But that's hard.
There are many issues that I feel this way about. One of the side effects of our social stratification is difficulty in having even basic conversations with one another.
I'm glad you're reconsidering your views as well. It's pretty clear that 'racist' starts with a scarlet 'R', meaning people use the label for social punishment: see Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, George Allen, etc. That sort of shaming, punishment, and ostracization makes no sense if we mean they also contribute to a very bad but mostly diffuse oppression.
The reason your first definition of racism is having problems being universal is because the word is used as a form of labeling for the purposes of punishment. It's not generally used as a sort of mutual confession leading toward renewed resolution.
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There are many issues that I feel this way about. One of the side effects of our social stratification is difficulty in having even basic conversations with one another.
I'm glad you're reconsidering your views as well. It's pretty clear that 'racist' starts with a scarlet 'R', meaning people use the label for social punishment: see Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, George Allen, etc. That sort of shaming, punishment, and ostracization makes no sense if we mean they also contribute to a very bad but mostly diffuse oppression.
The reason your first definition of racism is having problems being universal is because the word is used as a form of labeling for the purposes of punishment. It's not generally used as a sort of mutual confession leading toward renewed resolution.