McGuire said ‘Mussie’ was not a racist term

[medusala]

'Race' is a social construct that encompasses a socially accepted generalized grouping of biological, cultural and social traits and lumps them into 'races'.

How can it be a social construct if it relies on biological traits?

Personally, I dont think one can stretch 'race' to mean 'culture' or 'religion' using the layman accepted meaning of the word 'race'.
'Race' is a social construct that encompasses a socially accepted generalized grouping of biological, cultural and social traits and lumps them into 'races'.

Poor old Mal.

#Dresden
#1styearartsfail

 

[Malifice]

How can it be a social construct if it relies on biological traits?

#Dresden
#1styearartsfail

Because those biological traits are arbitrarily assigned via social convention. And not in any consistent manner.

For example, skin color is in. Kind of. Think twins of a black/ White parent being born with different tone skin. Hair color is even less clearly in. Eye color even less so than that (I can't see you ruling a dark brown skinned man with blue eyes 'not black') Height is pretty much out, unless we're talking pygmies.

I could group all red haired people into a single race, or everyone over 6 foot into one. Or maybe just 6 foot red heads.

I've never said that people don't assign biological traits to qualify one as a member of a race. They can and arbitrarily do all the time.

I just object to ridiculous assertions that races exist as biological things in and of themselves. They're a social construct with even the biological markers one needs to be a member of a 'race' as completely arbitrary as the categories of 'races' themselves.

 

[Gosha]

I didn't realise "Mussie" was a racist term. Does that mean "Aussie" is too?

 

[blackcat]

Because those biological traits are arbitrarily assigned via social convention. And not in any consistent manner.

For example, skin color is in. Kind of. Think twins of a black/ White parent being born with different tone skin. Hair color is even less clearly in. Eye color even less so than that (I can't see you ruling a dark brown skinned man with blue eyes 'not black') Height is pretty much out, unless we're talking pygmies.

I could group all red haired people into a single race, or everyone over 6 foot into one. Or maybe just 6 foot red heads.

I've never said that people don't assign biological traits to qualify one as a member of a race. They can and arbitrarily do all the time.

I just object to ridiculous assertions that races exist as biological things in and of themselves. They're a social construct with even the biological markers one needs to be a member of a 'race' as completely arbitrary as the categories of 'races' themselves.

Mal, there is some classic Mal #FAIL there.

these were not arbitrary.

they were organic traits that evolved from tribes. then there were more demographics that bifurcated and bifurcated again over the epochs, so we now have different religions, different demographics, all of these atomised from organic race evolution as soon as tribes put down their roots in mesopotamia

 

[Balony_pony16]

never used the word Mussie myself... is it just a nickname for Muslims?

 

[Sydney Bloods]

never used the word Mussie myself... is it just a nickname for Muslims?

basically slang for Muslim similar to Mozzie which is slang for Muslim Australian.

 

[the_interloper]

I didn't realise "Mussie" was a racist term. Does that mean "Aussie" is too?

It's not used in a derogatory way though. It's often not cut and dried, the term "Paki" was never used derogatory over here, at least not traditionally but is probably considered offensive now because of its history in the UK.

 

[Gosha]

It's not used in a derogatory way though. It's often not cut and dried, the term "Paki" was never used derogatory over here, at least not traditionally but is probably considered offensive now because of its history in the UK.

I forgot you can't be racist to white people.

 

[Boston tiger]

What about the human race?