I should not be surprised at Mooby’s comments:
So if one observes that a large number of the black population shares this line of thinking, one is a racist? And if one declares that they observe that most Irish people love their beer, then one is also a racist too?
Yes on both accounts.
Perhaps you've been hypnotized in a stupor of political correctness.
Not at all. I've come to terms with the fact that nearly everyone is racist, some more so than others. The question is to what degree it is tolerated and largely accepted in casual discourse.
But I am disappointed. We are supposed to be good at observing things as a generality: “All dogs have 4 legs.” But there will always be someone who says, “I saw a dog with 3 legs.” as if to make the original statement appear false. One exception does not contradict a generality: quite a few only dent a generality slightly.
When we say negative things about a group, is it always false? When we say positive things about a group, is it always true? Of course generalities are generalities.
It is unfortunate when generalities operate to the disadvantage of certain groups, but this, of itself, should not prevent the observation. If we are understand and to address the needs of a group, we need to know its culture.
If I say, “Part of the culture of Rumbabwe is roasting kittens” – it is simply not true that every Rumbabwean will roast kittens. If I say, “Rumbabweans roast kittens.” Is that racist?
Now, where is the difference between “the culture” and “the stereotype”. I suggest “its culture” is merely a more acceptable term than “the stereotype”.
So when we talk of “Black/White/Asian culture”, what are we saying? Are we “racist”? Why should we need to see a difference? Do we need to understand it at all? Would “Separate development”
[1] be a better idea? Or is integration of some sort and mutual understanding better?
I think integration (both ways) and mutual understanding are better. But we do need to know the differences between us.
We should learn to put “In general” before observations. To deny generalities, is to ignore evidence, which, in turn, is gross stupidity.
We can make sweeping statements of groups without being called racist. I dislike it when “racist” springs too readily to the lips, regardless of which group says it to which other group. It is often inaccurate, and on WWGHA, it is, in general, the wrong epithet.