A thought I'd like to pass along.

[multigraincracker]

I do not like the term racist. The correct term is bigotry.
First the term race is incorrect, except when referring to The Human Race. According to science there are more differences within the so called races than between the so called races. That term perpetuates a falsehood. Please give some thought to replacement with the proper term, bigotry.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. Racism is based on the social construct of race, so it's not "incorrect."

[multigraincracker]

4. My thought is to correct that construct.

The American Association of Anthropology has put out a statement that agrees with the false use of that term.
Cultural anthropology was my minor in college.
But, like I said, I just think bigotry would be a better term and that might reduce what we are talking about and that is the bigger goal.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. I don't understand trying to "correct" a construct. Assuming different races have different genetic makeups certainly

is incorrect, and should be corrected.

that might reduce what we're talking about.

How?

[Ferrets are Cool]

2. Respectably disagree.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Definition of bigotry should be consulted

and different dictionaries may have different definitions and examples.

Bigotry implies intolerance of others' membership in a group. I take that to mean voluntary membership. Race is not voluntary, not something chosen, it is a given.

Bigotry is more broad than the term racism.

[multigraincracker]

6. Skin pigment is not a choice.

Skin pigment has nothing to do with race unless you are referring to the human race.
How much pigment does it take? Is there a cut off point. There are Eskimos that are darker than some that identify as Black. I’m just opposed to oppression by skin pigment.
But that’s just me. I know I can’t change the world. I can offer ideas to think about.

[MineralMan]

7. Like many words, "race" has more than one meaning.

The use of "racism" or "racist" is based on one of the most common meanings of "race."

Language is difficult to define precisely, because words mean what people mean when they use them.

[multigraincracker]

8. Words are symbols, not the thing.

Yet we fight wars over symbols.

[MineralMan]

9. Exactly. Words are our reaction to things.

"Race" is one that can mean different things to different people.

Bottom line is that all human beings can make new human beings with each other, no matter the color of their skins. There is only one race, from that perspective - the human race. However, humans come in a wide range of skin colors. Those differences are quite obvious, in most cases, so humans have a word that indicates that. "Race." What race are you?

How many times are we asked that question when filling out some form or another. What "Race are you?" The word "human" is not one of the choices. To select that you have to mark "Other" and write it in.

So, race is a real thing, in that sense. And racism is real, as well, in the same sense.

All domestic dogs can interbreed. We don't call the different types of dogs different races. We call them different breeds. We don't use the word "breed" with humans very often, although we do say full breed and half breed at times. We don't like to identify humans having different breeds, because we use that word for animals, and we fail to recognize ourselves as animals in many cases. It's stupid, but there it is.

It's complicated, isn't it.

[hunter]

10. No.

For example:

You can talk about theism and theists even though you yourself do not believe in any deities.

The person who is a racist believes that there are various races of humans in spite of the reality that there is only one "race" of humans in modern times.

200,000 years ago there were at least three species of humans, but Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis did not survive to modern times.