How can one preference for a specific racial group be considered racist, while another is not?

[notfred]

This is inspired by the "I don't find black women attractive" thread.

There are a lot of people in that thread saying "this isn't racist, it's simply a preference, and you can't control what your preferences are". This is generally being accepted as ok in that thread.

So, "I don't generally like black women, I don't faind them attractive" is ok.

However, "I don't generally hire black men, I don't find that they're hard workers" is not.

And niether is "I don't deal with black people, I don't find them trustworthy".

How are these any different? They are all just "preferences". The guy saying the first statement has no control over which women turn him on. However, the guys saying the second and third satements also have no control over thier preference. Some aspect of society (thier parents, the town they grew up in, thier friends, etc) has convinced them that there is something wrong with black people. They look at a black guy and see "not trustworthy" the same way someone else looks at a balck woman and sees "not attractive".

These people can't simply wake up one morning and decide to trust black people, any more than anyone else can wake up and decide to find them attractive, so what's the difference?

I tried to make this post as non-biased sounding as possible.

 

[EvilYoda]

I understand where you're coming from and I agree...that being said, I share sentiments with the thread that inspired this one. Don't usually find black women attractive, but it's not a definitive rule of mine. I realize that it's racist, but it's just how my mind works it seems...nothing I can do, nor would I want to.

but yeah, I agree with you.

 

[Insomniak]

I do not consider myself racist, as I have equal enmity for all ethnicities. I believe that just makes me a hater.

 

[Mo0o]

I think its generally accepted that physical attraction is based on personal preference and has no absolute scale. But being hardworking or trustworthy has discrete, measurable factors so its not as much of a "preference" as it is a sweeping general statement when you say you find black men/people untrustworthy.

 

[randumb]

attraction is a PURELY personal preference

hard working and trustworthiness can have more factual bases, and black people are just as likely as other people to work hard or be trustworthy

 

[her209]

I don't find fat women attractive either. Does that make me a "sizist"?

 

[jadinolf]

Take me for instance. I only like two types of women.

Foreign and domestic.

 

[mobobuff]

Because 'attractiveness' isn't really a personality trait, or a trait likely to help someone succeed in a career. It's a superficial judgement, while judging all of one race as "inefficient or lazy" or "untrustworthy" is cutting a bit deeper, and deeling more with character and moral. People will be more offended in such a case.

 

[yllus]

Hmm. Maybe it's like this:

Different races have different visual characteristics. Your preferences for or against various ethnic characteristics are just that, preferences.

Different races do not have different intellectual abilities. Your preferences for or against various ethnic groups because of percieved intellectual abilities are discriminatory because in reality they do not exist.

 

[EyeMWing]

In the original case, it either makes the pen0r rise or it doesn't. It's an indisputable fact that black women do not make he weiner grow.