The behavior of others. For example: 50 years ago people would divide a person by their race if their behavior was predominant to a certain race.
I can't speak for your friends, but that attitude is still very prevalent today and you don't have to look very hard to see it in people of all ages.
Today not so, people realize culture goes beyond race and they define the culture itself and the behavior itself and disregard race.
That's an utterly indefensible statement. First, culture DOES NOT go beyond race, one's race is part of their culture. There has been no great homogenization of race, color or culture in the US, much less the world.
If you're discussing a gangster, white or black, you don't point out "black culture" you point out "gangster culture." Some people would blame a certain race, others would realize race means nothing, you go directly and define their behavior, not look at something as unimportant as race.
Again, race DOES mean something, you honestly can't believe otherwise. Try telling that to a Jew, a black or an Asian. If you say "gangster culture" to someone I suspect the majority of people will think 'black'. If the same people see white gangsters on the news, they may still call them gangsters - or hoodlums or thugs or Mafia - yet view them differently.
Rap music is a prime example. It's the motivation for a lot of racism against African Americans, but it's foolish to blame a race for the actions of a few. Some have learned a little and don't point out race, but point out the gangster rap lifestyle. Still they fall short. It's the gangster lifestyle itself that is to blame, not the music.
Those are nice sounding words, but even "the actions of a few" have a source, and that is the culture the individuals are from. Rap originated in the black community which is why many people connect the two. Whites have become large consumers of rap, but the target audience remains blacks and the lyrics primarily relevant to them.
People like to generalize, but that's a false way of defining behavior. But all things being ideal, you simply should blame a person's actions, and don't generalize at all, assess each person individually and judge no groups of people.
Yeah, generalization is wrong, we've all been told that since grade school. But that doesn't change the fact that it's natural habit or that it's not always bad. It's lovely to think we can objectively assess everyone, start with a sort of tabla rasa each time we see a new person, but it doesn't work. For example, I see a guy with a yarmulke and thin braids dangling in front of his ears and, viewing him as 'raceless,' decide, yeah, I can't make any assumptions about this guy, so I'll ask him to sign my petition demanding the Israelis stop building settlements on the West Bank.
This is just my observation, no reason for anyone to be angry. I could be wrong.
I don't think anyone is agree, however, many agree that you are very wrong. Or mistaken, if you prefer that word.
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