I have friends who I have watched first hand having to read through a racist Facebook thread who were subsequently unable to focus for hours afterward.
I just read through this thread and it just doesn’t sit right with me to have called it a racist thread. In fact I would say that there are many people of colour who share the same views as the original poster in that thread.
All racists may deny systemic racism, but that doesn’t mean that all those who deny systemic racism are racist. Perhaps the original poster is ignorant or misinformed (if he is in fact wrong), but I don’t think there’s enough in that thread to call him racist.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t take into account how threads like that make people feel and if they make people feel unwelcome or uncomfortable that is of course a bad thing. However I do think we are too quick to label things as racist.
FWIW I am a mixed-race person. Admittedly I haven’t experienced racist discrimination in my life so can’t properly understand what it must be like for people who do.
Thanks fair point. Although “throughout this post” is probably a bit harsh. The cute girl thing was explicitly mentioned to be relevant to me specifically. I certainly could have said “find a partner at EA Global” though.
P.S. Will MacAskill is the most dreamy EA of them all and this is coming from a heterosexual male.
P.P.S Dale also makes some good points