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What Makes a Nation "Racist"?

Thunder

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What classifies a nation as being "racist" or "discriminatory"?

One might say that simply having a lot of racist people in your nation doesn't make the state a racist state...but having actual laws on the books that specifically discriminate against one specific group or provide special treatment to one group over another, makes a state "racist".

The State of Israel, for example, has laws that give special treatment to Jewish citizens over non-Jewish citizens. Saudi Arabia I believe does not allow the building of synagogues or Jews to be citizens of the nation. Are these nations therefore "racist"? I would say so.

And yes, I know that discriminating against a religion and not a race isn't exactly racist, but until someone comes up with a good word for prejudice based on religion, racism is the best word to use.
 
Who cares?

Who exactly finds it of interest to establish a scheme of classification whereby one can judge a nation as "racist" or "not racist"?
 
Yes, the Aussies really dropped the ball on that one. Ironic for such a sports-minded country.
 
Many European nations, "blessedly" homogenous, look down their noses at the US. Yet when there's too many Turks, Jews, Muslims, look the hell out!
 
parky76 said:
until someone comes up with a good word for prejudice based on religion, racism is the best word to use.
Click to expand...
"Racism" would be a most misleading word for anything else than racial discrimination.

religious discrimination = inequal treatment of people, based on their religion

religious segregation = equal treatment of people, who have been grouped according to religion, e.g. because these expect different traditions, different weekly day of rest (Friday-Sabbath-Sunday) etc.

racial (or ethnic) discrimination = "racism" = inequal treatment of people, based on their race (or ethnicity)

racial segregation = equal treatment of people, who have been grouped according to race (or ethnicity), e.g. because these expect culturally or linguistically different services etc.
 
any country that holds events that include races. Any country that holds the olympics or trials for olympic teams are racist.
 
parky76 said:
What classifies a nation as being "racist" or "discriminatory"?

One might say that simply having a lot of racist people in your nation doesn't make the state a racist state...but having actual laws on the books that specifically discriminate against one specific group or provide special treatment to one group over another, makes a state "racist".

The State of Israel, for example, has laws that give special treatment to Jewish citizens over non-Jewish citizens. Saudi Arabia I believe does not allow the building of synagogues or Jews to be citizens of the nation. Are these nations therefore "racist"? I would say so.

And yes, I know that discriminating against a religion and not a race isn't exactly racist, but until someone comes up with a good word for prejudice based on religion, racism is the best word to use.
Click to expand...
Good God, don't bring this up. I got skewered for asking (because I really did not know) if non-Jews had the same citizen rights as Jews in Israel. I still don't know the answer. And I still hold that any just nation gives all its citizens the same rights and does not determine eligibility for citizenship based on religion or ethnicity.
 
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