Is this a racist question?

by Jennifer McDermott Posted 2012/06/11 23:32:58

Related Topics: Baby, babies, Beautiful, Mexican

215 votes
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	yes (please explain)	19 votes	9%
	No	159 votes	74%
	other (comment)	37 votes	17%

I asked a girl if her baby was mixed because he has those beautiful eyes that mixed babies seem to always have. Was I being racist?
She jumped all down my back because I was being racist. Yet she was saying things like "I dont like it there because they have a lot of blacks and mexicans." and "People from West Virginia all look like inbreds."
I appreciate any feedback on this.

+31

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Melizmatic 2012/06/12 17:34:16

other (comment)

+8
You weren't being racist IMO, because you weren't impeding her progress, exploiting her, nor oppressing her rights.

But were you being nosy?

Yeah, a bit.

Frankly, someone else's heredity and/or ethnicity is really none of our business, just like many other personal questions I would never deign to ask a stranger.
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More polls by Jennifer McDermott

Brittan... to MlssCue... 2012/09/11 22:15:39

Really? Define it.

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MlssCue... to Brittan... 2012/09/12 01:44:55

I'm not going to sit here and give you a definition to a word that you very well know. If you chose to be ignorant to something that very much exists, that's your choice. Must be nice in your fantasy world.

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Brittan... to MlssCue... 2012/10/01 22:22:02

There is only one race and it's the human race. Your argument is invalid.

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MlssCue... to Brittan... 2012/10/02 06:13:57

Tell me something I don't know. Of course we are a human race! But we are then further broken down into separate categories, like it or not. And because we are all human does not mean racism does not exist.

You're train of thought is invalid, and null.

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Elleryqueen 2012/06/12 02:09:23

No

+2
What's racist about the question? By the same token, she evidently has a race problem.

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Steve 2012/06/12 02:07:20

No

+3
Some people are waay over-sensitive.
Of course, as a matter of polite conversation, you never know whether anything outside of the weather as a topic is going to offend someone.

But I also think that some of the most attractive people have mixed heritage.

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Jennife... to Steve 2012/06/12 04:44:17

I agree. I even asked a couple of my mixed friends, one of which is also the father of a mixed child. they all agreed that it wasnt racist or offensive.

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RogerCoppock 2012/06/12 01:52:32

other (comment)

+2
No! "This" is a pronoun in the English Language.

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Jennife... to RogerCo... 2012/06/12 01:59:23

Thanks for the english lesson...lol. I needed a laugh after today :)

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RogerCo... to Jennife... 2012/06/12 04:57:04

What made today especially tough for you?

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ID51 2012/06/12 01:48:17

No

+1
No, but I do believe the mother grossly overacted to a compliment about her child's beautiful eyes. SHE was obviously the one who had an issue with race. That being said, all mothers are sensitive about their babies so sometimes, it's best to just compliment and move on.

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Jennife... to ID51 2012/06/12 01:52:18

+2
well if i compliment any more on him it will be said towards my nephew

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Gracie - Proud Conservative 2012/06/12 01:48:10

No

+3
My granddaughter is bi-racial and she has straight hair so when she was a baby we always got a lot of questions about her ethnicity. We never had a problem with it at all. Although one woman insisted that she was Hispanic and even after my daughter assured her that she wasn't, she still insisted! That was kind of strange.

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Jennife... to Gracie ... 2012/06/12 01:58:16

+4
she is beautiful. You should be proud. It is kind of funny when people insist things that they just dont know about. I was talking to my husband about Aspergers syndrome and it running in our family. My nephew has it. This girl was yelling at me telling me that he does not have it and that I didnt know what I was talking about... I told her that he does have it. He has been diagnosed with it. She said she has a friend who has a child that is autistic and that my nephew isnt autistic. He isnt autistic... Aspergers is on the autism spectrum but not considered autistic. I just laughed and stopped because she insisted that he does not have Aspergers Syndrome... tell it to the team of drs that diagnosed him...

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Gracie ... to Jennife... 2012/06/12 02:21:07

+2
Isn't she cute, well she's now 12 and she's here at my house right now and she's LOUD!! LOL! Some people are just too stupid for their own good!

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woodstock 2012/06/12 01:41:59 (edited)

No

+4
She has a problem not you. If she is that sensitive about you showing her child a complement she might be the one feeling more shame toward having a mixed child than she lets on. Further more I'm sick and tired of them throwing the racist word around whenever it fits their needs. If racist is what they want then that is what they will get. You get what you reap.

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Jennife... to woodstock 2012/06/12 01:49:05

+2
I agree. it is getting old. I have never had the problem tho. I have a friend who is black. I have told her that I think black babies are so pretty. She wasnt offended at all either.

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Jen 2012/06/12 01:40:40

No

+5
You showed absolutely no racism when the question was posed to the girl.

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Jennife... to Jen 2012/06/12 01:44:08

+1
I didnt think so either. it wasnt asked in a negative context or anything. I wouldnt be offended if someone were to ask me if my child was mixed. I have even been asked if my child had a disability. I wasnt offended. I knew the woman was just curious because my child didnt talk well. I told her that yes indeed she did and at that time we didnt know exactly what it was.

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Rock 2012/06/12 01:36:41

No

+3
Looks like her idea of a racist and that of most intelligent people is a bit skewed!

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Jennife... to Rock 2012/06/12 01:38:25

yep

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firebird 2012/06/12 01:32:05

No

+4
NO, it wasn't racist. I think she is guilty of racism herself and is over compensating for her own problems...

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Jennife... to firebird 2012/06/12 01:38:51

that sounds about right LOL

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Nimara 2012/06/12 01:25:59

No

+2
O.O I'm like confused with her reaction.
No, this wasn't a racist question at all.

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Jennife... to Nimara 2012/06/12 01:26:37

+3
Thank you. I didnt think so either.

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Nimara to Jennife... 2012/06/12 01:27:03

+1
You're welcome.

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Shawna 2012/06/12 01:24:29

No

+1
It is not racism to notice a person's race, ask about a person's race or admire something about a person's race. It is racism to treat someone badly or to give them preferential treatment because of a quality you perceive their race to have.

The woman sounds ignorant and strange.
Children of mixed race parents are often very attractive. It's silly to get all uptight about somebody noticing that.

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Jennife... to Shawna 2012/06/12 01:29:34

+1
Thank you. I think that children that have mixed features are so beautiful. thats why you see alot of them in pictures all over the internet. There was even one that went around on facebook about a mixed child and the beauty of its eyes. Nobody seemed to be offended about that... I think she is just ignorant to the whole thing.

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Shawna to Jennife... 2012/06/12 01:30:53

+1
My good friend is a blonde of German and Polish descent. Her husband is Filipino. Their children are gorgeous!

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Jennife... to Shawna 2012/06/12 01:35:27

+1
I bet they are gorgeous. I personally think all children are beautiful because they are young and innocent. My friend had a little girl that was white and mexican. she was so beautiful and she was like a daughter to me. her mom and I were always together and our girls were always together. I would always tell the little girl that she was just precious and my friend would always say the same for my little girl.

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Shawna to Jennife... 2012/06/12 01:37:41

+1
You are right. All children are beautiful.

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Jennife... to Shawna 2012/06/12 01:41:32

+1
I love children. I am glad I cant have any more of my own, but I love kids. They are fun, innocent and eager to learn from their world. I love to teach little children sign language. Especially those with special needs. It is so rewarding to see their eyes light up when they realize they can communicate when they cant talk. and it is nice to see that parents can understand what their child wants or needs.

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Shawna to Jennife... 2012/06/12 01:54:54

That is really wonderful. Is that what you do for a living or as a volunteer? It sounds like it is very rewarding.

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Jennife... to Shawna 2012/06/12 02:03:18

+1
I just do it for friends that have children with disability. I have a friend with a 3yr old autistic boy and I have been teaching him. I would love to go to school to get a degree in child psychology and become a sign language specialist for children. I started with my little girl and I was amazed at how well she learned it and how much it helped... it even made it easier for her to learn to talk. she is 6 now and still has an interest in learning sign language. she still doesnt talk as well as most kids her age but we are happy that she does talk as well as she does.

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Shawna to Jennife... 2012/06/12 19:55:42

Good for you. That would be a wonderful thing to do. I would love to do that too. I am an elementary school teacher (currently not working) with lots of child psychology courses in my background. I have always wanted to learn sign language.

You could offer a sign language sort of pre-school or day care. Just a couple of hours a day with activities and music and teach the sign language that goes along with it.

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Shawna to Jennife... 2012/06/12 01:31:50

I guess the safest thing to do is just say, "your child is beautiful. What lovely eyes."

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cate 2012/06/12 01:19:00

No

+2
There is a difference between a racist question and a question about race. It was an innocent question that didn't deserve a belligerent answer. From what I read, she is a scared, angry person.

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Jennife... to cate 2012/06/12 01:23:53

+1
I think she had heard a lot of negative things about me because my nephew doesnt like me very much (I am very straight forward and dont put up with his crap and have told him how it is about life and showed him things he doesnt like too much about illegal things he does) and he has bad mouthed me to her. So I know she had a bad image of me. So I guess she just had her mind set on not liking me.

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Rusty Shackleford 2012/06/12 01:18:17

yes (please explain)

+1
I checked your profile and you have listed your ethnicity as white so yes, your question was racist.

If a black person had asked the same question about the same child, then no, it would not have been racist.

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jessies... to Rusty S... 2012/06/12 01:22:31

+1
Expain how that works?

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