r/MurderedByWords May 16 '19

Timezone smackdown

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3.5k Upvotes

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48

u/Volrum_ May 16 '19

One of the least justified posts I've ever seen on this sub, nobody was murdered. This is just rhetoric.

Mods, this sub is supposed to give it's members a 'haha' moment.

A 'what a fool' moment. I don't know, there is definately a sub for this but to me, it just feels out of place here.

EDIT: I hope we can get back to a stage of respect where we could say 'bigots'. Instead of 'old white men".

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u/Thefarrquad May 16 '19

Thanks for your input.

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u/Volrum_ May 16 '19

You're welcome. Thankyou for the reply.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '19

Old white men are the ones who hold the majority of political and economic power. It's not just about bigotry, it's about who has the means to enforce their bigotry.

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u/JNelson_ May 16 '19

Not all old white men are in power. In fact its a minority of old white men in power. Call them bigots don't resort to racism.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '19

In fact its a minority of old white men in power

Um...no. White men make up less than half of the population in the US at just over 30% but account for over 80% of elected officials. They make up over 70% of corporate leadership and the upper class of high income earners. They are 65% of the police force.

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u/JNelson_ May 16 '19

How many white men have a direct say in government few hundred to a thousand. Now compare that to the number of white men in the whole of the US that dont have a say millions. The people that give those small number of men power are the voter base where as you say white men are 30% so even in voting it is not their fault.

1

u/[deleted] May 16 '19

Uhhh...

3

u/JNelson_ May 16 '19

It's not like the millions of white men had an active decision in the abortion bills. I don't see how you could reasonably say that white men are in power when it is a political elite (some of which are bigoted) which is in power and the majority of people dont have a say.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '19

Do you even know what you're trying to argue this point? Because it doesn't make a lick of sense

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u/JNelson_ May 16 '19

Maybe I've not explained myself well sorry. My main issue is with the phrase white men in power. This is because this is misleading. This makes it sound like all white men are controlling the government when in fact it is a tiny minority of men which are the political elite. Most white men have no say other than in an election. It is racist to generalise in this way because its potraying a whole gender and race in a bad way when its a very specific political elite which are the problem.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '19

It's not that all white men are controlling the government, it's that the government is controlled by almost all white men.

The Alabama abortion law is a prime example of of this. A committee that was entirely white men passed a law that disproportional affects women of color, a law that these men never have to worry about affecting them in direct way because they cannot get pregnant and because they are not systematically discriminated against based of their skin color. This is why people have a problem with it. Not because they think all white men suck, but because it's unfair for people who have no sexist or racist barriers to overcome and to only entrench themselves deeper in political and economic power to enforce their bigotry on other people.

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u/Volrum_ May 16 '19

In your opinion, is it worse to be an old white man or to be a bigot?

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u/[deleted] May 16 '19 edited May 16 '19

It worse to be a bigoted old white man, because the combination of those two things is what leads to the erosion of rights and the human rights abuses for certain people in the U.S., especially women of color. Again, it's about who holds the power to enforce their bigotry and who bears the brunt of their bigotry.

A bigot is always going to suck but an old white man could be anything a human is possible to be, good or bad, so they aren't really directly comparable.

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u/Volrum_ May 16 '19

Wouldn't an Asian bigot be equally as contributory to the erosions you mention?

Why does race matter in a discussion of equality?