Does it make you uncomfortable when someone describes a persons race when telling a story?

[Anonymous]

When there is absolutely no reason to do so?
I automatically label those people as racists.
Like why do I need to hear that a Chinese doctor was rude, or that a black woman returned a lot of clothes, or that a white child was the best behaved, or that a Hispanic man was the judge?
These are things that I have heard in the last few weeks and I want to call people on it, but not sure what to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When there is absolutely no reason to do so?
I automatically label those people as racists.
Like why do I need to hear that a Chinese doctor was rude, or that a black woman returned a lot of clothes, or that a white child was the best behaved, or that a Hispanic man was the judge?
These are things that I have heard in the last few weeks and I want to call people on it, but not sure what to say.

I don't know if "uncomfortable" is the right word, but it certainly tells me something about the storyteller.

Like the time my uncle was talking about a gay couple that lowballed him in a real estate deal. There was no reason whatsoever to bring their sexuality into it, but it was clearly why he brought up the story in the first place. I already knew he was a run-of-the-mill racist conservative dipshit; the anti-gay bigotry came as no surprise.

[Anonymous]

Yes, absolutely.

[Anonymous]

No, not at all, unless the term they use is clearly derogatory.

But then I'm not American and don't have those hang-ups.

[Muslima]

It doesn't make me uncomfortable per se, but it makes me pause. I always find it weird, especially when it is to say something negative about the person

[Anonymous]

I find it makes for more descriptive story telling. Nothing more. Why be ashamed of our differences?

[Anonymous]

No, but I'm white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, absolutely.

+1

[Anonymous]

Yes. The people who start a story with "this black guy comes up to me and says...." Those people are racist. They may not specifically hate black people, but they are racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No, not at all, unless the term they use is clearly derogatory.

But then I'm not American and don't have those hang-ups.

Heh. Where are you from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The people who start a story with "this black guy comes up to me and says...." Those people are racist. They may not specifically hate black people, but they are racist.

No, they're telling you a story, and including some description. If they say a child, they may clarify that the child was 5 instead of 15 (since that will give you a different mental image).

You're referring to white privilege and the default assumption that everyone is white unless you specify otherwise. That's cultural, not racist. (In other parts of the world, they have other defaults, unsurprisingly.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, but I'm white.

+1 same here

[Anonymous]

Everyone is racist. Some hide it better than others.

[Anonymous]

The guilt here is astounding.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the story and the context. I'm black though, so unless race is essential to the story, whites don't volunteer that information to me.