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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.[/quote]

So, you personally don't see that a person is white, black, Hispanic, or whatever? I can't imagine not noticing something so obvious. I miss eye color a bit. But not hair or skin color.[/quote]

Agree. [/quote]

I have never ever heard anyone say, "So, I was standing in line and this brown haired lady..."

Random, irrelevant eye color, hair color observations are rare. However random, irrelevant skin color or race observations are quite common but only if the subject is non white. [/quote]

Exactly. [/quote]

Really? You have never heard anyone say - she is over by the lady with the blond hair?[/quote]

That wasn't the PP's point. If you're pointing out something like you mentioned, of course it makes sense to mention race or other physical descriptions. "My son is the Hispanic kid." "Do you see the poster by the tall man with blond hair?" "The teacher is the black woman next to the door." It's when race is absolutely irrelevant to the story that it's weird. "I was in line at the grocery store and the Asian woman in front of me dropped her wallet."[/quote]

It is irrelevant in that it matters not if the woman was Asian, European, African, etc... but it matters as an adjective describing the scene you are telling a story about. It paints the picture. People add details all the time that are irrelevant to the main point but provide context and description. It is just part of how most people talk. Short/tall, hair color, pregnant, with 3 little kids, etc... details that often could be left out but aren't. Creates a visual narrative to accompany the story.

If you look at kids story books - they are illustrated. Not just the main points but lots of details to add context and description to the story. People will be given races (or varying skin shades and hair colors) in illustrations - even if irrelevant to the story.[/quote]

If it's so necessary to paint a picture, why is race often the only descriptor given?

A black guy cut in front of me in the grocery store vs
A black guy in a red striped sweater with grapes in his silver cart cut in front of me in lane 3 of the grocery store[/quote]

It isn't only race - you also say it was a guy. That isn't relevant either. Just a descriptor to add context to the story. Just like a black guy or blond lady or young child are also descriptors[/quote]

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