Again, with the Definitions! Why? Because the NEED for them never seems to go away. Today's Necessary Definition?
Racism.
First, the set up. Yes, I have been rubbernecking on a particularly vile message board, the Hannity Board. Now I have been known to exaggerate some sometimes but that board is a perfect example of why (based on my experiences there, and what I see there) and how message boards are (often) the worst example of Internet Culture, and can be more vile, more vulgar, and more dehumanizing and more exploitative than the most scuzzy of porn (without necessarilly being a specific hate site like the ones run by NeoNazis or NeoConfederates or other variety of admitted hatemongers.)
And for an example of that, let me fill you in on the RACISM problem there.
Well, that doesn't say it well so let me say that there are way too many people there (in my mind likely borderline or otherwise low level or even perhaps worse, closet racists) who seem to be operating under a totally false definition of what constitutes racism.
Now let me first deal with the Wrong, the False, the Incorrect definition of Racism some of these (what ever descriptive term is most accurate on a case-by-case basis) folk seem to operate under.
NO! NO NO NO! Racism is NOT something that only exists when someone uses socially disfavored bad words at people to mock and insult them on account of those people having a different color skin. And NO! NO NO NO! Racism is not something that only exists when someone wraps chains around a live human and attaches those chains to a pickup truck and drags that person to their death on account of them having a different color skin (or any other sort of lynching.)
Those are EXTREME examples of Racism.
Now let us go for the real definition of Racism, as found in a dictionary.
Definition
racism Show phonetics
noun [U] (UK OLD-FASHIONED racialism) DISAPPROVING
the belief that people's qualities are influenced by their race and that the members of other races are not as good as the members of your own, or the resulting unfair treatment of members of other races:
The authorities are taking steps to combat/fight/tackle racism in schools. The report made it plain that institutional racism (= racism in all parts of an organization) is deep-rooted in this country.
racist Show phonetics
noun [C] (UK OLD-FASHIONED racialist) DISAPPROVING
someone who believes that other races are not as good as their own and therefore treats them unfairly:
Two of the killers are known to be racists.
racist Show phonetics
adjective
He furiously denied being racist. They were the victims of a vicious racist attack.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=65090&dict=CALD
I do not see anything there about using certain bad words, or lynching being a necessary factor for the existence of racism.
AFTERWORD:
The thing that triggered my posting of this saved draft, was a thread on Hannity.com where people were saying "PRAISE THE LORD" that GW Bush was going to veto a hate crimes law. Not only that, but there were people posting in that thread ACTUALLY comparing the spraypainting of a Swastika on a Synagoge to a simple act of grafitti vandalism.
Granted, this is not the whole story but it is because of racist bastards like that I am glad I do not can not post there anymore. I used to fight them.
But you know?? Fighting hatemongers with reason and logic (if not human decency) makes as little sense as trying to combat a aiborne viral epidemic with cough drops and bandaids.
Futile.
Anyway that is it for me today.