Many people declare that this is racist, but I disagree. I think there are "general characteristics" of various people groups. There's a reason for the source of expressions such as "the fighting Irish", "the tight-wad Scotch" (I am one-third Scotch), etc. However, though we notice general characteristics in a race or people group, we must be careful not to generalize.What if you believe people of another race are generally superior in certain abilities? Is that racist?
I say it would not be racist to have noticed that. As a teacher, I saw statistics concerning standardized math tests given to students throughout the world. On the average, Japanese students had the best marks. U.S.A. students, on the average, were among those nations with the lowest marks. I don't think it is at all racist to notice such things. But some think it racist even to compare average abilities among people groups.Would I be a racist if I said that blacks are generally better athletes than other races? That Japanese were generally better students in school? I went to school with a large number of them and very few were not above average students. Was it racist of me to have noticed that?
I don't think one having such a preference is racist, but when one goes to the extent of trying to influence their child on that basis, it is racist.Could a person (black, white, or oriental) prefer their child to marry someone of their race without believing their race superior and thus not be racist?
It seems racist or at least discrimination, doesn't it?Why is someone considered to be black if they are one quarter or one half black? Why can't they be considered white? Is that, in itself, racist?
I have no idea why someone with such little "Indian blood" is considered and Indian. In Canada, a person is a "treaty Indian" if his parents as treaty Indians. It has no relation to his geneology.And not only that, but why is someone with 1/64 Indian blood considered to be an Indian? I see in the news a 6 year old girl taken by the authorities from the foster family that has raised her since she was two, who wanted to adopt her, and sent from California to Utah to live with relatives (not her parents) who are also part Indian. I am 1/32 Indian of the Choctaw tribe, same tribe as the little girl, and it has never crossed my mind that I am an Indian.
CorrectWhat does the Bible actually say about the issue? It definitely says believers should marry believers, nothing about whites marrying blacks.
Again, it's not the matter of preferences. You may have a reason for your preferences. It's when you take action, that you identify yourself as a racist—when you try to convince your child against it. You might, for example, tell them that there will be problems for their "racially mixed" children, or that there will be rejection or even persecution from society. When you do such things, you are being racist.Is it any more wrong the want your child to marry someone of their race than it is to want them to marry someone of their ethnic group or tribe?
When Dwight wrote: "Not wanting my child to marry outside of his (her) skin color is practically the definition of racism, IMO." I had some hesitation in agreeing. For "not wanting" is the opposite to "wanting". It suggests that you would have to WANT your child to marry outside his skin colour in order not to be racist. What I actually thought was racist was an active attempt to prevent one's child from marrying outside his skin colour.
Here's a question for you.
My grandfather said he had a little Irish blood in him, but he hated to admit it. Was he racist?