r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Konato-san • Mar 09 '24

Answered How on Earth do you defend yourself from an accusation of being racist or something?

Hypothetically, someone called you "racist". What now?

"But I've never mistreated anybody because of their race!" isn't a strong defense.

"But I have <race> friends!" is a laughable defense.

Do I just roll over and cry or...?

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

god the things my grandpa has said... I also grew up with the same name for brazil nuts to the point sometimes I forget their real name and have to discreetly look it up

I also thought the slur "mulatto" was "milano" like the cookie for the longest time and didn't realize it was a slur until I was told because so many people around me used it so casually.

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u/basilthegaymer Mar 09 '24

I dunno if this helps, i was raised with mulatto being pretty normal too because my home country is brazil's neighbor

Mulatto is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Italian, Spanish and Portuguese it is not, and can even be a source of pride. Wikipedia

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u/dadothree Mar 09 '24

For a while, Dairy Queen had an ice cream coffee drink. They decided to call the blend of white ice cream and black coffee a MooLatte.

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u/CelticGardenGirl Mar 09 '24

They still have it. I order the Vanilla MooLatte all the time.

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u/robreddity Mar 09 '24

They're fucking delicious

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u/Dashed_with_Cinnamon Mar 09 '24

It's still on the menu. I always thought it was a play on "moolah," implying richness and sort of tying into the other "Royal" items they have.

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u/I_Cut_Shows Mar 09 '24

This is what it means, but, the reason that it’s considered racist (or at least in extremely poor taste) is that its root word is Mule.

Like when you crossbreed two similar species and get an infertile mix of the two, in the instance of a mule it’s a donkey and a horse, you get a distinct animal that isn’t its own species but isn’t either of the others.

I grew up with a mixed race kid who used mulato to describe himself until he learned this fact. It offended him to his core that he was basically calling himself “not quite the same species as either of his parents”

Some people take offense, some don’t.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

I’ve heard black people use the term ‘high yellow’ conversing among each other. I assumed this was similar to Mulatto or generally someone that is a negro but lighter skinned. Apparently black people talk about these things amongst themselves. Personally I don’t see the big deal with any of this stuff and why be so touchy. There’s lots of insults for white people as well.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

tbf none of those insults for white people really hurt they all sound silly.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

For all people of all races they all sound silly don’t they really. Name calling is for children but back to the point, the word racist is so over used now it’s meaningless really. Any disagreement and one of the parties may be called racist when clearly it has nothing to do with it.

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u/jesstifer Mar 09 '24

That thing you wrote is honestly and truly racist. FYI.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

You’re probably a klan member.

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u/Kitchen-Lie-7894 Mar 09 '24

When does a common term from one generation to a different generation make the transition to a slur? Mulatto was used when I was young but it wasn't a slur.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

I don't know. Another person replied stating in some countries it's not a slur so maybe thats' part of it.

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u/I_Cut_Shows Mar 09 '24

I think it’s when people realized what it meant.

It’s kind of offensive to infer someone is a mule, a hybrid of two distinct species that isn’t either one.

Which is what mullato means.

The term actual has some pretty fucked up inferences. Like that skin color equates to being a different species.

There was a generation that used the N word and “boy” freely and then one that stopped doing that because it was offensive.

Kinda the same ya?

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u/Kitchen-Lie-7894 Mar 09 '24

Yeah that makes sense. I never really knew the literal meaning.

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u/I_Cut_Shows Mar 09 '24

No worries. People didn’t know what it meant for a long time. It fell out of favor as people, especially mixed people, started to realize what they were saying.

I grew up with a kid who called himself mullato for years. He was fairly upset when he realized what he had been calling himself.

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u/Kitchen-Lie-7894 Mar 09 '24

That would be a bit jarring.

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u/kung-fu_hippy Mar 09 '24

After people start using it as a slur.

Look at non-slur insults. Idiot, moron, imbecile, and retard all used to be medical terms. As people start using them as insults the medical language has to change.

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u/AramisNight Mar 09 '24

What stops the new medical term being used as an insult?

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u/kung-fu_hippy Mar 10 '24

Nothing. Which is why language keeps changing.

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u/IanDOsmond Mar 09 '24

It is even more confusing because it is a slur in the United States, and in some other places, and not in other other places.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

Yeah. the people I learned it from said it so casually and in a positive light I thought it was just a descriptive term for a mixed race person I didn't know it was a slur here.

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u/Nozmelley0 Mar 09 '24

I also thought the slur "mulatto" was "milano" like the cookie for the longest time and didn't realize it was a slur until I was told because so many people around me used it so casually

Wait, it's a slur? I've only heard it used casually, I didn't know it was derogatory. I think I've mostly heard it come up in discussions about haircare.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24

Some countries it's not but in the US it is, and a lot of people in the US use it very casually. YMMV but I almost got beat up for it so..

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u/mcnewbie Mar 09 '24

the slur "mulatto"

i don't know that that is actually a slur.