[Serious]What have you always wanted to know about another race or culture, but never asked because of fear the question would appear ignorant or rude?

TLDR;

It probably used to be like that in the 80s. The social norm is now that it's just not appropriate. Racist jokes/casual racism tend to lower your social status.

I haven't directly experienced that with friends or people I know, but I have met strangers that do. It's pretty damn rare, but it's more than annoying that they consider me to want to go along with it.

Like some kind of conspiratorial nudge, nudge, wink, wink disgusting smile whilst saying something racist.

"Yep. Just because I'm white, you'll expect me to be a covert racist like you"

In truth, I'd speak up, but the risk-reward pay-off doesn't seem worth it. Do I think I can change this guy's viewpoint? Will one white guy arguing with him make him see the error of his ways? Do I even want to win him over or be friends with him?

The answer is just no, and I move away from people like that as soon as possible.

Of course, now you are probably still wondering, what about those guys? Well those guys are not going to reply here. So maybe you'll still be left wondering.

Anyway, most people think they are scum and they're not that common. Fucking 4chan though. I only know it from reddit and I've literally visited 2 or 3 times to see what the fuss was about. There must be a bunch of racists there. It's perhaps ironic or something, but I just don't get it. I think there must be a bunch of teenagers there that sit in that echo chamber and gradually do shift their views to be more racist and feel more comfortable with that, but I feel like it's a minority of people and probably not the people most people want to associate with.

You hear occasional racist jokes, but they are told in the same way jokes about maybe pedophilia are told. People tell them expecting to shock, apprehensive about the repercussions. People either go awkward and silent or people laugh unwillingly. It's awkward. Some things just would not be funny at all can provoke a response.

E.g. there's no fucking way you could pull off a pedophilia joke around a victim of pedophilia. That happens with racist jokes too.

But just to be clear, people in general are not doing any kind of laughing together at the subject group. It's more of a laughing out of how sheerly inappropriate it is and weirdly awful it makes you feel.

I think if you go back to the 80s (as far as I remember) though, it was more like that. It was somehow the social norm to make a joke like that and be seen as a prude or politically correct to defend against.

/r/AskReddit Thread