The question is not about what to do about racism, or who is at fault, or what the resolution is.

The question is simply why are people shocked and surprised when they hear about incidents like the one that just took place at the SAE Fraternity of the University of Oklahoma. People were surprised about the incident in the UK where white men wouldn't let a black man on the train. I can understand why people would be upset or discouraged, but surprised?? Really.

Black people are not surprised by the level of racist comments, attitudes and actions. Most white people hear the racist attitudes of many, many white people when they are out of earshot of black people. I am white and I know there are lots of closet racists. I hear what they say and know what they think about black people.

So, who are these people that are surprised, and where are they living? Or, is the answer more about it being politically correct to be surprised?

Thus pretending the problem is not as large as it really is?

Who is surprised?

My guess is we will be eradicating racism later rather than Sooner.

Grandstanding sanctimony disguised as surprise ≠ Surprise.

Because they are stupid.

Alpha forum has people going hard to the paint about how SAE illustrates the problem with having minority focused student groups. Easy for people to fool themselves about how the world is I guess.

Seems more like a lone person.

His friends are starting to arrive over from the Mike Brown thread and will be over for punch and pie shortly.

Wow. Where do you live and work?
And what makes you think racist company you keep, is representative of all white people of all nationalities all over the world?

I was originally surprised at the open racist comments black and minority people said to me, but I didn't label their entire race as racists.

Well, I'm only a young 28 but having followed football across the country I suppose I'm surprised because that video was the first time I'd seen a group of men singing "We're racist and that's the way we like it" while physically assaulting a black man.

That's not to say I think racism isn't still a big problem. It's just I'm a lot more used to people talking about how their town's gone downhill since all the "foreigners" moved in, or my Nan explaining how the bus started to stink of garlic* after the war, than chanting slurs on public services.

Being a white male in a largely white area of England with a low crime rate, racism is something I, for the most part, have to make myself aware of rather than just being confronted with it in such obvious forms. Most of the people I know who are to some extent racist are smart enough to try and hide it aside from when sharing distasteful political views invariably prefaced by "I'm not racist but". And even then they generally don't finish the sentence with "but I wouldn't allow them on public transport".

So when faced with undeniable and aggressive racism like that it's surprising to people because it clashes with the narrative that it's a problem that has been dealt with.

It shocks some people because it pierces their narrative that the made-up problem of anti-white "reverse" racism is a bigger problem than actual racism.

Canada - retired

I refer not to the company I keep (my friends). Rather, I am referencing people I have encountered in work, travel, golf, social, situations over the years (mostly in California, Arizona, Florida, etc). Based on what I have heard come out of people's mouths in what they presume is a safe environment, I am not surprised when I hear of situations like the OU one.

Just 5 years ago in Arizona one old man at a table say that the n***** would clean his golf clubs. He said it in such a matter of fact way that I was stunned. (he was referring to a black kid that was taking clubs off carts).

I am not trying to blanket an entire race but based on what I have seen and heard is some places in the US (and Canada too), there are is some pretty overt racism going on, yet people act shocked when it surfaces.

And, I realize that everyone is not racist. But, I do think people are aware that there are many of them out there. I also realize that if I end up meeting older (45+) white men in Florida, California, Arizona, etc, that this is hardly representative of the rest of the demographic and States in the USA.

It's somewhat appropriate to be shocked and surprised by ignorance. Even ignorant people can figure that out. Can also have to factor in the political pandering and deception level of some racists. People have a hard time thinking they may have been duped by people who seem trustworthy or persuasive.

Denial. Why are some people shocked about racism? Why are some people in denial about racism? Which question is more important?

pretty sure almost everyone has had a racist thought at one point in their life. i always wondered why if someone calls someone a fata$$ when pissed off and then someone says a racist thing when pissed off their not considered fatist but then considered racist

Somebody needs to be demodded for moving this here.

If you actually take the time to see right-wing racists like I have, you'd see that a lot of their racism is fueled by reverse-racism. Racism and reverse-racism between whites and blacks have existed at least since the white man landed on Africa. Racism fuels reverse-racism which fuels more racism which fuels more reverse-racism, and the cycle never ends. It's a quagmire.

Those right-wing racists see a false equivalence. They are motivated by beliefs that are untrue.

So blaming the entire white race for slavery is not reverse racism in your eyes? Are the Black Panthers not racist? Is Al Sharpton, somebody who gets his own TV show on a major news network, not racist? I don't think anybody is saying that reverse racism at it's worst has been as bad to whites as it has to blacks. However, it's still a major problem.

Any racism contained therein is minor compared to practices such as redlining, suppression of minority votes, and racial profiling by police.

The major problems I see are poor education (K-12) and job discrimination. If blacks have the same job opportunities as whites then everything else will fall into place.

Make your mind up. Is it made up, or not!

Why do racism debates always gravitate to white and black, mainly American issues. When I travel to Asia, I am a constant victim of racism, from dual pricing, to getting pushed out the way etc. Then people like AsianNit, say it's " made up" , like it's only white people who are ever racist. How racist is that!!!

Why are people overtly racist in front of you? Are you a skinhead? It surely isn't normal for people to act like that? You could have inter racial children or siblings. I have black cousins for example.

What did you say to the guy who used the n word?

Is there actually a good reason for the term reverse racism?

This is because you're a tourist

I think it's more dismay than surprise.

As an old who grew up in some pretty casually racist company, I think we've come a long way in combating at least overt racism in the last 50 years. There is stuff that I heard frequently when I was young that would be absolutely unacceptable today - which is great.

Genuinely I do feel dismay when I hear someone using racist language, especially when it's clear that it is part of their standard conversational oeuvre. It's a lot less common than it was.

What a bizarre thing to say.
Are you saying it's ok to mistreat other people, based on race, if they are a tourist? I disagree. Signs like " No Indians" - in Thailand are wrong imo. Doesn't matter if they are tourists.

I say it's wrong to call black tourists " Chocolate man/ woman" ? Indian man " no good" etc. The racism just rolls out, non stop.

The mob violence against a foreign tourists is also wrong imo?

Expats with local wives, tefl teachers etc, still get dual priced, and treated as second class citizens. Courts will rule against foreigners in the vast majority of cases. Traffic accidents etc are always blamed on foreigners.