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@NurseHolliday
You think so?
I'm probably wrong but to me racism is using a term seen as insulting to a particular race, for reasons not of hate, and for reasons of hate.
Examples,
"Where did you go last night?" "We met up with some niggers Matt knows and went to a club."
"What the fuck are you looking at paki?"
The first example uses the word, 'nigger', perhaps not in an attempt to offend the people being referred to, but why use that word when, "some people," would have worked fine.
The second example is more obvious, the term, 'paki', has been used to cause offence.
What I believe is commonly referred to as racism but is more stereotyping is when a person will judge someone's possible actions, or think they know what someone might be thinking, based on the colour of their skin, their origins, their faith etc etc.
A few months ago, someone told me that they honestly are terrified of black people. I thought they were joking, but this person genuinely believes that all black people are potential muggers, rapists, and murderers. They will actively cross the road to avoid a black person, they even believe most black people carry guns. About a year ago I was driving my car and this person was in the passenger seat, a VW Golf was straddling both lanes of the dual carriageway for quite some time, so I gave a quick beep on the horn to let the driver know I wasn't happy with their driving. The Golf moved into the inside lane, I started to overtake in the outside lane. Naturally you have a quick glance to see who the twat who can't drive is, and I see this 50 year old black woman shouting abuse at me from her open window. I immediately slowed down and leaned over my passenger to open the window, I was intrigued and wanted to find out what this woman could possibly have to shout about. My passenger went ballistic, they started screaming for me to accelerate before the woman pulled a gun out and started shooting us... I was so surprised I almost crashed my car. This person is a graduate, what I would say as someone who is intelligent, decent social skills, nothing weird or crazy about them. Apart from an irrational fear of black people. If someone who I perceive as normal can be that afraid of someone based entirely on their colour of skin, I can't begin to imagine what stupid people must be thinking.
What I am trying to say is, what I perceive as racism, I have definitely never commited or thought about. Having been on the receiving end of hundreds of shouts of "paki!", hundreds of shouts of, "fucking paki", and one rather strange shout of, "you spic motherfucker!" (I was in USA at the time...) I know what it feels like to be hated upon just because you look different. I generally don't hate people, and my few nemeses, well I hate them for what they've done to me after I thought we were friends for 2 years, not based upon some wild first opinion theory I concucted in my head.
What I perceive as stereotyping I don't think I do, I definitely try not to, but everyone is human.
I believe joke stereotyping between friends is acceptable however, this doesn't stoop to name calling, but it has stooped to, "Why did you go change your shirt, is it because it smelt of curry?" "No it's because that shirt still had a bomb sewn into the collar."
Sterotyping I can forgive, racism I cannot.