[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

It's not really something one has the "right" to be or not be... It's just something that someone is, surely? Like saying that a racist person doesn't have the right to be racist isn't going to somehow stop them from being internally racist.

If the question is "should people have the right to commit externally racist / sexist / -ist acts or discriminate on those grounds" then the answer is obviously no.

The murky part is whether or not people should have the right to benign(?)ly voice those opinions. That's the only part open to debate. For me personally... I would rather know what ugly thoughts lurk in peoples heads rather than have them pretend to be something that they're not. It's the only way you can ever assess your real opinions of a person .

...sorry I’m finding difficulty at bolding with this bit of technology I’m using atm...but with the last paragraph..?...yeah I agree those benign voices should be heard, but then what...I mean our own opinion is surely less important ../ ..just more self indulgent..than our actions in ‘facing’ that ism...and not throwing names at it, like calling it an ist and walking away or repeatedly calling it an ist etc..(...if that makes sense..)...so the all importance is the communication with these things, otherwise the reaction to someone’s beliefs can be too similar to the beliefs themselves...