Racial Generalizations and Twisted Logic

It is impossible to explain anything or even describe anything without resorting to some sort of generalizations. Say, you come up with a phrase like this: “Antarctica is cold.” This statement is a generalization. People can tell you not all of Antarctica is cold and at times is warm. Someone who lives there will say something in like “it is not too cold for me.”

It is not too cold for a penguin, either. They live OK there and do not complain. However, if you say that average temperatures in Antarctica are lower than average temperatures in 90% of the world, which makes it quite cold for most people, then you will hit the nail on the head. Few people could argue with your statement.

When talking about this or that country, if we overly generalize, we will get these responses:

1) Not all, only some people.
2) You, too.

And if you generalize about people who are not white, you will get this response:

3) You are a racist.

You can also get this response

4) I talked to my uncle and he said he had been there and he says it is not like that at all.

Here are some examples:

Your statement:

A country X is dirty and corrupt, and you can’t trust anybody there.

Responses will be something like this:

Not all of the country is corrupt, only some people. Most are good. Your country is dirty and corrupt, too. Ah, you are a racist; you don’t like “X”-ians. My aunt has lived in country X and then she has also lived in the Bronx/London, and she says streets are dirty there, too.

Usually such responses will leave you speechless and without recourse to argue back. The entire argument is difficult to win because the first statement is too blank and the answers are just as fallacious. The one who begins such an argument is bound to lose because it is hard to use correct logic to conduct a dignified debate.

Here is a better statement:

Country X has an uncomfortably high general level of corruption making business there quite risky. One runs a very high possibility of losing one’s money as the commercial climate is too unstable for an international investor in comparison with investing in countries, which are more modern. Also, the general level of cleanliness is about one fourth of what it would be in a developed country such as the US, UK, and one can easily get a dangerous disease.

It is very hard to argue with above statements.

Let’s try again:

Blank Statement: I don’t want to marry a woman in country Y. They are all a bunch of whores and floozies who are only after your money.

Here are responses coming your way:

1) Not all. Only some girls; same as in your country. There are bad women and prostitutes all over the world, so what’s the difference?

2) Your country is the same. They are all whores there, too.

3) You are a racist and you hate my people, right? Screw you, you bigoted jerk! Don’t come here ‘cause we will kick you’re a##!

4) No, they are not. My brother has married one and she is not a floozy.

Let’s try a better way of putting it:

Marrying a woman from country Y is a bit too risky for me. As compared to many other countries I have been to, there seems to be too high a level of promiscuity. Experts have conducted surveys, and these say that some 80% of women there engage in premarital sex. In comparison, only 10% of women in country A do that. Therefore, as you can see, it is better for me to look for a wife in country A than in country Y. My chances in A are better.

People would usually have nothing to say to something like that.

Let’s try this one:

Blank Statement:

Country B is dangerous and the people there are a bunch of criminals. I ain’t goin’ there. They are all hoodlums and thugs, and they’re going to beat me up.

OK, get ready for the pat and idiotic answer:

Not all. Same as in other countries, some people are good and some are bad. You have criminals where you are, too. In addition, I’ve known a guy from country B and he was a nice guy. I think you are saying that because you are just prejudiced and you don’t like people from country B.

Now, let’s do a more civilized generalization:

Country B has an unusually high crime rate. Actually, it ranks the third highest in the world in the number of murders, kidnappings, rapes, and armed robberies committed at any given time, both in the metropolitan areas and the countryside. In comparison, my native country ranks only the 156th or near the bottom, that is to say, it is one of the safest places in the world with the lowest per capita number of crimes. There has not been a kidnapping case for 25 years, whereas, in country B, some 20 kidnappings occur every year. This is why I think Country B is just too dangerous for me to go to at this time.

Your opponent is left speechless and can’t argue back.

However, in some countries, particularly those with a big inferiority complex, a high level of mythological patriotism or ethnic fundamentalism, one should avoid making any kinds of generalizations except positive ones. Unless one is whispering it to another PT in some expat bar without the natives being present, any kind of statement (logical or illogical) about another’s country should be positive even if you feel like cussing your heart out.

Well, on the second thought: for the latter, there are always Internet bulletin boards where you can pour out your frustrations under a fictitious nickname and vent with almost total impunity.

Few people are going to admit it about their own country. They come up with statements such as “not all, same as in other country, some people are prejudiced and some are not. I, for example, am not and I love all people.”

Again, prejudice and discrimination are measurable. There are polls and surveys. They take a cross section of the population and give them a questionnaire- “How would you feel if a person of such and such a race would try and rent an apartment from you? How do you feel about your daughter marrying a person of X race/ nationality?”

In some countries, the results speak for themselves. Say, in country A, 87% of the population does not foreigners coming there to live. In country B, 94 % of the population would not mind. In country C, 79% of fathers said they would not want people of a certain nationality to become citizens of the country. See what I mean?

These polls, while not 100% accurate, do give you a general picture of the social climate in the country vis-à-vis you or people who want to move there. If you go and live there, you will be surprised at how such results will match the way people will treat a certain kind of outsiders in real life.

In addition, even if a small minority is against a certain group, that can still translate into enough unpleasant incidents to make your life quite unlivable there. A case in point: I have met a certain Gulf Arab gentleman who went to study in Malaysia. He related to me a very unpleasant behavioral trend in that country which affected his sojourn there, which lasted several months.

Malaysia has a sizeable ethnic Indian minority and quite a few, while again, a minority, of such Malaysian Indians seem to be vocally prejudiced against Arabs. He would recall being verbally abused on almost a daily basis. He would walk down the street and, in a very predictable pattern; there would be an ethnic Indian uttering unpleasant epithets about Arabs and even insulting the gentleman directly. “You accursed Arab, get stuffed!” “Get out of here, you Arab!”

Now if you bring up this topic with a Malaysian, there would be a very strange remark coming your way: “Oh, no, most people in my country are not like that. Most people are good. We are not prejudiced. ”

However, who cares how most people are if every week you get insulted three/four times, and you cannot even go outside at night without the fear of being verbally, and possibly physically, assaulted. Who cares if these are in the minority? If this happens with uncomfortable regularity and does not stop, I would say that you would have to disguise yourself, live with it, or just move out. However, complaining to Malaysians will not help, as they would just say, “What? Do all Malaysians do this?”

How would they know what it is like being an Arab there? Are they themselves Arabs?

Imagine if he had to live there for years and years. He would be cursed some 150 times a year. Kind of grates on your nerves, even if not “all Malaysians do it,” wouldn’t you agree?

Not every mosquito in the swamp will bite you, but if enough bite you to give you Malaria, does it matter if these are in the minority?

Another very unpleasant topic has been that of the rise of racist groups in Russia and Germany. If you start asking questions on the Internet such as” Are Russians racist?” or “Is it true that Germans are racist?” you will be flooded with the same erroneous torrents of ” I am a German/Russian. I am not prejudiced,” etc. However, how would they know what it would be like on a daily basis there for a member of an unpopular minority? Are they themselves a minority?

Skinheads in Russia now number 60,000 or so. Sure, for a country of 140,000,000, this number is small, but would you want to ride the Moscow subway as a person of color? Even if you run into three of such young punks, your life could be in grave danger. The number of hate crimes in Russia is surging on a yearly basis and does not seem to abate. Yup, most Russians are OK, but tell that to families of people who had been murdered by these monsters and ask them if they would recommend young people from their town to go and study in Moscow.