Screw you. I’ve gone through 2 years of grad school at one of the most prestigious British universities to earn my degrees in TESL.

I didn’t use the word “racism;” I described these notions as “peculiar ideas about people of other races” and pointed out that these peculiar ideas fit your personal definition of racism. As I said, “racism” is an overused and misused term, one I avoid.

To clarify, I think xenophobia can contain racism but”…

But in some contexts xenophobia and racism is interchangeable. So, was I a victim of xenophobia or racism when people screamed obscenities at me about the ‘IMF’ in 1998? Was I a victim of xenophobia or racism when some old bastard started insulting me, thinking I was American just because of the colour of my skin? Was my son a victim of xenophobia or racism when other old men called my wife a whore in front of him because of his obvious interracial background?

One thing for sure: xenophobia isn’t always racism, but it certainly breeds it.

“Very few individual Koreans I know brag about that one, women in particular, and should they happen to have a large head tend to be a little sensitive about it.”

Actually, it’s supposed to be the ratio of body mass to the size of the skull. Throw them a curve; ask them if that means that people under the age of 50 are dumber since their bodies have grown, thus making the head smaller in comparison…Then quickly explain to them that it’s all Eugenics BS before you get into a fight.

And many McDonald’s employees save $20,000 a year with 15 weeks vacation, too.

PS: I think you’re right to distinguish between xenophobia and racism. Unfortunately, no one uses the word “racialism” which could used for some of the lighter lifting.

Exactly, someguy.

“But Koreans do have peculiar ideas about people of other races. For example, more than a few foreigners have heard the notion that Koreans are more evolved than whites because they have less body hair. It has also been boasted that Koreans have the biggest craniums.”

I’ve also heard those things over the years - more times than I could count - but at the same time many Koreans seem impressed with (or obsessively curious about) body hair, and as for having a large cranium, this does not appear to be seen as a good thing by many. Very few individual Koreans I know brag about that one, women in particular, and should they happen to have a large head tend to be a little sensitive about it.

I wish all racism in the world were as incisive as “i have less body hair and am more evolved” or the contrapositive “you have more body hair and are less evolved”.

Regarding this point, someone on another thread here made the observation that Korean racism tends to focus on the superiority of “our” race as opposed to the inferiority (or even subhumanity) of others. This type of racism is quaint and innocuous enough—after all, who would argue that “we can feel emotions that others can’t” is morally equivalent to “they are less than human,” etc.?

Nevertheless, whatever its genre, if racism leads to discrimination, i.e., treating people differently based on their perceived race or ethnicity, then there’s a problem. People can think however they want. But they may not use that worldview to deny or diminish their duty to treat others with the dignity due them by virtue of their humanity .

I view racism as a terribly overused term. Racism is merely one form of bigotry, no worse or better than other forms, like sexism, homophobia, or religious intolerance.

What I find amusing here is that whereas I usually think of racism as a transitive, propositional attitude which one group may have about another race, you and SomeguyinKorea are thinking of it more in terms of how a people define themselves. I’m inclined to believe that reveals a lot about your experiences with racism.