The People's Forum: There is a term for that : "casual racism", and it's very common

you're right, I've heard those kind of jokes and remarks on a regular basis, even coming from people who genuinely have black/Asian origin friends (some of my best friends are black etc) and even family, sporting or musical heroes and the like. Seems a massive contradiction and something I don't really get and don't like. Always feel a little dissapointed when people I know and like in many other regards come out with that kind of stuff.

You're right, it's unthinking, doesn't even occur to them that they're saying anything wrong and if they do get pulled up are bemused, annoyed or say it's only a joke. This is where all this "woke" stuff comes from, the perception that there are hyper-sensitive language police everywhere who want to stifle everyone's right to expression.

If you make jokes about black people being criminals, that is undoubtedly a form of racism. Sure, there's a world of difference between that and being a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. The speaker may see it as no different to say, making jokey remarks about gingers. I understand where it comes from, but I think it's an ignorant viewpoint usually passed down from generation to generation.

People grow up with no concept of it being unacceptable or at least very poor taste language and humour.

There are of course other cases where it hides a much deeper dislike or hatred of people based on skin colour or creed. These people are a bit more careful with what they say depending on who's around, when they speak with who they might think of as like-minded, it goes much further than throwaway jokes.

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I think what lots of 'us' on the the liberal left miss, is that many people dont accept our definition of racism.

I mentioned this a while ago with regard to my farther in law. He jokes about black men being criminals, Jews being mean and other similar racist tropes, to an extent he believes them too. He is fiercely anti immigration. But he was perfectly comfortable when his daughter was dating a black guy, and would have been equally comfortable if his grand kids had of been mixed race.

The liberal left, the media, academia, has all largely and I think, justifiably, decided racist language and racist stereotypes are the building blocks of more pro active racism.

The fact is, millions of people dont agree, nor do they agree that there is any connection between racsism and being anti immigration.

So they arent ignoring Trump or Johnson's racist comments, they dont see them as a problem, they don't see them as racist.

I feel like we need another term, having to use same one for my father in law and a fully fledged combat 18 member, misses a lot of nuance.

So if we want to convince voters Trump is racist, the things he says are almost irrelevant, what has he done that shows an active hatred of other races?