Give her a chance to grow up. We don't all start out perfect.

dump her immediately.

And what did you say her number was again?

That young man is really confused --- "thinking blacks are prone to crime and laziness" is not racism, it is a bias (one reinforced by the local news on any given night). As a conservative, she may well think of blacks as lazy because of their consistently high support of the Democrats, whose main goal in life is to provide minorities with incentives to stay low-achieving and dependent on the government. It isn't racism to dislike the general trends and habits of many people in a certain ethnic group --- but it is racism to allow those biases to influence one's behavior.

Would this lovely young Republican mistreat, disrespect, or otherwise think less of a brilliant black professor or black business entrepeneur? If so, she is a racist. If not, that means her problem isn't with color but with attitude and behavior, which by definition cannot be "racism." If what she dislikes is urban black culture (with its nihilistic focus on self destruction, drugs, and treating women like sex objects), then she is merely an honest person.

I think she should dump this fragile bleeding-heart in a hurry, before she ends up passing on his anti-logic genes.

Every gene pool, and every culture, is at least a little different from every other on virtually anything about an individual that can be measured.

It is well known that African-Americans (AA) are incarcerated at a higher rate than caucasian Americans (CA).

This is surely due at least in part to racism embedded in the U.S. justice system.

H: It may be also true that AA's commit crimes at a higher rate than caucasian Americans.

The hypothesis H might be false.

Or, H might be true because any group with the same economic status as AA's commits crime at a similar rate.

Or, H could be true because any group hypothetically kidnapped from tribal life into several centuries of slavery in the U.S., then released into a world quite prejudiced against them, would commit crimes at a similar rate.

Or, H could be true because any large group of young adults who are unable to get jobs will turn to crime at a higher rate than other groups (other things being equal).

I suspect -- but don't know -- that H is true, and that the possible explanations for it above are all partiallly true.

Chomsky's views are sound, but they seem to claim there is no circumstance when one might consider the group characteristics of an entire group. Some years ago a friend of mine and his wife decided to put their child into a private school even though the local public schools were known for their high-quality education. The sole reason for this (which he hinted at) is that the public schools had a certain proportion (about 15%) of AA students, but the private school in question was virtually all CA.

(I was horrified, but their minds were made up. I only mention this as an example, however misguided, of a case where a group's "group characteristics" might be a factor in a decision.)

What a jerk this guy is: his otherwise perfect girlfriend allows him to see that she's a human being (and a real young one, too), prone to fear and bias and yes, even racism, and he is ready to give her the heaveho - "change you heart or I'll dump you?" Up yours buddy! I just wonder what he does to make this world a better place? My bet is it's all talk and that when the rubber meets the road - say boyfriend is walking down a dark street and see a black dude on the corner - my bet is that boyfriend experiences the same exact fears or biases his girlfriend was honest enough to confess: maybe he crosses the street, maybe his heartrate spikes, maybe he gets a grip on his wallet - and then he goes home and judges his woman...

What a jerk!

I grew up with a racist father, but a mother who always reminded me to get to know people as individuals instead of judging a whole group. I rejected my father's beliefs at a very young age because I went to a well-integrated school where I personally experienced the good and bad in almost every racial group.

Maybe this young woman has had little or no experience with African Americans and had formed her opionions based on the bias of her family and the politicians toward which they gravitate. Being on a college campus you should have some opportunities to introduce her to AA people and cultural activities that reflect the many positive aspects of their race. If she meets kind, intelligent, creative, ambitious, hard-working AAs and still insists that they are inferior as a group, then I think it would be time to re-evaluate how long you would like this person in your life. If she is just a short-term relationship, you may be able to quash your disgust for a while. But if you start considering her for the mother of your future children, imagine what it would be like to hear her hateful words coming out of your children's mouths. That would definitely be a deal breaker for me!

She's young but she's also a racist. If you are as appalled as you claim then move on to a person more compatible with your beliefs - that is what dating is all about - and be glad you found out early in the relationship.

Please! :)

Bashir.

Yes, this woman is young, and she has some education left to receive. A lot of 21-year-olds say really stupid things before they know any better. But the red flag to me is that (1) she embraces the word "racist" and uses it to descibe herself; (2) without any hint that she thinks that racism is a bad thing.

People have vastly disparate conceptions of what racism is, but there are four main categories. Think of it as a grid: right and left, narrow and broad. I am a leftist who defines racism broadly -- i.e., I am a racist in the sense that all Americans are racist because we have grown up in a racist culture and have absorbed all of the biases and stereotypes that it had to offer (per critical race theory). But that's a rarified conception of racism that most people probably haven't encountered. So I wouldn't call myself a racist unless I knew my audience well. The more moderate-left position is to define racism narrowly -- and to call someone a racist, in that schema, is to say something quite negative about her character.

On the right, broad and narrow correspond to those who deceive themselves and those who don't -- i.e., there are those who would deny from here to next Tuesday that they are racist, but use their coded phrases, like "nihilistic culture" and "unhealthy dependence" to get their message across. Then there are those who, like this woman, will freely admit their racism and see nothing wrong with it. (Am I calling all Republicans racist? Well ... let's just say I have yet to meet one who isn't).

Maybe I shouldn't be commenting at all, since I would never, ever, ever have dated a Republican (when I was single). But even for those who, like this young man, are more broad-minded than me on that, there are certain indications of flawed character that are unlikely to change. I think this is one of them. There a lot of terrific women out there who don't think that not being able to speak English is a crime. You will find one. I promise.