What is more of a problem today on a global scale?

Racism

Racism and sexism are just as bad as each other and will never entirely go away.

I think both are pretty bad globally. Just within the US, I think sexism is the bigger problem, though. I've read a lot of articles in the past year or so that talk about this--it came up frequently in the context of the Democratic primary, in discussions of the treatment in the media of Obama and Hillary Clinton. Many, many sexist slurs were flung at Clinton, with little or no outcry; in contrast, anything approaching a racist comment about Obama (like the "baby mama" one--which I'll note was primarily treated as an issue of racism rather than sexism) was immediately pounced on and the perpetrators made to apologize. This isn't to say that race isn't a problem in the US--obviously it is--but that sexism is a bigger one. I don't know if the rest of the world mirrors this; racism, especially if you include ethnic conflict more generally, is pretty pervasive, but so is sexism. Maybe they're about equal.

Racism. Most of us women know how to fight for what we want or need.
A good example of racism is we sold a truck to a very nice black kid, very smart and well educated, I enjoyed talking to him. He asked if insurance would pay for a windshield since there is a crack in it. He says you white people would get away with driving the truck with a cracked windshield, but we of African blood would be getting pulled over all of the time. And the sad thing is that this is true.

I would say that nationally racism is a larger problem. However, sexism affects far more people globally and in many more ways than racism ever does. Rape, domestic violence, child marriage, abortion, forced prostitution, genital mutilation, access to education, freedom of movement, freedom of choice, freedom to work.

As John Lennon said, "Woman is the nigger of the world".

> I would say that nationally racism is a larger problem. However, sexism
> affects far more people globally and in many more ways than racism
> ever does. Rape, domestic violence, child marriage, abortion, forced
> prostitution, genital mutilation, access to education, freedom of
> movement, freedom of choice, freedom to work.
>
> As John Lennon said, "Woman is the nigger of the world".

Great song!

Other: assumptions

I think the treatment of women in some third world countries is utterly horrible. On the other hand, I think racism has really improved in the US at least. Sure, there are still problems, but the issue gets attention. And, I'd say we even take it too far sometimes where we're overly sensitive to racism and that causes problems. The recent incident with professor Gates seemed to show a few sides of the whole thing. But, since the survey said "globally", I'm reacting more to the plight of women in Islamic countries or China and Africa, where they are often treated very badly (physical abuse is common, rape; they are second class citizens, etc.). Though, it's also possible racism is really bad in these places too, but I just don't know much about racism outside of my own country.

Neither

Racism is both a public issue, as well as a private one. Deep seated beliefs that one race is superior to another may be kept hidden and people profess not to be bigoted : but the thought is always there...simmering, and there are so many more races to discriminate against. I think that the world is quickly moving to eradicate sexism (not there yet) but more people/countries realize that this is rather antiquated.

I'm going to go with sexism. However, this is only because of my perception of events and the fact that sexism affects me occassionally, while racism almost never.

My argument is that there has been some change recorded in traditionally racist countries, like South Africa, while you don't hear anything about conditions getting better for women. Women still can't vote nor drive in Saudi Arabia.

I had to sign on yesterday
And they ask you every question ever
'So who do live with?'
'I live with a married couple...'
'What are their names?'
'Amy .... and her husband David ...'
'And what's David's job?'
Never got asked Amy's. That pissed me off and surprised me.

Anyway, I don't think I'm qualified to answer this question.

I think sexism is more common but racism causes more deaths.

ismism

Depends on how much each one weighs. I've never seen a scale big enough to weigh the globe. But then, how can you weigh the globe? I mean even if you had a scale large enough, it would have nothing to rest on. And even if it did, would the gravitational pull of the global scale rest be the same as the globe? Or would they negate each other? Plus, it' be a pain in the ass. You'd have to weigh the globe, get a number. Then, remove racism. And weigh it again. Then remove sexism, and get a weight. Which ever one weighed the most would be my answer. But since I can't even figure out how to weigh the globe, I'm stuck.

Everyone minding everyone elses business

That's a concise way of putting it.

Neither. Nothing wrong some good old Sexism... or sex of any kind... What IS more of a problem world wide is stupidity on a rampant scale. I have never seen so many stupid people in my life. I think the problem is our medical system. They are saving way too many people who should have kicked off and cleaned the gene pool.

Most racism is only in the stupid peoples minds. They see a racist behind every tree and shrub. You cannot criticize a minority without being labeled a racist by some stupid twit.

I think both are way too into (is that a proper string of words?) the material things to make them happy. I even admit that I watch too many movies, though I haven't had television in 22 years. I found they got me so jacked up (even though I stay away from the violent ones and love indies) that I would rely on wine to bring me down so now I am doing my music at night with a HUGE cup of camomile. If someone dis'es me about my woman-hood that is their prob. If they think I'm a Whitey or a Gringo I try to understand where they are coming from without condoning the act because Creator knows they have had their share of dis-ing and I see all colors really wanting to jump off that bigotry train and get along. I really do. Seems to be the young are leading the way. But too many times we concentrate on the young who make the bad news. NPR shares both sides and the success stories.

> Everyone minding everyone elses business

That's true. Judge not, lest thee be judged. Ah, and also the golden rule is so simple yet so ignored.

Very good Risingroad. The golden rule is really simple, yet so ignored in this day and age....following it would make life so much easier. God bless!

Black people are the most racist people...

Neither! People are the problem and darn it I really don't think it will get any better

Racism.

I was preparing to say sustainable food supply and sustainable energy.

I'm really not sure. I haven't been around the world much.

I'll vote for 'racism' though. Liberty is a relative conceptual thing. Violence between people's is not.

The way I figure it, sexism is mostly about psychic suppression. All persons (both sexes) in remote african villages may neither vote nor drive, but still have happy lives. Not voting or driving has no bearing on happiness. The issues is not voting or driving while the men get to do so. For the most part you don't see americans griping about not smoking hash here, or islams griping about not drinking. Onece you hear about it though, it's "Hey, how come they get to...?" Being born here or there is purely arbitrary. So is being born of a gender. If we believed that men and women were different, it wouldn't be an issue. The problem, and it's a conceptual one, as liberty is relative to one's circumstances, is when we believe that they are equal (and yes, of course I believe that, in case you're wondering) and yet one gender supresses the other anyhow.

I was going to make up some example like guys not allowed to read, but there are still things guys can not do, wear dresses and act feminine (unless they inhabit a sub-culture). For the most part guys are content to live with that. These who aren't are still stuck changing their gender (where that's even an option - it's still a death penalty in some places). My point is is that it's a "That's the way it is" thing just as much as being stuck in some remote African village, unless we choose to make it otherwise.

Where I'm really headed is that, except when it comes down to rape, domestic violence, and such, it's not a physical hardship so much (well, I suppose unequal pay is) as it is a suppressive psychic hardship when seen from a particular philosophical cultural outlook. It's not the hardship itself which is problematic, but the notion of fairness. Culture defines the notion of fairness. 'All men are created equal' is a philosphical notion, not a demonstrated natural truth. I mean, yeah, they could be, but until the day we are all identical clones with the identical conditioning and circumstances, this ain't going to be how the world works, nor would most of us care for the cost in liberty to have that degree of fairness. A certain amount of unfairness, preferably voluntary, makes life more interesting for everyone. To absolutely eradicate sexism would be to absolutely eradicate gender distinction. Doesn't sound too fun to me no matter which gender I was. I know you want equally kind, respectful, equal recognition, but the thing is there is no line to draw in that. A century from now the same line of thought will lead to equality over tones of voice used in conversations or shades of lipsticks used by genders, and, this being a conceptual thing to begin with, the same degree of outrage and activism will be happening over these trivial distinctions.

I was 12 years old in the early 70's when all those women's lib magazines came out, and my insight of childhood innocence told me, if you want equality, stop wearing make up. Of course the really serious feminists did exactly that, but the majority of supposed feminists weren't actually interested in sacrificing gender identity. Aside from physique, the prominent gender differences are really only cultural, and thus only cultural inequality is going to sustain these gender identity distinctions.

My idea of utopia would be one of many divided cultures and vast gender distinctions, but people were free at will to change cultures or genders.

To summarize my views, I think sexism is a good thing, just so long as no one gets hurt, it's voluntary, and no one takes it more seriously than a game; that there is an equal commpassionate respect and admiration happening behind the facade.

~

I suppose I could say the same thing about racism or even things like scientist snobbery. The best I can say on that matter is that every one of us is born into a different position in life, and that we must cherish each other equally beyond these distinctions, while providing as much liberty for people to change roles as possible. Anyone who truly philosphically believed in physical equality of circumstance would also have to be a communist, but I don't see much of that sentiment passing around either.

When you get down to it, sexism and racism are pretty much the same thing, people arbitrarily being born into a role notion. There are things both genders want to hold on to identifying with, and likewise for racial cultures. They just don't want the limitations. In my idea of utopia one could be a rasta, jew, or native american by cultural choice rather than blood. It's not the distinctions themselves which are the problem.

And yet again, these distinctions are conceptual. You don't see Americans complaining that they weren't born as Greenlandic caribou farmers, you only see them complaining about the geographically local relative context they are aware of, like being a hotel janitor while their hotel guests go to Harvard. We can attempt to equalize things, but again, that's back to clone planet, and until then arbitrary lots in life are the nature of life everywhere. It makes a lot more sense to change our view of reality towards mutual appreciation than the nature of reality itself (which would always feel as qualitatively askew no matter how physically we equalized things).

Morality, Values & Revival.