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It's hilarious how people will answer the question they want to answer, instead of answering the question asked.
My answer is that the way we all respond here is microcosmically related to how we think about race in the real world. We have all come to associate certain steretypical behaviors with appearances to which we have become accustomed. In the real world, these behaviors aren't taken alone, but there is a moment's hesitation whenever we come across behavior incongrous with a look. Then we either absorb it and fit into our construct of appearance, or we reject it as abberrant or an isolated event.
Here, those same non-visual clues still apply, but in the absence of visuals, our brains fills in the blanks based on prior experience, based on what we have on file. So if every time we've heard someone say "That's dope," to use an elementary example, has been a "black" person, then when we read a post in which that phrase is used, our mind conjures up an image that fits with that experience.
The more varied our experiences in real life, the least likely we are to automatically assign an image to a phrasing or pattern or thought shown in a post here. But this process is completely natural and, more than that, a necessary and vital function that all thinking creatures use.
We all have different "lists" of things that act as "racial cues," so to speak, but the types of things which may be used, consciously or subconsciously, are user names, typing abilities, theories advocated, books read, music bought, sense of humor,and much more.
(Personally, I don't actively try to figure out the race of a person, unless of course it's pertinent to the topic. Then my first effort would be to check the person's user info page. nothing there, and if I just had to know, I'd ask. If were to guess, I'd keep it to myself, but I'd examine the way they relate to others whose race I've already made a positive ID on. I'd check for reluctance to use racially charge words or to engage in racially charged discussions. I'd look at what topics or kinds of topics they favor. Of course, there are only rare circumstance in which I get to verify my answers. But regardless, I am able to form a mental image, pulling a file from my experiential memory and using that to inform my actions.)
I'm not saying any of these are good indicators. Certainly, none of them by itself will do you any good. But they can be used to form a cumulative picture, one that, for the perceptive person, can be quite accurate. Many of us actually reveal a lot about ourselves here, often unintentionally.
Curiously, for all the KoalaLove fans out there, this demonstrates how irrelevant or arbitrary our societal definitions of race can be. If you pay attention to the cues an okayplayer places here over time, you can get a picture of a person that is so accurate it's downright scary -- and still not be sure of the color of that persons skin. Whether a person is black or white or whatever can have little relevance to personality. And personality comes through very strong on these boards.
RED
"Sounds like Zen," I said. "Interesting
enough in itself as a system of
thought, but not much
good for explaining anything."
© Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up
Bird Chronicle.
RED
http://arrena.blogspot.com
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