Racism: Can we all please stop giving a shit?

[groph]

Groph...

Did you just say that it's impossible for a black person to be born in Canada?

I know this is a joke, cracka

I think what he meant was that if you call them Afro-Canadians they must have been born in Africa or somthing considering the Afro before Canadian.

Atleast I think that's what he meant

It's presumptuous. The phrase implies that you're assuming that the person was born in Africa yes. Maddox has a pretty good article on his site that addresses this, except he uses "African-American." He shows a picture of a black guy (pretty sure he's an actor, he looks familiar) and says "I bet this is what you'd think the moment you see this person - AFRICAN-AMERICAN LOL!" and then proceeds to explain my same point (it's where I got this from, I'll admit. It's a good argument). Obviously, noone has a problem with calling whites white, so I refuse to call a black person anything other than black (as opposed to these bullshit PC terms, I'm not saying I'd be all like, "Hey, black guy!"). Of course I'd refer to the person by their first name or Sir or Miss or You if I don't know them.

 

[CrushingAnvil]

I know this is a joke, cracka



It's presumptuous. The phrase implies that you're assuming that the person was born in Africa yes. Maddox has a pretty good article on his site that addresses this, except he uses "African-American." He shows a picture of a black guy (pretty sure he's an actor, he looks familiar) and says "I bet this is what you'd think the moment you see this person - AFRICAN-AMERICAN LOL!" and then proceeds to explain my same point (it's where I got this from, I'll admit. It's a good argument). Obviously, noone has a problem with calling whites white, so I refuse to call a black person anything other than black (as opposed to these bullshit PC terms, I'm not saying I'd be all like, "Hey, black guy!"). Of course I'd refer to the person by their first name or Sir or Miss or You if I don't know them.

Yeah, I hate that. And when white people call black people honkies or crackas Someone should invent some term that is slightly less insulting than 'Iggernay' although technically we're allowed to say 'Negro' since It's derrived from the world 'Negroloid' which is the skull type of an african person/descendent.

 

[Mexi]

What I'm trying to say is, if everyone could just disregard history (it's history, it's in the past)

this is NOT a good approach to address racism and other current events.

 

[JaeSwift]

what the OP said may be true, but the reverese is also true. if anyone here read edward said's work about 'the othering', its quiet scary and true. for those who dont know what 'the othering' means, then its this:

"how dare a white man write about the lives of a middle eastern when the white man knowns nothing of the middle easterns culture"

that is true with things like aladin where its normalized to see as arabs as theives or filthy rich people who turn into snakes, or how women are either walking around naked, or are trapped in their homes and forced to wear long cloths that cover them etc etc etc...

we assume that we have the right to generalize 'their' culture, but really, since we have no knowledge, we shouldn't gneralize anyone.




but on the other hand, i think, since the world is being more and more globalized (or westernized, depending on how you look it), it seems that our boundaries are being worth less and less each and every day. sooner or later, there would be no national identities like being american, being indian, chinese, brazillian etc. everyone will (maybe, and i hope), would become a citizen of the earth. you all have seen star-trek; imagin a world like that where blacks are treated the same as whites, where muslims are treated the same as any ohter religon, etc...

also, the thing is that racisim doesn't exist equally all over the wrold. i mean, as mentioned above, most people dont have a 'negative word' associated to them at home. its only when they enter north america where they are suddenly listed as 'chink' 'paki' 'black' 'terrorist' etc etc etc...i had this class about race and ethnicity that talked about how certain people who had been in the country for 4 of 5 generations were being labled as 'yellow' and they were like 'what the fuck does that even mean? i've been in canada for the past 150 years, and have no association with japan/china, yet i'm still being labeled as an 'outsider'. which reinstates hegemony


this is an interesting lil video. i hope you all give it a shot:

I know what you're saying, the thing is I'm not making an un-educated statement. Living in a country that's as multicultural as this and being generally interested in other cultures aswell as being ''blessed'' with the oppertunity to travel a lot a few years back (and I've seen some bad, bad places, the slums of Brazil being the worst). I'm not saying I know everything, but I like to think I educate myself on other cultures. I guess that's what happens when you have Anthropologists in your family.

Every culture has it's bad sides, really. English culture is stuck in social class system, Dutch culture is becoming more and more individualistic and egocentric, the Chinese are becoming more and more world-aware while the North Koreans are becoming more and more isolated.

In an ideal term, I see it as this; we all live on this same planet, we all look and act different. We can all achieve different goals, be they good or bad. So let's judge each other on what a person does, not what a person's skin color is. That's my idealism towards this, my belief in achieving this stems in to my 1st post; I really believe that the only way to beat this cycle is to stop assosciating mere words with such powerful hatred.

 

[Joose]

Last Saturday - Black dude at a bar looked at my Soilwork "True Swedish Melodic Mayhem" shirt and asked what it was. I simply replied, "Just a band I really like."

His response? "Haha, man you'sa white boy, y'all ain't know what good music is get the fuck outta here!"

Honestly, I really don't see a lot of racism here in Freakville, other than the gangs. But, that shit set my mind off. I didn't say anything back because I didn't wanna start shit, but I was pissed.

I don't discriminate against anyone unless they give me reason to. My band didn't turn away our singer because he's a Cuban/Dominican who occasionally acts like he's from South Central lol.

I hate racism, I really do. Fuck this majority and minority bullshit. We're fucking humans.

 

[vampiregenocide]

I saw Whoopi Goldberg getting riled up about the use of certain words to describe black people, and how black people should be allowed to use them andno one else. While I can see what she's getting at, its bullshit. I mean when I hear rap songs dropping the N bomb left right and centre, its fucking tiresome. I mean, we've moved on a lot since then and some people have to hold onto that word like its a trophy or something. I couldn't give a shit, but I feel sometimes like white people are alienated because some black people can't drop that shit and go 'you know, its been a long time, and this white guy was probably never a slave owner, so why am I so caught up in this?'. I mean even now days it seems theres a lot of segregation between white and black people (socially I have few black friends, we all tend to hang out with people of same racial background, unintentionally mind) and I think its purely down to that elephant in the room factor, because we're afraid of saying the wrong thing and getting called racists. People forget its not the word that is offensive, its the intention behind it. I mean if I call a close black friend a ......, I would hope they'd know it would be purely a joke/friend thing, but it wouldn't be. It would be seen to be offensive even though I did not mean it that way, and that word contextually means nothing anymore unless it is given meaning. I mean, why is it people go around calling each other motherfucker, faggot and gay, all extremely offensive terms on face value (not to call someone gay, but when it is used out of context), but aren't considered so. Why can't we just not take racial slur seriously? We're capable of it, but making something serious out of an archaic word is only going to create more segregation.


By the way, its very late here and most of that post doesn't make sense to me anymore, so if anyone sees it as offensive/stupid then I apologise I have no idea what I'm talking about. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't get caught up on being so PC and we can start being loving and putting aside all this racial bullshit. Remember the past sure, but learn from it don't get consumed by it.

 

[Joose]

^And there's the problem! Having to apologize in advance for "offending someone".

I hate that society is like that. People gettin' offended over goddamn everything. Lawsuits left and fuckin' right because of hurt feelings. Argh!

 

[renzoip]

Well, all countries have their specifics relating to what's perceived as offensive or not.
The issue is only difficult becuase you have on both sides stupid extremists ready to grab at anything to make a point.

That's true. Where I come from, using the term "colored" is considered more PC. Black (or Negro, in Spanish) can be offensive or inoffensive depending on the context and the tone in which it is used. In fact, pointing out a person's skin color when making references is considered (supposedly) to be of poor taste.

However, my country is also ranked one of the most backwards countries in its region with regards to racial & ethnic relations. There, they kinda have this ideal multiracial/multicultural world where everyone has moved on from the past, and racism in just innocent humor (or so we are told). In reality, things are not like that. Contrary to what some may suggest, these kind of atmosphere has only reinforced tensions and legitimized discrimination & under representation.

And what is most interesting, anyone who dares call out a racist is immediately counter-attacked for either having no sense of humor or for trying to play the victim in order to get something.

Maybe people don't complain as much but it does not mean society will actually be better of.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[tacotiklah]

I'll sum up my feelings on PC-ness by quoting a lyric from an awesome band by the name of Suicidal Tendencies:

"Im sorry I offended you, but maybe you needed to be offended.

By the way......FUUUUUCK YOUUUU!!!!"

Carry on.....

 

[tacotiklah]

Edit: Double post

 

[groph]

That's true. Where I come from, using the term "colored" is considered more PC. Black (or Negro, in Spanish) can be offensive or inoffensive depending on the context and the tone in which it is used. In fact, pointing out a person's skin color when making references is considered (supposedly) to be of poor taste.

However, my country is also ranked one of the most backwards countries in its region with regards to racial & ethnic relations. There, they kinda have this ideal multiracial/multicultural world where everyone has moved on from the past, and racism in just innocent humor (or so we are told). In reality, things are not like that. Contrary to what some may suggest, these kind of atmosphere has only reinforced tensions and legitimized discrimination & under representation.

And what is most interesting, anyone who dares call out a racist is immediately counter-attacked for either having no sense of humor or for trying to play the victim in order to get something.

Maybe people don't complain as much but it does not mean society will actually be better of.

Just my 2 cents.

Yeah unless you're talking about white people.

 

[R3D]

this reminds me of a certain KFC ad we had in australia.

it was cricket themed, this guy was sitting on the wrong side of the stadium where all the west indies are sitting in he's australian colours, they all looked at hime like gtfo this is our spot keep (not racist sports fans beeing sports fans)

BUT! he has a bucket of the colonels best fried chicken and offers them a piece (keep in mind he is white they are black), all smoothed over... they are all friends now.

harmless right? FKN WRONG! america got a whift of it and suddenly only black people in the world like fried chicken, so a white person giving a black west indies supporter a piece of fried chicken becomes the ultimate insult, all theese radio shows jabber on about how racict the ad was and how irresposible australians were to have aired the add in the first place yadda yadda yadda

what the fuck america.... its in no way shape or form racist.

 

[soundgardener75]

Check out this South African American:

FIXED.

 

[renzoip]

Yeah unless you're talking about white people.

From what I understand, one is not supposed to point out skin color, period. But yeah, the key word here is "supposed." People do it more often than not.

 

[vampiregenocide]

From what I understand, one is not supposed to point out skin color, period. But yeah, the key word here is "supposed." People do it more often than not.

Anyone who believes that is full of shit. I'm sorry if someone here does, but its crap. I'm white, you're black, but you know what? Who cares? I'm offendedby being called short, so don't refer to my height or I'll get upset. Its just a descriptive word. Fair enough, if its a word with racist connotations then I can understand someone not wanting to be called that, but essentially denying any kind of pigmentation is just idiotic. We're all beautiful butterflies.

*none of that anger was aimed at you fella, just incase it seemed that way*

 

[groph]

Anyone who believes that is full of shit. I'm sorry if someone here does, but its crap. I'm white, you're black, but you know what? Who cares? I'm offendedby being called short, so don't refer to my height or I'll get upset. Its just a descriptive word. Fair enough, if its a word with racist connotations then I can understand someone not wanting to be called that, but essentially denying any kind of pigmentation is just idiotic. We're all beautiful butterflies.

*none of that anger was aimed at you fella, just incase it seemed that way*

Yeah, what Shorty said.

People who say "I DON'T SEE RACE LOL" obviously need corrective surgery.

We need to get used to being offended again. Really. It's not a huge deal. You think the other person is a dick for 5 minutes then you forget about them. Like today at work, I was painting some bathroom stalls that were half rusted through, and the handicapped stall was the only one that didn't need touch ups. So I hang a sign that reads "wet paint, use the handicapped stall". My coworker said that I probably shouldn't write "handicapped" because it isn't PC. I just said that I didn't care and nothing else. It's not like I wrote

WET PAINT, PLEASE USE THE STALL RESERVED FOR WORTHLESS CRIPPLES WITH NO LEGS

 

[Scar Symmetry]

I have some friends that are very racist and you know what? I don't blame them. The majority of contact they've had with ethnic minorities has been negative, you can't really blame people for having beliefs based on their experiences with race as people base their beliefs on their experiences with every other subject, this one just happens to be more taboo.

It's neither side's fault per se, it's the Government's fault for their horrible, horrible handling of immigration over the years.

 

[Razzy]

Only mildly related, but this thread reminds me of a kid I know in high-school who had moved here from SOUTH Africa. He was a white guy, and on standardized tests, he would check "African American," in the ethnicity box. (Because it was fuck'n true!) And the teachers always threw a fit about it. I thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

 

[renzoip]

Anyone who believes that is full of shit. I'm sorry if someone here does, but its crap. I'm white, you're black, but you know what? Who cares? I'm offendedby being called short, so don't refer to my height or I'll get upset. Its just a descriptive word. Fair enough, if its a word with racist connotations then I can understand someone not wanting to be called that, but essentially denying any kind of pigmentation is just idiotic. We're all beautiful butterflies.

*none of that anger was aimed at you fella, just incase it seemed that way*

No offense taken.

And just to be clear, I did not say pointing out a person's skin color was racist. I only said that it is considered impolite in my country. Still, no one really cares, even if they are offending someone. As far as height goes, I understand that little people don't like to be called "midgets" as many of us usually do.

But back to the point, I was only trying to exemplify that on the other hand, the whole idea of "nobody should care about race/feel offended" can create a situation just as bad if not worst than the one we currently have. You (not you personally) might not care but others might; you don't know anything about them. I think there needs to be a balance between respect and self confidence. Not sure how that makes one full of shit.

 

[renzoip]

I have some friends that are very racist and you know what? I don't blame them. The majority of contact they've had with ethnic minorities has been negative, you can't really blame people for having beliefs based on their experiences with race as people base their beliefs on their experiences with every other subject, this one just happens to be more taboo.

It's neither side's fault per se, it's the Government's fault for their horrible, horrible handling of immigration over the years.

Based on that premise, then one shouldn't blame those who call out racism for anything cause they might have had negative experiences with ethnic majorities. If people are gonna blame their believes on their experiences and their governments, where is the personal responsibility then? People believe what they choose to believe based on where their interests and values are.