OK, they won't pick on someone when they think they will lose the fight- does that work?
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Racial Microagressions
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
- Start date
OK, they won't pick on someone when they think they will lose the fight- does that work?
I agree with you. I guess the qualifier was the comment about the smart predator.
I feel that they are not all smart.
I think this incident proves that observation.
If calling it a game originates with the media, the person who first used it needs to be found and made public. This is some of the most irresponsible crap I can imagine and it's all so they can sell more papers, have more listeners or viewers and make more money. THAT'S what's wrong with the US media.
Preying on people as a way to steal their possessions isn't smart but if a predator were to be considered 'smart', they wouldn't go to a large group of people who are well-armed or skilled in self-defense and try to rob them, even if the robber is skilled or armed. Sometimes, they're drugged up and think they're 10' tall and bulletproof, or just insane.
Of course it doesn't make you a racist; even committing a blatanly racist act just once doesn't make you a racist person. I will set aside the "acting like a monkey" vs the "You are a monkey" here; if I were acting like a monkey and you said, "Hey! stop acting like a monkey," that would not be a racist act nor would it make you a racist. Would it perhaps ruffle someone's feathers if they just overheard it, not knowing what was going on? I'm sure it would.
This is a good opportunity for me to say that committing one racist act does not alone make one a racist, just as making one douchebag move doesn't alone make one a douchebag.
However the fact of the matter is, you can treat everyone equally. You can treat everyone with respect according to that person's needs.
I think "When can I call black people monkeys?" would be right in line with some of the examples in the OP as "petty"
You don't have to avoid the person's heritage. Just treat people with respect and if you are ignorant, don't let your ignorance fly
The point of the Asian girl's sign was not "pretend I am not Asian." It was "don't ask me dumb*** questions like 'do you speak Asian?' "
You cannot treat everyone equally and expect the same reaction from them - whether their differences be religious, ethnic, gender, or just plain upbringing.
People are all different, are all somewhat irrational, and all have different triggers - it's just reality.
I have yet to actually respond to the OP. There are little things that you go through every day as a person of any marginalized group, and I guess you can call them "microaggressions." But some of the examples in the OP are just silly.
I mean, it was called "21 racial microaggressions you hear every day." How often do you get asked to play Dora the Explorer in a school play? Who ever besides maybe one person called the one girl who doesn't look Chinese at all to me "my china doll?" And what's wrong with thinking a Hispanic person speaks Spanish?
I mean, it was called "21 racial microaggressions you hear every day." How often do you get asked to play Dora the Explorer in a school play? Who ever besides maybe one person called the one girl who doesn't look Chinese at all to me "my china doll?" And what's wrong with thinking a Hispanic person speaks Spanish?
Whenever anyone asks me (on other boards than this one,) if I think they're a racist, I tell them I KNOW they are a racist. They sometimes get upset. But HOW do I know? Because we ALL are racists, to some degree. Maybe a very TINY degree. Maybe a very LARGE degree. We live in a racist society. I think it is getting better, a little bit at a time.
I don't feel any need not to be judged a racist. I do feel a need to learn as much as I can about people who are different from me, in any way that you can be different than me. Only by knowing our flaws can we ever hope to improve ourselves.
I don't feel any need not to be judged a racist. I do feel a need to learn as much as I can about people who are different from me, in any way that you can be different than me. Only by knowing our flaws can we ever hope to improve ourselves.
Also, calling anyone a monkey in an insulting manner, even a white person, can be construed as racist due to the word's history. Kind of like calling someone (even a man) a b***** or p***y, carries the unspoken connotation that being a woman is insulting. So, I pick my insults to be equally offensive to all.
It's real simple folks, if you want to identify strictly by your heritage, then go live where your heritage currently flourishes.
If you want to live in America, your heritage is American. Why is that such a tough concept?
I understand why so many people want to be different, want to stand out as different, witness the number of attention whores in the music business. It's not about music, it's a nifty vehicle to get all eyes on me. One's ethnic heritage is also an easy way to stand out, but to use it as an excuse to get your feelings hurt? Never understood that.
Take if from a guy in the only ethnic group in America not allowed to have an ethnic history (poor southern whites), at least not one which can be discussed publically without ridicule from everyone but those of us in that group, it's damn nice to just be an American because it removes all the weight of explaining why you just want a chance to have a dry place to sleep and a warm place to defecate.
All this derision and division is not without purpose though. it is a deceptively simple way to keep us too busy ya yaing at each other to notice the rise of our brand spanking new, 21st century American ruling class.
If you want to live in America, your heritage is American. Why is that such a tough concept?
I understand why so many people want to be different, want to stand out as different, witness the number of attention whores in the music business. It's not about music, it's a nifty vehicle to get all eyes on me. One's ethnic heritage is also an easy way to stand out, but to use it as an excuse to get your feelings hurt? Never understood that.
Take if from a guy in the only ethnic group in America not allowed to have an ethnic history (poor southern whites), at least not one which can be discussed publically without ridicule from everyone but those of us in that group, it's damn nice to just be an American because it removes all the weight of explaining why you just want a chance to have a dry place to sleep and a warm place to defecate.
All this derision and division is not without purpose though. it is a deceptively simple way to keep us too busy ya yaing at each other to notice the rise of our brand spanking new, 21st century American ruling class.
I disagree.
I personally reject the social construct of "race". Don't believe in it. There is no such thing as "race".
It's like the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. Which is superior? Neither, they're both figments of the imagination.
I agree that race is a social construct, but it HAS been constructed, and so it does exist in that sense, as does racism.
Yeah, I look at "race" as I do "countries." We don't actually live in the US, we live on a giant blob of land that someone decided to call the "US" and make rules and customs accordingly. You can reject it if you want, but that doesn't mean that you can act as if you don't live in the "US" (break the law, whatever else) and not experience the effects of doing so
i am soooo alarmed that soooo many people are unaware of this reality! it's something i have been preaching for decades only to be labled a "kook".
it's how empires are created. dividing the bickering populus with nonsense, so city hall can rewrite the constitution in their favor. what's bad for one group, is bad for us all.
Tony. You have a heart of gold, and I truly believe your moral compass works just fine. You've made some great points. But I wanted to weigh in on this, mainly because it was a bit of learning curve for me.
I live in the Denver Metro area, large Hispanic population. Now, it took me some time to realize that Latinos can be (A) ESL (English as a second language), or (B) truly bilingual (learned both from early childhood, perfectly fluent with no accent either way), or (C) Born in the USA, English is their only language, and they couldn't tell Spanish from Martian.
So if you want to know which it is, you have to tread lightly, be sensitive, and, rather than assume they speak Spanish, eat tacos every day, and drive a low rider, ask, "Do you speak Spanish?"
An accent is a good sign they speak English as a second language. No accent? could be B or C above.
And if they are ESL or bi-lingual, I make it a point to tell them I envy anyone who can speak more than one language, it's a great skill. I also ask, respectfully, where their parents were born, and if they speak English. It's a real eye-opener to sometimes find out the family line has been born and raised in the USA for several generations, and only the great great grandparents spoke Spanish.
This is all designed to avoid sounding like a racist gringo. Just based on this alone, I make friends with Hispanics really fast and easy, they appreciate my sensitivity and interest, and they proceed to laugh at my broken Spanish.
