thoughts on racism

[tonioseven]

I am African-American. I work for everything I get; very hard! I have taken no handouts or "freebies" from anybody. I worked to get through college and took out loans when necessary. I went to a predominantly African-American university. I have things I could be bitter about but that's really not gonna help me be a productive member of society now is it? Not only do I face racism from other cultures, but also from my own because I'm not "ghetto-oriented". I live in a home which I worked hard to buy, I pay my bills every month, I make sure my children are well taken care of, I make sure my wife is happy. I did not get my job because of a quota; I got it because nobody wants to work with a bunch of juvenile delinquents that nobody really cares about; black AND white. I really don't care about what color people are because ignorance comes in all shapes, forms, and colors. I do think the reverse racism thing is out of control and I think too many minorities play the race card unnecessarily just to get something for free or close to free. I choose to pay my own way and to teach my children to do the same. Nothing shoul be totally free in this world because you have no respect for something you didn't have to work for. I get frustrated often because of the way a lot of rappers portray themselves in their videos with the gaudy cars, ridiculously large mansions, and God-awful jewelry!! I only wear a wedding ring and a small stud in my ear. I would prefer to have a Nismo-tuned R33 Skyline than a Hummer or whatever with dubs on it. My car has factory hubcaps and tires specified by the manufacturer rather than wheels costing more than the car. I DO have a nice stereo system but I listen to almost anything if it sounds good in my car; which is almost anything I don't care for derogatory terms such as "ricer", "nigger", "cracker", "honkey", "spic" , "wetback", "towel-head", or any of the terms people care to use. I like universal words such as "asshole", "dickhead", "idiot", and so on.to eliminate racism would take an enormous amount of consciousness that we in our current state of evolution aren't capable of in my opinion however we CAN be mor aware of controlling the ignorance which we ALL have hidden inside each of us. I'm black; so what? I'll never ask anybody for anything without offering to pay for it! I prefer to not ask at all. I'm not angry but rather happy to be able to state my opinion about a serious subject in a cool place such as AF; which is made up of a bunch of people from all over the world and, for the most part, get along great! I think there's a small lesson the world could learn from us! Especially if they check out the AF Model of the Year contest!!
people please take care and I apologize if I've offended anyone. :grey:

[BLU CIVIC]

i've encountered racism but not on a large scale (i.e.. denied for something b/c of race) but that doesn't mean that it's not there....its kinda funny b/c when i was in school i applied for a CADD Tech position and got it.....was the only "brown" person there and again at my present job....only person upstairs that's brown...others downstairs work in the shop and wear uniforms...i guess they probably needed some ethnic diversity. i dunno.....not to be arrogant or anything but a short time ago when i was in high school i realized something...my skin isn't black it's brown...hated the term black b/c i wasn't...i began to mark other or cross out black and put in brown on my applications just b/c they weren't referring to me when they used the term "black"...as far as i'm concerned the only thing on me that's black is my hair..but i'm skeptical on teaching my 2 kids this b/c i know that if they were to go around saying that they're brown and not black they would be laughed at and the subject to ridiculed buy the older people for "forgetting where they came from" and saying that "they're not proud of their heritage".....still doesn't change the fact that their skin and my skin is brown and not "black"....just my .02

[tonioseven]

Originally posted by BLU CIVIC
i've encountered racism but not on a large scale (i.e.. denied for something b/c of race) but that doesn't mean that it's not there....its kinda funny b/c when i was in school i applied for a CADD Tech position and got it.....was the only "brown" person there and again at my present job....only person upstairs that's brown...others downstairs work in the shop and wear uniforms...i guess they probably needed some ethnic diversity. i dunno.....not to be arrogant or anything but a short time ago when i was in high school i realized something...my skin isn't black it's brown...hated the term black b/c i wasn't...i began to mark other or cross out black and put in brown on my applications just b/c they weren't referring to me when they used the term "black"...as far as i'm concerned the only thing on me that's black is my hair..but i'm skeptical on teaching my 2 kids this b/c i know that if they were to go around saying that they're brown and not black they would be laughed at and the subject to ridiculed buy the older people for "forgetting where they came from" and saying that "they're not proud of their heritage".....still doesn't change the fact that their skin and my skin is brown and not "black"....just my .02

I like that! Only I'm bald now so I have no more black hair!

[freakray]

Are white people really white?

[Monkey-Magic-S15-R]

anyone heard of the resent arrests of terrorists in the uk and the shooting of a special forces policeman ?

Its made people go fascist and racist near where i live there is a hotel that they are letting asylum seekers stay at at the tax payers expense

I don't agree with them being put up at our expense nor do i agree with letting anymore in untill we sort our country out (since labour has f***ed it good and proper) but the racism towards these people is a bit extreme. Grafitti lots of letters, moaning and groaning abuse. Everyone is worried that they are terrorists. Its' mental

[BLU CIVIC]

Originally posted by freakray
Are white people really white?

NO AND YES.....IN THE WINTER YES



i remember my first encounter with racism.....i remember it clear as day...i was a junior or senior in h.s. back in 96 or 97 and i had just got off the school bus and was waking this girl i liked home... we were crossing the street and there was this elderly caucasion souple in a car at the stop light...as we were crossing the street i saw the lady lock her door...i'm not one to get angry or even mad at anything but i so badly wanted to go over there break their window, snatch that lady out and proceed to shack her violently all the while asking her what was her problem ..instead that incident stayed with me and is teaching me to not pay attention to someone elses ignorance....some say i'm wise being only 23 but not as much as others who went through this before me

Originally posted by Monkey-Magic-S15-R
I don't agree with them being put up at our expense nor do i agree with letting anymore in untill we sort our country out (since labour has f***ed it good and proper) but the racism towards these people is a bit extreme. Grafitti lots of letters, moaning and groaning abuse. Everyone is worried that they are terrorists. Its' mental

i'm sure that you've noticed that the same thing is going on here with anyone that is from the areas pertainting to pakistan

[Cbass]

Xenophobia is natural. People will always have a fearful reaction to something that is different, it's just a matter of how fearful. There are exceptions to this, some people, embrace different things without fear, but these people are very few. If you think you're not xenophobic, it's much more likely you're just fooling yourself, and that you are in fact, fearful of change and different things, even if just a little.

Racism and cultural differences are often confused. Aside from a few minor differences such as facial features, skin pigmentation and height, we're all pretty much the same. What actually matters, is the culture you have been raised in and embraced. For example, a child of Russian descent raised in North America, and then taken back to Russia, will have little more in common with his Russian relatives than his genes. Same with an Indian, an African American, an Asian... the list goes on. A white child raised in central China will have a very different outlook on life than the same child would have if he/she were raised in New York.

[Diesel2NR]

A law suit came up in this area not too long ago. A black community church was trying to sue CSX (a railroad corporation) and a few other companies for reperations (Spelling on that one?) because the "white owners of these companies forced slaves to build these railroads and every part of their business." I don't think that they are entitled to a dime. The work was done when slavary was legal. And anyway, if it weren't for white crackers, they'd still be building railroads and picking cotton. It'd be better than it was over in Africa. At least the slaves ate here.

[tonioseven]

Originally posted by 94 Mustang GT
A law suit came up in this area not too long ago. A black community church was trying to sue CSX (a railroad corporation) and a few other companies for reperations (Spelling on that one?) because the "white owners of these companies forced slaves to build these railroads and every part of their business." I don't think that they are entitled to a dime. The work was done when slavary was legal. And anyway, if it weren't for white crackers, they'd still be building railroads and picking cotton. It'd be better than it was over in Africa. At least the slaves ate here.

Who do you think they were picking cotton for ?! I don't like derogatory terms; I prefer caucasian. I see your point about the reparations lawsuit but why does it have to have a bitter tinge to it? I don't believe people signed up for slavery thinking it was a Carnival cruise!

[darkness]

just to inject some light-heartedness into this thread.

White people are actually colored people.

We get embarrassed = we turn pink
sunburnt = we can go red
get sick = we go green
get cold = we go blue


point made??

[boingo82]

If you want to be technical about it, many of the african-americans who were shipped over to be slaves in America had already been enslaved back in Africa, by their "own people".

The thing that angers me most is when a minority person is pulled over because he is speeding, street racing, running red lights, driving erratically, etc., and claims he got pulled over "just because I'm black" or "just because I look mexican". Then he spits on the cops, they get mad and kick his ass, and suddenly it's a case of racial discrimination. I say, if you're breaking the law, expect to get pulled over no matter what color you are. I don't care if "all the white folks were speeding too and they didn't get pulled over", YOU were breaking the law and therefore should have been ticketed.

And I don't like the work "Caucasian" because I don't like how it sounds. And it's too long to boot, as are African-American and Hispanic. I think we should stick to 5-letter, easy-to-spell words like Asian, White, Black, etc. because I don't have all day to spend typing.

[Jay!]

My favorite commentary on Racism to date:

Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Episode 201 O.A.D. 12/01/02

Jessica announces to the group that there will be a $3,000 reward for anyone who recommends a qualified, diverse candidate for a job opening they have. Andy, Wendy, Keith and Byron submit their choices and eventually Wendy’s candidate is picked.

The next day an African American man walks in named Ted. Andy is thrilled! This is the person that he recommended. It turns out Wendy’s selection was placed in another job at the last minute. Andy decides that he’s going to buy two new big screen TVs.

Back in the office, Andy and Ted are busily working and getting along great when someone walks in to offer Andy tickets to “Riverdance”. Andy not only declines, but he starts trashing “Riverdance” and the whole Irish culture. Ted is deeply offended and tells Andy that he’s half- Irish.

Jessica calls Andy to the conference room to speak with their diversity department. He is sent to diversity sensitivity training and when he returns to his office, he tells Byron that he thinks he’s learned his lesson, “Keep my big mouth shut!”. Byron tells him, “No! That’s not the lesson. We live in a color-blind society. Accept people for who they are.”

Andy apologizes to Ted and a few days later Ted’s beautiful sister, Jackie, walks into the office. Cutting to chase, Andy starts dating Jackie and on one particular date they start talking about baby names. Jackie says that if she has a baby boy some day, she wants to name him “Seamus”. Andy can’t understand why and Jackie explains that it’s an Irish name and she wants to get back to her culture. Andy tells her that she’s not living in Ireland now though, maybe she should go with a more traditional American name- afterall, don’t we live in a color-blind society?

Jackie is insulted and Andy decides to make it up to her by taking her to see “Riverdance”. At the end, Andy realizes that this whole thing started for the wrong reason. He doesn’t hate “Riverdance” because it’s about Irish people. He hates it because it’s terrible.

(Andy Richter Controls the Universe is a TV show, and there was a monologue in this episode that was very good... still looking for the full text...)

My personal opinion is that we're all one 'race:' human. We're just different 'breeds,' like dogs.

Oh, well... Works for me... :o

[Cbass]

I'm not a racist, I'm a culturalist... I can say for the most part, that I dislike Quebecois, based on my experiences I have had with them. I have never actually been to Quebec, but I had to take french classes in school, and that time could have been devoted to studying something I will actually use in western Canada, such as mathematics, or science, or improving my english! This is not the sole reason I discriminate against them, I find as a culture, they are selfish, and not mindful of anyone outside of themselves, their friends, and their family. You might say all people are like this, but believe me, they are much more like this than most other cultures.

RANT RANT RANT!

So even though they are white, I don't like them mostly...

However, I have known many Natives, Asians, even one African American guy(I live in a small town in Canada), and they were culturally the same as I am.

Before you label someone as a racist, try to decide whether it is the skin colour, or the culture they are biased against.

[tonioseven]

If you want to be technical about it, many of the african-americans who were shipped over to be slaves in America had already been enslaved back in Africa, by their "own people".

I am MORE than aware of that fact; technically

The thing that angers me most is when a minority person is pulled over because he is speeding, street racing, running red lights, driving erratically, etc., and claims he got pulled over "just because I'm black" or "just because I look mexican". Then he spits on the cops, they get mad and kick his ass, and suddenly it's a case of racial discrimination. I say, if you're breaking the law, expect to get pulled over no matter what color you are. I don't care if "all the white folks were speeding too and they didn't get pulled over", YOU were breaking the law and therefore should have been ticketed.

I can see this will end up being pointless to discuss this since you seem to be speaking on an isolated incident. If I'm wrong then I can take my punishment likethe man I am but if I'm falsely accused of something, then there is a proper way to handle it! I personally wouldn't act in a manner such as that! I can respect most everyone's opinion without resorting to the assumption that because I fit a certain ethnic description, I'm going to act a certain way Which kinda sounds like racism but that's just an opinion; not necessarily my opinion but it could be a valid opinion. Why are we so quick to judge others without looking at our own shortcomings?! (Rhetorical question).

[boingo82]

Originally posted by tonioseven

I can see this will end up being pointless to discuss this since you seem to be speaking on an isolated incident. If I'm wrong then I can take my punishment likethe man I am but if I'm falsely accused of something, then there is a proper way to handle it! I personally wouldn't act in a manner such as that! I can respect most everyone's opinion without resorting to the assumption that because I fit a certain ethnic description, I'm going to act a certain way Which kinda sounds like racism but that's just an opinion; not necessarily my opinion but it could be a valid opinion. Why are we so quick to judge others without looking at our own shortcomings?! (Rhetorical question).

Didn't mean that you personally or every African-American person would react like this. Sorry if it seemed like that's what I was inferring.

On the contrary, I was providing an example of one of the more extreme circumstances when someone will pull the "race card". Are there instances of racial discrimination by the police? Yes. But are there other instances when people try to avoid paying consequences for their actions by throwing in the race card? Also yes. I sincerely resent people doing that, just as it makes me mad when certain people on these forums claim that cops are "picking on them" because the cops are "jealous" of their car.

In the city in which I reside, it would be VERY EASY to be racist, as there are a grand total of maybe 100 black people in a city of 100,000. In my high school, out of 700 students, there were 0 black students 3 of the years, the fourth year there was 1. He was one of the most popular people at my school, not because he was black but because he was just friendly to everyone. I say it would be easy to be racist because it is very abnormal to see a person of another color, so it would be easy for people to develop unsubstantiated prejudices against them. I think it heartening that I haven't seen a single incidence of racial prejudice here.

For what it matters, I am white, but I've got an aunt who was raised in Cameroon, and she married my uncle who I don't think has ever seen the sun in his life. Their wedding pics were quite humorous, as she's about as dark as a person can get, in a white dress, and my pasty uncle was wearing a black suit. It was impossible to get the lighting so you could see both of their faces at once! They still laugh about this.