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I watched a special on Martin Luther King during MLK Day and have to be honest I was so impressed with the man I saw. I takes a great deal of strength and conviction to do what he did, yet it is such a shame that he had to do it at all.
It sickens me that we live in a country where "our greatest generation" were made up of ignorant assholes who actually implemented the use of water fountains for "colored people" and seperate ones for white people. Even my Grandmother threw around "Spook". I am in awe of our founding fathers and the birth of the United States, and the country it has turned into in such a short amount of time, yet blown away by the fact that the very people who wrote the Constitution claiming that all men were created equal managed to exclude black men and all women from those same rights. But those were really different times, so who am I to judge if I wasn't there. We look back at the Egyptians with admiration, as well as the Romans, and they were much, much worse.
What I think has happened is that despite the racism that flares up in the US from time to time, the US has become one of the most racial tolerant nations in the world. To criticize the United States or any other nation though, overlooks mankind as a whole. It isn't just broken by racial lines, but by class, tribe, education, etc. Racism is just a part of it.
Break it down to extremely primal levels. Humans tend to hang with the kinds of people they have common interests with, and not want to be around others who are very different than they are. So even before people start getting pissed off or insulted you have this huge barrier of looks and culture to overcome. As civilized as some people like to think humanity is it isn't much more complicated than animals. Throw in a black out for a two or three days and you'll bounce humanity back into the stone age, so don't expect it to such a great job with overcoming racism.
I think overcoming that initial barrier of culture and race is tough to do. And don't lesson the importance of the culture bit. Awhile ago I was head over heals for a drop-dead gorgeous Indian woman I work with. When I say Indian I mean Indian, not Native American. Easily one of the top 5 women I've ever met. On top of that she's brilliant, and hysterical. Being funny isn't normally a female trait.
Anyway, it took a long time but one day it finally got out that I liked her and she invited me out. It was a really great night and we were out until about 8am. Things moved really quickly and after a while it came up about how things really couldn't get too serious because I wasn't Indian and her parents would disown her if they found out she dated an American.
Now, keep in mind she was born in Virginia, and was as American as you or I, but her parents were from India and if you know anything about their culture, they are hardcore traditionalists. Her family was from Southern India and it was even unacceptable for her to date a Northern Indian guy (there is much discrimination there between Northern Indians and Southern. Southern Indians tend to be dark, while Northern are lighter. Go figure.).
So for a couple of weeks I could see her wrestling with what to do with us, but in the end she did what most Indians do, they do what their parents would want them to. I can't say I was surprised, because I knew a lot about her culture, but I was still so fucking pissed off because no matter how well I treated their daughter, her parents would never approve of me because I was a white american.
So today she is 26, single, and by Indian standards should be married with 3 kids. She is single because while trying to please her parents, she is not crazy about the guys her parents keep introducing her too. Keep in mind too she is beautiful, goddess-like, so your typical Indian-dweeb isn't going to cut it, so her playing field is extremely limited. I kind of feel bad for her, but at the same time can't overlook the fact that my race is what shot me down. Not by just her parents, but her upbringing, and ultimately by her.
So here I was on the opposite site of racism. It sucks but oh well.
I also wanted to bring up another point:
I have a lot of friends, many are rednecks who not only listen to rap music from time to time, but throw the cupcakeer word around repeatedly. One day I asked them about using that word when they actually have black friends, and my friend responded:
"There is a huge difference between black people and cupcakeers. Black people who make something of themselves and get a decent job, raise a family, etc etc are people I have no problems with. The rest if them who end up as losers, thugs, and whores are cupcakeers."
And he went on to say there was just as much difference between Whites and Trailer Trash, or Hispanics and Spics. His example is more along class lines, but I could totally see what he meant. To him, the Blacks were hanging out at the Super Dome in NO, and the cupcakeers were the ones looting.
So I think racial words mean different things to different people. Some blacks have no problems calling themselves cupcakeers, while others are offended. To me it is all blown out of proportion. I would consider being called an Asshole worse than being called a Cracker, but if the guy calling me Cracker was black, I would immediately respond with Dumb Fucking cupcakeer.
Now, I am an extremely tollerant person. I don't consider myself too racist, but I have absolutely ZERO desire to move into a Black or Hispanic neighborhood. Why? Lots of reasons. Does it matter? No, because I ultimately using race as a criteria, which is supposed to be wrong. The truth is I am more prejedice against the lower class than anything simply because I dont trust it. Through in the fact they they will most likely be just as racial towards me wants me to just keep my distance.
It sucks we live in a world like this, but it really begins at a primal level, and until Mankind really evolves, which I am not convinced that we have, we'll always have problems like this in addition the hundreds of other problems that we have.
It sickens me that we live in a country where "our greatest generation" were made up of ignorant assholes who actually implemented the use of water fountains for "colored people" and seperate ones for white people. Even my Grandmother threw around "Spook". I am in awe of our founding fathers and the birth of the United States, and the country it has turned into in such a short amount of time, yet blown away by the fact that the very people who wrote the Constitution claiming that all men were created equal managed to exclude black men and all women from those same rights. But those were really different times, so who am I to judge if I wasn't there. We look back at the Egyptians with admiration, as well as the Romans, and they were much, much worse.
What I think has happened is that despite the racism that flares up in the US from time to time, the US has become one of the most racial tolerant nations in the world. To criticize the United States or any other nation though, overlooks mankind as a whole. It isn't just broken by racial lines, but by class, tribe, education, etc. Racism is just a part of it.
Break it down to extremely primal levels. Humans tend to hang with the kinds of people they have common interests with, and not want to be around others who are very different than they are. So even before people start getting pissed off or insulted you have this huge barrier of looks and culture to overcome. As civilized as some people like to think humanity is it isn't much more complicated than animals. Throw in a black out for a two or three days and you'll bounce humanity back into the stone age, so don't expect it to such a great job with overcoming racism.
I think overcoming that initial barrier of culture and race is tough to do. And don't lesson the importance of the culture bit. Awhile ago I was head over heals for a drop-dead gorgeous Indian woman I work with. When I say Indian I mean Indian, not Native American. Easily one of the top 5 women I've ever met. On top of that she's brilliant, and hysterical. Being funny isn't normally a female trait.
Anyway, it took a long time but one day it finally got out that I liked her and she invited me out. It was a really great night and we were out until about 8am. Things moved really quickly and after a while it came up about how things really couldn't get too serious because I wasn't Indian and her parents would disown her if they found out she dated an American.
Now, keep in mind she was born in Virginia, and was as American as you or I, but her parents were from India and if you know anything about their culture, they are hardcore traditionalists. Her family was from Southern India and it was even unacceptable for her to date a Northern Indian guy (there is much discrimination there between Northern Indians and Southern. Southern Indians tend to be dark, while Northern are lighter. Go figure.).
So for a couple of weeks I could see her wrestling with what to do with us, but in the end she did what most Indians do, they do what their parents would want them to. I can't say I was surprised, because I knew a lot about her culture, but I was still so fucking pissed off because no matter how well I treated their daughter, her parents would never approve of me because I was a white american.
So today she is 26, single, and by Indian standards should be married with 3 kids. She is single because while trying to please her parents, she is not crazy about the guys her parents keep introducing her too. Keep in mind too she is beautiful, goddess-like, so your typical Indian-dweeb isn't going to cut it, so her playing field is extremely limited. I kind of feel bad for her, but at the same time can't overlook the fact that my race is what shot me down. Not by just her parents, but her upbringing, and ultimately by her.
So here I was on the opposite site of racism. It sucks but oh well.
I also wanted to bring up another point:
I have a lot of friends, many are rednecks who not only listen to rap music from time to time, but throw the cupcakeer word around repeatedly. One day I asked them about using that word when they actually have black friends, and my friend responded:
"There is a huge difference between black people and cupcakeers. Black people who make something of themselves and get a decent job, raise a family, etc etc are people I have no problems with. The rest if them who end up as losers, thugs, and whores are cupcakeers."
And he went on to say there was just as much difference between Whites and Trailer Trash, or Hispanics and Spics. His example is more along class lines, but I could totally see what he meant. To him, the Blacks were hanging out at the Super Dome in NO, and the cupcakeers were the ones looting.
So I think racial words mean different things to different people. Some blacks have no problems calling themselves cupcakeers, while others are offended. To me it is all blown out of proportion. I would consider being called an Asshole worse than being called a Cracker, but if the guy calling me Cracker was black, I would immediately respond with Dumb Fucking cupcakeer.
Now, I am an extremely tollerant person. I don't consider myself too racist, but I have absolutely ZERO desire to move into a Black or Hispanic neighborhood. Why? Lots of reasons. Does it matter? No, because I ultimately using race as a criteria, which is supposed to be wrong. The truth is I am more prejedice against the lower class than anything simply because I dont trust it. Through in the fact they they will most likely be just as racial towards me wants me to just keep my distance.
It sucks we live in a world like this, but it really begins at a primal level, and until Mankind really evolves, which I am not convinced that we have, we'll always have problems like this in addition the hundreds of other problems that we have.
