Why is it that, you can call us aussies, call english poms, call new zealanders kiwis, call people white, but if you call people black, its bad, if you call aboriginals abos, its bad. It's stupid. And you can't critisize fat people, but you can thin, you can call people pale, but not dark? I mean I don't want to critisize anyone, that's not what I'm saying. It's just a bit unfair I think. My friend has this thing, I'll post it.. lemme get it..
Ok well I tried to get it but my pc keeps crashing. i will when i go upstairs. maybe i shouldnt have made this topic i think it makes me sound mean or something. probably everyone would get mad. :S
I didn't know you can't call people black or dark. What are black people called? What are dark people called? "non-pale?" I'm monumentally confused. I understand the touchy issues with the others because of previous racism being an influence. Skinny isn't traditionally an insult but I suppose that's changed a little but when used very specifically. I grew up with the notion that fat people should be made fun of... peer pressure sort of thing, my parents tried to discourage it, it's easy to see why it would be touchy from that perspective.
My friend has a thing too but we never look at it or touch it together. He keeps it to himself <--these smileys work better for me I think. They take forever to load though.
Here I found the thing, I dunno where he got it from but yea, it may tell you what I mean in the racist sense MD, and yeah people at my school tease skinny people not fat.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You call me "Cracker", "Honkey", "Whitey" and even "The Man" and you think it's OK.
But when I call you, "black person", "Kike", "Towelhead", "Sand-black person", "Camel Jockey", "Beaner" or "Chink" you call me a racist.
You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET(white entertainment television) we'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day you would call us racists.
If we had white history month, we'd be racists.
If we had an organization for only whites to "advance" our lives, we'd be racists.
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be racists.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.
You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.
But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.
...And you can't critisize fat people, but you can thin...
I agree, it is stupid, but the above is not entirely accurate. People can and do criticise fat people, but not thin. Why? I think it's because thin is socially okay, unless you are annorexic, then it's a pity thing.
what i mean is like, if you call someone fat, people would get mad at you and say you were so mean etc, but if you go to someone like oh are u anorexic ahh you're too skinny, or too lanky or something, no one gets mad? I dunno, it's just weird
The thing your friend has is American though and it deals with it from a differant perspective from a society that has differant racial and racist influences.
Although every situation is unique, I'll speak generally using "Black and White" to simplify things and put perspective of racism historically.
I've sort of thought some of the same things in the thing at one time or another but I ended up finding that although it gets blown out of proportion and can be over the top very easily, on both sides of the coin, that quite a few of the complaints people of minority groups have, by themselves, are really pretty valid aggravations.
Also, I don't know what these three things are: -Cesar Chavez Day. -Yom Hashoah -Ma'uled Al-Nabi ...but everything else on that list is a direct result of jaw dropping oppression that occured in the United States and were all very positive vehicles for people to gain economic equality and to regain some self esteem in a country that would rather have seen them raised thinking that they were inferiour, sub-human, not as good as the rest of the world, and not deserving of equal pay or voting rights or even deserving to marry outside of their race. The attitude that Black people (for example) are inferior, was a huge success and people beleived it both black and white and have beleived it for as far back as history takes it in the US. Marting Luther King was indeed a visionary and given the whole fear of death thing at the time it's fair to call him a hero. I've not really ever thought of it like that until just now.
Things like the BET didn't come along until later and part of the motivation there may very well have been "in your face white boy" but ... so what? Sure I'm just a little bit too young to remember law enforced separtation and oppression and I'm not responsible for it but what's wrong with taking the backlash... it's just blowing off steam is all.
Growing up, I certainly heard all the racial names involved with being white directed at me and I hated it and I reckoned that black people were more racist than whites (and to be honest, it's pretty rare to find an American delusional enough to beleive that they aren't racist) and have only once ever stood in front of someone and called them a black person. I think now that it was more harmful that I said it once than I heard it directed at me a bunch of times... obviously there's not "nothing at all" behind this but I shouldn't speculate other than to state that I observed it more harmful put... I will speculate, if you grow up and as a result of the whole wide world, you're insecure about yourself because of your race, it's going to be very threatening to your personal sense of safety if you've just had confirmation that your (justifyably) paranoid fears were true.
Anyhow, seems like it doesn't matter at some point, and although people tend to stay, to an extent, in environments of their own race that we sooner or later have to deal with each other on a personal basis. After everyone finally being able to put aside racially drived persecution complexes, busting through their own stereotypes and so forth (all of which is learned through situations that feel very tense at the time) everyone loves each other and has a big orgy. Just kidding. Anyhow, it was very difficult to face the reality that everyone else is just like me and I'm pretty certain that it's the same on the other end of it, with some people it was actually fun, but when I read something like that I reckon that it's written by someone who has'nt had any experience to grow upon other than schoolyard crap that we all go through and just hasn't had the opportunity... or hasn't been forced to confront the reality at a personal level.
The fact is that there is a United Negro College Fund, a Black History Month, that sometime large companies hire minorities to meet quotas, but... too bad I guess... it's the way it is and a person would be a fool, or filled with stupid pride, not to use it if there was something set up to give them a helping hand (such as a college scholarship) and there is indeed a need for a Black History Month unless the high schools are willing to use re-written text books. I've never cared about Black History (or any history) and thus don't give a rats a** about Black Histroy Month one way or another... God forbid we should do something so horrible as complain about any women's awareness days or moths or whatever they have. It sounds stupid to me often but I'm not angry about it.
White people can choose the KKK if they want... and Black people can choose to watch BET and be entertained by a programming that... well it's not good television anyway, the complaint is clearly pulling at straws in reaction to (again justified) paranioa, and the US would be a better place if this sort of attitude was just tolerated without making a huge deal about it. I think people all around are responsible for making a big deal out of this sort of thing.
Pretty easy for me to say that while completely removed from it and halfway around the world.
As it might apply to Australia, I have the following to say: "I've noticed that ethnic people, especially if they have an accent, have a hard time finding a job even at McDonalds... what's with that?"
I see your point about being frustrated about being called skinny. Some people can't gain weight even when they eat twice what they need. Is it just a way for people to get at you though? If it is, it seems to work.
I never said they called me skinny? I was giving an example? But like everyone is equal who cares but like at my school every trip we go on or camp or whatever, the aboriginal and torres strait islander people get it free. everyone should be treated the same or it is just racist ? i started this post mainly to say about calling people aussies vs abos how thats dumb but i got a bit carried away lol.
As it might apply to Australia, I have the following to say: "I've noticed that ethnic people, especially if they have an accent, have a hard time finding a job even at McDonalds... what's with that?"
Maybe they want people to answer the phones and take orders and need someone who speaks clearly? I don't know why :S
I never said they called me skinny? I was giving an example? But like everyone is equal who cares but like at my school every trip we go on or camp or whatever, the aboriginal and torres strait islander people get it free. everyone should be treated the same or it is just racist ? i started this post mainly to say about calling people aussies vs abos how thats dumb but i got a bit carried away lol.
You're posts get less and less obscure as the thread moves forward though Fair point about school trips. On an as needed basis would be a lot more fair. You don't need to defend the people managing my McDonalds. It's not so black and white that it warrants all or nothing Dara. You take too much upon yourself here I think.
I'm also gonna use the terems 'black' and 'white' to simplify matters.
Havn't caught this post before, or I would have replied sooner. This is a topic that has always intrigued me and I know how you feel, Dara. There is always the feeling like you need to apologise for what you're saying coz it might be construed as racist. Good on you for raising the topic.
I think the reason that black people feel more entitled to be racist towards us is because they have suffered so much. America had slave labour and the KKK, we had the stolen generation. Also, the general attitude towards Aboriginals in our country is not great. Many of their communties have major problems with alcohol. A white person would be encouraged to go to rehab, but when they're black, it's like people don't care.
I was lucky (in that respect) to grow up in a town that has a mixed population (we actually have lots of Aborigines) and I think the more mixing that goes on, the more relaxed the attitude is towards racism. A lot of people in my town would be called racist by city-dwellers, but here most people do it and no-one seems to notice.
I've always found it weird that black people have names they can use, but no-one else can, like 'black person'. ['N' word edited back in - mod] I guess it's more about getting past the colour/size/shape/odour and just being nice, but it doesn't look like that'll happen anytime soon.
Isn't the N word just Latin for black. I'm not excusing it but it is no less profane than than the other racial references here. I think discussing race these days poses as many challenges and problems as climbing Mt Everest in speedo's.
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<--these smileys work better for me I think. They take forever to load though.
