A question for conservatives...

[Macfistowannabe]

I never claimed that the ONLY racists I know are conservatives.

I know you didn't. I wasn't referring to you personally.

Originally posted by Do Miss America
Re-read my post. I said every racist that I've met and I know is conservative. I don't know any Black Panthers, and the one Asian friend of mine who's father is racist, is a conservative. By the way I'm a she.

First off, apoligies for calling you a "he", your avatar and screen name threw me off. Now that that's out of the way, I would like to use the recent election results as an example. I hunted around for reactions, and a round of people were giving lip about "stupid ass white folks who don't know shit." As someone who left room for both candidates to state their case, watched both conventions, and watched all three debates, and made my race the issue for my decision, I couldn't imagine how it could be much better than me ranting about blacks, calling them stupid ass black folks and dwelling on racial tension.

Out of the blacks I know personally, I can't say any are racists. They are fun people, and I enjoy being around them. I've met very few racists in my life, and those whom I have met are not involved with politics at all. My girlfriend's mother is Asian, and also a registered democrat, and she will not allow her daughters to date black people.

 

[cardosino]

You could argue that affirmative action is just a fancy phrase for inverse racism.

That is a mostly Liberal supported idea

 

[Macfistowannabe]

There is racism all over. I once went to a demonstration protesting racism. It turned out that the group that put on the thing was a "black nationalist" outfit, and all of the whites in the demonstration had to stay behind some huge banner. It was the most insane thing I've ever been involved in. These people were involved in *promoting* biases, not in solving them. So it's not fair to equate racism with conservativism. It doesn't work that way.

Good example, Verte.

 

[joyfulgirl]

it's not easy to call someone out when it's a person with whom you and your sibling have a long friendship..

I guess for me that's precisely when it's the easiest to call someone out. I find myself having to do this nearly every time I visit my family in the still-shockingly-racist southern Virginia. I have also been known to call my mother's friends on it, most of whom are in their 70s, because you're never too old to be told you just said something racist, imo--and not just that you said something racist but that your point-of-view is racist. I especially love the response I got once: "I'm not racist. Our church even has a black cleaning lady and she's very nice."

 

[Macfistowannabe]

It's good that you're very comfortable on calling someone out for it. It's unfortunate that some people still promote racial tension any way they think they can get away with it.

 

[nbcrusader]

How much anti-white racism is there in the U.S. as compared to "anti-black" racism? A little? A lot?

Does it matter?

Some seem to suggest that we have multiple definitions of "racism" depending on the race in question. That is equally destructive.

To your original question, you acknowledge the comment is racist; you should have called the individual on the comment.

Calling him out could lead to either (i) a learning experience for the individual, and/or (ii) further exposure of the individual's beliefs.

 

[pub crawler]

Does it matter?

Yes. Yes it does.

Some seem to suggest that we have multiple definitions of "racism" depending on the race in question. That is equally destructive.

Agreed...if I'm reading you correctly.

To your original question, you acknowledge the comment is racist; you should have called the individual on the comment.

Yes, I should have.

 

[pub crawler]

Well, thanks for the discussion, folks, it has been enlightening.

It's good to know that racism is indeed a bad, bad, bad thing, but that the reality is that everyone is an equal opportunity racist and, therefore, all racism is canceled out. Problem solved, end of discussion!

 

[BVS]

inverse racism.

Is that when you judge people based on the underside of their skin?

 

[Flying FuManchu]

I think Patrick Ewing looks like a monkey. Sam Cassell looks like a martian, and George W. looks like a chimp... oh well, color me racist...

 

[BVS]

I think Patrick Ewing looks like a monkey. Sam Cassell looks like a martian, and George W. looks like a chimp... oh well, color me racist...

Uuum yeah you've missed the point completely.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

No... I think people are taking things too seriously... it being taboo to have the word monkey/ monkeys used as a descriptive word for a bunch of football players who probably were black but I don't know for sure = lame IMO, sorry.

I don't know the guy who said this or the complete context of the situation but to assume the guy is racist in the absolute worst way b/c he says... "oh I don't want to seem racist, but..." sounds ridiculous to me.



Also the whole association of racism with conservatives thing is pretty funny to me as well. So when I have an encounter with a pothead, I'll make sure to call out the liberals...

 

[Do Miss America]

No... I think people are taking things too seriously... it being taboo to have the word monkey/ monkeys used as a descriptive word for a bunch of football players who probably were black but I don't know for sure = lame IMO, sorry.

I don't know the guy who said this or the complete context of the situation but to assume the guy is racist in the absolute worst way b/c he says... "oh I don't want to seem racist, but..." sounds ridiculous to me.

So you would have no problem when someone not of the same race as you says to you and a group of people around you of the same race, "oh I'm not racist, but none of you look human, in fact you look just like something lower on the evolutionary scale then the rest of us".

That wouldn't bother you? Give me a break.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

So you would have no problem when someone not of the same race as you says to you and a group of people around you of the same race, "oh I'm not racist, but none of you look human, in fact you look just like something lower on the evolutionary scale then the rest of us".

That wouldn't bother you? Give me a break.

Your situation isn't the way it was portrayed. He did not say ... those guys aren't human beings. He said they looked like monkeys. I would think there is a difference. Again, GWB looks like a chimp. I've always agreed with that near universal Interference sentiment but that doesn't mean I believe GW Bush is less than human (as I'm sure my prior posts on this forum have shown). Now we don't know what was running through this guy's head or what his lifestyle/ belief system entirely is, yet we get all riled up anyways. I say, settle down.

Also you attribute monkey as some insult b/c you believe monkey = lower form of life on the evolutionary scale. However, the previously mentioned person could just as easily have meant that those guys were "ugly fuckers." If that is the case (who knows what was going through this guy's mind), then what was the harm considering...?

I've heard of Shaq being referred to as an oversized gorilla by "white" people and non-white people. Is it wrong to describe Shaq as an "over-sized gorilla" b/c there is some negative historical context with a word that is otherwise harmless in most other situations? I say, hell no. Shaq freakin plays like a gorilla and before his coming to Miami looked like an oversized gorilla.

 

[Do Miss America]

Your situation isn't the way it was portrayed. He did not say ... those guys aren't human beings. He said they looked like monkeys. I would think there is a difference. Again, GWB looks like a chimp. I've always agreed with that near universal Interference sentiment but that doesn't mean I believe GW Bush is less than human (as I'm sure my prior posts on this forum have shown). Now we don't know what was running through this guy's head or what his lifestyle/ belief system entirely is, yet we get all riled up anyways. I say, settle down.

I said they don't look human i.e. monkeys. You keep using the individuals as example. That doesn't work he made the comment towards a whole group of black athletes.

Also you attribute monkey as some insult b/c you believe monkey = lower form of life on the evolutionary scale. However, the previously mentioned person could just as easily have meant that those guys were "ugly fuckers." If that is the case (who knows what was going through this guy's mind), then what was the harm considering...?

Now you're really stretching. If he thought they were ugly he wouldn't have to preference the comment with "I'm not racist but" they're ugly.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

People talk like that as hard as it is to believe...

"I don't want to be a hardass, but..."

"I don't want to sound like an insensitve prick, but..."

"I don't want come across as lovey dovey, but..."

We seemingly live in a hyper-sensitve culture as evidenced by this thread. The word, monkey, was used to describe a black person a group of guys on the sideline. He he prefaces his statement b/c monkey is somewhat taboo to use in the same sentence as black people "depending" on the person, yet what if that word fits or is true? Voila, an explanation for, "I'm not racist, but..."

Howard Cossell was villfied for calling a football player a monkey while the player was running across the field even though Cossell did not mean it as a racial slur?

I think its one thing to get annoyed with actual slurs but to start excluding regular words for the sake of "being sensitve," comes across as lame.

Was that guy committing a racial slur when he made a monkey comment? Who knows? From the sound of things, he was describing how those particular guys looked.


Replace my use of individuals with groups then (Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing, & Sam Cassell if it makes you feel better)... I still maintain my point.

Did he say ALL black people looked like monkeys? No.