Racism

[Tonya]

I just have to share this conversation...It's Mike's friend's wife who just moved to California. I can't stand her in the first place because she's a $h#$ disturber. This just annoys me.

Relly says:
since i moved here i notices Cali is a lots of Mexicans huh!
Tonya says:
sure does!
Tonya says:
tons!
Relly says:
wow!
Relly says:
are you originally from Cali?
Tonya says:
hold on. phone
Tonya says:
yes, Calif has quite a bit.
Relly says:
are they cool people? coz i'm not use to it i get scared around here.
Relly says:
i mean Mex
Tonya says:
there's $hitt^ people of every color
Tonya says:
so, i dont know
Relly says:
well you are friends with them or your friend friends so you might know some
Tonya says:
I know lots of mexicans
Tonya says:
i grew up around them
Relly says:
well they seem like bad people.
Tonya says:
many of them come here for better lives, they are hard working.
Relly says:
well i dont think i like them
Tonya says:
give them a chance, it's not about skin
Tonya says:
there's good and bad of every race
Relly says:
i want to move back just because of them

[popcornbird]

They *seem* like bad people?!?! :eek::mad: What in the world?!?! :mad: There are lots of whites that seem like bad people. There are lots of blacks that seem like bad people. There are lots of people of color that seem like bad people! How could she judge the entire Mexican race or ANY race as a whole........as bad? That is SO wrong, and such an unjustified statement!

I believe California is a state known to be home to so many people of different races. If she was going to be so racist, she should never have moved there or any other diverse area in the first place.

I can't stand racists!
:mad: :(

Ps. Where did she live before? :confused:

[carole]

We too in NZ are a very multi-cultural country, I am a firm believer there is good and bad in every race, its a shame people discriminate because of the colour of your skin.

Being a white person, I believe I have never known prejudice, in the same as way as others, until the day I became a solo parent, then I knew what it felt like to be judged, and tarred with the same brush ,as others who were bad solo parents.

Those few had spoiled it for the rest of us who were just trying to raise our children the best we could, and it was not nice to be feeling the brunt of it all.

I felt extremely upset, as I did not choose to become a solo parent, my marriage just did not work out.

Oh well a learning experience for me, one that I did not like one little bit. It is the only comparison I can make, as to how it would feel to have these awful comments being made, just because you have a different skin colour.

Why can we not just learn to get along with each other and respect each others cultural beliefs.

Originally posted by popcornbird
I can't stand racists!
:mad: :(


me neither :mad: :mad: :mad:

[mahayana]

I wore Jesse Jackson's "Rainbow Coalition" pin back in the '60s. It had no words, just a stripe of every human skin color.

This country fought about civil rights, in the streets, not long ago. Racism is still deeply ingrained, though not politically correct, today.

California and Texas were both part of Mexico before they became part of the US. Most Hispanics here are not recent immigrants, just bilingual Americans from a proud cultural heritage.

Anyone from an insular community will have to overcome their "outgroup prejudice-ingroup reinforcement" mentality, should they ever hope to get along. The same goes for Christianity and Islam. The Western view that every other culture is inferior, is akin to racism. IMHO

[Tonya]

She just moved here from Japan. Before that it was the Phillipines (she's phillipino). Her husband just retired from the military and they decided to make California their home.

[Tonya]

It is soooo hard for me to be nice to her.

[sasvermont]

I do believe that most racism is learned behavior. Education, education, education is the answer in many cases, but I am afraid that will never happen.

I would love to have a perfect world, where we all loved one another and respected each other's religions, traditions, beliefs, etc. but that is a bit of a stretch.

I remember years ago, when I was a troubled post-teenager, I went to a mental health provider having spent months feeling sad and troubled. She asked me what my three wishes in life would be...... my first was Peace on Earth. Talk about wanting the impossible! I still want Peace on Earth.

There will always be racism. There will always be different classes within society. As much as I hate it, I just don't see it changing any time soon.

So, here is to Peace On Earth. And lots of respect.

SAS

[primabella]

Geez how narrow-minded can you get :rolleyes:

SAS, I totally agree.

[mahayana]

Has anyone else read "Rising Sun" by Michael Crighton? This is a book many consider racist, because its subtext is the racism of the Japanese. Another culture that has, historically at least, considered itself superior to all others.

God save us from the "master race", "chosen people", "only true faith" kind of thinking!

Peace on Earth is my wish, too.

[2kitties]

I get all kinds of pissy about racism. I think it is about as idiotic and ignorant as the human race can be. And make no mistake, it exists no matter your color- it is not a white on black thing. it surrounds us.
Can you imagine how advanced our civilization might be by now had there never been racism? How many ideas were lost or ignored due to our refusal to work together?
What if a Jew had discovered the cure to cancer during WWII? Could've happened, you know, had the Germans given him a lab instead of a gas chamber.

Also, I'll stick up for my south because I always hear this when a racism argument begins. I lived in the South until I was 25 years old. I never experienced racism as the norm. None of my family or friends used the negative slang and it was common knowledge that the mexicans who came during the summers to work the fields were as hard working as any team you'd find.
But the south is reputed as racist because of it's past.
What surprised me, however, was when I moved to Wisconsin. Racism- and it's negative slang- is commonplace. People who didn't even know me would talk as if racism was just the norm.
But Wisconsin is not reputed as racist.

Interesting.

[mahayana]

Interesting that you feel so defensive about the Southland. The reason so many of the battles of the Civil Rights movement took place there was because segregation was enforced by State law.

Defacto segregation was the norm throughout America; the largest black ghettos were then and are now in the North. Racism exists everywhere. Even though the Klan was begun in Pulaski,TN , the Nazis and the Aryan Brotherhood certainly cannot be characterized as Southern.

Incidently, all of my people are from Georgia and Texas.

[popcornbird]

2kitties........funny you mention that. A friend of mine used to live in Georgia a few years ago, and she said she just couldn't STAND the racism there. She said at school, in the cafeteria...........blacks would be on one side, whites on the other, and everyone else in the middle! :eek: I couldn't believe that, because I had never experienced such a thing before. According to her...that's how racist things are there...........and it is the *South*. Wisconsin is actually stereotyped as racist by many here as well, but I was never sure of that. I think states that have a smaller population of non-whites might be more racist than the more diverse states.....*I think*

[G.P.girl]

yeah, even though we're supposed to be a racisim free country there are still so many racists they just don't do stuff as publicly as they used to. it's really sad and really stupid how shallow these people can get!:mad:

[Relentless]

Thats is pretty ****ty, there are a lot of gangbanging mexicans where I live but there are cool mexicans too that are cooler than most people. My brother is rascist, he lives in Florida and hates African Americans, it kind of disturbs me, he calls them by the racial slur term all the time, it gets annoying especially since one of my best friends is african american.

[sasvermont]

You can pick your friends but not your relatives.

[2kitties]

Originally posted by mahayana
Interesting that you feel so defensive about the Southland. The reason so many of the battles of the Civil Rights movement took place there was because segregation was enforced by State law.

Defacto segregation was the norm throughout America; the largest black ghettos were then and are now in the North. Racism exists everywhere. Even though the Klan was begun in Pulaski,TN , the Nazis and the Aryan Brotherhood certainly cannot be characterized as Southern.

Incidently, all of my people are from Georgia and Texas.

Maybe I was misunderstood or possibly I don't understand your point? I think you are responding to my post, but I'm just not clear on your meaning. Segregation of all different kinds of races was enforced by state law all over- not just south of the Mason Dixon line.
If you reread my post you'll see I was accounting my *personal* experiences as a southerner in the past quarter century adn how that stereotype felt wrong in comparison to my experiences when I moved.
I can only personally account for the south I know- not what took place before my lifetime. Clearly, all areas of our country have a bitter past when it comes to racism- not just the slavery issue of blacks and whites- but all forms of racism going back centuries.
I was simply pointing out my own personal accounts growing up in North Carolina. Possibly you have personal experience with civil rights wars that you could share, but I'm only able to account what I know first hand.

[CamCamPup33]

:rolleyes: What a bunch of BS!

In south florida, there are alot of blacks and spanish, in my school mostly spanish.. Im not saying thats a bad thing.. *because its not at all* But alot of people i know are like that too..

:rolleyes: people :rolleyes:

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

Racism is number 1 on my HATE list. Racism REALLY REALLY REALLY makes me angry.

[Uabassoon]

California and Texas were both part of Mexico before they became part of the US. Most Hispanics here are not recent immigrants, just bilingual Americans from a proud cultural heritage.

Thank you! So many people ask me if I was an immigrant or if my parents were, and refer to me as an illegal or other terms that are really rude. Then I explain to them that my family was in Texas when it was still part of Mexico, then when the U.S. bought Texas my family became american citizen. So while my parents may still speak spanish and keep a lot of our Mexican culture we are just as American as anyone else.

[Soledad]

In my own personal experience, there is racism all over this country, but I have seen it at its most obvious while in the south.

A couple of examples. While attending grade school in the south my brother and I witnessed three black girls being chased out of a building by Klan members. Also in the south, my family was routinely looked at suspiciously and/or angrily when speaking Spanish in public. Additionally, my brother and his black friend were routinely pulled over for NO REASON while driving together. The cops were often overly aggressive and menacing in these situations.

HOWEVER, at the same time, both my family and I found people to be pretty friendly down South. When we moved to the North, we realized people were just as racist, but they were more careful to hide their behavior than they were in the south.

In a way, it's hard to know what's worse. Having people be nice to you and think/say bad things about you and your culture/race behind your back or to know out and out where people stand and to possibly be able to "enlighten" them.:rolleyes: :confused:

[micki76]

Originally posted by Soledad
In a way, it's hard to know what's worse. Having people be nice to you and think/say bad things about you and your culture/race behind your back or to know out and out where people stand and to possibly be able to "enlighten" them.:rolleyes: :confused:

Personally, I'd much rather know if someone hates me.

[lizbud]

Originally posted by Tonya
She just moved here from Japan. Before that it was the Phillipines (she's phillipino). Her husband just retired from the military and they decided to make California their home.

Maybe she's not racist at all, just ignorant. She might not
have been exposed to a lot of other people & cultures. She
said she was scared. People are often scared by what they
don't know anything about. Just a thought.

[mahayana]

2Kitties- I am on your side in resenting the desparagement of Southerners that is all too common today. You grew up in the New South (you are the same age as my oldest son); I was a teenager during the '60s when it was against the law in 17 States for blacks and whites to attend the same schools.

Suffice to say that the history of white southerners and white northerners, and their dislike of each other, was the background of the fight over implementing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

I could share lots of details and personal experiences from back then, but I'm not sure it helps. And I really do understand why you love North Carolina.:)

[GoldenRetrLuver]

The school I go to has about 90% of people who come from a Hispanic Origin. I don't have a problem with that, as long as they are respectful. I have gotten comments from some people like "white girl", but I've just learned to ignore it. I don't want to bother with those kinds of people. Every race can have it's problems-whether it's white, black, asian, hispanic, whatever. Just like dog breeds have certain reputations, but you can't blame the whole breed or race for being that way.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by lizbud
Maybe she's not racist at all, just ignorant. She might not
have been exposed to a lot of other people & cultures. She
said she was scared. People are often scared by what they
don't know anything about. Just a thought.

That is a thought. My husband feels she is more naive then anything. But she's been married to her husband and in the US military for the past 20 years. You'd think she'd be exposed to enough cultures by now.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by Soledad
...Additionally, my brother and his black friend were routinely pulled over for NO REASON while driving together. The cops were often overly aggressive and menacing in these situations....

There was just a big article in the Modesto Bee not to long ago. A black doctor bought his 17 year old son a BMW. He got ticked and wrote to the newspaper because his son had been pulled over 3 times for no reason in the first week he got the BMW.

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by sasvermont
You can pick your friends but not your relatives.

LOL,
I heard that line as
You can pick you nose, but not your relatives..

This happened just recently-

My nephew's son was at the center of a nasty custody battle, his wife passed away and she put, in her will, that the child was to go to the grandparents. While my nephew was fighting this in the court system the grandparents abducted the child and with the help of the local police and FBI the kid was returned to his dad.
------------
Roman, my nephew's son, went to a birthday party and was approached by a little girl who was black.

The girl, about 11 years old, told Roman that he was a cute guy and wanted know if she could have his phone number...

Roman told her that he, "wasn't allowed to talk to
her because she was black".

This attitude was hammered into the poor kid's head by the effing grandparents who are nothing but a bunch of racist trash.

---------------

And to solve the 'where are you from?' question...

A neighbor of ours would go across the border to Mexico often......He came back from one trip pretty drunk and when the Border Patrol officer asked him, 'Where are you from?'

He answered, 'From my mother'.....

He made it home safely.
;)

[babolaypo65]

Originally posted by Uabassoon
Thank you! So many people ask me if I was an immigrant or if my parents were, and refer to me as an illegal or other terms that are really rude. Then I explain to them that my family was in Texas when it was still part of Mexico, then when the U.S. bought Texas my family became american citizen. So while my parents may still speak spanish and keep a lot of our Mexican culture we are just as American as anyone else.

My family has been in New Mexico since it was part of Mexico! It's always interesting here when one encounters racists. From time to time I'll be in a market, or somewhere and someone will slur hispanics and I'll think to myself: where exactly do you think you're living? As a child growing up in NM the population was more than 50% hispanic. Why would someone move here if they didn't like hispanics?

LORD!

[Twisterdog]

You can pick you nose, but not your relatives..

And my brother always said to me:

"You can pick your friends.
You can pick your nose.
But you can't pick your friend's nose."

:p


Racism sucks. End of story.

[2kitties]

Originally posted by mahayana
2Kitties- I am on your side in resenting the desparagement of Southerners that is all too common today. You grew up in the New South (you are the same age as my oldest son); I was a teenager during the '60s when it was against the law in 17 States for blacks and whites to attend the same schools.

Suffice to say that the history of white southerners and white northerners, and their dislike of each other, was the background of the fight over implementing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

I could share lots of details and personal experiences from back then, but I'm not sure it helps. And I really do understand why you love North Carolina.:)

I understand your point completely. I think it is just a terrible legacy and I hope someday the entire country will be able to look past it- although I doubt that day will come in my lifetime.
Like PCB said, there are some really awful places where it still exists. In fact, there are some high schools who still have separate proms for the black and the whites. But, they also exist in the midwest. Although CNN only reports on the ones in Georgia. Jews are still stereotyped in NYC, Mormons in Utah, hispanics in Texas and Florida.
I think I was just amazed that when we moved to WI, even one of the realtors we met with said "and you don't have to worry about any colored in this neighborhood". I couldn't even believe it and she said it without hesitation! We didn't buy from her. I'd never experienced anything like that in NC. I don't deny the south still has remnants of what most of us find embarrassing, but I honestly believe the majority of us are kind, educated, open minded people who are not the gun-totin' rednecks we're imagined.

[ILoveReptiles]

What about equal opportunity hatred?

I don't hate you because of your skin color - I hate you because you were BORN!

PEOPLE SUCK!

Honestly though - your friend is a narrowminded fool - no offense.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by ILoveReptiles
What about equal opportunity hatred?

I don't hate you because of your skin color - I hate you because you were BORN!

PEOPLE SUCK!

Honestly though - your friend is a narrowminded fool - no offense.

She's not my friend! That's Mike's friend's wife. lol.

[mahayana]

Racism and prejudice, the idea that anyone not belonging to your group is inferior, is common everywhere.

Sexism is the form of prejudice that affects the most people, Nationalism a close second.

This thread has made me think about racism in America, how my own views were formed. One book I'd reccommend is "The Autobiography of Malcolm X".

[ILoveReptiles]

Originally posted by Tonya
She's not my friend! That's Mike's friend's wife. lol.

Oops! Sorry - didn't mean to insult you by calling her your friend! haha

[RICHARD]

one more time for my stupid joke...


I love Racism...

I am a HUGE NASCAR fan....



Go Mark Martin!!

[Pam]

Originally posted by RICHARD
one more time for my stupid joke...


I love Racism...

I am a HUGE NASCAR fan....



Go Mark Martin!!

Oh Richard! :rolleyes: I prefer Jeff Gordon myself and my son is a HUGE Bobby Labonte fan! LOL :D :D :D :D

[mahayana]

So is NASCAR integrated? I was trying to think of a black driver...there must be someone.:confused:

[tikeyas_mom]

i cant stand racists :(.. they make me soo sad for them.. they are so low.. My dad is one of them too :(:(.. my dad will make fun of ppl that are not white it makes me soo mad :mad:.. I get totally fumed and so does my mom we always get into huge fights with him about it. He thinks it is all a big joke. But it isnt.. :(:(.. It is really sad.

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by mahayana
So is NASCAR integrated? I was trying to think of a black driver...there must be someone.:confused:

actually there is no current black driver in Nascar.

there are pit crew member that are black but no driver in
Nascar or Busch that I can think of...

Willy T Ribbs, a black driver, did try to field a team a few years back...

In an interesting interview Richard Petty said because of a traffic ticket Ribbs once got that he would not be able to cut it as a driver....I'll look for his comments, It was rather stupid and very telling comment.

[trayi52]

*Always remember others may hate you
but those who hate you don't win
unless you hate them.
And then you destroy yourself.*

This came in my e-mail. Makes a lot of sense to me.

[RICHARD]

Petty Stumps For TBS' NASCAR Coverage...

Recently, AQB noticed famed driver Richard Petty pumping TBS' Memorial Day weekend races, the Carquest Auto Parts 300 and the Coca-Cola 600.

When we last saw Petty, he was with Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel reporter Derek McGinty, being interviewed for a segment on the HBO show about the lack of blacks in NASCAR.

It's stretching things to charge that Petty is a bigot - a few clips of an interview aren't enough to substantiate such serious charges - but he certainly didn't come off as sympathetic to the plight of black drivers.

AQB spoke Thursday with Turner spokesman Greg Hughes, who said "We use him as part of our program because he's a racing legend. Richard Petty's name is synonymous with NASCAR.

"Obviously we don't condone any negative attitude towards blacks or any minority groups. (The Real Sports piece) never entered into our consideration of Richard Petty," said Hughes, who added that Petty was hired before the program aired.

Just as it isn't fair to brand Petty a bigot on the basis of HBO's story, we certainly wouldn't indict Turner Sports for a series of promos that last a few seconds. TBS and TNT have a solid record of hiring minority broadcasting talent such as Kenny Smith, Glenn "Doc" Rivers and ex-football analyst Mark May. It's just hard to look at Petty in the same light after his appearance on Real Sports.

Below are Petty's comments from the HBO show:

On tough times endured by Scott, whose victory at the 1963 Jacksonville 100 remains the only by a black driver:

"He wasn't the only one that was having a hard time. As far as the other things that he run into, no, I had no idea what was going on there.

"I grew up in a neighborhood that was a white neighborhood and colored people lived right down the road. So, I never thought anything about it until I went away from my little community and then I seen things were different."

On the phrase "colored people," which McGinty notes is not a racial slur but a reminder of times past:

"I grew up in the '50s and minorities, or whatever you want to say, were colored people and they accepted that - that's the way it was."

On Ribbs, who was fined $27 in 1978 for driving backwards on a Memphis street, an event which occurred before he tried his hand at NASCAR:

"Willy T. came down here and tried to run a race or two and got hisself in trouble with the law and they kicked him out of the car.

"Everybody said 'Hey, if he cannot control hisself then we don't want him on the racetrack.' None of the white boys run into this kind of stuff. In Willy's case, the spotlight was more on him and he would have had to walk the line even more than a white person. But he didn't and he's not here."


---------------------

lololololol..

the guy was probably backing out of a driveway and the local 'good old boys' didn't want to see anyone get hurt...

no, it's probably not fair to brand him a bigot on a few comments.

But I do brand him perrty ignirant and not too brite.....he shur could drive the wheels off a car but sure ain't a gud spokesperson for NASCAR..