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?!?! What in the world?!?! 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!


Ps. Where did she live before?

[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!

me neither

[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

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! 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!

[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.