Confessions of a Racist

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by grover

 

Because they are just words, and one must make the choice to not be offended by mere words.

And I think a couple of us have already told you that your reasoning is wrong.

Originally posted by grover

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by grover

 

Because they are just words, and one must make the choice to not be offended by mere words.

And I think a couple of us have already told you that your reasoning is wrong.

Actually, it was just you . . . no "us."

And your excuse was that it is not my place to decide what hurts others.

So what words do we censor next? Who knows what words one might come up with to "hurt" someone!


And once again, you prove my point. There is no reason to get hurt over words.

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by seabisquit

 

The Dallas area has

Whites to the north
Hispanics to the south
Blacks to the west
Asians to the east.

It is weird how divided Dallas is.

Its human nature, just look at the prisons, not one white anti-racist could survive there without teaming up with the whites, same goes for the other races, its society in a small scale with no media propaganda about everything to be rainbows and flowers.

[edit on 5-10-2009 by winterass]

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh

Originally posted by grover

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by grover

 

Because they are just words, and one must make the choice to not be offended by mere words.

And I think a couple of us have already told you that your reasoning is wrong.

Actually, it was just you . . . no "us."

No....it was "us"

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by grover

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


Those are words. You must decide whether you want those words to hurt you or not.



and my response......











No, If people didn't want to hurt others with words; they wouldn't say them. It all falls on the intent of the person doing the namecalling.

[edit on 5-10-2009 by whaaa]

A person can love a cat or a dog of any color, breed, or size, and yet something as superficial as the color of one's skin or the place of one's birth can lead people to hate, and even kill one another.


We can learn to accept and love members of a species vastly different from ourselves, yet we find it difficult to extend the merest fraction of that same humanity to those of our same species?





My father workered for an aerospace firm during the 1960's, the Golden Age of the Space Age. I inherited his dream and have always wondered what, no, to be honest, Who, might be "Out There".

And thrilled over what it would be like to meet "Them".


Perhaps this is why, whenever I meet someone from another, unfamiliar race, creed, or place, I imagine them to be representatives from some distant and exotic star.

I know, I am a total Geek!

But this quirk has lead me to release my fear other races and cultures, and replaced it with fascination.


Yeah, I know: Infinite Diversity In Combination.

Like I said, I'm a geek.


But it has served me well.

We all bleed red and everyone is/was/will be the minority at some point.
To me, people always have been and always will be just that; "people".

I went to the gym and was playing some basketball with this little black kid and his dad.

He was 4 yeras younger than me, and still whooped me in some 21. Then, we had a 1v1 and I won by a shot.

My point? It was one damn good game, and it hurts me to even think that back in the day people would have refused such contact with someone from another race.

I make my jokes. I make my stereotypes. I make my remarks. But in the end, that is all there is to them.

There are some arguable morals out there...but when it comes to judging an actual person based upon color, it is sick.

reply to post by happygolucky


You're a freak. Nah, just kidding.

I know that it's ok to be happy with what I am. That's taken me a long time...many, many years and some days it's still iffy. I also know that beatin' myself up isn't going to make anything any better. I guess I just don't really see it as beating myself up. When I let myself get overly emotional and it ruins my day, I have to leanr to not get so emotioanl. I may be over simplifying it, but I really feel like it's just the same thing.

I think the real problem is that I let myself watch some TV this weekend and some things that I hadn't thought about in a really long time scratched their way up. I appreciate you stopping by, friend.

reply to post by sr_robert1

All I can say is WOW. One idea, maybe you thought of it already or you just didn't want to put it in your post, is that a lot of racism stems from facts based on a certain segment of the population that is then generalized to the whole population.

I don't really have any doubt about thhat...I feel that this is probably the biggest contributor in the condition for me. It was all about generalizations...it was every race other than 'OUR' race being inferior.

I've been on the other side of that too, being the 'white boy.' What I don't get it where the line is between humanity and pride in one's race. I don't know that subscribe to the 'deadly sin' thing, but pride has always been a problem for me. It is one thing that I have learned I MUST keep in check or it will lead to all sorts of outlandish things.

To be completely honest, as this medium affords me that, I was brought up to think that 'MY' race, my 'color' was superior. It was a suburban version of white supremacy. This sounds ridiculous to me, but it was a 'kinder, gentler' racism.

Originally posted by whaaa
. . .


No, If people didn't want to hurt others with words; they wouldn't say them. It all falls on the intent of the person doing the namecalling.

I must have missed you then.

Apologies.

My point still stands.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206

what do you think about a black man being more worried about classism than racism? What components of racism itself ARE classism?

That doesn't really surprise me. It would seem to be counter to what we hear around here a lot though. A lot of folks would seem to think that the first thing a black person does is cry 'racist' when they don't get their way.

I've been called out on my attitude before by one of my Hispanic friends. He did everything except call me a racist. It might just be a testament to the ability I picked up to be a chameleon, but I've never had a black person call me a racist...to my face...

It seems like it would be a lot more productive for us if we could unite against something like classism, but then I think we get into the same arguments and labels all over again, just spelled different.

reply to post by grover

I learned a lot about the nature of prejudice and how it effects people living with my late wife and her children...and I also learned that it is something ingrained in us...it is almost primal...the fear of the other...of the different or odd.

And I learned that if you aspire to be free of prejudice it is not just a matter deciding not to be; it is a matter of constant vigilance and practice...for it will rear its ugly head when you least expect it...and pollute your thoughts.

I suppose in a way, I knew that was coming, but I really didn't want to hear it. it sure does fit in and support what our friend Locser had to say. If we can try not to judge ourselves by our thoughts then that might help, but I can't help feeling like that's a cop out. The idea that I'm not RESPONSIBLE for my thoughts is something I'm going to have to learn.

It;s been a long time since I feed a few of my addictions and even today, they can pop up and remind me at the damnedest time.

I appreciate your sharing that with us, Grover.

I can't wait till my land becomes a third world mudhole thanks to the elite, the same elite the people here claim to be against

Yes, i am a racist, and i am proud to be one, reality made me awake, keeps me healthy, alive and strong, i was raised left winged but i woke up by living in a city filled with negro's, turks, north africans and other third world immigrants.

Racism is healthy, it has stopped Europe from not becoming a third world place and i hope racism will be legal again before europe sinks into a racial dark ages where it will never come out of.

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by grover

 

Those are words. You must decide whether you want those words to hurt you or not.


I see that even ATS wears a heart on the sleeve. Way to prove my point, mods.


Fail

[edit on 10/5/2009 by Lemon.Fresh]

With all due respect, my friend. I really think that learning to 'decide' whether you are hurt or not by words, or even actions is not something that comes naturally. It is definitely something worth striving for, but I have yet to meet anyone in my life that was completely impervious to hate, whether through words or actions. If you have mastered that, my friend, we have much to learn from you. I appreciate your take on it and I DID get to read the post before it got canned and to be honest, I wasn't detached enough for it to have no effect on me. I have much to learn.

And you made me really evaluate what the whole point of this exercise is for me...it's not the blatant stuff that bothers me. I think people would KNOW where I stand if I shouted racial slurs at them. Although venomous, at least it would be honest. My conflict lies in my acting one way, while still having thoughts pop up that are contradictory. I guess I wanted to know how common that was and if anyone knew how to remove the hateful or judgmental THOUGHTS...I had long ago learned that sometimes I just can't use the words I was thinking. All that did for me though was teach me how to live a lie.

I really appreciate your input Lemon.

Originally posted by whaaa

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by grover

 

Those are words. You must decide whether you want those words to hurt you or not.

No, If people didn't want to hurt others with words; they wouldn't say them. It all falls on the intent of the person doing the namecalling.

...my mind thinks in pop songs some times....

'words like weapons, sharper than knives...makes you wonder how the other have dies..'

I've been thinking today that holding my tongue was more a means of self-preservation than anything else...

Originally posted by riddle6

Originally posted by FouL-LiveR
You live in the south, a lot of white families in the south pass down racism.
[edit on 5-10-2009 by FouL-LiveR]

I'm not trying to start anything or to nit-pick your post, but have you ever been to the south? Racism is not passed down by only whites, but by every "race" that lives here. Black, White, Asian, Mexican...every group here has its' own racism against the other groups, just like anywhere else.

Do you think that other groups have just learned to be a little more discreet with it?

reply to post by Bhadhidar


I didn't want to make a really long quote, my friend, but your ENTIRE post is awesome and anyone skipping ahead to this one really needs to go back and read it. That is a very interesting shift and one that if I could learn to do , would start right now.

Did your father share the tolerance, or are you different than he?

reply to post by KSPigpen


I am not hurt by words. Actions do hurt, but time heals most things.

I grew up in Texas. I am white, and I know what it is like being the minority. I have been called bolio, gringo, cracker . . . in fact, the whole gamut of white racial slurs (see if this one gets edited ). It does not bother me. My friends can call each other racial slurs all day, and it does not phase us. It gets quite hilarious when we are drunk.

I have felt the effects of racism, and words are just that to me. Words.

IMHO, you do not "learn to decide" to not let words hurt you. Even if the words are meant in a hateful way . . . you just decide that they are merely words.

At the risk of sounding hippy (no offense whaaaa), why can't we all just see each other as humans.

Yes, we have different characteristics, and these can be described by using different words, but we all bleed red . . .

[edit on 10/5/2009 by Lemon.Fresh]

reply to post by Lemon.Fresh


Words are more than just "words".

Words are influential and carry an unpredictable amount of power. Words are not just words...there have been wars based upon words, suicides based upon words, and life's ruined based upon words.

Just because you may be strong enough to face a few words, makes me imagine that you are strong enough to face actions as well. Not everyone is strong on this earth, and that is something I am still coming to terms with...

reply to post by eightfourteen


I'm real glad you stopped by 814.

I commend your honesty. I accept that there are differences, some desirable, some not, some noticeable, others not...and that acceptance of those differences does not make one racist.

I suppose the confusion for me, when dealing with my own thoughts, is a tendency to stereotype, or simply squash the bug because all bugs are ugly.

Embracing diversity is something that is necessary, in my opinion. It's great to have nationalistic pride, or want to mate with someone similar in many ways, but where does that line get drawn.

I don't want to marry a black woman because I'm not black. But why is that? There are plenty of white guys that like black women and even vice versa. What do THEY have that the rest of us don't? What is it that allows them to not be shackled by judgments?

I read a real interesting article one time, by black author that was six foot something, a black belt in something or other and openly admitted that he was afraid of black males. I found this really strange and it opened my mind quite a bit. Racism isn't just about black and white to me, or white and brown or whatever colors you want to include in there.

Here...just read it....

actingwhite.blogspot.com...

But what I want to get beyond is having the box to begin with. Having the box to stick you in when you look a certain way.