The recent flap over "Dog" the bounty hunter's use of a racial slur while trying to talk his son out of dating a particular girl has been really sad on a lot of different levels.
I know when I was growing up in and around Anderson it was not unusual to have friends use the "n" word to describe black people in jokes and/or in private conversations that were only intended for "white" ears. Some who used the word did so just to get attention. For others it was a normal part of their vocabulary and some probably held a genuine and hateful prejudice. No matter the circumstance, it always saddened me. Sometimes I had the courage to stand against it. Sometimes I was just silent.
Rather than start a debate about racism, its causes or what should be done about it. I'd rather hear stories about some of your experiences both positive and negative.
One of the most painful experiences for me was as a college student taking an African American boy (12 or 13 yrs) to the mall. He complained about how the "white" store clerks followed him around differently than they did the white kids. I told him he was just being paranoid. So we went around together.
In probably 25% of the stores it was painfully obvious that the clerks treated him less like a shopper and more like a potential thief. I lost a bet that day which cost me dinner at Wendy's. I suspect that everytime he was treated like that he lost a lot more.
Was of my best memories was being taught how to level cement with a trowell by a Mexican guy working on a house in the neighborhood I grew up in. I was probably 11 or 12 years old and had been hanging around the worksite. When one of the Mexican migrant workers came and asked (through hand signals) if I'd like to try to smooth the cement. It was my first face to face interaction with someone from another country.
Small acts of kindness go a long way. What are some of your experiences?
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""Dog"" the bounty hunter and racism
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Anderson Native what you say is correct and it is unfair. However consider that something like 70% of the prison population is black. It may not be correct and certainly not politically correct, but that seems to be who is perpetrating many of the crimes. Just like with terrorists attacks it is usually middle eastern males between the ages of 19 and 30 that are doing the dirty deeds. Everyone puts down stereotyping (and indeed it is a terrible thing if you are an innocent individual), but there really isn't much use to carefully follow an 80 year old Swedish grandmother in hopes of nailing a shoplifter or a terrorist.
I'll tell you a story of something that happened about 8 years ago when my daughter was in kindergarten. My son (who was 6 yrs older) was having friends over for a birthday sleep-over so I told my little girl that she could invite one of her friends over so that she would have someone to play with. We decided that we would take everyone to the skating rink. Little did I know that my daughter's little friend, who was black, did not know how to skate. Well, I decided that I would help her and hold her hand, like I would have done with anyone and I was just in awe of how people treated us, I guess assuming that I was her mother since I was holding her hand. I was very embarrassed that people really acted like that, and did not think something like that would happen.
On a lighter side of this subject, let me go back and tell you about how we learned of my daughters best friend...
This particular day, she and my son were laying on the living room floor, about 3 ft across from each other, he was doing homework and she was drawing & coloring...he sort of glanced over and made a compliment of the cool peacock she was drawing...he just saw a lot of little colors, not the whole picture. She looked at him and started crying and yelling saying "it's not a peacock, it's my best friend." I walked over, listening to this happen, and he & I looked at her picture. It was a little girl with her hair braided with colorful beads. We both just looked at each other and didn't know what to say to calm her down. He then commenced to say "I didn't know your friend was black"...she said "she's not black, she's brown." She has been one of her best friends for many years and now they're both in middle school, still close as they were.
When my husband & I first met her friends' parents at school, they were just like us. As different as our cultures may be, we are the same in humanity. I was proud that my child did not differentiate people because of color...all she knew was that this was her best friend.
This particular day, she and my son were laying on the living room floor, about 3 ft across from each other, he was doing homework and she was drawing & coloring...he sort of glanced over and made a compliment of the cool peacock she was drawing...he just saw a lot of little colors, not the whole picture. She looked at him and started crying and yelling saying "it's not a peacock, it's my best friend." I walked over, listening to this happen, and he & I looked at her picture. It was a little girl with her hair braided with colorful beads. We both just looked at each other and didn't know what to say to calm her down. He then commenced to say "I didn't know your friend was black"...she said "she's not black, she's brown." She has been one of her best friends for many years and now they're both in middle school, still close as they were.
When my husband & I first met her friends' parents at school, they were just like us. As different as our cultures may be, we are the same in humanity. I was proud that my child did not differentiate people because of color...all she knew was that this was her best friend.
Great stories Ashton. Thanks for sharing.
I love the line "She's not black, she's brown."
One of my friend's sons asked him why some people are "clear". That's when I learned I'm not "white, I'm clear."
I love the line "She's not black, she's brown."
One of my friend's sons asked him why some people are "clear". That's when I learned I'm not "white, I'm clear."
I couldn't tell you how long it took my family to convince my younger brother (when he was little) that chocolate milk didn't mean it came from a brown cow...LOL
This thread could start more trouble than it's worth!
I can share both sides of the coin on this.
In my college days, I was involved with a woman who was "not of my race". This was during a difficult time in the racial divide in this country, the 80's, where the influx of Asians, Haitians and Latinos was at it's highest.
As a white, dating a black went, I was frequently the scorn of many white males, and the verbal and physical confrontations were frequent. I learned what it felt like, to be grouped with "lesser' humans, and the scrutiny and abuse thrown at us was common. A dining experience was like an inquisition. Shopping was fun, because we could flush out the security staff like a covey of quail! You had a heightened sense of fear and paid close attention to who was around you. There was always an underlying element of tension wherever you were in the "real world". At that time I learned a huge level of compassion and empathy towards the black race, and other minorities as a whole.
Now that the clock skips forward, the flip side of the argument.
Having become more aware of how the workings of the black culture views and disdains the whites, I have grown less sympathetic towards their plight. I listen to conversations every day at work or on the street, between blacks, and the very references they "hate" ( The N-word for example) are as common as you & I referring to a football game. The music & videos are full of hatred towards whites, the culture is less tolerant than ever of our existance. It's okay to help the black community, to have special programs to educate and assist in college programs. it's fine to have a Black awards show or Black Miss USA, or some other racially divided event. But lets not refer or seperate ourself as "whites" lest we be called racists.
Prisons are full of blacks BECAUSE they were convicted of their crimes, not because of their race. Just like the blacks continue to shoot & kill each other due to rivalries and drug issues, not because the white man told them to be Crips & Bloods. I have grown weary of the accusations that white America has put down the blacks. There is more division amongst themselves than "we whites" could ever instill.
I can share both sides of the coin on this.
In my college days, I was involved with a woman who was "not of my race". This was during a difficult time in the racial divide in this country, the 80's, where the influx of Asians, Haitians and Latinos was at it's highest.
As a white, dating a black went, I was frequently the scorn of many white males, and the verbal and physical confrontations were frequent. I learned what it felt like, to be grouped with "lesser' humans, and the scrutiny and abuse thrown at us was common. A dining experience was like an inquisition. Shopping was fun, because we could flush out the security staff like a covey of quail! You had a heightened sense of fear and paid close attention to who was around you. There was always an underlying element of tension wherever you were in the "real world". At that time I learned a huge level of compassion and empathy towards the black race, and other minorities as a whole.
Now that the clock skips forward, the flip side of the argument.
Having become more aware of how the workings of the black culture views and disdains the whites, I have grown less sympathetic towards their plight. I listen to conversations every day at work or on the street, between blacks, and the very references they "hate" ( The N-word for example) are as common as you & I referring to a football game. The music & videos are full of hatred towards whites, the culture is less tolerant than ever of our existance. It's okay to help the black community, to have special programs to educate and assist in college programs. it's fine to have a Black awards show or Black Miss USA, or some other racially divided event. But lets not refer or seperate ourself as "whites" lest we be called racists.
Prisons are full of blacks BECAUSE they were convicted of their crimes, not because of their race. Just like the blacks continue to shoot & kill each other due to rivalries and drug issues, not because the white man told them to be Crips & Bloods. I have grown weary of the accusations that white America has put down the blacks. There is more division amongst themselves than "we whites" could ever instill.
If you want to see racism, look no further than those who claim to be the crusaders against it, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Just Google "Jesse Jackson Racist' or "Al Sharpton Racist" Now how do you expect improved race relations when the self appointed crusaders against racism are some of the most racist people to ever walk the planet themselves?
Now think about this....
Miss Black USA, BET, Black Colleges and the UNCF (united negro college fund).
Now Envision: Miss White USA, WET (white entertainment television, i don't know 24hr NASCAR and Ice Hockey?) A few all white colleges and the UCCF (united caucasian college fund)
How is the second group any more racist than the first?
Furthermore why am I not supposed to get angry when I'm called a "honkey" "white trash" "whitey" "white motherf***er" "haystack" (the last one is my personal favorite) ect ect ect. When if I used the, god forbid, "n-word" like many people of African decent use towards each other all the time, as a apparent term of endearment. I'd be hung out to dry for being a "racist". I was under the impression that combating racism was about undoing all double standards for everyone and to totally level the playing field.
Now think about this....
Miss Black USA, BET, Black Colleges and the UNCF (united negro college fund).
Now Envision: Miss White USA, WET (white entertainment television, i don't know 24hr NASCAR and Ice Hockey?) A few all white colleges and the UCCF (united caucasian college fund)
How is the second group any more racist than the first?
Furthermore why am I not supposed to get angry when I'm called a "honkey" "white trash" "whitey" "white motherf***er" "haystack" (the last one is my personal favorite) ect ect ect. When if I used the, god forbid, "n-word" like many people of African decent use towards each other all the time, as a apparent term of endearment. I'd be hung out to dry for being a "racist". I was under the impression that combating racism was about undoing all double standards for everyone and to totally level the playing field.
Wyatt1sc -
Thanks for sharing your story about your college days.
zn706 -
Perhaps you missed the point of the thread. It was to share stories. Sorry that you've been called names. I know that hurts, particularly when they are racial. Perhaps you could share what happened in a particular incident that occured?
Thanks for sharing your story about your college days.
zn706 -
Perhaps you missed the point of the thread. It was to share stories. Sorry that you've been called names. I know that hurts, particularly when they are racial. Perhaps you could share what happened in a particular incident that occured?
In the multiple interviews on Larry King, MSnbc and CNN, it appears that Duane is not that much different from the rest of the "white-world" viewpoint in regards to being betrayed and how one speaks in private.
So many have said they don't speak that way, or say those words, or act differently when a black person is involved in a crime, and so on. But as I watch & listen to various conversations among both all white and all black groups, I notice BOTH are equally racist. When I hear a group of whites talking about a recent robbery or drug deal, the racial epitaphs flow like the river Nile from those preaching such tolerance and equality for fellow man. Where I work, there is a mix of blacks and whites, but the groups tend to stay among their own color, and the conversations are always laden with slurs against the other even though there is a policy against racial defamation.
So many have said they don't speak that way, or say those words, or act differently when a black person is involved in a crime, and so on. But as I watch & listen to various conversations among both all white and all black groups, I notice BOTH are equally racist. When I hear a group of whites talking about a recent robbery or drug deal, the racial epitaphs flow like the river Nile from those preaching such tolerance and equality for fellow man. Where I work, there is a mix of blacks and whites, but the groups tend to stay among their own color, and the conversations are always laden with slurs against the other even though there is a policy against racial defamation.
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