Are we racist/prejudice?

[James]

Originally Posted by mburbank

James: I find your annecdotal experience of race relations reveals more about you than it does any sort of wider cultural characteristics.

"Unfortunately, the rest of the world never sees it like that. A white man's not allowed to hate anyone not-white, lest they forever be known as being a racist. "

By the rest of the world, what do you mean? People you've met? Your Town? The U.S.of A. ? Is it so terribly hard to be a White Man? 'Cause it hasn't been that awful for me. And the fact that sometimes negative feelings are attributed to you based on your whiteness seems like chump change compared to just about every other form of institutionalized racism. Can't you even enjoy being born onto the top of the heap? Lighten up.

I'm obviously aware that cultures and societies are different from place to place. But where I am, things are pretty much like that. I admit that I would fear for my life if I ever acted angry against someone who happened to be black. Things are shit around where I live. But go over to where Rog used to live, I'd be surprised if he ever saw a black person, let alone one acting like they're likely to kill someone.

Not to say that's everyone or everywhere. Just around here, it feels like so many people are more than happy to play the race card out of their own ignorance.

This sentence

"I find that the majority of people I find annoying are all black people, and share the same qualities."

and this sentence

"It's not that I hate them for being black, but I hate them for doing things to piss me off. "

Show a real confusion of thought. You are all ready codifying the 'people who annoy you' (oh sin amongst sins) by color. You are ascribing behavioral 'qualities' to their Blackness. I find you annoying right now, and I can think of lots of folks you share charcateristics with, but this is the internet, so I can't say it's BECAUSE you're a white middle class punk who doesn't understand the privilidges they've been borne into and becuase of his whiteness and middleclassness has a need to resent others for every pettty inconvenience he imagines. Even though you share that quality with a whole lot of a totally statistically insignificant chunk of the white middle class punks I've met. I promise thought, that should I come to hate you, it will be totally becuase of who you are as an individual.

What I mean is, let's say that I am angered and annoyed when someone does such-and-such. I find that more often then not, it seems that other races make up the majority of things that would piss me off. I'm NOT saying there aren't white people that do them too. I'm just saying that if I took a poll, the larger percentage would be of other races.

Do I hate black people? Some, yes. Do I hate white people? Some, yes. I don't think it's fair for me to be in fear over disliking somebody for something they do to make me dislike them in the first place. I feel I'm only allowed to say I don't like someone only if they're white. If I say I show dislike towards a someone who happens to be black, I worry they'll make it a racial thing and I'll find myself in a very bad situation. It's my perception.

Originally Posted by mburbank

I guess your dads characteristically Black behavior doesn't piss you off or inform your thinking very much.

Now you're just putting words in my internet moutn. I never said I didn't hate my dad, and I never said I considered such things to be "Black characteristics."

As for the other movie comments. The screen can illuminate well enough to see the loudmouth bastard sitting right in front of you. And I almost never go to a theatre when it's crowded, so it's easy to tell where the noise is coming from.

Honestly, I respect you and have no problems with you, but I really feel you're just trying to bait me with these comments. And they're working, if only because I feel the need to defend myself and NOT be considered a racist, which is EXACTLY what I've been going on about since this thread started.

Originally Posted by kellychaos

It seems like, in general, James is simply getting pissed on and is groping for a target. Did you ever think, James, that it may be your tunnel-vision and your need to concentrate hate on some certain group of people that you produce your own problems. Lighten up. Stress (hate) kills ... that's a medical fact.

I'm not concentrating hate on any specific group of people (except morons). See what I mean? I make an observation that includes something negative towards black people, and now people are saying I'm lashing out irrationally against every black person in sight. That's exactly the kind of think I'm talking about.

A person can't even so much as roll his eyes towards someone who happens to be black or mexican or whatever ethnicity said person is not, without being considered a racist for his observations.

I don't hate or love anyone based on the generalization of their culture/race/whatever. But I can't help but notice that a certain skin color may pop up more often when it comes to dealing with the stupidest and most socially-inept people.

Does that mean I only hate a certain race, or hate someone based solely on race? No. It's an observation, and nothing more.