Bloody fucking hell...

[wyn]

Not everything is black and white..

I am so sick of idiots playing the fucking race cards.

Seriously.

"I forgot he was black." Wtf? Hmm, he's black. Woo. And? Just because someone is black, white, red, yellow, or pink and white checkered with day-glo green zig-zags, it doesn't make them act a certain way. That comment, as well intentioned as it may (or may not) have been, was just ignorant.

I get the point of people being offended by that, I really do, but I also take issue with something said by a black woman as well:

Sophia Nelson, a black attorney, former lobbyist and founder of PoliticalIntersection.com, which focuses on politics, race and gender, said she has been offended by people calling her articulate and intelligent: "That's saying that people who look like me normally aren't those things."

No. You idiot, you. That's like saying you appear to be articulate and intelligent. Should I- a female Native American and Caucasian mix- take offense when someone tries to compliment me by calling me intelligent and well-spoken? No. I'm going to thank them and more than likely pawn off the compliment with something witty in return.

And it only goes to show once more that idiots, no matter the race, creed, sexual persuasion, age or gender, will still go out of their way to take issue with things.

As ignorant as that first comment was, that second comment? It was just as bad. I'm so sick of the whole walking on eggshells bullshit so many people dance around, especially as of late.

You're black. Get over it.

I'm white. Get over it.

You and I? We still bleed red when you prick us. We both breathe oxygen, need food and water and sunlight to live and we both have feelings, emotions, wants and needs and goals we'd like to accomplish.

Get over your fucking skin color.

Unless you don't want to.

In which case, at least have the balls to say, "I'm black, I'm racist, and I think everyone owes me the world." Or, in the case of the white guy down the street: "I'm white, I'm racist, and I think no one can do anything as well as I can."

Either way, maybe we should just hand out shotguns and swords and let everyone kill each other off from their own stupidity. Because really, it doesn't matter what color the skin is- we'll still find some way of making ourselves morally superior to some other group.

Morons.

Comments

[arualanne.livejournal.com]

That is my point though, we aren't at war, why are we still using the term to describe northerners. We don't use Confederate to describe the southerners, so what is the point in labeling people from the North like that? I just don't get it. I am not upset by it, but it seems to serve no purpose than to have a convenient way to categorize people whether they fit in the group or not for no better reason than to write them off cause they wouldn't understand the culture here or something. That is how I feel when they use it as they generally only call me that when I don't join in on the black and white issue or don't know what a satsuma is (an orange I found out) or random stuff like that. It is almost a derogatory term the way they use it. *Shrugs* but I figure whatever as I am proud to be from North of the Line as well I don't particularly care for it down here and one day I will move back.

[shadows-wolf06.livejournal.com]

::shrugs::

Personally, I refer to myself just as easily as a Canuk as my mother's side of the family is French-Canadian.

Sure. Some people use it in a derogatory manner, but I just use it to describe my family's heritage.

[arualanne.livejournal.com]

lol, see that is the point though. It is how words are used and not the words themselves. I think we don't need to be as sensitive about the choice of words, but people need to think about how they use their words and how it impacts other people. Yankee is the least of my worries as really for the most part unless you get someone who doesn't like white people (mainly Irish and then a mutt mixture of english and some native american= lily white so pail you can see through me) I have it pretty easy. Down here there are many people who do not that tend to be of a minority ethnicity, however it seems to run both ways and each side of the populace is way oversensitive and defensive about everything. It is sad as it is just barely under the surface, so visit for a day or two and it can be anywhere in America, stay here a couple of months and you find out fast that you are in the deep deep south and the prejudices and actions are still there on both side, just thinly veiled. I wish I could describe it better, but I think it really is something you have to experience to truly understand, especially coming from a Northern perspective where you are mainly taught that people are just people no matter the race (although you do have the few shinning examples of prejudiced beleifs alive and well in some small towns) and then coming to the South where that isn't the perspective traditionally. I find the younger people tend to be a little more tolerant, but talking to the older generation that are my parents age is eye opening. What is sad is that they pass it on to their children and reinforce it and I have seen it happen. It is a sad vicious cycle.

Here you see I am talking more race issues and less cultural sensitivity. I do feel we are so far PC as to be repressed as a society as we are all afraid we might hurt someone's feelings and then be labeled racist or whatnot. We need to all learn to get along as we are all people at the heart of it. That though tends to be a problem if parents are teaching children that x group is one step above animals or slinging about names that compare them with animals every time they talk about them (here I speak about how a coworker tends to talk about any other race but white people). It is bad as it is the first step to making people no longer appear human and to then start breading hate and a callous attitude about what is done to those people.

We all need to relax and realize we are all people, but at the same time we all need to learn to respect the fact that we are all people and deserving of basic polite behavior.

I don't know I am tired and at work and I think I have started rambling. Sorry.

[shadows-wolf06.livejournal.com]

When I moved down to South Carolina to help my sister-in-law out while she was pregnant with Mara Beth (my brother was doing a stint overseas as a civilian something-or-other), I was absolutely floored by people's attitudes down there.

And while no one really talked about it, it was obvious that those of Caucasian origin were far more favored over the other races. My first time to Arby's was an eye-opener as I could subconsciously register that something was odd about the restaurant as soon as I entered it, but it took me a couple of minutes to realize that the only white worker was the manager- everyone else was either black or mexican.

There were other small things that showed the racial prejudices, too- one day I was standing in line at Wal*Mart and another register opened up. A black woman and myself scurried over to her line and the other woman got there first. The cashier told me to come on up and she'd help me first, of which, I declined, telling her the other woman was first. "No, no darlin, you were. I'll take you first." That was her reply. I told her I was in no hurry and to go ahead and take the other woman. The look of confusion, astonishment and surprise on the other lady's face was saddening to me as... well, it's just not the way things should be.

[arualanne.livejournal.com]

exactly it is a lot like that here too. Just a lot of little things that aren't directly said, but just socially accepted that amount to something horrible. What is sad is that they don't see it, it is just the way things have always been and according to them the natural order of things. It is really sad, although if you do think about it it has been a little bit of time and a lot of progress in that reguard. Less than 100 years and their whole way of life has changed. I suppose it would be too much to ask not to have some residual effects from that, which seem to be a general dislike of each other and bitterness over all of it on both sides. Eventually if we all keep working at it, I don't think it will be as bad. They need more people though to notice things like we have and to work to correct that sort of thing.

[sydneyrodriguez.livejournal.com]

Ironically, only other Americans use the term "Yankee" to reference people from former Union states. When used by people from other countries, "Yankee" means anyone from America, regardless of where at in America.

[arualanne.livejournal.com]

see isn't it funny how words get used. What is really funny is that living in Michigan I knew what the term was, but had never heard it used about a person. I hear it a lot down here in reference to me. It is just something I never really identified with. (Especially since technically I lived in Michigan, but I was born a southern Californian, Ventura to be exact, although I did spend the time from age 4-26 there, so sure.)

[shadows-wolf06.livejournal.com]

I have a couple of Aussie friends who constantly refer to me as a Yankee. I just laugh and tell them I'm a double yank as I'm both from the States and from New England.