The thing about racisim
I’ve spent today listening to different people discuss this topic and point out ways how other people, other blogs, certain TV shows, movies and music have racial underlining.
It’s sad to think that the more some people fight against it, the worse it becomes. Have you really sat down and think about it outside of your own little bubble?
Let me break down for you, the discussions i had and what the people said.
Person 1 - An African American friend of mine, says she is totally against any form of racisim and she spends her free time volunteering and attempting to “educate” people on ethnic tolerance, yet however she often makes a comment about how those “Jewish” can’t be trusted and usually looks down on them when shes them on the train. She even goes as far as making it a point to not support their businesses.
Person 2 - My dear old Japanese friend is always out to help his “Asian” comrades get a leg in and is very active in his community. But i just seems that he has a problem going to any event or supporting anything that is less that 80% Asian. He won’t even consider going to a house party that a black “friend” would invite him to, even if he has nothing to do. Yet he’d drop everything and drive more than 50 miles to go to an Asian party with no one he knows. Looks like he does not feel comfortable with others.
Person 3 - My lovely Latino princess, who is all about her culture and heritage. She goes to every parade and she is a student ambassador for a certain college in Manhattan. She calls me to go with her to every march that supports the immigration movement and she’s very vocal about the discrimination against “minorities”. I knew her before she migrated to the US from the Dominican Republic and we had a discussion about how in her school, back in the DR she had done a paper researching her African heritage. Now it seems that on her flight over to the US she turned from being of African Heritage and now when asked if she was of African background, she replies “No” she’s Hispanic. I guess we can start marketing those flight from those Spanish islands as the cheap way to change your ethnicity.
Person 4 - is my Long Island beauty queen, who is a big Obama supporter, went to march for Sean Bell and is also a former all American cheerleader. Her idea of a good day is finding a good debate on race relations and what we can do to make things better. Followed by a pep rally for the new minority students that go to her alma mater, then feed the homeless. Yet this single young white female is posting ads on craigslist, and dating sites, looking for a SWM or SJM. Need me to fill out those acronyms? Single White Male or Single Jewish Male. Mind you, she is not Jewsih. But it seems like minorities are good enought to march for, stand with and support in everyway except in her heart and to bring home to daddy.
And lastly is Person 5 - My good friend from India, who is also an immigration activist and all about helping minorities move forward. Yet he only does pro-bono work if you are from India and seems to have a problem with his daugther that is now dating a basketballer from her school, because he says most of these boys are from the ghetto and he’d rather she finds a nice boy closer to her background..
Now while i applaud certain sites and blogs for their stance against racism and the crusade to point out the wrongs. It seems like we all need to look more at ourselves. How can you stop racism if you have it in yourself?
Here is something to think about.
Have you ever writing a dating ad in search of SWF, SBM or what ever you put in the middle? Shouldn’t you just put SM or SF, i don’t think love is based on skin color. However i do admit that maybe religion is important.
Have you ever not go into a store because of what the person wears on their head or because their eyes look too small? Instead you should be more concerned with how much extra it would cost you to go to another store just because you are a bit prejudiced.
Have you ever turned down an invite by a friend because you think the neighbourhood or event does not have enough people of your skin color? Maybe you’d find out no matter how someone looks, they can be a good friend.
Think about your past week and see what you did that was racist, then open your eyes as to why things can’t really change yet.
Did you like this post? Click here and buy me some Java.
Nigel Mahabir
Ha Ha Ha
Love it
The World should not be racist
But love my dom perrigon lifestyle
and i want thing the way i want it
Whether my preference is Vanilla Chocolate or Coca-Cola
I am not a Racist
But if you have a preference , YOU ARE A RACIST.
============================================
Sort like my anti - Bono (u2) attitude
forgive the poor nations of the world
but do not raise my taxes to do it
July 7th, 2008 at 9:43 pmMichael Vass
I’m glad to see you enjoy my posts at http://www.blackandwhiteblog.com, as well as the writing by some of my colleagues. I thank you for including that blog in your post.
But the issue of race is far more prevalent than just what some people do in obvious ways. It’s not just who you won’t date, or what store and party they won’t go to.
It’s the movies and television shows that virtually exclude any non-White. It’s the framing of stories that the news media depicts. It’s the arguements that politicans use at town meetings. It’s so deeply ingrained in America that most don’t see it, and fewer are willing to discuss it even if they see it.
My own blogs and many of my posts deal with these issues. From both sides as best as I can understand. And I’m glad to see that others are looking at the issue too. Because until we all can see what is going on, casually everyday, we can’t fix anything.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:28 pmSafiya Samuel
Sadly, most seemingly evolved brothers and sisters shy away from tackling the issue of race head on. The convenient buffer is to mask the truth about racism by declaring racial tolerance and global acceptance. This appears to be the aggressive cancer that is crippling the black community. We are so absolutely consumed with embracing other races that in the very process we lose our sense of self. Our life experiences are largely punctuated and enriched by heterogeneity. Yet, we embark upon crusades that promote cultural homogeneity. I don’t even think that what was described in the article pertained to racism. What I read seemed to establish a case for ethnic discrimination, not racism.
In the friends that you polled and consequently labeled “racist”, appear to have a strong sense of communtiy. This is inherently why other ethnic communities have been able to progress. Chika Onyeani in his book “Capitalist Nigger” speaks about developing an economic spider web among the black community. A concept that still remains alien to most of us. We gripe over the fact that black people consistently fail at doing business. But we are active participants in their failure if we elect to use our economic power to fatten already obese calves.
We need to find our center first, then spread our arms. It has always been said and within a deeper context, it has greater weight than when its uttered in the form of a cliche…You must love yourself first before you can love anyone else.
Just a thought….Great topic
July 30th, 2008 at 10:30 am