Racism: alive and well ..

[EnochLight]

I know, I know - tell you something you don't already know! Still...

So, somewhere on the Internet (not here), today I was told that because my skin wasn't the right color, I was not qualified to have an opinion on a matter. It was also alluded to that, because of my skin color, I likely didn't like a particular genre of music. Both of these allegations are incorrect.

While I don't consider myself perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and I find myself being less and less of an idealist the older I get, it was truly saddening to see the sort of behavior in a "community" from someone who you would least expect it from.

Just to get this right out of the way, I'm a middle-aged white guy. Perhaps being just that brings the wrath of some who judge first with their hate instead of with their heart, but it was still troubling. I grew up in a very cosmopolitan neighborhood, have a broad spectrum of many ethnicities as friends and professional colleagues, and still - being the "victim" (yeah, I'm calling myself just that) of racial injustice is just... sad.

I don't care about the color of your skin - has anyone else here been in a similar situation? How did you react?

[Biolumin3sc3nt]

Most definitely Enoch. When I lived in Chicago about 10 years ago, the Police were a huge racial bias "Entity". And that Swing swung both ways depending on many different factors. There's also the community that has racial bias - Thankfully I'm back in Madison Wisconsin where people respect each other for the most part. I'll elaborate at a different time, but yes, I know what you're saying!

[FATCheese]

Let's just say I "dislike" people that see racism in everything other people do.

And further:

[Tincture]

I've made a progression from truly 'right on' at 16 to where I am now. I'm not surprised by racism and bigotry much anymore. It still bothers me but I don't get involved anymore. I'm a middle aged white Englishman living in Wales and I come across some form of disapproval when I open my mouth most days. I think most people have some kind of discrimination in them. People talk about the uk being a multicultural society but when you look more closely it's like drops of oil on water... Isolated enclaves. I think I'm probably the least racist person in my group of friends but still all of my friends are white. Stereotypes are boring but most people fit one. Of course we're all broad minded creative musicians here and don't fit such easy analysis

[Biolumin3sc3nt]

Well Said Tincture!

Of course we're all broad minded creative musicians here and don't fit such easy analysis

[jfrichards]

...being the "victim" (yeah, I'm calling myself just that) of racial injustice is just... sad...

I can see your point Dylan, just last Friday, kids in my neighborhood set off a firecracker in my front yard. I jumped up and ran to the window! Now I know how the hundred thousand families incinerated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki felt!!!

[pLansford]

To be honest, it seems maybe you're reading too much into it and being a bit sensitive. You mentioned the correlation between skin color and music preference which is hardly racism IMHO. I imagine it was something like "what do you know about that west coast gangsta rap, white boy?" or perhaps "that white boy can't produce a slapper for any rapper to spit to." If somebody said that to me, I'd laugh it off, go buy some drinks and simply produce a few slappers for people to vibe to. Lucky for me, somebody recently called me "the white Dr. Dre" which I consider a huge compliment but he was probably just blowing smoke up my ass. I'm also broke as a joke so...no...I'm not the white Dr. Dre...but thanks. Btw...the mission was to produce some beats on a rapper's computer with R5...very nice challenge without my beloved samples and RE's.

Anyways, it's A LOT easier to judge people over the Internet which is why sometimes I put my worst foot forward just for funzies. Racism is a very real and serious matter that can literally destroy lives and yeah it sucks. I live in CA though and I like to think things are a lot more laid back out here.

[dvdrtldg]

Hang on, just let me get this straight. Are we seriously discussing the ongoing racial persecution of middle aged white men?

Holy shit

[EnochLight]

The thing is, I'm probably one of the least sensitive types of people you'll ever know - my skin is a mile thick. But taking @pLansford's example into account, there's varying degrees of racism, for sure. The statement "what do you know about that west coast gangsta rap, white boy?" coming from anyone, is - at its very core - a racist statement (insinuating that anyone who is a white boy should have no knowledge of west coast gangsta rap. It makes the color of one's skin a requirement for knowledge of the subject). Just how racist it is can be open to interpretation by the listener/reader. The question one must ask oneself is: why is any degree of racism tolerated? Why should it be?

Should it?

Hang on, just let me get this straight. Are we seriously discussing the ongoing racial persecution of middle aged white men?

Holy shit

I don't think anyone - least of all me - is claiming "ongoing racial persecution". But how do you describe the behavior that happened? If someone were to make a comment to you that indicated the color of your skin made you ineligible to have an opinion, would that not seem racist? Just asking.

And don't think for one minute that I don't acknowledge that me being a middle aged white man already gives me an advantage in American society. That "privilege" has been made evident throughout my life, even if I didn't realize it at the time. For the record, my career is in the housing industry. I've taught classes in Federal Fair Housing and deal with things that would make many sick to their stomach.

[dvdrtldg]

It's an interesting discussion, here's my 2c:

The question one must ask oneself is: why is any degree of racism tolerated? Why should it be?

Should it?

Yes, it of course should be tolerated in some circumstances. Because there's no such thing as "pure" racism, it always occurs in a context, and that context determines the degree of heinousness. So some dude on Facebook assumes you don't understand hip hop because you're white. Stupid assumption, and yes racist according to the strict definition of the term. But as you've mentioned, you happen to belong to the most privileged, featherbedded species on the face of the earth: middle class white men living in a Western democracy (OK, "middle class" is an assumption on my part but whatever). Are you seriously suggesting that you can't take the hit? You're truly hurt by this? Or has victim culture spread its tentacles to the point where anyone and everyone can now claim injury when they're on the receiving end of a mild race-based slur?

At the risk of stating the obvious: tell a white guy he can't understand hip hop because he's white, it's just a dumb comment. But tell a black guy e.g. that he can't understand Beethoven because he's black, and you're dragging up a whole history of black people being treated as uncivilised savages. "Racism" in both cases, but two completely different contexts. You can make jokes about how big French people's noses are, nobody gets too upset. Make the same sort of joke about Jewish people, and you're in completely different territory. Both discriminatory and unflattering, but only in one case are you bringing up a historial context in which the butt of the joke was once marched into gas chambers on the grounds of some sort of spurious genetic "difference". It's the context that determines the degree of insult, not the bare fact that it's (*gasp*) racism

If someone were to make a comment to you that indicated the color of your skin made you ineligible to have an opinion, would that not seem racist? Just asking.

Yeah of course it would seem racist. But I wouldn't care, that's the difference. We've arrived at this stupid point where everyone goes OMG RACISM at the drop of a hat and freaks out, as though all forms of racism are equally outrageous. Like all these stupid guys walking around feeling aggrieved at "feminism", getting all worked up because Hey a woman at work said I had a nice ass and just imagine if I'd said that to her I'd lose my job but oh no she can say whatever she likes because feminism and it's not fair and men are being psychically raped every day by this sort of abuse etc etc etc. People in privileged positions need to acknowledge their privilege and chill the fuck out about this sort of thing. Or if it really does make you upset, then at the risk of playing amateur psychologist, I'd suggest that your sense of grievance has its true origin elsewhere

[freeQlow]

My father taught me we all put our pants on the same way.
Racism or The Race Card can mostly come from ignorance. Ignorance has no color.
Growing up in Florida, I got called a lot of things.
The Internet brings out the wanksters in everyone. Even without race there are just so many people wanting to pull strings.

Everyone has an opinion on this, some have completely different opinions depending on the environment they're in or people they're around.

Remember
We all put our pants on the same way! Treat all with equal respect and you'll still encounter ignorance. Sad, but that's the way this world is

[freeQlow]

this

[Namahs Amrak]

Didn't read the OP, but mostly I find myself as a minority in the places I frequent, and NEVER get treated poorly, or with any disrespect. Quite the opposite actually. I think it has a lot to do with what's in one's heart. If one is open of heart & mind, honest and genuine, then this will break down barrier. Walk around like an arrogant, self-aggrandising dickhead, and you're going to be treated as such.

Often it's fairly evident why people get treated the way they do. Especially whiteys.

[pLansford]

We all put our pants on the same way!

Some people might put the right leg in first and button up before they zip.

[submonsterz]

everyone that's green needs kicking of this planet!!
they have no right to be here they don't even pay tax ....

[submonsterz]

and they look funny and cant make house music they suck

[submonsterz]

We all put our pants on the same way!

Some people might put the right leg in first and button up before they zip.

I don't wear pants !! I go cammo . hey that's makes me different from everyone else by that statement about pants . thanks for the alienation mr freeqlow lol

[pLansford]

everyone that's green needs kicking of this planet!!

I never liked peas anyways.

[gak]

@OP: And it's not going to change 100 years from now.

reasontalk is having it's "period" the last 72 hours. Maybe the midol will kick in after the weekend.

[submonsterz]

@OP: And it's not going to change 100 years from now.

reasontalk is having it's "period" the last 72 hours. Maybe the midol will kick in after the weekend.

hmm ive been loggin in over the last 72 hours are you saying im a period pain akk ...
that's wrong man so so wrong .

[EnochLight]

...being the "victim" (yeah, I'm calling myself just that) of racial injustice is just... sad...

I can see your point Dylan, just last Friday, kids in my neighborhood set off a firecracker in my front yard. I jumped up and ran to the window! Now I know how the hundred thousand families incinerated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki felt!!!

Thanks! But fireworks were invented by the Chinese, so a better allegory might be that you now know how it felt to be living in Nanking during the Rape of Nanking. Those kids need a swift kick in the ass and a firm talk'n to.

It's an interesting discussion, here's my 2c:

The question one must ask oneself is: why is any degree of racism tolerated? Why should it be?

Should it?

Yes, it of course should be tolerated in some circumstances. Because there's no such thing as "pure" racism, it always occurs in a context, and that context determines the degree of heinousness. So some dude on Facebook assumes you don't understand hip hop because you're white. Stupid assumption, and yes racist according to the strict definition of the term. But as you've mentioned, you happen to belong to the most privileged, featherbedded species on the face of the earth: middle class white men living in a Western democracy (OK, "middle class" is an assumption on my part but whatever). Are you seriously suggesting that you can't take the hit? You're truly hurt by this? Or has victim culture spread its tentacles to the point where anyone and everyone can now claim injury when they're on the receiving end of a mild race-based slur?

At the risk of stating the obvious: tell a white guy he can't understand hip hop because he's white, it's just a dumb comment. But tell a black guy e.g. that he can't understand Beethoven because he's black, and you're dragging up a whole history of black people being treated as uncivilised savages. "Racism" in both cases, but two completely different contexts. You can make jokes about how big French people's noses are, nobody gets too upset. Make the same sort of joke about Jewish people, and you're in completely different territory. Both discriminatory and unflattering, but only in one case are you bringing up a historial context in which the butt of the joke was once marched into gas chambers on the grounds of some sort of spurious genetic "difference". It's the context that determines the degree of insult, not the bare fact that it's (*gasp*) racism

If someone were to make a comment to you that indicated the color of your skin made you ineligible to have an opinion, would that not seem racist? Just asking.

Yeah of course it would seem racist. But I wouldn't care, that's the difference. We've arrived at this stupid point where everyone goes OMG RACISM at the drop of a hat and freaks out, as though all forms of racism are equally outrageous. Like all these stupid guys walking around feeling aggrieved at "feminism", getting all worked up because Hey a woman at work said I had a nice ass and just imagine if I'd said that to her I'd lose my job but oh no she can say whatever she likes because feminism and it's not fair and men are being psychically raped every day by this sort of abuse etc etc etc. People in privileged positions need to acknowledge their privilege and chill the fuck out about this sort of thing. Or if it really does make you upset, then at the risk of playing amateur psychologist, I'd suggest that your sense of grievance has its true origin elsewhere

You make some great points; thanks. To be clear, I'm not upset. Bothered a bit? Sure, by the perceived double-standard, but I totally acknowledge my station/position in life.

[Exowildebeest]

Oh dear, EnochLight tried to dance.

[EnochLight]

Oh dear, EnochLight tried to dance.

[freeQlow]

You ever get out of your vehicle and feel like this or feel like this once you get into your vehicle?

I believe there are evil little sack fairys that cone around just to kick our sacks.

We can't explain it, we don't know how we did it.
Fuckt the Sack Ferries once and for all!

[freeQlow]

Truth