Proof that racism is alive and well Options

[Dogmeat]

Last year, in front of my office on campus there was some multicultural program. They asked people to take a step forward or backward based on what it was like for them when growing up. They asked questions like if their parents had to work multiple jobs to support the family. One of the questions that was asked was whether if their parents told them that if they worked hard, they can be anything they want to be. Some people took a step forward, and many took a step back. I was watching by the side since I just got back from the library. I felt like I wanted to take a step back. I remember since I came to this country, my dad telling me that I will never be like one of them, that I will never fit in, that there are things I just can't be. That left a very heavy impact on my heart. Growing up, I never fit like I could be friends with Americans, namely white people.

So in other words, your father brainwashed you into thinking that the deck was stacked against you from birth, and you've hence lived your live under that false premise. The fact that your family chose to come to the US from China implies that they were seeking equal opportunity, yet somehow everything you're saying here eludes to the fact that they never believed that, and the deck was stacked against them from day one. It's sort of preposterous if you ask me. Why would you leave your homeland and come to a place that you claim isn't giving you equal opportunity?

Around them, I felt smaller, I felt like the stuff I did and the things I knew was weird and not interesting.

There are 10 million white, black mexican, whatever kids in highschool who feel that way. This is not in any way shape or form mutually exclusive to being a "minority" in the US public school system.

To some degree it was ironic that my only friends in hs were asian since for a longtime before that I was very wary about being asian people. That somehow being around asian people, people will see me as asian. That people will think less of me. I guess I found comfort amongst Asian people, I knew that at least around them, I didn't have to worry about being judged, I didn't have to feel smaller than them.

To assume asian people do not judge asian people is highly improbable as well as a very egotistical statement. Asians are no better or no worse than any other race on this planet when it comes to "Judging people". This is a purley human trait, and is not in any way shape or form mutually exclusive to any one race. You perceived that you were not "judged" by asians. It was your perception. Your perceptions were obviously heavily influenced by your family's views and opinions. This is an unavoidable fact of life that you are your parents children. With that said, your father was heavily biased in this respect.

I did okay in school, but these days I understand the bias there exists in schooling. I wasn't the most stellar student in hs or in college, but I believe I wasn't too bad. In part I know that is because my parents are both educated, and the deep rooted feeling of over a millennium for Chinese people that if they do well in school, they can achieve greatness, even the communist couldn't get rid of this one, not that they tried. And that is what I was told to do, and I guess when you're young, you do what you are told. Especially the one that is raised in the chinese mindset. Anyway, it wasn't until college, where I started feeling like I could be friends with white people, that they won't judge me. That people are very different, my difference is just one of them. I don't think I had good white friends until grad school. At times, I still feel like when I don't know something, or make some food that's a little bit different, they are going to look at me, and I'll feel like I'm less of a person.

Again, your synopsis for your feelings of being uncomfortable come from your perceptions it's because of your race. Again, I make the conjecture that there are MILLIONS of other people out there of all races that feel the same way, for whatever reason. It is again, not a racial issue, and you are trying to force it to be one. Everything you've described here is at least as best as I can tell, pretty typical of being in school, public or acadamia, in the us.

I know these issues are not isolated to me. Lots of people of every race deal with self-esteem issues for being a little big, for being a little short, being a little less than not good enough, and it is hard. However, if you place the history of how your parents were raised growing up, their experiences, especially if they were educated, they were told they can't succeed, that if even if they try, they will never make it in this white world, things add up. You create layers upon layers of issues, and it is hard. In the end, I think it's these hardships that makes it less-likely for people to succeed. In the end there are lots of things in this life that is unfair. There have been study done on how tall people are more likely to succeed than people who are short, they make more money and I guess according to these studies that they are happier.

....?

So now because you aren't 6'5" you can't succeed....? I don't buy into that for a fucking second. I know thousands of people, literally, who are at least 6" shorter than I am and are far more successful than I am.

That's one of these things that is unfair across the world - being born tall is an inherent advantage over people who are short. It's not to say that short people never succeed, or get the girl, but when it comes down to it, many short men feel like they are not as good. If you add on bald, you are even a little worse off. Is it fair that the short, bald men keep getting the short end of the stick about something they have no control over? Are they less of a human being? Can't they learn and become very valuable members of society? I think most people would agree that they can. But when short, bald men are systematically being looked over for promotions, for marriage, for that leading-man role, then there's something wrong. It's not to say there's something evil about tall men with a full head of hair, but they have to realize that there's something unfair. That just because they're going home with that girl over their shorter, balder friend, it doesn't make them a superior human being. It's just a privilege society has given them, a privilege they have in this world that they did not earn.

Nobody handed me my degree. Nobody handed me my job. I had to do the same thing everyone else who is in the position I am in did. I worked for it. You are a fool to think that I got to where I am in life because I'm taller than average. It helps changing lightbulbs out or if you're REALLY tall playing basketball, other than that, it's sort of a pain in the ass honestly.

Today we had to move some furniture around in one of my other offices. The building manager came in to asked us if we had helped them move the stuff around. Namely, he talked to the white guy in the room. I was sitting right beside him and I've been in this building for almost 9 years now. Even though most of me feel like it is because we haven't interacted that much, he may not know my name, I couldn't help feeling if that guy was looking right past me because I'm Asian.

This is YOU using your race as a crutch. You're pre-disposed to it. Your first instinct whenever something happens or does not happen is that it is based on your race. Take race out of the equation, and ask yourself the same questions. Could it be a lot of what is happening or has happened is based on YOUR ATTITUDE, and _NOT_ the color of your skin? Tough question I dbout most people ever are willing to answer. It's much easier to use race as an excuse.

And for crying out loud, you're griping because you DIDNT have to help move furniture? Huh?

I've worked in groups with people, where the company or manager person automatically started talking to the white male in the group, then the white female, then the none white male, then lastly, the none white female, even in the case where I've done a vast majority of the work. You look at the person in charge, many times it's a white male, you just feel a little smaller, a little less confident in what you have to say. But in the end, it those who do the talking get the credit. Perhaps you can say that it is my fault for not speaking up, but knowing all the tough times and insecurities when it comes to having been brought up/grown up a certain way, I really have trouble believing in that.

Those who assume leadership roles are points of contact. It's based much more on a person's attutitude they project than the color of their skin. Black, white, it doesn't matter. In fact I'm right in the middle of leadership training and they address these same questions. You are pre-disposed to assuming EVERYONE has racial prejudices against asians. You were raised that way. That is the problem here, not other people. The general trend is how you perceive things based on the way you were raised, and it is up to YOU to change it, because YOU are the one who needs to change, not everyone else. The rest of the world does not owe you or anyone else a thing because of the color of yoru skin.

I think saying that I can care if you understood or not, or if you agreed or not, maybe the wrong statement. I guess I should've said that I know I can't make you understand or agree. It's something you have to come to agreement your self.

I am not trying to be inflamatory here, but everything I have ever read that you've stated about this leads me to believe that you are the one who is pre-disposed to being the victim here. Some guy doesn't ask you to help move furniture, and you automatically assume it's because he's biased against asians? Let's think about that, you've got the tall strong 6'5" asian olypmic weightlifter, or a skinny white nerd. Who are you gonna ask to help move furniture? Wow, the answer to that question wasn't based on race at all, was it?

The bottom line is, everyone on this planet needs to stop seeing race PERIOD. Just stop. End it. There is no more color, there is no more race. Stop seeing things in terms of color, and start seeing things in terms of practicality, reality, and accomplishment. Start seeing actions, not superficial attributes.

Again, the only thing I can say is you are the one who needs to start looking past race, not everyone else.

[cmac]

I'm not sure that any of us could completely give a full assessment of experiencing racism without living a day in someone of an alternate race's shoes.

[Mommy]

I'm not sure that any of us could completely give a full assessment of experiencing racism without living a day in someone of an alternate race's shoes.

Why is that? Every race experiences it.

[impala454]

I'm not sure that any of us could completely give a full assessment of experiencing racism without living a day in someone of an alternate race's shoes.

Who tried to give a "full assessment of experiencing racism"??

[Mommy]

I think cmac's statement would have been more accurate if he would have changed "someone of an alternate race's shoes" to "without living the shoes of every other race that exists."

And yeah, I don't think anyone here was trying to give a full assessment.

[cmac]

I think cmac's statement would have been more accurate if he would have changed "someone of an alternate race's shoes" to "without living the shoes of every other race that exists."

yeah, that's more what i meant.

And yeah, I don't think anyone here was trying to give a full assessment.

right, i wasn't saying anyone was.
i'm just saying it's difficult to describe someone's hardships without having really been in their shoes. i think that's common sense.
one of the reasons I haven't really chimed in on this thread. i'm not sure if i'm allowed to really have an opinion on racism being a white male, pretty much the most dominant race and sex. things have been relatively easy for us.

[Spectatrix]

If I've experienced any discrimination as a result of being a women, I haven't noticed it. Too busy kicking butt and taking names!

[impala454]

i'm just saying it's difficult to describe someone's hardships without having really been in their shoes.

There are very few people in this world that grew up and went through life without being shunned in some way or another by some other people or a group of other people. I'd venture to declare that not a single person who went through a typical jr high in this country got through the whole time without getting made fun of in some way. No matter how attractive, popular, rich, etc they were. Some kids get past it, some don't, but it's the ones who look back on those times as a development of character, rather than wallow in them and in their own self pity, that are successful later in life.

[Mommy]

There are very few people in this world that grew up and went through life without being shunned in some way or another by some other people or a group of other people. I'd venture to declare that not a single person who went through a typical jr high in this country got through the whole time without getting made fun of in some way. No matter how attractive, popular, rich, etc they were. Some kids get past it, some don't, but it's the ones who look back on those times as a development of character, rather than wallow in them and in their own self pity, that are successful later in life.

I'll be honest with y'all... Out of EVERYONE I know, my brother has gotten the most shit during his life. If you can think of something embarrassing, it's most likely happened to my brother. He's 16 and has 2 years of high school left. If he has as bad of a year as he did last year, though, my mom is going to pull him out and home school him the rest of the way. He gets up every day, and carries on with life. Yeah, there are days that he actually cries about having to go to school, but he picks himself back up and goes. That's what everyone needs to do... just pick yourself up and carry on.

[cmac]

There are very few people in this world that grew up and went through life without being shunned in some way or another by some other people or a group of other people. I'd venture to declare that not a single person who went through a typical jr high in this country got through the whole time without getting made fun of in some way. No matter how attractive, popular, rich, etc they were. Some kids get past it, some don't, but it's the ones who look back on those times as a development of character, rather than wallow in them and in their own self pity, that are successful later in life.

i was always the popular kid in jh, hs, and college. the jock. straight As. etc. never teased or ridiculed. usually the one doing most of that.
i sometimes think i missed out. i think teasing and bullying can really do good things to shape an individual's character.
edit: not trying to be holier than thou. just really was the way i grew up...

This post has been edited by cmac: Jul 27 2009, 03:48 PM

[Dogmeat]

I'm not sure that any of us could completely give a full assessment of experiencing racism without living a day in someone of an alternate race's shoes.

The fuck we can't. Everyone on this fucking planet can.

[Spectatrix]

There are very few people in this world that grew up and went through life without being shunned in some way or another by some other people or a group of other people. I'd venture to declare that not a single person who went through a typical jr high in this country got through the whole time without getting made fun of in some way. No matter how attractive, popular, rich, etc they were. Some kids get past it, some don't, but it's the ones who look back on those times as a development of character, rather than wallow in them and in their own self pity, that are successful later in life.

Yep. I was shunned for several years simply because I wasn't interested in all the stupid shit that most teenage girls are (dances, going to the mall, makeup, going gaga over boys, etc.) I was more interested in swimming, reading, and playing video games.

[cmac]

So the arresting officer did violate the law after all. It is illegal in Massachusetts to arrest someone for yelling at or berating an officer.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-winkler...244888.html?1=1

[impala454]

i was always the popular kid in jh, hs, and college. the jock. straight As. etc. never teased or ridiculed. usually the one doing most of that.
i sometimes think i missed out. i think teasing and bullying can really do good things to shape an individual's character.
edit: not trying to be holier than thou. just really was the way i grew up...

You mean to tell me your entire life nobody ever made fun of you at all? I call major bullshit. Hell you have been made fun of by people on here before.

[chook]

So the arresting officer did violate the law after all. It is illegal in Massachusetts to arrest someone for yelling at or berating an officer.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-winkler...244888.html?1=1

From reading that writeup, it looks like the laws for disorderly conduct are still law and some courts have intereperted it to mean that berating a cop is covered under free speach. Without looking into it, it looks like the cop's arrest was ok and the DA would choose how to deal with the charge.

Sorry Cmac, its seemed like a strong arguement, but after reading the paper it seems the nut graff is quite misleading.