What About the ‘R-Word’?
by Cam CannonBack before the show “Rescue Me” went completely off the rails, there was a great episode where Denis Leary and the boys in his firehouse were ordered to go to sensitivity training. The training session went awry when the racially-mixed fireman started keeping score on which ethnic group had the most offensive nicknames. They were talking volume and level of offense taken at the utterance of such epithets.
Me and my racially group of friends had these same kind of conversations, except that we weren’t racially mixed, we were a bunch of young dumb white guys. But I had black friends confirm our findings: there’s not really a racial epithet you can sling a white person’s way that carries the venom that a word used over-and-over-again by rappers carries for African-Americans. But my thinking has evolved.
There is a word you can call a white person that carries with it all sorts of horrible implications, and that word my friends is RACIST.
The R-word.
As always, I must take you back. To 1996. I was a newlywed working two jobs, and I became pretty good friends with one of my African-American co-workers at job number one. We were both fans of hip hop music, and used to swap mixed tapes. He turned me on to Jay-Z, and I passionately argued that the Beastie Boys were not to be trifled with. One day, we got into a discussion about the Source Magazine, and it’s response to the Tommy Hilfiger rumor. You remember, Hilfiger supposedly said that he didn’t like black people wearing his clothes. Hilfiger of course denied the veracity of the supposed quote, and it’s been debunked about a million times, but at the time, Source was shall we say, skeptical. For their writer, the surfacing of this rumor only confirmed what they had secretly suspected for a long time: Tommy was an R-word.
I of course found this absurd. I don’t know Tommy, but I was pretty sure that the color he cared about was green, as in Lorne. I mean, as in money.
But then my friend dropped the bombshell on me, explaining that he too suspected every white person he met was probably a racist. To his credit, he admitted that when I first started, he suspected that I was an R-word.
While I remained friends with him, I couldn’t help but feel hurt. I’d never been called a racist before – and I guess I still hadn’t, but the mere fact that someone hadn’t ruled it out got to me. So, I organized a protest, made plans to shoot a documentary about it, and contacted the best-dressed attorney I could find… Seriously, what I did was I brought it up to him later.
In discussing it with my buddy, I explained that, in essence, upon meeting me, he found me no different than Sheriff Ray Stuckey in “Mississippi Burning.” For all he knew, I was like Sheriff Ray Stuckey, he said. But when I met him, I thought, hey, there’s a black dude. I’m not so high and mighty as to say I don’t notice race – but when I saw him I certainly didn’t think, oh my Lord, it’s O-Dog from “Menace II Society!”
He saw my point, and I never did think that he was a bad guy for thinking the way he did. I don’t know everything about him, maybe he’s run into more than his fair share of racist rednecks, which I’m not claiming are in short supply. On the contrary, one of them is too many, which is why the Cannon’s stopped having family reunions. I kid (if my cousin’s husband is reading this, it’s a joke, dude. You know why we stopped having family reunions, right? Right?).
But had the guy not profiled me? Had he not made a judgment about me, based on his dealing with other honkeys (see, doesn’t even sting) in the workplace and elsewhere? While it definitely hurt my feelings, and it’s wrong, it wasn’t a game-changer for us. My quitting without notice and asking him to sneak my check off the bosses desk, well, that’s another story.
The R-word. I guess maybe there was a time when it wasn’t so powerful. But I was raised and taught that black people and white people are equal. So sometimes I wonder if guys like Sharpton and Jesse, you know, guys who write BLACK twice on a form, once for “race” and again for “occupation,” realize how brutal an insult the term can be. And on my more cynical days I think, yeah, they realize it.
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89 Comments
Sounds like it was your friend that was the racist. Being called a racist would not bug me in the least unless I thought it was true or it came from someone I respected. I would be ashamed… mad?… not so much.
we far prefer WRO…
And that, of course would be White Racist Oppressor. This way you can singlehandedly be the focus of everyone in the world Who Hates You. Not just meddling around with good ol' garden variety racism; no, we must also be the Imperialist agressors and murderers of snail darters and flood plane mice and oppressors of abortionists and Tin Pot Dictators and Islamic Nutcakes and the like…
Yes, WRO is the ticket. Of course, we once had a Latin saying that many of us swore by- De Opresso Liber-
It means 'To Liberate the Oppressed'.
And that we did, by the tens of millions. Guess that doesn't count for much now…
I wonder if Skippy Gates will be bustin' out his T-shirt to wear to the beer-love-fest on Thursday night?
My first year of college, I was living on a shoestring, to the point getting girlfriends to swipe food from the dorm on my behalf. One night, I met a well spoken black man dressed in a suit more expensive than any I have owned to date (this was 30 years ago). He was shilling for some African cause and he greeted me with the question "You're not a racist, are you?" Just to show him I wasn't, I gave the guy the money I had saved for dinner that night.
There's nothing like spending the night hungry to clear your thinking about some things.
Don't you just love minding your own business, and some polka-dotted schmuck already has you pegged for a racist?
Jerks come in all colors, all races.
Whites are the only race who apparently feel guilty about racism and have done something about it. Every other race practices it on a daily basis in every country on earth. It was never a white thing and it is racist to assume it solely belongs Caucasians.
Cam, another great article….. very well written and has a great POINT……I was raised in a all white area and my friends and I where all labeled this way… and it was always the people from the otehr persuasion that pointed the finger at us that we where the R word….I never had a issue with it, but there have been a few times that it did get really heated! That one word is a PANDORA BOX…….In this situation with Gates/Obama/ and Crowley…. I can honestly say that Crowley is not a racist!!!!
Look at how many articles have been written in the last few days about this situation…
http://www.google.com/search?q=gates%2Fobama&...
Cam, you really expressed eloquently how i feel about this situation. I don't look at everyone like they're all the same–that's ignorant–I know we're all different. But i just accept that we're different, and not inferior/superior. The way you ACT affects how i think about you, not where you come from or how you grew up. I'm white, and i work with a primarily black population in the school where i work. The people are people, unless they start acting like jerks, and then they're a-holes. I don't assign them by race. Jerks are jerks. But you could say that until you're blue in the face, and it wouldn't matter–I think a lot of black people think you're racist from the day you were born, and it doesn't matter what you say. It's a damn shame, and I don't know how that perception will change.
Why the term, "racist" hurts is because those whom it stings are usually good people brought up to respect a man for the content of his character; people who would die to protect another's sovereign right to equality before the Law.
Where the Black Power movement and all of its adjunct sensibilities jumped the rails was in its inability to move away from its source of power: race mongering. It checked any and all moral considerations at the door of Revenge. It reduced the Black community to a monolithic hate-filled entity so it could fling, "racist!" with abandon at folks who least deserved it.
Then, in a self-fulfilling prophecy of victimization, they assured their permanent victim status by making themselves as outraged, grieved and racist as possible, in order that decent folks must reject them– sadly accepting the risk of being labeled racist.
We've lost the Truth of conversant considerations to the outrageous Lie of the term, "racist."
If one redneck spouting racial stupidity is too many, then one black man doing the same is one too many.
A messiah to whom one cannot petition for forgiveness is a god that will not long be worshiped. Why bother? It would do well for Obama to remember that.
.
"Just to show him I wasn't, I gave the guy the money I had saved for dinner that night."
You ever wonder why we must cause ourselves pain to prove we care? Sometimes I think our entire moral system is some colossal swindle whereby pathetic people prey on those with acute senses of guilt.
Just sayin'.
Its the new scarlet letter. Adultery means nothing but if you're accused of being a racist, you're guilty. There is no being proven innocent in most cases.
Whenever I am called a racist, I always respond, "hell yeah, I'm a racist…I love NASCAR". That usually stops them in their tracks, cos it's not in the playbook.
[...] Some thoughts on racism that I thought echoed this old post of mine over at Big Hollywood. [...]
Then why is it a "white" light? Doesn't black light reveal things too?
just kidding…
good one – gotta remember that on those rare occasions.
During the 60's I lived in Cambridge. I invited a young man with dark skin to come over and smoke some dope with some hippie friends of mine. After several joints, the topic of what to call him came up (he eagerly participated). The terms negro, black, African-American, etc. were all discussed, while I sat silently and listened. When someone asked me what my opinion was, I said we should call him Mike. After all, that was his name.
Love it!
Assuming all white people are racists is, well, racist. Of course, most black people don't mind being called a racist. Kind of ironic. No racial epithet for white people is really offensive to white people, and calling a black person a racist is really racist to black people.
Actually Cam, you made the classic "racist" white person mistake: you publicly let it be known you have black friends. Anyone knows that a white person that feels it necessary to say they have black friends is a racist.
Assuming all white people are racists is, well, racist. Of course, most black people don't mind being called a racist. Kind of ironic. No racial epithet for white people is really offensive to white people, and calling a black person a racist is really not offensive to black people.
Actually Cam, you made the classic "racist" white person mistake: you publicly let it be known you have black friends. Anyone knows that a white person that feels it necessary to say they have black friends is a racist.
Cam – Nice article.
To be human is to be imperfect and complex. We are neither as good as our noblest instincts nor as bad as our basest instincts. I think the key to getting along is recognizing that we should not be labeled as mere sinner or saint since in truth, we are probably both. Try not to hold a grudge based on the worst thing a person ever does to you. This is not easy, but it is worthwhile.
Unfortunately, there are professional race baters who do so for reasons of power and money who have a vested interest in keeping the pot stirred.
BTW, your picture looks scarily like Elvis Costello for what it's worth.
Hey! Cam, yes you! You said Redneck,…. like it was a bad thing.
Though always unfounded, being judged a "racist" (implicitly or explicitly) makes my blood boil because it is:
*prejudice manifested (anyone who knows me KNOWS I'm not a racist),
*provocative,
*demeaning to those who have suffered REAL racism, and
* never adequately countered. i.e., there need to be responses in high-profile cases where the word "racist" is thrown around, and the accusers should be brought to trial in defamation of character lawsuits.
Pop some Gran Torino in the DVD player.
Great post, Cam! Must admit, though, I thought upon seeing the headline and picture that "Republican" was going to be the offensive word in question.
Oh, Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique is not only one of the greatest rap albums of all-time, I've got no problem putting in best overall albums of all-time. Just sayin'…
Ha–me too! I was pleasantly surprised.
They are NOT african Americans. They are black. African American is very insulting to me
I use the term black americans as well…i don't know why that's all out of favor now. African America just seems incredibly…pretentious? maybe? to me.
*American. Forgot the n.
"I of course found this absurd. I don’t know Tommy, but I was pretty sure that the color he cared about was green, as in Lorne. I mean, as in money."
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
Would it be a funnier line had you substituted Shecky for Lorne? Meh, I have nothing to add to this topic. Besides, I'm still smarting from being kicked off a conservative web site for speaking frankly about race.
Well, I like the attitude the both of you have with that term…. I really respect you for that, I spent about 2 months in Tanzania and Kenya and wanted to kill any person that used that term when I got back home to the united states….. I have always said that we are ALL collectively AMERICANS and we can overcome ANYTHING united….. but with the terms that seperate us, we can only fail as a COUNTRY!!!
Jerks come in all colors, all races.
So do Racists!
There's another relatively new "N" word to go along with the "R" word — and that word is "Nazi." Most people, usually on the left, really have no understanding of who or what a Nazi was. But many are quick to use that disgusting label for people with whom they merely disagree.
I started shaving my head when I was 15, more out of laziness than for any other reason. Since that time, I have been pegged as a racist with shocking regularity. I dated a black girl in college, when we went out, guys would hoot at her, and ask what she was doing hanging out with a skinhead; at that point I had stopped being offended, my girlfriend had not. She would go to bat for me.
More than 15 years since the first time I shaved my head, I am still shaving it – and I am still being called a racist. I've given up on correcting people – not because I've become apathetic to the whole situation, but because I can't change the assumptions people make about me based on my appearance. I'm tall, white, I shave my head and I don't have a problem speaking my mind. This all leads to a lot of name calling – almost all of it in my direction. I've become inured to it. It's not a part of who I am, but it is a part of what people assume about me.
But (and we were all wondering where I was rambling on to), I've a friend who has gone to a lot of trouble to shake off his Iowan roots, the racism of his home and the racism he experience – and abhorred – during his childhood. He took a job loading boxes at a factory on the south side of Milwaukee. And one day it happened: he got into an argument with a co-worker of color. It was no different than any other argument one might have with any co-worker. Save one aspect – after they had walked away from one another the young woman my friend had argued with went to the other employees and told them that my friend had called her a n*****r b***h. Twenty minutes later I got a call from my friend asking me to pick him up from work – as he was being sent home for his own safety. I didn't ask why, but when I picked him up he was beside himself. He had done everything right up to this point. He didn't call her that, but all it took was for her to say that he had, and the majority of the workers in the plant assumed it was true – to the point they had threatened him with physical violence as he walked off the floor.
Why do I tell all this? To show the difference it makes. I've been dealing with it for over half my life. My friend had never had this problem before. It was eye-opening to me to see how quickly it could change someones opinion of themselves. My friend spent the rest of the afternoon that day mining his cell phone, facebook and myspace for black friends. Trying to tell me that he wasn't a racist. I told him that I know that, and his friends know that – all it took was for him to realize it himself. It's been just over a month and he is still a little shaken.
Fifteen years later, I don't care anymore. I treat everyone the same. You're all suspect. I run a gas station. Near as I can tell: everyone, EVERYONE, that comes through my door has the potential to shoot me – I don't care about skin color – I care about making it home. If I come off as racist, it's because I'm reflecting the worst parts of the people in front of me.
Thanks.
For a second, I thought the 'R' word was going to be 'R'epublican, but yeah, 'R'acist is one of the few words that's worse.
Depending on the context, and who is saying it, they pretty much equate. Or, at least that's how it seems.
[...] McGruther, Big Hollywood: We’ve All Felt a Little ‘Profiled’ Cam Cannon, Big Hollywood: What About the ‘R-Word’? Sister Toldjah: Why “Gatesgate” is a losing situation for Obama – and black youths (UPDATE: [...]
I worked in an office where one of the black employees thought I looked similar to an infamous person that was a racist. It wasn't long before he perpetuated his thesis and soon had the other black employees against me. I was so appalled when they all "confronted me" one day screaming in my face "What's your problem"? Of course I had no problem at all. It was all manufactured by one fellow employee.
I was shocked and speechless. They were now convinced, based on looks alone, that I was a racist and hated black people. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but I remember the hate in their eyes. My stunned state soon turned to anger, and then pity. Two of the three were fired that day for the scene they caused at the workplace. The third employee eventually was ready to hear my side of the story and felt somewhat duped by his fellow black coworkers.
My point is that racial profiling is not a one way street, The Henry Gates outburst is a perfect example.
[...] McGruther, Big Hollywood: We’ve All Felt a Little ‘Profiled’ Cam Cannon, Big Hollywood: What About the ‘R-Word’? Behind Blue Lines: Welcome to Post-Racial America Gateway Pundit: Cambridge Police Captain: The [...]
[...] Henry Louis Gates — Henry Louis Gates Stereotyped the Officer Cam Cannon, Big Hollywood: What About the ‘R-Word’? Political Byline: Video: The Police Union Demands an Apology The Christian Science Monitor: Bill [...]
That's thankfully true in most areas of the country nowadays, but you can't say that there are no places in the country in which it is still acceptable to be racist.
There are many rural areas (not all, but some) where racism is still taught as the norm… hell, there are still 'black proms' and 'white proms' in some areas of the south.
We're at least a generation away (though probably more) from racism becoming insignificant.
Here's why I don't let the "r" word bother me. A few years ago I was downtown on a summer evening. It was that hour when the workers have headed home, but the night life hasn't begun. I was walking along the empty sidewalk when a young black guy turned the corner and headed my way. He was casually but neatly dressed (i.e., he did not have the appearance of a homeless person). When he saw me he suddenly headed over towards me, stuck out his hand, and said "Do you have any money?" I just shook my head and walked on, and as he passed me he said, "Racist." And I just thought to myself, "Yeah, you're the one who thinks that because you're black and I'm white, I'm supposed to give you my money, yet I'm the racist." I didn't buy it then, and I don't buy most accusations of racism now.
I don't think the R-word is equivelent to an N-word for white guys. The N-word is used to demean and dehumanize someone because of the color of their skin – something they were born with and cannot change. Racism, however, is a behavior and it can be corrected. So the R-word is used not so much to dehumanize someone as it is to hold power over them. You're a racist unless you prove to me you aren't – by doing as I say, behaving as I say, voting as I say.
I can remember reading an opinion column some years ago written by a black journalist who was outraged by an encounter with a racist. You see, he had been crossing the street and as he did so he turned his head and looked the driver, a white woman, of the car that was waiting for the light in the eye at which point she had committed an unforgivably racist act. This horrible, evil, vile woman actually had the nerve to lock her car door.
Now as it happens I worked about a block from where this incident took place so I was well aware that it was right on the border between a nice part of town and a not-so-nice part of town. In fact a co-worker, a Pakistani man, actually had someone try to jump in his car not far from there. Consequently I tend to suspect the woman would have locked her door no matter if he had been white, brown, red, yellow, paisley, plaid, or purple with pink polka dots. But she was white and he was black and therefore, in his mind, the only possible reason for her locking her door was that she was a racist.
It makes me wonder what other things are seen as being racist when they're not. The last time I looked for an apartment there was one complex where the woman who showed me around made a point of never turning her back on me. Every time we came to a gate, a door, or a staircase she would say, "You go first." I understood. She was doing what she had to do to feel safe and race wasn't a factor. But if I was black would I have imagined she reserved this treatment for black men?
People need to realize that ending racism is a two way street. They need to learn not to be so quick to accuse other people of being racists. If you're determined to see racist behavior, you're going to see it even when it doesn't exist.
[...] is the original post: What About the ‘R-Word’? This entry is filed under America – Blogs, Big Hollywood. You can follow any responses to this [...]
Ask them, what part of Africa are you from?
We must not accept the false premise of racism, homophobia, or any other ism or obia the left comes up with. Your buddy at your job is a narrow minded jerk.
And just in time to verify my point comes Louis Farrakhan.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1686329,CST-NW...
Farrakhan sees 'conspiracy' in Jackson's death.
Farrakhan described Jackson as a "messianic voice" and an "archangel of sound, song and dance," as he called Jackson a victim of "Zionist leaders," the U.S. government and the media.
I had a similar discussion with 2 friends in high school (late 80s and when PC really started becoming the rage in the mainstream) – one white, one Indian (by way of India that is). We were discussing the same thing and I remember asking her what she would preferred to be called and she said "Kuljit". After all, that was her name.
I think it hurts me a lot actually, although I know it shouldn't. Mostly because my circle of friends, from kindergarten through today, has always been what my parents called "The U.N.": Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Wiccan, Atheist, Agnostic, American, European, African, Asian, South American, Central American, Australian, black, white, brown, yellow, red, heck pink, purple and green, too! LOL! Did I miss anyone? LOL!
My husband was the same way.
To me, as is the same for many of you, a person is a HUMAN BEING first. And a-holes come from all corners of the Earth. That's the way the world should be. We'd all be better off.
Any person of any color who looks at another person of another color and thinks any negative or positive thoughts about that other person based soley on race, is a racist. No if's, ands, or butts. Obama, Sharpton, Jackson, your friend = racist.
Good catch. Remember Seinfeld, "But you don't really have any black friends. Apart from us you don't really have any white friends."
No doubt on Paul's Boutique. Ask for Janice.
To all the folks calling my friend in this scenario a racist, I wanted to stick up for him.
He was very misguided, prejudiced, but not racist, in my opinion.
OT, but did you used to be on the Roughnecks forum?
I'm offended when it's used inaccurately. Okay, your ancestors were sold into slavery in Kenya – you're African American. It's silly to use the term when your family has been here for several generations, but whatever. But when African-American is used to describe all black Americans, that's just dumb. I think I'd be personally offended if I were Haitian.
Well, the Rwandans (along with most of black Africa) were really more "tribal" than "racist".
It takes a village to perform genocide on the next village over, and all that.
I don't have any black friends. Does that mean I'm not a racist?
I get called a racist all the time. I shave my head too, but what really seems to rile them up is the swastika tattoo on my right biceps.
C'mon…I'm kidding.
How about, "No, but apparently you are. You think I must have money to spare 'cause I'm white?"
The point of labelling white people as Racists is to empower the Activism industry. How can you make money by accusing a company of racist policies and offering awareness counselling for a later well earned praise of the Comnnunity Organizer if white men don't feel guilty about being racists.
The days of Jim Crow and the Klan are over and more and more the Race Baiters of the world will meet their Kyyptonite, The individual that destroys their ability to garnersmpathy or outrage. a WiMWOG,
What is this mysterious creature you ask
A "White Man Without Guilt"
"…but some of my best friends are [color]!"
I think A. Whitney Brown, of all people, said it best.
"The end of racism will come not when all races are judged by the same standard, but when all bigots are."
Listen I was born in Detroit and grew up there and around there. The most racist people I have ever met were Detroit Blacks. Violent crude and threatening at times. I always laugh when some Berkley trust fund idiot crows all there knowledge about race and racism. They know nothing. Try having to drive around with a knife and tire iron at the ready as your life has been threatened more then once just for being White. Try having your cousin murdered at 18 because he was white and tall 6'5". I am deaf to all the garbage spewed by Sharpton and Jackson and other Idiots like them. Live in the real world people. Now where I live I know intelligent professional black people. But is there still that doubt inside? Yes there is. Still don't know if they would turn on me if I was the only white guy and they were with 20 of there buddies. This situation has happened to me more then once. Does this make me a racist? Maybe. I think I am just cautious and a realist myself
Hey it sounds like we need to revive our "is Rap Crap?" discussion.
The word racist is supposed to be some sort of kryptonite to white people. But if the shoe doesn't fit why do we try to wear it?
I can think of nowhere in this country and no mainstream political party where people feel the freedom to openly be racist. Racists are like roaches and run from the white light of exposure.
I feel no need to defend myself from claims of racism because I know they aren't true and the people who know me know they aren't true.
The real problem is when everything that someone of color doesn't like is labeled as racism.
http://the2minshate.blogspot.com/
Rescue Me lost me when it went off the 9/11 Truther rails. I haven't watched it since.
Back in the day, in the late 60's to mid 70's, we pretty much got along and the color thing was not a factor. I remember back in high school when we had a send them back to africa day, which was instigated and planned by some of the brothers. College days, 68-76, were a pleasure.
But, the money became an issue for the slave descendant set and the victimhood profit motive kicked in. The good ole days were dead and gone.
I started getting the treatment when it came to applying for air traffic control job in 74, I was not right color and then in 78 with the US corps of engineers. There were several other instances of public sector jobs being totally controlled and dictated to victimhood set
So, I did my own thing and went private. Then ran up against the quota on contracts for govt and some private companies. This has gotten a little tiring, especially when you have to deal with the folks that fit the quotas and have retired onto the job. This happen a lot more than it should. It is a statement of fact – but I am racist for being public about it – just ask obama or holder
In the end, I have segregated myself and family from the slings and arrows of the professional victims cuz the r word is meant to be a discussion stopper and argument winner for the set that deems themselves qualified to use it.
My life is to precious to subject myself to the r-word baiters and their professional racism
Good luck to all you honkeys/crackers that have to put up with it.
You would think the journalist would realize that any woman, regardless of color, is going to feel threatened when any man, regardless of color, stares at her through the windshield and makes eye contact. It's not a racial thing – it's a threatening behavior thing. Of course she's going to lock the car door.
I remember reading an article in the Washington Post a few years back about race relations and some of the black guys said it bugged them when women would see them on the sidewalk and grab their purses tighter. They thought it was funny to try to crowd a woman on the sidewalk just to see her grab purse so they could have the satisfaction of "proving" that she was racist. Again I thought, "This is not a racial thing." Any woman who is being crowded on the sidewalk is going to grab her purse tighter. It has nothing to do with being afraid the guy is going to steal her purse and everything to do with trying to take up less space when you're being crowded.
Anyway, you're right. Some people are going to perceive certain behavior as racist even when it isn't.
Really? Where?
You should have said "No, I'm not a racist. And I don't need to prove it by giving you money. Is that the reason you're asking such a rude question?"
I like to listen every so often to the local liberal talk station (it's amusing, and helps to "know the enemy"). I had to laugh out loud as the host – some nameless drone – attacked Lou Dobbs as a racist for his comments about Obama's birth certificate. Citing spew generated by the SPLC, the host (and the SPLC) equate any criticism surrounding Obama's sealed documents as being racially motivated. The absurdity of this claim should be evident for anyone with even a somewhat ambulatory intellect.
The left needs emotionally charged and stigmatic words to define conservatives, and the R-word is their version of the N-word. This action fulfills their need to enhance their self esteem. I can understand why…If a liberal takes a honest, objective look at what they believe in and what they value, low self esteem is not a surprising outcome.
I thought so too. And why not? To many liberals, "racist" and "Republican" are interchangeable.
Racism is a form of ignorance and comes in many many colors.
I thought the usual dodge was to claim that certain groups cannot be racist because they lack power.
Alas for those trying that line, I have bad news:
a. Racism is bigotry based upon race or perception of race. No criteria for power-level anywhere in that definition.
b. If you're going to keep spewing the most bigoted crap towards other ethnic groups and say you can't be a racist or other -ist because you "don't have power" I am certainly not going to help you gain any power because your viewpoints are giving me a big hint of what you're going to do once you do get some power.
Assuming I am a racist because I am white, is racist.
In one of the recent Winter Olympics—I think the one in Turin (not Torino!)—a black athlete won some event for the first time, and the announcers did not know how to report it. You see, he wasn't an American.
They settled on, "the first African-American from any country!
In one of the recent Winter Olympics—I think the one in Turin (not Torino!)—a black athlete won some event for the first time, and the announcers did not know how to report it. You see, he wasn't an American.
They settled on, "the first African-American from any country!"
I'm a racist and proud of it. I'm white and not going to apologize for it. Go ahead and call me names I don't care. I think that white people are entitled to the same benefits as minorities only I don't carry on and complain about it and accuse people of discriminating against me.I have self respect and don't need others to continually prove how smart I am to make a point. White people have been educating,caring for,sheltering and employing so called minorities for centuries now and have nothing to show for it but derision and insults. It is time for white people everywhere to stand up and fight for their rights. We are fed up and tired of being blamed for the worlds social injustices. For all white people I offer a collective &*^% you to the ungrateful and selfish minorities everywhere.
I get the feeling that the R-word is starting to lose its sting. That happens when a word gets batted about like a piing-pong ball at a North Korean Olympic trial. I don't know about anybody else, but I'm sick of hearing this one or that one called a Racist simply because s/he doesn't agree with what someone of color says or does.
To be quite honest, every black person I meet I assume is a racist. And by racist I mean I just asume they do not like white people. Now, I try to disabuse myself of the assumption but, nonetheless, that is the assumption I have.
Feeling guilty for something you're not guilty of is a weakness, and you can bet these con men will play it for anything they can. You answer people like that with a simple "no" and move on. He's not entitled to anything and you're not obligated to give him anything (unless you genuinely want to). The sooner we all cowboy up and get over this soft, apologetic programming they've instilled in us, the sooner we can put all this racial nonsense behind us.
Good move. It's always fun to counter the ridiculous with the sublime. They really do look like deer caught in the headlights.
I know what you mean, I don't shave my head, but I lost my hair as a kid. I wore a wig at school, but when I finished I got rid of it. Wigs are very uncomfortable, hot and they are fake. I don't get called a racist very often (not as much of that in Australia, but it slowly catching up), but I get the a lot of looks (I'm also a reasonably tall and solid guy).
I especially get the look in Asian restaurants, some are quite professional and polite and then tend to become friendly when they see me often and see me spending money at their restaurant. But some, no matter what always look at me like I'm about to jump over the counter, yelling 'Heil Hittler' and attack them. So I just don't go back.
My only way of dealing with it is to look everyone in the eye I'm dealing with, smile and say hello. Sometimes it isn't enough, but screw those people. I'm not wearing a wig again just to make them feel better.
*Sings along to Avenue Q's Everyone's a Little Bit Racist": "Bigotry has never been exclusiiiively whiiiiiiiiiiite…"
Owww… Why did you tell me that? The paaainnn…
I'm getting some really strange responses on "Intense Debate" on a very benign posting just saying the R word is losing its sting. I suspect someone else's post has gotten mixed up with mine or my tag has been hijacked. Can someone enlighten me? Thorien – you just replied. What did you think I said?
<There is a word you can call a white person that carries with it all sorts of horrible implications, and that word my friends is RACIST.>
True, but this article didn't even scratch the surface of just exactly what those horrible implications are. A "racist" is an evil horrible failure of a person who can't get along with anybody. He is one who is in favor of the total oppression (and maybe even elimination) of another race. He is a Nazi sympathizer. He may be a follower of Hitler. He is a true failure of a person who channels hatred of others to cover up for his own inadequacies. And, of course, as any black activist will tell you, only white people can be racist. It is a true anti-white slur.
Worse is how little qualifies one for the title of "racist." Are you against affirmative action? Racist! Are you against illegal immigration? Racist! For freedom of choice in our schools? Racist! Indeed, Racist is a term that covers literally all white people. It is a true anti-white slur.
Worst is that the right by and large let the left define this "R-word" in such a way. The right should never have agreed in the first place that "Racist" is such a horrible thing. That common agreement is what gave the word the debate-stifling power it has today.
The people posting "some of my best friends are black" on this thread, trying to "prove" that they, personally, are not "racist" amuses me.
I might point out that ANY white person on earth can be "proven" to be a "racist!" How? Just look at the neighborhood they live in! They may think they live in an ethnically mixed neighborhood, but really, is it mixed enough?
Let's say the neighborhood is 10% non-white. That may sound ethnically mixed, but think about it: that means that it's 90% white! That doesn't sound very ethnically mixed to me!
So what is the proper proportion? 20% non-white? That means it's still 80% homogenous! 30%? Still not good enough. How about 50-50? You're dreaming. Whites don't want to live in neighborhoods that are 50% non-white.
Neighborhoods never stay 50% non white for very long. Soon it becomes 100% non-white. (I'm not talking about cities, I'm talking about individual neighborhoods. They almost always sort themselves by race.) People just generally sort themselves by race in general. It's not racism, it's just human nature.
Don't believe me, then look at the racial demographics of our towns and cities. I bet you will find that 90% of all whites who can afford to, live in neighborhoods that are at least 90% white.
Now the leftists will tell you that this is the result of an evil racist conspiracy. Whites earn more due to racism and so they can afford to live in the neighborhoods they choose. I say it's human nature. Birds of a feather flock together (and so do people). As long as human nature exists, the leftists will be able to point to a fact that "proves" racism!
If you accept the liberal premises, then you must accept their conclusions.
Good points Cam. Good to see you posting.
-Martay
[...] hit parade continues with this gem from Cam Cannon, some wannabe-screenwriter who apparently writes under a gay-club DJ name, and who [...]
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