Witness Statements

[True_Texan]

It's very true these are public forums and people should be mindful of what they say because others maybe reading it. But at the same time, it does no good to try an point out that someone's comment can be construed as some kind of racist remark. Normal, RATIONAL people will read over things and take it for what it is. It's when someone puts the thought out there, that it's a crude remark, that people stop and rethink the meaning of it.

If you say something is gray, most people will read it that way. But when someone comes in and says, "OH! Gray is mostly black, or gray is mostly white" those previously reading it as gray will stop and think, "HMM... Maybe it is white or maybe it is black." That is when crap starts flying and when I start getting ticked off.

ETA: It's also like the piece of plain white paper with the tiny red dot on it. Most people would look at that paper and never notice the tiny dot. But when someone points it out to them the dot is there, suddenly that is all they can see.

If you were to ever look at my family lineage, you would see a veritable grab bag of races. It makes no difference what each one is. I am who I am and I'll make no apologies for it. And maybe I am just like John Wayne toilet paper... Rough, tough and don't take no shit off no one.

[brosometal]

Has anyone seen Grand Tourino?  If you were to be offended by racial stereotypes, it would of happened there.  Clint Eastwood even mention that he thinks Society suffers because of the PC pall cast over any public discourse.  No one jokes anymore.  Folks walk around with a chip on their shoulder waiting to be "dissed" so they can complain that someone is "keeping them down".  We need to lighten up.

-your friendly neighborhood euromutt.

[shooter32]

Has anyone seen Grand Tourino?  If you were to be offended by racial stereotypes, it would of happened there.  Clint Eastwood even mention that he thinks Society suffers because of the PC pall cast over any public discourse.  No one jokes anymore.  Folks walk around with a chip on their shoulder waiting to be "dissed" so they can complain that someone is "keeping them down".  We need to lighten up.

-your friendly neighborhood euromutt.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[philw]

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+1  exactly   the PC has gone too far  and  a lot of people are worried about offending insert minority here 

 bugger that 

[DesertMarine]

+100 sir. I never really understood the complexities of race till I lived in Austin. This was after growing up in South Florida and going to school in DC.But seeing how old TexMex families dealt with immigrants and watching the class diferences between African Americans and how the good old boys treated/were treated by both groups opened my eyes. Texas is a very special place (at least the Hill Country because thats all I know) but I definately got a lot more education there than in the classroom. But as you say, its tough to explain unless you've lived there.
FQ13

What FQ said is so common all over the southwest and California.  I have lived in New Mexico, Texas and California.  We have the treatment of good old boys by everybody else.  The poor blacks by whites, not so poor blacks and Hispanics.  Mexicans by Mexican-Americans.  From friends in Arizona and Colorado, they have the same thing.  I have my biases but I have friends from other races that I trust with my life and of my race that I would not trust with anything or anytime.

[Sponsor]

[deepwater]

and there is there is the No 1 Reason I get in to the crap with online Forums   

+1 

and I believe the term WOG comes from Egypt. it's what the english called the egyptians that were working on the canal. their coveralls were labeled WOG to distinguish them from others as they came and went from the canal project. something about government workers.
read that somewhere, once, don't remember where though. 

[tt11758]

I believe that the concept of a hyphenated-american has done as much to propogate racism as almost anything else in this country.  There was a time when people were white, black, red, yellow, whatever.  But they were all americans first and foremost.  Now, the PC crowd tells us that we have to call them african-americans, or chinese-americans, or native-americans.  What the hell ever happened to just being an AMERICAN?!?  So you have a different skin color than I do............so what?!?  We're ALL AMERICANS (except you, phil  )

Ok, rant off.

[DesertMarine]

Sorry TT, not so.  There has never been a time like what you are talking about.  Look at treatment of Native Americans, blacks, Mexicans.  Even though we were born in the US, Mexican-Americans were not accepted as "real" Americans.  We were considered as second-class citizens.  Good part is that a lot of that has changed but racism still lives.  Will be great when attittudes will be "So you have a different skin color than I do............so what?".

[tombogan03884]

Sorry TT, not so.  There has never been a time like what you are talking about.  Look at treatment of Native Americans, blacks, Mexicans.  Even though we were born in the US, Mexican-Americans were not accepted as "real" Americans.  We were considered as second-class citizens.  Good part is that a lot of that has changed but racism still lives.  Will be great when attittudes will be "So you have a different skin color than I do............so what?".

Skin color has very little to do with "racism" unless whites are being accused of it. Asians are all basically the same color, but  Thais and Vietnamese hate each other , the Chinese look down their noses at both and the Japanese lump EVERYONE else into  the "barbarian" category.
Same thing in Africa among tribes, then in Arabia you have the Sunni versus Shiite and the BOTH hate Kurds.

[Pathfinder]

Skin color has very little to do with "racism" unless whites are being accused of it. Asians are all basically the same color, but  Thais and Vietnamese hate each other , the Chinese look down their noses at both and the Japanese lump EVERYONE else into  the "barbarian" category.
Same thing in Africa among tribes, then in Arabia you have the Sunni versus Shiite and BOTH hate Kurds.

"And everyone hates the Jews!"  -  Thank you Tom Lehrer.   

Seriously, every culture has someone else they hate. Barbarians came from the Greeks who were so arrogant that they even though the Persians weren't good enough, so they were barbarians. The Romans found ways to capitalize on that.

The Lakota and a number of other NA tribes refer to themselves as "human beings" or "the people" - making everyone else what? Not human beings or people.

DesertMarine, normally I agree with you, but seriously, it would be nice to deal with people and not even notice their skin color rather than make it a topic to discuss. MLK's dream as it were.