Racism - When Is Too Far?

[Forbez 0]

First of all, I am Black and proud. But the past few weeks I have been the victim to quite alot of racism.

So my question to you guys, is at what point is racism gotten to far?

 

Is it the little jokes that can be taken racist and an innocent joke. Or is it when they are at your face calling you race names.

This goes out to all races; black, white, whatever.

[FolkRockFan 0]

Racist jokes...eh...most of them aren't funny, but I've been known to laugh my white butt off when somebody (of any race) comes up with a good honky joke (or a good Irish joke, for that matter - I like laughing at myself).Words don't bug me too much. We all have the same freedom of speech. We can say pretty much anything that we want - and that includes the racist commentary and other such idiocy. I don't agree with Imus and his ilk (he's a hideous, vile moron if you ask me), but he has the freedom to say stupid things.IMO, it goes too far when it crosses the line from verbal to physical. Somebody can call me honky, white devil, et cetera all s/he wants and I'll just shrug. But punch me or whatever while saying it and I'm going to fight back because nobody has the right to assault me.I think that verbal racism is best countered by taking the high road. Proving to the bigots that you (generalization) aren't the stereotype that they believe in...well...that makes it a bit more difficult for them to keep believing that. If nothing else, your (generalization) superior actions shows onlookers that the bigot is, well, a moron.

[Smack 0]

I'm Mexican-American and live in Texas and over the past few months I've noticed a rise in racism around me as well.

 

Jokes don't bother me, they're for entertainment purposes and I understand that.

 

The things that bother me are the ones straight to your face - though most people don't have the balls to do that. And the little things. It's the little things that bother me most.

 

For instance, a white friend and I applied to a job at the same time. I already had experience in the field and he didn't. But guess what, he got an initial pay of a dollar more than I? Why? Maybe it wasn't race, but it's hard not to perceive it as being that as all the managers at the place were white.

 

Another little thing is when I go to sit down somewhere, and the only se at may be near an ederly woman. I sit down and what do you know? She gets up and stands in the corner. Now seriously, I don't bite.

 

One that that annoys me the most are how cops treat me.

 

So I'm driving the speed limit in Houston, going maybe 3 miles per hour under the limit and I get pulled over. My car has everything right with it, inspection, registration, insurance and all. The officer asks me to step out of the car. Mind you I'm being polite with my yes sirs and no sirs - so it's not my attitude that made this happen. Then next thing I know another cop pulls up behind the one that has me pulled over. Needless to say, I don't see this going well. So know what the first question I'm asked? "Do you have any illegal immigrants hiding in your car?" Oh and my car is a small '95 Ford Probe and my white girlfriend is sitting in the passenger seat, the only passenger in the car. When I say no, they drill me with questions about my girlfriend. Then the other officer drills my girlfriend with questions, not believing she is my girlfriend. Don't know what they had on their mind? Maybe they thought I kidnapped her? Then they ask me if I'm carrying illegal drugs or large amounts of money, when I say no sir, he slams me up to the car and puts handcuffs on me. They search my car and find nothing - I've never been convicted of anything - wasn't on drugs at the time - it was 10 am in the morning - and I was going to the Houston Museum because my girlfriend had a school function there.

Bull *BLEEP* stuff.

 

Then last weekend when I'm going to the mall with my father, sister, and girlfriend. We pull up in my fathers brand new Impala and walk into Dillards, well outside are two cops on bicycles standing next to the door that were looking at us the moment we got out of the car. Well, I realise I forgot a game that I was going to trade in for another one in the car, so I get the keys from my father and go to get the game. So when I get to the car and get in the back seat to find the game, the cops ride up to the car and start drilling me with questions, 'this your car son?' 'what are you doing'.. and some other pointless questions. So I'm like, look, I haven't done anything wrong why are you asking me these questions? They both give me a mean look and ride away.. What was the whole point of it? They surely seen me get out of the car?

 

Oh and I'm half white - and don't know how to speak Spanish - so I have no accent what so ever.

 

So what is the deal with all of it?

 

Sigh.

[FolkRockFan 0]

Smack:Sometimes the cop harassment is based on race. It's stupid and unfair, but very difficult to prove. Cops don't have to have very good reasons to pull us over. They can say that we were driving erratically when we really weren't (and good luck getting your hands on the dashboard camera tape from that stop to prove that you were driving safely and legally).Other times, the cops harass young people in general. It's like...if you appear to be young (I'm 25 but look all of 14 on most days), then the cops need to check you out. You're obviously up to no good because you're a teenager (or so the cops think). And it's not just a "Why aren't you in school?" situation, either. When I go to certain parts of certain cities, cops harass me even though it's after school hours and I'm not doing anything wrong. Just walking into the mall, guys. Last time I checked, that was legal.Regardless of why some LEOs do this sort of thing, I have to wonder why they don't have anything better to do. Aren't there people out there committing real crimes that should be stopped? Um...yeah, probably. I don't see how the cities can scream about how they don't have enough cops when they obviously have enough manpower to send a bunch of them out to harass people who aren't doing anything wrong.But on the other hand....I've met many awesome LEOs. They do their best to treat everyone fairly and to actually do their jobs. You just don't see most of them on the streets for long because they get promoted to better positions within the force.

[jlhaslip 4]

Well, I quit telling "racist" jokes along time ago, along with jokes which 'might' be offensive to Ethnics and sub-cultures (except Blonde jokes j/k). That is a generalization, of course. I still have a few good Newfie jokes but only tell them because I have been told them by a friend from Newfoundland, so if he is telling them, they aren't so bad. Actually, the best 'ethnic' jokes usually come from those who are in that group, I find, but that is a side issue.As a tool to become conscious of how 'programmed' we are in terms of race, colour and ethnicity, when you are telling a story to a friend, try describing everyone in "racist" or "ethnic" terms to show yourself exactly how easy it is to use ethnicity as a descriptor. Do that for a week and then recall how easy it is. For those Caucasians among us, we often start a story with " This Black guy (... did something ...), etc". Now instead of saying "a friend of mine" (or whatever), describe your friend in Ethnic terms in a similar fashion... ie: "This White Guy I know... blah, blah..." or "This Polish friend of mine ... blah, blah ... "After just a few short days, you will start to notice how frequently the Ethnic or Race descriptors are used and that defines a form of Rascism or Prejudice. As you are now aware of this element of our language, simply train yourself to NOT use those descriptors, and you will be certain to find that those descriptive words are quite unnecessary in most conversations, so just don't use them. They add little or no value to the conversation. It is that simple to do, too. Awareness of the issue of Racism and Prejudicial notions can be greatly reduced. Much of it is useless anyway. I had a very liberal upbringing. My parents always had friends of various nationalities and Ethnicities, and I felt I was pretty well prejudice-free until I used this technique and realized how strong the "race issue" permeated my vocabulary. I consciously exercise avoiding the inclusion of these Racist descriptors in my vocabulary. I wish more people would do the same. Might make a difference along the way.

[Misanthrope 0]

When does racism go too far? When you allow your perceived differences to affect how you perceive others' comments toward you, and vice versa. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? That is, unless your doctor succeeds in hooking you on brain-numbing pharmaceuticals. Stop obsessing over who said what or what it might imply and focus on what YOU want out of life. I'm getting a bit tired of folks languishing in the self-imposed misery of the racism card, that serves no purpose other than to divide and more easily control the masses. By the way, did you hear the one about the Cracker?

[Watermonkey 0]

Just out of curiosity, since when is "Mexican" a race? Last time I looked, Vincente Fox looks just like a tall german. Many of the "beautiful people" portrayed on Mexican soap operas are whiter than me if that's possible. How exactly is "Mexican" a race? The race card is played too much. Most people in the US are sick and tired of the invasion from the south that our government and the Mexican government has enabled by not enforcing laws already on the books. I hope you can understand that you may be targeted if you look like a Mexican aboriginal. I would rather you were asked some questions then see the police not do anything to protect our borders. Sorry, but sometimes that's the way things have to work. I know that sounds lame, but what alternative is there? It's not like illegals go around wearing tags that mark them for easy identification. That would be handy...

[Smack 0]

Just out of curiosity, since when is "Mexican" a race? Last time I looked, Vincente Fox looks just like a tall german. Many of the "beautiful people" portrayed on Mexican soap operas are whiter than me if that's possible. How exactly is "Mexican" a race? The race card is played too much. Most people in the US are sick and tired of the invasion from the south that our government and the Mexican government has enabled by not enforcing laws already on the books. I hope you can understand that you may be targeted if you look like a Mexican aboriginal. I would rather you were asked some questions then see the police not do anything to protect our borders. Sorry, but sometimes that's the way things have to work. I know that sounds lame, but what alternative is there? It's not like illegals go around wearing tags that mark them for easy identification. That would be handy...

Fine, I'm hispanic, better? Mexicans can be whiter than white or be dark as night, I know this. We come in all colors, ha.

 

How many 20 year olds in a small car going towards the border are trying to take illegal immigrants into U.S.? None. Besides, with a Texas liscense plate and no stickers, they would know I'm not coming from Mexico.

[srujanlive 0]

When people stop caring about the 100 or so daily that die in Iraq. When Sudan continues to boil but hardly makes the newspaer's headlines.

[salamangkero 0]

Fine, I'm hispanic, better?

Hispanic, Mexican, whatnot, aren't they all the same? They're just a bunch of illegal immigrants that infest our southern lands.

Haha, just kidding. I'm not from the US and our brothers in the south are Moslems, not Mexicans

I do believe that a healthy amount of racism is essential 'coz things usually don't go too well at the extremes. I mean, if everyone took offense at every black, middle-eastern, irish, chinese, african, asian, pollock, mexican, arabian, iraqi, oriental, afghan and <insert race here>, then the whole world would be a whole lot more boring. It's like... uh... putting a ban to green jokes; it's sleazy and can be offensive, yeah, but it's generally fun

Besides, sometimes, it makes for a great conversation starter. "Have you heard about the Korean..." or "A Latino walks into a bar..." and it's not really at the expense of real people. Most of these jokes have hypothetical people starring in them.

There was also a song, by AvenueQ where they say, "Everyone's a little bit racist, sometimes... ethnic jokes might be uncouth but you laugh because they're based on truth. Don't take them as personal attack. Everyone enjoys them, so relax!" I couldn't agree more

So, for Smack, the next time a cop accosts you, maybe it might help him lighten up if you reply, "What are you asking me these questions for? Aren't you supposed to go grab some coffee and donuts?" Oookay, not really. Honestly, I do think it might make it worse

To end my post, allow me to taint your pure un-racist minds.

There was once a Chinese and an American. Out of nowhere, the American smacks the Chinese.

C: What was that for?
A: That's for Pearl harbor!
C: But I'm Chinese! It's the Japanese that did it!
A: Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese; you're all the same to me.

The Chinese guy then punches the American in the gut.

A: What was that for?
C: That's for World War II
A: But I'm American! It's the Germans that did it!
C: Americans, Germans, Mexicans; you're all the same to me

Lighten up. He (or she) who is offended most seriously needs a sense of humor

[hitmanblood 0]

I think that people should joke on racists points of view and on differences. And noone should be rally offended by any such thing. However some might find it dirty or low level, well that's life no everyone can be satisfied. Also I would say that it is common thing to laugh at someone else and I think it is not wrong however the point here is whether you laugh when someone puts joke on you and I do I really laugh honestly of course if it is funny. And I would never complain for that. Wrong thing to do is when someone laughs at someone else while he becomes all angry when someone else puts joke on his count. That is the main problem. And not whether there is limit limit is each individual and how much can you push him or her without switching angry subroutines.

[salamangkero 0]

True, true. I so agree.I once encountered a wiccan chant, rede, rhyme or spell with a line that goes, "Fairly give and fairly take" so if one cannot handle people laughing at one's expense, then one has no right to laugh at other people's expenses too.I, myself, am a Filipino and I do hear some jokes about our fellow citizens being cheapskates, freebie-hunters, domestic helpers or soldiers who, upon retreat, "gets into the humvee" and, honestly, I couldn't help but smile. Patriotism is one thing but if it causes discord by depriving a person of his/her sense of humor, it is a very stupid thing then

[electriic ink 1]

If you ask me the whole idea of racism has been blown totally out of proportion. Calling someone an imbecile wouldn't result in much but calling a Chinese person ching-chong is somehow 1,000,000 times worse.

 

Both are meant to be as offensive as each other yet one's illegal, if not illicit. Why?

[truefusion 3]

"Lighten up, it was just a joke..." or "So long as it's funny, it is okay." Anyone see the fallacy in that? When does racism get too far? When one gets offended. "They just need a better sense of humor." Or is it that you just need to be more caring? If you allow one thing, it can get out of hand—it usually does, doesn't it? I mean, so long as someone gets a laugh, right...? It's like someone hitting someone else out of the blue, then asking them why did they hit someone else and them replying, "'Cause i found it entertaining; so don't worry, it's okay."

[arnz 0]

Probably when the extremities come out (eg going back to the old days of segregation.. this didnt happen on racial lines, but for a while it did happen on gender lines as well).As for jokes, some may be offended.. but it doesnt give those offended the right to laugh at other "racism" type jokes at some other races expense.. or is seen as hypocritical because of it.