So my girlfriend's mom sent me this today via email....

[Dave]

I'd also like to point out that a person murdering a person is a different crime from a person murdering a person because they are black.

Now subtract the murder and you're left with the intolerance... it changes the matter entirely.

[Clauz]

I was pointing out that within the US legal system that hate crimes are judged differently than other crimes. There's a reason for that.

[Dave]

well of course.. that's not an issue. The issue is whether or not the "Andy Rooney" statement "I have the right NOT to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off" is true or not.

[Clauz]

I think a lot of the sentences in that email are very open ended and the reader will read them according to their own personal bias. I received that email from a person who I know to be ignorant and racist and so I found it offensive. Call me crazy, but I try to be tolerant of everybody. I'd have to give you my personal definition of "tolerant" for you to really understand what I mean by that, but that's a pain in the ass to explain.

[Hannibal]

There's nothing racist in that email unless you're a person who thinks that the only way to solve a problem with race--or anything else for that matter--is not to discuss it.

It's your axe Dave, grind it on home. I simply asked NS if he was being serious (my sarcasm meter is not reliable). Your comment above is a non sequitur simply because reasonable people can (and do) disagree about what they find to be racially charged, motivated, etc.

[Dave]

That's fine. Address the part of my statement you didn't like and ignore the rest. I don't see how my statement is unreasonable in the context of the cultural taboo that allows and/or forces certain "races" to make jokes and others to keep quiet. I think I explained my side well enough, so why do you think that is a racist statement? Claus explained he thought it was racist because he viewed it through the eyes of the narrow minded person who sent it (apologies to your gf's mother ). Don't just react what you have been programmed to believe, but really, what is so abhorent about those statements? Welcome to the world of the double standard...

[Grandpa Stu]

it's the catch 22! at any rate, when in rome...

[Dave]

[+JuggerNaut+]

lol people that read fwd emails.

btw, i like Mr. Rooney.

[BlueGene]

The problem with that mail is that it sort of seems to make sense, however if you really look at it closely it’s very biased and completely ignorant.

I’m currently taking a university minority class and it really is an eye opener.

Ignoring discrimination creates the worst possible situation and leads to the self-fulfilling prophecy. For example almost all current education systems are setup to create biased opinions by only focusing on western cultures and western classical readings. This makes children from a young age view blacks as inferior, especially books that have slaves like Huckleberry Fin.

Also many blacks are indirectly discriminated, they are assumed to be good at sports and bad at school. Councilors & Teacher will often suggest that black students take a lower level class and peruse sports instead, because there is a common stigma among society.

Guns don't make you a killer but they allow you to easily kill someone, they are dangerous and there need to be restrictions and laws.

If there is a specific reason why a girl can't perform the same stuff as a boy then yes they shouldn't be in the boy scouts. However there is nothing that women cannot do that men can, therefore if a girl wants to be in the boy scouts then she should be allowed. The same way women who want to be in professional sports dominated by men should be allowed, otherwise it's discrimination based on sex.

It doesn’t matter if you feel homosexuality is wrong or right as long as you respect the person, for example you don’t insult someone who has a different skin color.

The reason why there are so many blacks who are arrested is partly because of racial profiling and partly because of historical racism which leads them to that life. It’s because of the society they live in, not because they are inherently thieves or killers. It needs to change, and will only change if we recognize the problems.

[BlueGene]

I don't see how my statement is unreasonable in the context of the cultural taboo that allows and/or forces certain "races" to make jokes and others to keep quiet.

Technically speaking you are correct, black comedians always make fun of whites and there are a lot of black organizations and events.

People have accepted this because blacks are a minority and have been greatly discriminated and enslaved in the past. However this tone also needs to change with time.

[Fjoggs]

What BlueGene means is that, if you press your face as hard as you can on your screen while reading that mail, you'll see it's true meaning.

[MKJ]

black a minority? nowadays if your greatgreatgreatgrandfather married a black woman you are considered "black".
if you count all those people i dont think theres such a big minority

[BlueGene]

A minority is no longer in numbers.

For example women are considered a minority while they are actually a majority.

[Dukester]

If you disagree with, for example, anything or everything in the subject email, then you are a good person.
if you agree with anything in it, you are labeled as INTOLERANT.

[Nightshade]

Wow, you believe everything the media tells you.

Yeah, I do agree with the majority of the statements in the email, and Daev has explained the views that I hold quite well.
Of course I don't support racism, but a whole shitload of folks support it when it's directed at white people.

Prime example: That fucking idiot Ray Nagin says in remarks about rebuilding New Orleans that he wants to create "Chocolate City". Yes, he was criticized somewhat for this unfuckingbelievably racist shit, but just imagine the uproar if a white guy had said he wanted to create "Vanilla Town" or the like. I'll expand on this later, as I'm busy at work. Daev has really nailed it, though.

[Jackal]

Wow, you believe everything the media tells you.

Yeah, I do agree with the majority of the statements in the email, and Daev has explained the views that I hold quite well.
Of course I don't support racism, but a whole shitload of folks support it when it's directed at white people.

Prime example: That fucking idiot Ray Nagin says in remarks about rebuilding New Orleans that he wants to create "Chocolate City". Yes, he was criticized somewhat for this unfuckingbelievably racist shit, but just imagine the uproar if a white guy had said he wanted to create "Vanilla Town" or the like. I'll expand on this later, as I'm busy at work. Daev has really nailed it, though.

Chocolate is a drink popular in NO created by mixing chocalate and milk. When he says that he means he wants to create a plave that mixes blacks and whites.
I only bring this up because when I heard it I thought the same thing you do but then I researched it. Sure, its an unclear anology but he doesn't mean any harm by it.

[Dek]

Chocolate is a drink popular in NO created by mixing chocalate and milk. When he says that he means he wants to create a plave that mixes blacks and whites.
I only bring this up because when I heard it I thought the same thing you do but then I researched it. Sure, its an unclear anology but he doesn't mean any harm by it.

What about the yellow people!!!

[Grudge]

I'll piss in your cocoa for you.

[Nightshade]

Wow, you believe everything the media tells you.

Yeah, I do agree with the majority of the statements in the email, and Daev has explained the views that I hold quite well.
Of course I don't support racism, but a whole shitload of folks support it when it's directed at white people.

Prime example: That fucking idiot Ray Nagin says in remarks about rebuilding New Orleans that he wants to create "Chocolate City". Yes, he was criticized somewhat for this unfuckingbelievably racist shit, but just imagine the uproar if a white guy had said he wanted to create "Vanilla Town" or the like. I'll expand on this later, as I'm busy at work. Daev has really nailed it, though.

Chocolate is a drink popular in NO created by mixing chocalate and milk. When he says that he means he wants to create a plave that mixes blacks and whites.
I only bring this up because when I heard it I thought the same thing you do but then I researched it. Sure, its an unclear anology but he doesn't mean any harm by it.

I HIGHLY doubt that that's what he meant. Atlanta is known as chocolate city because of its large black population.

[Dave]

A minority is no longer in numbers.

For example women are considered a minority while they are actually a majority.

Getting back to what you said earlier, black comedians don't "make fun of whites," they make fun of everyone, regardless of race--I'm perfectly fine with that.

Look at it this way. You want freedom of speech. Libel and slander laws aside, you now want that freedom to conform to certain guidelines. Now it's not really a constitutional freedom, but bureaucratic a policy. If you wonder how things like the Patriot Act get passed and renewed, THAT'S HOW.

Now think long and hard about exactly what concepts of "majority" and "minority" are. They're much more than simple, "natural" percentages, it's about imagined differences solidified by policy. Nationalist, governmental or cultural policies that determine it's socially acceptable for one group to do x and another to do y or not to do x don't take steps towards dismantling divisions, but usually reinforce them. Minority has never been about numbers, but about power and the construction, hierarchy and exploitation of difference.

[Jackal]

Wow, you believe everything the media tells you.

Yeah, I do agree with the majority of the statements in the email, and Daev has explained the views that I hold quite well.
Of course I don't support racism, but a whole shitload of folks support it when it's directed at white people.

Prime example: That fucking idiot Ray Nagin says in remarks about rebuilding New Orleans that he wants to create "Chocolate City". Yes, he was criticized somewhat for this unfuckingbelievably racist shit, but just imagine the uproar if a white guy had said he wanted to create "Vanilla Town" or the like. I'll expand on this later, as I'm busy at work. Daev has really nailed it, though.

Chocolate is a drink popular in NO created by mixing chocalate and milk. When he says that he means he wants to create a plave that mixes blacks and whites.
I only bring this up because when I heard it I thought the same thing you do but then I researched it. Sure, its an unclear anology but he doesn't mean any harm by it.

I HIGHLY doubt that that's what he meant. Atlanta is known as chocolate city because of its large black population.

He said it right when he made the comment. The media took out his explanation and chose to air only the cotroversial part. You can probably find the whole video for yourself.

[Clauz]

First of all, not all the statements in the email were racist. There were many other statements in there that were just plain ignorant. Again, I don't think they were well defined and that they could mean different things to different people. My girlfriend's mom hates indians and chinese too because they are "different", so this isn't just a black/white thing.

With respect to the black/white thing, however. I believe the reason why black history is celebrated and blacks are allowed a little more freedom with their social remarks is because of this country's history of racism towards blacks. I think it's made white American, for the most part, sensitive toward black racial discrimination. But seriously, my black friends don't call me a "honkey" and I don't call them a "nigger".

By the way, there's a movie out now that examines black social taboos relating to white people called "Something New". My girlfriend saw it last night and said it was pretty good.

[Freakaloin]

my step father...the ultra-bushbot racist homophobe whose kids hate him and r both homosexual(hmm i wonder why) used to send retarded emails to me like this but even worse...i finally had to tell him to fuck off...old ppl suck for the most part...

[Dek]

old ppl suck for the most part...

Yeah but as long as you don't suck dick, you aren't gay though..isn't that what you said? You'd fuck a dude in the arse and have a dude suck your dick but you aren't gay..