Uncomfortable topics: Let's talk about race

[Don Coyote]

Ethnically I'm at least 75% black, the other bit being cuban. I speak in such a manner that I get frequently called white. This was a major problem for me growing up. After elementary school everyone started dividing up into their little groups. I would hang out with people who were 'geeks' as well as old friends from elementary. As we grew up groups became more stratified. Race became a major part of the identities of many of my peers. I really didn't get it and I guess I still don't. Throughout high school and into my college years people would call me 'white' and an 'oreo'. When I questioned the justification for these claims no one had any substantial warrants. No one would admit what an openly racist and idiotic thing that was to say. One of the other black kids I hung around with when I was a freshman called me white once. I was at the top of the class and he was hovering around a C+. He said I was white because I talked like 'them' and acted like 'them'. It was obvious he was under the assumption that if one does not meet conventional stereotypes about black culture and black people, then that person cannot be called 'authentically black', whatever the hell that means. Many white persons I have known have said the same things. Of course I'm not black because I like progressive rock. I'm not black because I'm on the chess team. I'm not black because I try to use grammar all the time. The last time this happened I barely held my self back from choking this person while yelling at him about race relations. I have much more to say on this topic but I'll leave it at this: this kind of internalization of anti-intellectualism and negative racial stereotypes ,prevalent in black culture today especially, is destructive to us all.
______________________
When I treat people I always try to treat them according to their actions, rather than those things they have no control over. You can't help that you are a pale dullard( white person) and it would be unfair for me to yell at you for the crappiness of your DNA.
______________________
Racial profiling really sucks. Mostly because it leads us to internalize narratives about different races. A prominent example is the racial profiling of those with an ethnic background in the middle-east in America. I've heard people say,"Oh I'm not racist but, If its only one race of people doing that thing then its only fair to only harass them. Anyone who bothered to think would see the inherent stupidity of such an opinion but it is clear that if one really wanted to arbitrarily restrict the freedoms of certain people based on the color of their skin, the first group on the list would be White people.
______________________
Lastly is racial realism which really chaps my hide. People who say, "Oh I'm not being racist, Its just that some races are genetically better than others. We should be separated because of that". This type of statement is blantantly false, as anyone who has studied genetics will tell you, race is culture based, not based on genetics, but also ignorant of the way the world actually functions.

All of the things you speak of here are issues that completely chap my hide. I really loathe the widespread and completely false idea that being educated is a "white" quality.

...I'm not too keen on the thought that anything outside of "Standard English" is indicative of lack of intellect, either.

Was it the part where I mentioned grammar? I didn't say anyone was stupid because they didn't use "standard english". They said I was white because I did use "standard English", which is entirely different.

Guilty much? She isn't saying let alone implying you are or have been, but is commenting on the fact that some people equate using non-standard English, such as Ebonics, is an indicator of low intelligence and education.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Ethnically I'm at least 75% black, the other bit being cuban. I speak in such a manner that I get frequently called white. This was a major problem for me growing up. After elementary school everyone started dividing up into their little groups. I would hang out with people who were 'geeks' as well as old friends from elementary. As we grew up groups became more stratified. Race became a major part of the identities of many of my peers. I really didn't get it and I guess I still don't. Throughout high school and into my college years people would call me 'white' and an 'oreo'. When I questioned the justification for these claims no one had any substantial warrants. No one would admit what an openly racist and idiotic thing that was to say. One of the other black kids I hung around with when I was a freshman called me white once. I was at the top of the class and he was hovering around a C+. He said I was white because I talked like 'them' and acted like 'them'. It was obvious he was under the assumption that if one does not meet conventional stereotypes about black culture and black people, then that person cannot be called 'authentically black', whatever the hell that means. Many white persons I have known have said the same things. Of course I'm not black because I like progressive rock. I'm not black because I'm on the chess team. I'm not black because I try to use grammar all the time. The last time this happened I barely held my self back from choking this person while yelling at him about race relations. I have much more to say on this topic but I'll leave it at this: this kind of internalization of anti-intellectualism and negative racial stereotypes ,prevalent in black culture today especially, is destructive to us all.
______________________
When I treat people I always try to treat them according to their actions, rather than those things they have no control over. You can't help that you are a pale dullard( white person) and it would be unfair for me to yell at you for the crappiness of your DNA.
______________________
Racial profiling really sucks. Mostly because it leads us to internalize narratives about different races. A prominent example is the racial profiling of those with an ethnic background in the middle-east in America. I've heard people say,"Oh I'm not racist but, If its only one race of people doing that thing then its only fair to only harass them. Anyone who bothered to think would see the inherent stupidity of such an opinion but it is clear that if one really wanted to arbitrarily restrict the freedoms of certain people based on the color of their skin, the first group on the list would be White people.
______________________
Lastly is racial realism which really chaps my hide. People who say, "Oh I'm not being racist, Its just that some races are genetically better than others. We should be separated because of that". This type of statement is blantantly false, as anyone who has studied genetics will tell you, race is culture based, not based on genetics, but also ignorant of the way the world actually functions.

All of the things you speak of here are issues that completely chap my hide. I really loathe the widespread and completely false idea that being educated is a "white" quality.

...I'm not too keen on the thought that anything outside of "Standard English" is indicative of lack of intellect, either.

Was it the part where I mentioned grammar? I didn't say anyone was stupid because they didn't use "standard english". They said I was white because I did use "standard English", which is entirely different.

I was agreeing with your observations. It's a double whammy; when people say that we are "essentially white" because we speak with the mannerisms and grammar of the academically trained, they are both asserting that education is a "white" trait, and implying that people who aren't "white" are uneducated/stupid.

[Xooxe]

The worst thing about that is that it's self-fulfilling.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The worst thing about that is that it's self-fulfilling.

Yep. Anxiety reduces performance.

[Faust]

Ethnically I'm at least 75% black,

How could you be, say, 78% Black?

YOU ASKED FOR IT!

He could be 78.125% if he had three black grandparents and one 1/8 black grandparent.

That's assuming that the three black parents were 100% black without any margin of error or impurities. Taking into account standard deviation he could be less black then he thinks he is.

Can we get a bell curve up in this place, maybe a flowchart? Mods?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Ethnically I'm at least 75% black,

How could you be, say, 78% Black?

YOU ASKED FOR IT!

He could be 78.125% if he had three black grandparents and one 1/8 black grandparent.

That's assuming that the three black parents were 100% black without any margin of error or impurities. Taking into account standard deviation he could be less black then he thinks he is.

Can we get a bell curve up in this place, maybe a flowchart? Mods?

Well, it was a theoretical question; real-world application would really have to assume some deviation.

[Faust]

Sorry I was just joking, I find any % ethnicity ridiculous, it just seems like a a silly thing to quantify or attach a metric to.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I was just told on FB to "stop worrying about Gay Marriage, and start helping people with trans-rights", by some spag I used to know in the CotSG.

I asked "shouldn't I support both?"

She went berserk, short answer no, her cause is far more important than Gay Marriage, etc, etc, yada, yada, yada. 

This is why bigotry still thrives.  Because damn near everyone who thinks it ought to be fought is too busy pimping their own agenda to form a coalition of any real numbers.

[The Rev]

I was just told on FB to "stop worrying about Gay Marriage, and start helping people with trans-rights", by some spag I used to know in the CotSG.

I asked "shouldn't I support both?"

She went berserk, short answer no, her cause is far more important than Gay Marriage, etc, etc, yada, yada, yada. 

This is why bigotry still thrives.  Because damn near everyone who thinks it ought to be fought is too busy pimping their own agenda to form a coalition of any real numbers.

That fits perfectly with my last entry in Common Walls.

[Faust]

I was just told on FB to "stop worrying about Gay Marriage, and start helping people with trans-rights", by some spag I used to know in the CotSG.

I asked "shouldn't I support both?"

She went berserk, short answer no, her cause is far more important than Gay Marriage, etc, etc, yada, yada, yada. 

This is why bigotry still thrives.  Because damn near everyone who thinks it ought to be fought is too busy pimping their own agenda to form a coalition of any real numbers.

There's a lot of this. I've yet encounter a transperson who doesn't go hysterical at the drop of a hat.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Sorry I was just joking, I find any % ethnicity ridiculous, it just seems like a a silly thing to quantify or attach a metric to.

Silly, or genocidal, depending on the reasons for attaching a metric to it. Unfortunately, when governments do it it's more likely to be genocidal than silly.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I was just told on FB to "stop worrying about Gay Marriage, and start helping people with trans-rights", by some spag I used to know in the CotSG.

I asked "shouldn't I support both?"

She went berserk, short answer no, her cause is far more important than Gay Marriage, etc, etc, yada, yada, yada. 

This is why bigotry still thrives.  Because damn near everyone who thinks it ought to be fought is too busy pimping their own agenda to form a coalition of any real numbers.

Luckily, I usually alienate the shit out of people like that right away with my views on transgenderism, and then I don't have to talk to them.

[Wolfgang Absolutus]

Ethnically I'm at least 75% black, the other bit being cuban. I speak in such a manner that I get frequently called white. This was a major problem for me growing up. After elementary school everyone started dividing up into their little groups. I would hang out with people who were 'geeks' as well as old friends from elementary. As we grew up groups became more stratified. Race became a major part of the identities of many of my peers. I really didn't get it and I guess I still don't. Throughout high school and into my college years people would call me 'white' and an 'oreo'. When I questioned the justification for these claims no one had any substantial warrants. No one would admit what an openly racist and idiotic thing that was to say. One of the other black kids I hung around with when I was a freshman called me white once. I was at the top of the class and he was hovering around a C+. He said I was white because I talked like 'them' and acted like 'them'. It was obvious he was under the assumption that if one does not meet conventional stereotypes about black culture and black people, then that person cannot be called 'authentically black', whatever the hell that means. Many white persons I have known have said the same things. Of course I'm not black because I like progressive rock. I'm not black because I'm on the chess team. I'm not black because I try to use grammar all the time. The last time this happened I barely held my self back from choking this person while yelling at him about race relations. I have much more to say on this topic but I'll leave it at this: this kind of internalization of anti-intellectualism and negative racial stereotypes ,prevalent in black culture today especially, is destructive to us all.
______________________
When I treat people I always try to treat them according to their actions, rather than those things they have no control over. You can't help that you are a pale dullard( white person) and it would be unfair for me to yell at you for the crappiness of your DNA.
______________________
Racial profiling really sucks. Mostly because it leads us to internalize narratives about different races. A prominent example is the racial profiling of those with an ethnic background in the middle-east in America. I've heard people say,"Oh I'm not racist but, If its only one race of people doing that thing then its only fair to only harass them. Anyone who bothered to think would see the inherent stupidity of such an opinion but it is clear that if one really wanted to arbitrarily restrict the freedoms of certain people based on the color of their skin, the first group on the list would be White people.
______________________
Lastly is racial realism which really chaps my hide. People who say, "Oh I'm not being racist, Its just that some races are genetically better than others. We should be separated because of that". This type of statement is blantantly false, as anyone who has studied genetics will tell you, race is culture based, not based on genetics, but also ignorant of the way the world actually functions.

All of the things you speak of here are issues that completely chap my hide. I really loathe the widespread and completely false idea that being educated is a "white" quality.

...I'm not too keen on the thought that anything outside of "Standard English" is indicative of lack of intellect, either.

Was it the part where I mentioned grammar? I didn't say anyone was stupid because they didn't use "standard english". They said I was white because I did use "standard English", which is entirely different.

I was agreeing with your observations. It's a double whammy; when people say that we are "essentially white" because we speak with the mannerisms and grammar of the academically trained, they are both asserting that education is a "white" trait, and implying that people who aren't "white" are uneducated/stupid.

Err sorry.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

The CotSG person, whom I have known online since 1998, has unfriended me because I insisted that both Gay & Trans rights should both be equally advanced.

Obviously, her being able to throw a self-righteous shit over the issue is more important than any actual progress.  This is of course feeding directly into the hands of people who oppose LGBT rights, as it both splits the effort, and makes LGBT people look like a pack of attention whores...IE, it's just handing the bastards ammunition.

[Freeky]

Black people cannot use chopsticks.  Any time you see a black person using chopsticks, you must congratulate them on how you don't really see them as black and for transcending their hetitage.

Also, Asian people love golf.

What?!