penguinsfan said:
Well, what the hell, since that asshole kinda hijacked this thread all to pieces anyway, I make a point. I am not singling you out, but your remark brings up something that irks me and I think most people really stop to think about. I have always found it hypocritical that so many of those that instantly jump down the throat of anyone perceived as making a racist remark (although the example here was definitely obvious) is instantly labeled as a "hick", "hillbilly", "redneck", etc. What that effectively does is stereotype people that wear flannels, drive a truck with an NRA sticker, dip snuff, talk with a twang, live in the middle of nowhere, have a 10-point buck or trophy fish mounted on the wall, etc. Know what? Some of those qualities describe me and many folks I know...and that doesn't begin to determine how they feel about other people.
If I hear someone throw out a racial remark, then I know he is acting like an ignorant shithead. But if the reaction by someone else observing the act is to respond with the "inbred hick" type remark, then I know there are at least two ignorant shitheads in this world.
Hence, our perception of and overall concept of race is stupid, but it is firmly entrenched into our cultures/countries. Race and racism is moreso on the minds of those born in the U.S. because of fairly recent acceptance of slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, a history of mistreating and demonizing immigrants etc. (that immigrants part especially applies to most countries to some degree or other) Plus when you consider our country is still pretty young it is no wonder why race is such a touchy subject when looking at the history here we'd like to move on from and forget about. But when you use the N word either ending it with an A or an ER it matters on a few things and maybe more on one over the others. One factor would be whether the intent was malicious or not. Another would indeed be whether the guy was white who'd used the N word and whether or not the guy said it to a black person and whether or not they knew each other well enough/used this kind of language around each other just playing around. Another factor that you need to look at overall is that while there is hypocrosy today in the States over racial slurs and sterotypical language people seem to be a bit less racist overall, (and that's in big part due to the disproval and illegality of previous laws/actions by the government and people alike...and if you don't think so then just wonder what those folks of the white supremacist groups in Michigan, Idaho, and other places would be doing if their beliefs were more than just tolerated), but there are still sterotypes of certain races that are more prominent than others nationally and regionally(it may be more prominent at the Mexican/U.S. border and places like Idaho or Colorado for instance) and there is also an uneasiness you can see in some white people whenever a black guy comes down the same side of the street or mall or store etc. (I even hear some racist remarks from family members I love, but see where they live and what kind of conditions they live in and kind of understand how just about anyone can start believing sterotypes and there are some people that are living sterotypes, but that's another topic) And some people are still flat out racist and open about it, but today I think more people hide their racist and sterotypical beliefs and it's more subtle now. I also kind of feel like white people in particular want to act like the slate can be just swept clean like none of the racially driven forms of discrimination ever happened as if much of the source of social inequality in the States hasn't been because of acts of racism. Smacking down affirmative action and wanting to wall up the border are pretty damn racist if you ask me. There are flaws in the system and the way things work today, but it's difficult to make things right when so many things were obviously wrong in the past. Let's hope that your solution to the immigration problem isn't the same as the Minutemen and the WHITE POWER! fucks that are with them because if you are I have to tell you right now your brain power is needed in AISLE 5 of a Wal-Mart right now because a kid just threw up...ok that was sterotyping...anyone see the difference between that and what all has been said about the N word?
Now, as far as REDNECK, or TRAILER TRASH, it might be offensive and it might be something an individual will proudly wear on his sleeve/belt buckle. The N word is also something that might be thrown around like a verb/noun/adjective etc by some black people. There's a difference however that lessens that parallel of "making the word meaningless/your own." Using the word redneck when you are a perceived redneck is on the one hand, but it's not as offensive to most people as it is the N word used in any sense because of the historical context of the word, which cannot ever be forgotten or erased. That is our history in this country and I for one think we should neither honor it by continuing any form of validation of it or forget its significance. The N word might have been based on strong sterotypes, but with slavery, the Civil War, and subsequent formation of the KKK, Jim Crow Laws, segregation, the civil rights movement among many other atrocities done to racial minorities simply because of skin color separates itself from just being on par with the word redneck. They are both somewhat similar considering the meaning of the word sterotype, but I don't remember the period of our U.S. history when all white people were enslaved because they were perceived as livestock, a sub-species, and an inferior race. It's not the same, but I will add that the first post that DWT made came off immediately to me as sarcasm. Some of the other stuff he said after that in response to others was pretty borderline racist, but I'm not one to really give a shit about a racist person unless they get froggy. So, if someone said something racist I'd say something, but I wouldn't do anything unless I felt I had to so considering this a forum where only words can be exchanged perhaps it was best? I'm half Mexican by the way and started off small, but there is something to the notion that I'm making up right now if you heard it come from the lips of a female it's probably more than likely a fisherman's tale or if it comes from a woman and it smells like a fish...no no that doesn't work. Nevermind. I hope you all get my point...shit I don't want to get banned.:s
And yeah I find it ironic too that the men whose quotes I have in my signature were racist slave owners, but I'll be damned if they didn't know what they were doing in other areas of government.
If so cram it with walnuts PF!
