View Full Version : Curious George For Obama '08!
Here we go, all over again. (http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/06/congressional-black-caucus-foundation-receives-racist-obama-t-shirt-in-the-mail/)
While people seem to think that Obama's nomination as Dem Pres candidate signifies how far we've come as a nation, I've long believed that it's going to show how far we haven't come as a nation as well. Expect this kind of stuff to become more and more common, as well as endless histrionics from white people about how "those people" are 'race-baiting', 'race hustling', and engaging in 'reverse racism', all of which are nonsensical terms.
The part that annoys the shit out of me whenever white people get all in a tizzy over nonwhites forming groups to organize and promote causes relevant to their interests, people start hemming and hawing about how 'there are no white organizations', and 'can you imagine how those people would react if there was one', which is bullshit.
It's bullshit because white is the majority in the United States. We (white culture) view white as normal, and are constantly pressuring nonwhites to assimilate in some of the most blatant fashions imaginable.
By being white, we inherently enjoy privileges that nonwhites don't have. We don't have to worry about facing institutional racism. We don't have to worry about being profiled and prejudged by law enforcement or, hell, everyone else.
And the weak argument of "Well, I have a Jesus-beard/am huge and bulgy/am deathly skinny, so therefore our plight is the same" is bullshit, because whatever 'oppressions' you may have faced as a big white jock, a skinny white nerd, or a white hippie-looking motherfucker doesn't hold a candle to what nonwhites face every day.
So it makes sense that they would want to get together and discuss these issues. It makes sense that these groups are nothing more than a networking tool for opportunities and self-improvement, which is what the establishment frantically demands from nonwhites every day. And whenever they try to band together for a common cause against a system that is inherently oppressive, there's suddenly this huge outrage and racists start wringing their hands and howling about how it's not fair. And then look at how they react - with bullshit like this.
Fuck them.
Equality is about treating everyone the same. The only thing special groups and "reverse" racism/sexism does is give temporary relief and support to the disadvantaged and foster long term resentment (whether justified or not) within white males.
And if you say, oh that's too bad, white men have run things for too long. I say fuck you, I haven't run shit, I haven't oppressed anyone and I'll be fucking damned if I'm responsible for the actions of anyone but myself, especially when I wasn't even alive at the time.
Fucking equality in the law, is that so fucking hard?
edit: er but I agree about the tshirt, those pricks will rot in hell. People did use monkeys to represent bush an awful lot, but this is obviously meant to be more insulting and hateful than funny.
Just to make sure that nobody misconceives this as a one-off: Website Pulls Down Racist Obama T-Shirts (http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/20/website-pulls-down-racist-obama-t-shirts/).
And sorry for the delayed response, but I don't understand what you were getting at in the first paragraph, James.
My point was "reverse racism" is state sponsored racism. It gives the illusion of "evening the playing field", but it doesn't actually. People NEVER benefit from welfare or preferential treatment, we're dooming generations to think that it's ok to pull the race card when there are limited spots available. Notice how MLKs dream wasn't that "employers be forced to hire people of all races in a ratio that is representative of the population as a whole." his dream was that skin colour would be a non issue.
Notice how our society is outraged by the t-shirt? That's proof that we've come a long way from Minstrel Shows and N-word Jim. Just because a few inbred hicks are behind the times, that doesn't mean we're suddenly back to "lynching the darkies".
My point was "reverse racism" is state sponsored racism. It gives the illusion of "evening the playing field", but it doesn't actually. People NEVER benefit from welfare or preferential treatment, we're dooming generations to think that it's ok to pull the race card when there are limited spots available.
I don't get why you're making the blanket assumption that suddenly "generations" are going to pull the race card and will be using welfare. And there are plenty of poor whites on welfare too, so people need to stop pigeonholing welfare as an exclusively black thing.
I'm aware of what MLK's dream was, but MLK also didn't live long enough to see how racism would evolve post-Civil Rights movement. He didn't anticipate that labor, housing, educational institutions, et al would discriminate against people based on their race. You're somewhat diminishing the prevalence and influence of institutional racism when it's way more pervasive than we ever thought it was. People of color are still way underrepresented in most good jobs, schools, and universities.
And using the term "state-sponsored racism" is odd because it seems to be putting the onus back on the state, when it's obviously not the state's fault that they had to step in and institute something to stop this from happening.
Notice how our society is outraged by the t-shirt? That's proof that we've come a long way from Minstrel Shows and N-word Jim.
Regardless, there's still a sizable market for the shirt and others like it, and I'd even wager that those outraged by it are probably in a smaller minority than those who would either a) buy one, b) laugh about it and move on, or c) ignore it.
And using this incident and the minstrel shows as an example that we've come a long way is also sort of an odd benchmark since we shouldn't have been doing that shit in the first place.
Just because a few inbred hicks are behind the times, that doesn't mean we're suddenly back to "lynching the darkies".
It's not just a few inbred hicks, according to this article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/21/AR2008062101471_pf.html), or this poll (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/21/AR2008062101825_pf.html). And the "lynching the darkies" thing is a total strawman. Nobody's saying that.
I did a bunch of rebuttals for your points but am going to just delete it and say this:
The only just law is law that treats everyone equally, whether man, woman, white or black or anything in between.
No fucking exceptions.
If you wonder why blacks are so poorly represented in schools or workplaces, maybe we could look at so called "black culture". That's one thing that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have right, they know that the black youth look up to criminals, thugs and athletes as their role models. And they try their best to remedy that, which I do commend them for. Even Bill Cosby, who has devoted his life to helping educate people about racism, has made speeches about how the "gangsta" generation is a huge step backwards.
Cosby- But these people, the ones up here in the balcony fought so hard. Looking at the incarcerated, these are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake! And then we all run out and are outraged, 'The cops shouldn’t have shot him.' What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand? (laughter and clapping). I wanted a piece of pound cake just as bad as anybody else (laughter) And I looked at it and I had no money. And something called parenting said, 'if you get caught with it you’re going to embarrass your mother.' Not 'you’re going to get your butt kicked.' No. 'You’re going to embarrass your family.'
If you feel racism is enough to keep blacks out of a university, then why the hell are Asians over-represented in universities? It's because THEIR parents promote hard work, and their culture doesn't encourage them to "pop caps" in whites ass, or spend all their paycheck on spinning hubcaps.
I have met many blacks who don't dress or act "gangsta", and they go to good schools and do well. And I've met many WHITES who act like rappers and gangstas and they get just as far as the blacks who act that way.
It's not racism, it's the fact that people refuse to accept that they have to conform to the society they live in.
I'm tired of people making me feel like a fucking racist for criticizing "black culture", but Bill Cosby is my homie on this matter.
I may laugh at racist jokes, I may point out racial problems in a very blunt manner but I'd be one of the few people who step in to save a black person who was being assaulted by racists. Alot more than 99% of the so called "outraged masses" could say.
What was the point of that? That had nothing to do with what I was talking about, and blaming the gangsta lifestyle as justification for institutional racism is dumb. Because gangsta culture exists, we shouldn't give someone an opportunity to try and better themselves rather than wallowing in a life of crime?
I think that "gangsta" culture is dumb too, but that's a scapegoat and if anything it's spurred on by a lack of opportunity and disenfranchisement, hence the idolization of rappers and athletes - because that's all our culture seems to want from blacks. We still have our minstrel acts, they're just more popular now and not as overbearing with the stereotypes.
I thought it was pretty relevant to the original topic. Regardless of how "great" it is to be a white male, oh except for the part where you can get labeled for being a racist for making a joke, while other races are free to make whatever jokes they like, the government has no place treating everyone as anything but equals.
But calling the "gangsta" culture a scapegoat is like calling the idiots who flew into the WTC scapegoats. Sure "gangsta" culture is a symptom of a larger problem, but it is also a large problem itself. Kids in the Inner city don't have their Bill Cosbys or Mr Ts anymore, all they have to identify with in popular media these days are Potheads like Snoop diggidy, or criminals rapping about disrespecting women and killing people.
No wonder so many get *gasp* arrested and locked up. Or when they walk into a job interview and call the manager "homie" and try to fist bump him, they are somehow surprised when they dont get the job.
I should note that I dont think the fact that Obama is going to be President is a result of reverse racism. He worked hard to get where he was, and in his time definitely faced widespread and systemic racism. I'm just saying reverse racism isn't going to benefit anyone.
Also, I should point out where I'm coming from. I live in Canada where the problem of racism isn't as bad, I'm sure your experiences have been much different. Sure we still have racism, but it's not nearly on the level that you guys have. In areas where people have dealings with the Natives, there is EXTREME hatred going both ways, but in the cities you'll find it's not a problem.
Also also, it's just us talking in here... we need some new blood in here or to move on, because we're just re-hashing the same arguments over and over and we're just going to have to agree to disagree.
We (white culture) view white as normal,
One question. WTF is normal? I don't know any normal people.
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