Race Relations

[mrveggieman]

My main man Afrank45 bought up a good point that we should not take the death or the maiming of innocent children to make politicial arguments for one side or another. So I'm going to start a race relations thread. Feel free to ask any questions or make comments but please be respectful. Thanks.

[lloydr04]

[Wickabee]

I'll start off with a question, instead of looking for a GIF:
If racism is wrong (which I think we all agree it is) why is it okay for non-whites to be publicly racist against white people?

In other words why, do we vilify someone like Michael Richards (and rightfully so) for his racist remarks but a black comedian can say as many asinine, racist remarks and be a hero?

Also, am I racist for asking these questions? (keeping in mind I'm not saying white people should be allowed to make racist comment, but that others should not be allowed to make such comments...publicly of course)

[mrveggieman]

I'll start off with a question, instead of looking for a GIF:
If racism is wrong (which I think we all agree it is) why is it okay for non-whites to be publicly racist against white people?

In other words why, do we vilify someone like Michael Richards (and rightfully so) for his racist remarks but a black comedian can say as many asinine, racist remarks and be a hero?

Also, am I racist for asking these questions? (keeping in mind I'm not saying white people should be allowed to make racist comment, but that others should not be allowed to make such comments...publicly of course)

I'm glad that you bought that question up. If you want my opinion I'm going to blame white people. The reason why is that if white people started boycotting black commedians, musicians, etc who said racist things against them they would stop because as we all know at the end of the day the color that eveyone loves is green. However there is a percentage of white people who are entertained by stuff like that just like there is a percentage of black people who have no problem hearing other black people calling each other a word that I am not going to repeat on here. Again not saying that it is right it is what it is.

[Wickabee]

My point is basically "what's sauce for the goose". I'll admit I find many of those black comedians hilarious and, quite frankly, I find that those comedians actually take some of the power out of those words.

What bothers me is if I want to be proud of my heritage I have to qualify it by naming a country. I have to say, "I'm proud to be of German and Scottish descent". If I say, "I'm proud to be white," that's a racist remark.
But a black man doesn't have to qualify his statement. He can say, "I'm proud to be black," which really he should be. We should all be proud of what we are, but we can't.
It really feels like I'm supposed to be proud to be German and Scottish but ashamed that I'm white. I don't think that's right and I don't think it's equality.

[mrveggieman]

My point is basically "what's sauce for the goose". I'll admit I find many of those black comedians hilarious and, quite frankly, I find that those comedians actually take some of the power out of those words.

What bothers me is if I want to be proud of my heritage I have to qualify it by naming a country. I have to say, "I'm proud to be of German and Scottish descent". If I say, "I'm proud to be white," that's a racist remark.
But a black man doesn't have to qualify his statement. He can say, "I'm proud to be black," which really he should be. We should all be proud of what we are, but we can't.
It really feels like I'm supposed to be proud to be German and Scottish but ashamed that I'm white. I don't think that's right and I don't think it's equality.

To be perfectly honest the average black person does not know their heritage. It's not our fault. Our slave masters had no desire to teach it to us. However most white people know that they are german, irish, italian, etc. So to say that we are proud to be black is the pretty much the only thing that we can say.

[shrewsbury]

If you want my opinion I'm going to blame white people. The reason why is that if white people started boycotting black commedians, musicians, etc who said racist things against them they would stop because as we all know at the end of the day the color that eveyone loves is green.

so we start with a racist comment on a race relation thread?

so people like sean combs, oprah, russel simmons, jay-z and plenty, plenty others, are not about the money? so they must allow the racism of the blacks against whites so they can keep making money? right? it's all about the benjamins

if equality is you call me names so i will call you them back, then it is an equality i can live without.

the strange thing is in my circle of friends, which include blacks, puertoricans, lesbians, jews, whites, and asians, we have no issue getting along.

but these must all be uncle tom sell outs or i must be one

race relations start at home and in your personal life, not controlling what others do, and if everyone did this, there would be no more racial issues to deal with, it's always the individual, not the race, religion, economic status, or lineage, it's the friggin person that racist or not.

the "whites", got to love it

[marekschwarz33]

I would prefer to view people as individuals rather than as groups divided by race (or anything else). Just my opinion...

[Wickabee]

To be perfectly honest the average black person does not know their heritage. It's not our fault. Our slave masters had no desire to teach it to us. However most white people know that they are german, irish, italian, etc. So to say that we are proud to be black is the pretty much the only thing that we can say.

Oh, I understand that for certain. I just don't understand why the fact I know I'm German and Scottish while you have no idea whether you're Kenyan or Nigerian means it's wrong for me to be proud I'm white/European. Personally, I don't care what colour I am. I am proud of where I came from and where I came from makes me white, so maybe I am proud to be white. I'm just not allowed to say that to anyone.

Maybe it's because I'm a Canadian. We have VERY different race relation issues and histories in our two countries. I only get to see American racism, but the effects are felt here in Canada in the form of ideas like "only white people can be racist" and other myths.

[Wickabee]

so we start with a racist comment on a race relation thread?

so people like sean combs, oprah, russel simmons, jay-z and plenty, plenty others, are not about the money? so they must allow the racism of the blacks against whites so they can keep making money? right? it's all about the benjamins

if equality is you call me names so i will call you them back, then it is an equality i can live without.

the strange thing is in my circle of friends, which include blacks, puertoricans, lesbians, jews, whites, and asians, we have no issue getting along.

but these must all be uncle tom sell outs or i must be one

race relations start at home and in your personal life, not controlling what others do, and if everyone did this, there would be no more racial issues to deal with, it's always the individual, not the race, religion, economic status, or lineage, it's the friggin person that racist or not.

the "whites", got to love it

I agree for the most part, but I think you're losing the ultimate point over the words "blame the whites".

I knew what he was getting at, and no it wasn't racist.