Friday 7 June 2013

Only Slightly Racist

So, racism. Yeah. Ya know. White people need to knock that shit off.

Right?

I bet we wouldn't believe that if we spoke Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Hindi or any other 'non-white' language. English speaking people of colour have lots of thoughts on the subject too. I bet we would hear racism as a constant throughout the world if we could listen in on all the private conversations going on around us. 

To me, racism is the act of judging an entire race by the actions of one person or a small group of people within a given race.

"You see? That's how they act? Those people." 

And when a finger is pointed back "well what about people of your race? I have seen them act like that too."

The answer is a variation of "you can't accuse me of that! Not all of us are like that!" 

Ah ha! Double Standard Revealed!

I am proud to live in a diverse country. I am proud of the fact that we work hard to welcome new people into our communities and do things to help them assimilate to their new surroundings.

I know multiculturalism is not assimilation by the strictest definition but a certain amount of assimilation is necessary to get along in a new country. I know appreciate being shown around when I am in a new place.

We need to work on ending the subtle forms of racism that creep into our lives every day.

"Stupid Asian driver!"

Why not just "stupid driver"? They didn't use common courtesy or they did something a little dangerous, it's not because they are Asian. They are driving badly and, in my opinion, deserve a little horn honk or an exasperated glare but that's where it should end.

No one can convince me that only Asian drivers are bad drivers. All races have their share of bad drivers and here is the real kicker, we have all done something stupid while driving.

Everyone who drives. Without exception.

I have been honked and glared at. I deserved it.


I may have been called a stupid Gweilo. No biggy.

When we are angry with a stranger, part of our anger stems from our perception of ourselves as perennial victims.

"Why does this have to happen to me?" invariably leads to "and what are they doing here anyway".

When we allow ourselves to be victims, we start to believe we have a right to put down our oppressors in any way we see fit. Liberally throwing blame around.

We are not making use of the best parts of ourselves when we act like that.

I also guarantee there are some racial tendencies we 'Anglo folk' have that annoy the crap out of other cultures. Some of us smell funny. Some of us are rude and intolerant.

I always hope people who run up against 'stupid white folk' will remember that for every asshole, there are 100 good people (these numbers are not scientific and should not be tested).

So lets ease up on each other with the racial profiling stuff.

We are better than that.

Let's remember we are strong and our words and actions can hurt people.


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Pic of The Day Courtesy of Reddit.com/r/pics

Yesterday was the 69th Anniversary of D-Day. Thanks to people like this, the world has a little less tyranny in it...






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