People who get upset about racial controversies

I don't know how nationally covered the Mr. NDSU incident was, but a local drama troupe in Fargo was fined by the university after having a white guy in blackface make-up play Obama getting a lap dance from Hilary Clinton at a local fundraiser or some such event.

A Facebook note I read on the incident, containing thoughts from many friends of mine, easily goes down as one of the most horrifying things I've ever read. Closet racism abounds.

Damn right Devin.

Post it! Sounds interesting.

I take it devin's bi-annual "the boards suck, I'm not even posting anymore" sabbatical has ended?

As a white guy, I don't really think I have any say in what can be deemed 'racist.' Do I think people should be up in arms over RE:5? I didn't make the game so I don't need to defend it.

I completely agree, since as someone who identifies as white, I don't see myself as having any right whatsoever to pass judgment on what people of other backgrounds/ethnicities/races deem as racist.

Of course I'm not an essentialist, sociologically speaking, so I guess that comes with the territory.

Isn't it possible to be annoyed in general by the rampant, stupid, victim-centric mentality that abounds these days and less by the particulars? What's your take on these black dudes?

Stupid is annoying, no matter its form.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?not...810414&index=0

Hopefully that'll work for you.

It may lose some effect when it's not people you know, but I still think it'll prove to be pretty offensive.

EDIT: It's not, here's some gems:

I agree with ____. But we also have to start accepting the sad reality that the term "politically correct" means something completly different than it did...oh say...10 years ago. The government today is, in my opinion, corrupting our youth. With such bills as "No Child Left Behind", teachers have to teach an unrealistic amount of information and children don't have enough time to grasp the concepts because by the time they do finally start to grasp something they are learning something new. Look, my parents grew up in a time when little cartoon mice and cats beat the shit out of each other with irons and sludge hammers - they turned out just fine - and in my opinion are great parents. We have to ask ourselves why did teaching styles and cultural styles change when nothing was broken? And at the same time lets ask ourselves where the power shifted to - perhaps the minorities? I'm not being racist, but c'mon...these 'people' are blowing things way out of proportion.

Thanks to the media, we see a lot of things blown way out of proportion. Do people of every color have the same amount of rights according to the government? Yes, everyone can vote, everyone can say whatever they want to, everyone can own property, etc, etc, etc. However there are always going to be those deuche bags out there who are going to be idiots. For some reason, some idiot white person is going to not employ a black person, but at the same time there are other employers of color that aren't going to employee a perfectly qualified white peron. It goes both ways. It seems as if all races can dump on the majority, but the second something intentional or non-intentional is done against the minority, the whole world better hear about it because it's the most atrocious thing in the entire world. If we all quit sticking out our bottom lip and ignore with the few ignorant deuchebags that still think our rights aren't equal, maybe "Americans" (yes, people of all races and colors working together as one--CRAZY CONCEPT!) could overcome these crazies and live in peace! I also think it's hillarious that some people who have commented on this note obviously think that they have been in the position of a minority race. Since all of the comments here have been made by caucasions, I really don't think you do.

Here's the kicker, not only racist, but a little sexist too!

Just because NBC picks up a couple of stories a year on racism doesn't mean that everyone is indeed racist. And yes, blacks have had the right to vote, own property, and say whatever they want since the late sixties - early seventies (thank you ____). Not only in the civilian world, but militarily as well. There were African American OFFICERS for Christ's sake. I'm curious to know how you fully and clearly understand their views? Just because you're female? Ok...i guess so.

I would like to know why you think people that get annoyed by racial controversies are racist themselves.

Oh come on! Copy and paste for those of us stuck at work terminals!

ETA - Nevermind all that...thank you, kind sir!

In the process sir, apologies!

Fortunately, said mentality runs across racial/ethnic/gender/sexual orientation lines.

Rosa Parks WAS being victimized by systemic racism. Tom DeLay, not so much a victim, though some claim he is/was. Everyone wants to play the part of the aggrieved party.

The worst part of that mentality is that it generally lessens the impact of those who actually have a case.

Well, what about white people who complain about racism? Do you hate white people because you get annoyed by their stupid complaints?

I think anyone who can say racism doesn't exist with a straight face should be kicked in the balls/vulva.

I used to work as Loss Prevention with VONS and I encountered some of the most racist people in positions of authority. It was almost comical. Every time a black or hispanic customer would walk in, they'd come find me and give me a 'heads up.' Just to prove a point, we went through a month's worth of collars and classified them all by ethnicity. Across the board blacks, whites, and hispanics were nearly equal. But good luck trying to get that information across to a racist store manager.

I think there's a difference between being a Geraldine Ferraro and pointing out that someone might be overreacting to political incorrectness. But I admit it might be too fine a distinction to travel for most people. And it obviously depends on the legitimacy of the original offense.

I agree for the most part, but I do find myself annoyed at times with the knee jerk reaction at labeling somebody a racist.

An example of this was in one of Nick's mailbag articles. Someone wrote in accusing CHUD of being racist because Jeremy used the N-word in the title of one of his articles. While I can understand why the guy would be upset with the word being used, Nick pointed out that there was no racist intent behind the usage of the word and that if you research the main site, there's no evidence of any of the staff partaking in racist behavior.

I can't find the link to the mailbag in question, but I'm pretty sure that's how it occurred.

No, you were complaining about people who were annoyed at the woman who cried "racism" on the banana eatin'-cops. Cries over specious, at best, incidents of racism come from ALL quarters.* But generally, a white person who feels they have been racially wronged in some way will get shouted down, whether their complaint has basis in reality or not.**

So basically, when one sees a white person complaining about racist treatment, and get annoyed by it, by YOUR OWN DEFINITION used in the first post, that person must hate white people.




* - actual incidents of racism come from all quarters as well, but that's a whole 'nother shitstorm and I'm sure this one will keep the board busy for quite some time

** - EDIT - I am not saying there isn't good reason for giving somewhat greater credence to a minority crying "foul" than to a member of the majority

I started out listening to the podcast before I really read the site and some of the racial humor on there made me extremely uncomfortable to start with. Upon reading the site it turned out not to be the case, but that's just another example of the thin line.

Chavez, the point was essentially that he hates white people who complain about racism.

I do too, for basically the same reason I hate Christians who complain about stuff like the War On Christmas; bitching about how tough it is to be part of the majority of your culture marks one as a cavernous, reeking pussy.

http://www.nuvo.net/articles/21st_century_catch22/

This isn't about crying reverse racism, but more how political correctness can go out of control in such sensitive matters. Point is, I've had plenty of discussions with people here in town, black and white, and the only ones who really got up in arms about it were the white folks that Devin is talking about, the ones who used the situation as an excuse to add to their power point presentation about why black people are just no damn good, even though everybody else seemed to agree it was a few individuals overreacting.

In the end, it was pretty much a non situation that illustrates how complex and just plain fucked up race relations still are in this country.

You definitely find agendas hidden in these situations where people go "Oh it's not racist." I'm glad this stuff happens because it exposes these ugly ideas for what they are and the people can be called out for it. I frequently see people drop their guard and spout a racist opinion in these kinds of situations. It's usually from privileged crackers who've never experienced anything remotely prejudicial towards them in their whole life. They need to get out of their fantasy worlds and try to comprehend how the victims of these situations must feel and why.

My only complaint about this discussion is it seems that Devin's not even open to the idea that some people wrongfully cry racism. It does happen, although not with the frequency most would have you think. I've experienced it first hand once from a teacher who accused me of being racist because I would act out in her class, despite the fact I did in several others no matter who the teacher was.*

Also, I've seen a co-worker from when I worked at Blockbuster get called racist by a black person she didn't give a membership to because he didn't have the ID required. It happens, but in addition to the fact that these incidents are in the minority, there's the fact that many people who would level an accusation like that may very well have experienced racism in the past. That kind of thing can't help but stick with you and shade your opinions.

These situations do happen, but it is annoying and offensive that there's a large contingent of people who instantly deride claims of racism. Fuck those people.

*Big shock that I was a troublesome student, eh?

I hate the terminology Chavez used, but yeah there are people who like to play the victim. Ironically, these people are usually white and mindless consumers.

Damn straight, as an aussie, I've been trying my best just to keep up with what you guys are talking about.

Who are these people that get up in arms? Is this common in the states? I honestly can;t really think of an Australian equivilant situation or common issue.

Im not saying we don;t have racism in this country, but it doesn;t seem to take the form you guys are discussing here.

You know you're insanely predictable Devin? It's really tired that I can see what idiotic response you will come up with before it happens. How about actually applying what has been said and what has happened to some sort of rational conclusion?

You just assumed and filled in whatever blanks were necessary for you to undermine a point you didn't like from somebody you liked less. For someone who clearly prides himself as being so fucking smart and well thought-out, you do an awful lot of presumptuous speaking and thinking.

Well in American society, and in Canadian to a much less publicized extent, racism was literally institutionalized. Both countries histories are fraught with government overlooked and frequently approved racism. The relations between all the groups that make up our populations have pretty much never recovered. It's in our countries' blood, so to speak.

As Devin has pointed out, it's worse now because it's concealed. People will, say, toss out a black person's resume after they've left rather than turning them down to their face. Some still do. It's all fucked, really.

Basically, there are a disturbing, and frankly heartbreaking number of racist incidents happening all over both countries and it has these concealed racist ideas bubble to the surface.

EDIT: Forgot to clarify that while both societies and governments have evolved to the point where racism is unacceptable, it is only on paper. It's not like the people who had racist views had their minds change when black people were freed from slavery or the Chinese weren't taxed when immigrating to Canada anymore. These ideas are passed down from generation to generation. Obviously racism comes from other places as well, but in this case the historical aspect is what I think sets Canada and the States apart from what you describe of Australia.

What about when Racism is used as a get out clause?

For example, someone I know works in a HR department at a big manufacturing company. Recently they had to give a second formal warning to an employee for assaulting another member of staff.

His response at the meeting was that he was being punished for his race and religion, he seemed to think it had nothing to do with the fact he was caught on camera punching someone in the face!

The sad thing is he will probably continue to work there because management are afraid to sack him for fear of reprisal. (A lot of the other workers on his shift are of the same race and he is one of the local spiritual leaders).


It’s not always as clear cut as you think...

My and my drummer have been best friends since as long as I can remember and he is black. He and myself have talked about the whole racism thing many many times over the years and we have come to the conclusion that every race is guilty of both racism and using racism as a crutch. I basically grew up in his home and I ( being white ) have found myself on the receiving end of racist comments from certain family members at family gatherings. At the same time so has he. He has gotten flak for being too light skinned, for liking heavy metal, and having many white friends. I have also had to endure so called "friends" of ours making boarderline racists statements in his presence. We have always just said fuck what everyone else thinks. Do many minorities have a reason to bitch about racism in this country? Fuck yes they do. But are a lot of people gonna use it as a crutch and cry racism every chance they get? Absolutely! But I think saying that being annoyed when racism is cried for no good reason makes you a racist is just plain fuckin stupid. That would make both me and my friend racists. I mean come on.

I find it annoying when things like the source for this thread have to have a racial analysis in 2008 and when someone is automatically a racist because they find it annoying.

Ferraro's comments were slight, misguided and thoughtless, but not racist. It's ridiculous to argue that "race doesn't matter" when it comes to Obama. Almost as much as saying that Hillary's gender doesn't factor into anything either.

There's a difference between recognizing racial issues in a healthy way and discussing it openly and ignoring it as if it isn't a problem. Most people get uncomfortable when someone brings up the subject because they're terrified of saying the wrong thing and being labeled a racist or making anyone else feel awkward. But any discussion on race has to take place outside of a "comfort zone." Otherwise, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place, and we all know that isn't true. Hearing someone say that they're "color blind" and "don't see racial differences" is personally one of the most offensive things I can imagine someone saying. It's complete bullshit.

I'm sure some people will label me a racist now that I've argued Ferraro's comments were not, but there have been many people of color who've argued the same thing in articles and on TV. But because other people have thrown that word at her, I have to step in line or else risk being called a racist? No thanks, I have a brain that I like to use.

Oh, good, I was hoping this discussion would happen as a result of that N'Gai Croal interview.

I get where he's coming from: the RE5 trailer has a lone white guy facing hordes and hordes of dehumanized black people with his trusty .45, and that's a scenario that might make red flags go off for me too....if there wasn't already precedence for this for 6 games in a row. The only difference between this and other titles in the series is that in the past, he's killing thousands and thousands of other white people.

Without that precedence, or the history of zombie films from which the series takes its cues, one of these things is technically genocide, the other is genocide + institutional racism. With it, however, it's little more than taking advantage of a backdrop whose place in zombie lore hasn't been explored nearly enough on film or otherwise. i doubt the game will explore it in detail, but then again, nobody really knows jack shit since N'Gai and everybody else is going off of a 2 minute trailer, a good minute or so of which is spent in Haiti before the outbreak, with business going on as usual.

The annoyance I've seen around boards about this is mostly about being made to feel guilty about a piece of media putting black people in the same violent situations every single other minority has been placed into for decades, which just lends weight to the latently racist asshats who actually DO see black people as inferior, and in need of protection for Big Daddy White Man. And while I'm dying for there to be more black people in gaming and films who aren't *just* "from the streets", I also don't feel threatened when i see people of my particular ethnic group as less than saintly.

I see a sloppy, misguided and slightly miseducated attempt as equality from a lot of this, not deep-seated latent racism.

This guy is racist.

Women make up the majority of the population on this planet. Does this nullify all complaints of sexism?

I think it is okay to get upset about racial controversies, but only if you can prove that you aren’t a racist. Like me, I have such proof. A couple days ago I was using the bathroom at work and when I went to wash my hands I noticed a black gentleman doing the same at one of the 3 sinks in front of the mirror. He was using the sink at the far left side which meant if I was racist I would have used the one at the far right side in order to provide myself a racial buffer sink in the middle. I did not do that. I went right to the middle sink and didn’t hesitate at all, or at least any hesitation I may have shown was not noticed by the black gentleman while he was washing his hands.

Here’s a diagram where you can better see how unracist I am.

S S S
B W

Legend:

S = Sink
B = Black Man (Didn’t get his name)
W = White Man (Me)

The rules are different in the toilet. That might not be racist, but there's an 85% chance it was really gay.

Here is the latest Racial drama in North Carolina...

G105 morning show gets suspended

the aftermath of this story is that Bob and the Showgram was suspended for 3 days... and might or might not be back on the air this Monday.

Yeah, after seeing Chavez's link, that set off my WTF-meter.

Agreed. It's not so much about majority rules. It's more of a white privilege thing.

Justin - all the proof you need is the original Night of the Living Dead. Who is not allowed to live at the very end? The Black Guy - Racist.

LittleCandyPantsZooey - Don't worry your pretty little self, the Men will tell you when something is sexist.

I hate it whenever anyone lumps a whole group of people together and makes specific, derogatory statements about that group. Blacks, Jews, Cell Phone Holster wearers with Sandals... They are all great cultures and should be treated as such.

...

I'm inclined to give that guy, racist though I believe him to be, the benefit of the doubt on that. Most people are poor writers, and I think that guy just doesn't recognize the import of the quotation marks there.

EDIT: Also, you ought to be careful, since it ends up looking like Jakespeare made those statements.

That's true. I changed it a bit.

White people type like this: Hello.

Black people type like this: Yo.

RainDog, forgive my possible ignorance on this, but isn't there some bit of race-related controversy regarding the Aboriginal tribes in Australia? I've only heard about this in passing, so I could be totally off the mark.

I didn't live in Detroit, but I did live in Battle Creek MI when I was a kid and got my ass kicked on a daily basis because I was a "cracker". Does that count?

But what if things that are stupid are inherently annoying? I admit to not being familiar with this case, but if this woman is complaining that cops eating bananas in front of her was racist, that's a waste of everyone's time, and yes, annoying. I'm not calling for her to get her ass kicked or something (and maybe that's what you mean by being annoyed: overreaction), but it's definitely worth an eye roll.

I don't know if it's because she's black, though. Remember the thread a couple of months ago about two egotistical white girls who were kicked off a plane and claimed it was because they were "too pretty"? Is it racist to find that pretty fucking annoying too? I'm the same race as them. Some people are just attention whores, and that spans all races and cultures.