Forum: Rants Topic: Race started by: Wolfguard Posted by Wolfguard on Aug. 17 2000,11:13
Am i wrong here or is there just one race(of people)on this planet? Every day i hear of breaking down the barriers between the races and every day i see a form with the question, Race. Its to the point that i check "other" and put in "duh! human". I did this on my census form when the person came to my door. I looked the little fuck in the eye and told him "Prove me wrong".We are one race on this planet people, the Human race, get over skin color and looks, we are all the same on the inside. ------------------ Posted by Bozeman on Aug. 17 2000,12:43
If you mean race as a species, then yes, there is only one species: homo sapiens. (there were about 13 others, but they died out, see Scientific American magazine) But if referring to skin color, there is a great diversity. Nationality is another difference, and there is also the factor of heritage. Some people think these factors have some political meaning, and the values for one are different from another, but I think we are all born equal.
Posted by Wolfguard on Aug. 17 2000,14:01
right. we are all one race.------------------ Posted by SimplyModest on Aug. 17 2000,14:03
honestly i think ani defranco put it best when she suggest we should all just f*ck and f*ck around till there are no barriers.(i extremely appreciate that opinion because it would be aout the only way to completely rid ourselves of descrimination by color. only problem is, since we can't breed out the stupid people, there will always be SOME reason to argue.) <sigh>oh well....</sigh> ------------------ Posted by hyperponic on Aug. 17 2000,14:30
Old habits seem to never die, whether its thinking a person is different because of their skin color, nationality, sex preference (man, check that thread on "faggots"...). But it would be much appreciated, at least here, if people could look past things such as these that we have no control over. I'd say the only thing that matters is the culture you've grown up in, 'cauz that'll shape you more than the color of your hair ever did.but maybe i expect too much of a people that purchased millions of backstreet boys albums... Posted by Rhydant on Aug. 17 2000,18:53
This reminds me when my friend Brett was blabbing something about this to me. (this guy is a it excentric, mind you) he said that someday there'll only be one color of humans.... bla bla.but really, one day there only WILL be one color of humans. we'll just keep fucking eachother till were the same color. (ok, i know that sounded bad, but i DO hav e point) ------------------ Posted by Ozymandias on Aug. 17 2000,22:05
What? Like some sort of communist skin color?------------------ Posted by Firefox on Aug. 18 2000,17:03
Yeah, but do you guys think we will last that long? Hell, as it sits right now, we have only been around a fraction of the time the dinosaurs were around... and we all know where THAT led. I suppose it would be possible to completely cross-breed the earth in a few centuries, although some countries are very isolationist and protective... in India, is it still considered a "shame" to marry someone outside of Indian blood (many of those cultures believe in maintaining purity in blood lines to propagate their nationality, etc.)...I think that would be the only way to ever completely get rid of racism. But really, it may not solve anything. We would get rid of racism because of skin colour, etc., but we would still have ugly people and handsome people, smart people and dumb people, rich people and poor people... there would still be "labelling", as it were, just with different things. Besides... the UN has made an estimate that the Earth's population will do one of three things in the next few decades: 1) Rise above 10 billion, and then rapidly drop due to extreme famine in certain areas of the world 2) Rise above 10 billion and keep rising, with the earth getting exponentially more crowded by the day 3) Rise to approximately 10 billion and then level out, as the "invisible hand" of population control (cost of living, societal changes, etc.) caps the population around 10 billion, with only very slight increases. And I hear that #3 is seen as the most likely candidate right now by many scientists, etc. That actually didn't have too much to do with races, but I thought I would throw it in for fun. 8) -FFox ------------------ "A christian, an anarchist-slash-prostitute, figures out the true meaning of freedom. Not freedom like America, freedom like a shopping cart." Posted by Happyfish on Aug. 19 2000,17:54
quote: Very true, yet no matter what, I think people will still have initial prejudices when they meet someone of another race they aren't familiar with. Even if they aren't racist in the least. I'll admit I am a bit, though I try to ignore those thoughts and learn to know the person for themselves and not their background. And people of simialr cultures are still going to stick together and feel more comfortable with their own. Example: China town, little Italy etc. One thing I find unnecessary are things like black history month. Shouldn't black people just be included in history lessons in general? Why does it desrve it's own designated month? It should just be HUMAN history.
Posted by Firefox on Aug. 19 2000,21:38
quote: Yeah, I agree... but their rationelle is that every other month is so inundated with white culture that they need one of their own to compensate. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a look at a specific past, but we should stop seeing ourselves as isolated groups, and start seeing ourselves as a single civilization. -FFox ------------------ "A christian, an anarchist-slash-prostitute, figures out the true meaning of freedom. Not freedom like America, freedom like a shopping cart." Posted by kai on Aug. 20 2000,00:49
what really pisses me off is when they have something like the essense awards or some shit like that where all it is is a bunch of black ppl. maybe they have one or two speakers that are white. But c'mon if white ppl had something like that you know how bad we'd get ragged on? We'd be called racist and never hear the end of it.
Posted by Sithiee on Aug. 20 2000,01:50
what i dont get is why white people have to show so much more respect than others. sure, there were white people who owned slaves, but that was a long ass time ago. not only was it white people who put an end to it (as opposed to a slave revolution), but that was almost 150 years ago that its over. why is it that were still sposed to be sorry for somethin we didnt even do?there was this dude who wrote some essay for black history month at my school. in it he complained about how black history month was just to try and appease the wrongs done to his poeple (his dad is a teacher at the school, white french guy from tunisia or somethin, so the dude isnt even all black) and he was ranting on and on about "white power to white people, and red power to red people, and black power to black people" and it was so fucking dumb. if everyone who was mistreated in history got their own month, why the hell is it that the jews dont get a month? the hispanics get a month, and its not like we all about abused them or anything. now, im not advocating that we equalize things out that way, i think that all the months should be gotten rid of, because as long as theyre there, its a reason for people to see race as a difference between people...anyway, thats just my little rant... Posted by The_Hiro on Aug. 20 2000,16:58
quote: I don't agree with nationalism, ethnic pride, any of that crap. I think it all amounts to a bunch of territorial pissings that have caused a great deal of bloodshed throughout history. Nevertheless, I will try to argue for the other side since I can somewhat see their point, and also because there doesn't seem to be very fair representation on this issue. To begin with, be aware that the power structure in place today still favours you, the white middle-class male. You may not have participated in the subjugation of black people but you still reap benefits from their enslavement, even 150 years later. That's the reason for their anger and hostility (logical or not); you've benefited from their misfortune and you continue to do so today. Now try imagining yourself as a young black man. You're a visible minority and on sight, without any interaction at all, people (subconsciously or consciously) form negative opinions of you. Nearly everywhere you go people look at you with fear or hostility. If it's late at night, people cross to the other side of the street to avoid you. If you're caught walking around an affluent neighbourhood the cops will accost you, and if they don't, local residents will make sure that they do. In short, you cannot avoid the fact that you're black. Everyone else seems to think that your 'blackness' is a big deal and you don't get any say in the matter. So how do you deal with your blackness? You can try to avoid or deny the fact of it (i.e. not deal with it). You can buy into what everybody else is telling you with their actions - that being black means you're inferior. Or you can try and get something positive out of it and assert that being black is something to be proud of. When you add it all up, you're trapped in a Catch-22. All of the choices available to you are pretty lousy. And no matter what you decide, people are going to continue treating you like a second class citizen. Reading over some of your posts, it looks to me like some of you have oversimplified this complex social issue. With respect to that, the main thing I'd ask you to remember is that life as a visible minority never ends. The abolishment of slavery, the civil rights movement - it's true that we've made great strides towards equality in the last century and a half. But we still have a long way to go and racism is still pervasive. You may not realize it, but racism manifests itself in a thousand little ways. It's not always as blatant as a burning cross on a lawn, or a racial slur. It's also fearful glances from other passengers on the subway, a suspicious store clerk eyeing your every move, and rude service at a restaurant. In an ideal world, racism wouldn't exist and we wouldn't have 'awareness' months. But the fact of the matter is that the world is far from perfect. Life is complicated and messy, and solutions never come easy. Posted by Hellraiser on Aug. 20 2000,20:19
Fuck race, fuck skin color, fuck ethnic origins, fuck political boundaries, fuck heritage, none of that shit means anything anyways. The real separation of the human race is those who are willing to overlook percieved differences, and those who aren't. It's that simple. Your differences are all in your mind, and when you get over that you'll see the truth: we are all one race, one species, one humanity, and we all share the same earth, so we need to learn how to get along with each other and with the world we live in. If we can't do that, then nothing means anything and we are wasting our time and might as well commit mass suicide. Hell, we probably should do that anyways, but I'd rather be the one to adapt to my surroundings.------------------ Posted by Firefox on Aug. 21 2000,03:46
Yeah, Hiro is right... I mean, I know for one that I have predetermined biases towards certain people... as I have mentioned before, I am a cashier at a Superstore in Canada... obviously, I see a lot of different people each day. Occasionally, when a black person comes to my till, I have to admit that it definately registers in my conciousness... nothing like "Look out, he's going to rob me!" or anything, but it just triggers a light in my brain that suddenly goes off... "He's different! He's different!" The thing is that I make such an effort to not make it matter. I try to treat EVERYONE the same. Of course, what we attempt and what we get can be very different things, but if I was in that situation, all I could really ask for is to be treated just like every other Joe (or Jan). I hope that I, for one, has done that. It definately isn't easy, it's something that will take a long time to "fix"...-FFox ------------------ ICQ: 436346 Posted by Althornin on Aug. 21 2000,12:35
And whats the deal with race based ANYTHING?Dont people realize that basing anything off of race is merely gonna continue to hatred? People used to <right after slavery was abolished> hate blacks because they thought that black people were inferior. ------------------ Posted by Firefox on Aug. 22 2000,06:44
Yeah, that is something I definately odn't agree with. I truly think that the best man/woman for the job (or position) should take it regardless of race, religion, etc. I think that giving people special treatment, weather it be good or bad, just because they are a minority is not a good thing. Excuse any grammatical errors, I'm kinda drunk as I write this. ------------------ ICQ: 436346 Posted by demonk on Aug. 22 2000,15:02
I agree with the scholarship and job comments. This does't help the minorities, it just makes everyone else resent them for being promoted/hired/given money instead of them just because they are a different nationality. I think that everyone should check the Other box when they ask nationality and write in human. If they have a problem with that, then don't work for them. It is an indication of how they will make promotion decitions later.
Posted by starduck on Aug. 22 2000,19:43
Hey man, it's gonna be the thin, heterosexual, white males that are out of the jobs, I swear. I'm fine with people being treated equally, I treat people equally, my friends are all of different race and gender, but nobody deserves special treatment...but you know, it doesn't just stop at race, it's small things, like age. I was washing a car on the road yesterday and people sped up walking by me because they thought I was gonna spray them, cars turn off when they see the kid with the hose washing cars. Stereotypes are just bad news, and the damn conformists who buy them are just morons (hey, there's a stereotype). ok, bye |