Aunt on Facebook
- Thread starter Osamenor
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david starling
Well-known member
Yeah but david might be trying to get laid. His quest is holy and sacrosanct.
Aquarius, would you date a transman? Is it discriminatory if you wouldn't?
She's already ruled you out, bro!
david starling
Well-known member
I like that term "othering". Did you come up with it, or is it a current expression?
Dirius
Well-known member
I think her reasoning was more of the:
"If you don't like it here why stay?" - which is a common response to anyone who berates against their own country.
Like "if you don't like capitalism, why not emigrate to socialist paradise Venezuela?"
Its not in itself a racist statement.
wan
Well-known member
Othering? Do you mean like treating people as an out-group? If yes, then of course I would. Why wouldn't I? I am Asian. I do not belong in the same group as black people.
Further, I want to make it very clear that I am NOT saying black people should emigrate. I was offering what I thought was a good solution to their problem, for the very simple reason that it is incredibly difficult to change the attitudes of hundreds of millions of people. Surely you agree with this.
Osamenor
Staff member
I learned it several years ago in a workshop on white privilege. I did not invent it, but I don't think people are very familiar with it outside of social justice work.
wan
Well-known member
Wow, your getting hotter and hotter, dirius.
Osamenor
Staff member
In a nutshell, yes. Othering can be even more pervasive than that, though. You've probably experienced it yourself. Have you ever had people treat you as exotic because you're Asian? Or assume you didn't speak English (happened to my brother's ex because she has a Chinese name, although she's been American since she was small)? Or other stereotypical assumptions? Or simply not include you?
wan
Well-known member
Of course I have. Racism is alive and well in this day and age. Doesn't bother me, though. I just suck it up. It's called being a grown-up and coping. Life isnt perfect.
aquarius7000
Well-known member
Your thought process is clear when you say "wouldn't it be easier to emigrate". Also, others see it in the context of not just that one thing...emigrate.
You said: you found the... said... community ugly
That they whine a lot
That that whining annoys you
That if they don't like America, wouldn't it be easier to emigrate.
That reveals your thought process so clearly that you do not need to say anything is 'so many words'.
One could turn around and say: why don't you emigrate if you are so troubled by the whining (which is a very heartless way to put it when it has to (often) do with situations, as said in many posts, where mothers have lost their children (Floyd, Garner...) because that is exactly what you are doing... complaining and whining about a community.
Do you realise how many lives racial discrimination has taken and that this has been happening for decades and decades. And you reduce all the grieving to mere whining? If you don't like a something, rather than putting such hateful comments (and yes, calling a race ugly is extremely hateful in my books) on a fourm, "wouldn't it be easier" to refrain from it and not hurt and offend people? If you have friends that think just like you (sadly), feel free to revel in such sentiment with them - at least that is limited to just that group- that thinks alike.
Also, just to note here, there is BIG difference in saying something nice about a race (as long as not demeaning others) because of the positive connotation to it. People see that as racist also, but positive has a different effect than condemnation.
For instance, saying Americans are hardworking has a different effect than saying race x are all free-loaders. Context obviously always plays a big part.
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david starling
Well-known member
Here you go, Dirius:
"America, Love It Or Leave It."
Versus
"America, Love It And Improve It".
We're a "can do" nation. Nothing is impossible if we put our minds to it.
wan
Well-known member
How is changing the racial attitudes of white Americans an improvement? Yes it would improve the circumstances for black people but what do white people have to gain from it?
david starling
Well-known member
aquarius7000
Well-known member
wan
Well-known member
I feel that you are trying to change my thought process. Why? Why is it a concern to you that one person (such as me) entertains thoughts that could be construed as racist?
I don't have a problem with people who want to be tolerant and non-racist. But I draw the line when they try to thought-police to make sure everybody thinks the same thoughts and feels the same feelings as they do. Just leave people like me alone, OK?
david starling
Well-known member
Change what you can, and cope with the rest.
Dirius
Well-known member
I didn't say I agreed or disagreed with the statement.
I merely explained that, in itself, is not racist. You can swap the word black, with any other word.
Race is not the significant part of the argument.
wan
Well-known member
It doesn't matter. My point is that racism is just a part of life. Heck, even some white people experience very bad treatment. Sometimes, there are simply people who do not like you, for any number of reasons. One just needs to man up and deal with it. It's like I said, life aint perfect.
Noooo! Tell me it aint so!