THIS POST IS STRICTLY FOR ALL! (HUMANS ONLY, RR)

DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,899 Posts
edited August 2005 in Strut Central
Can a white guy be born in Japan and live there all his life and be just Japanese? Can an Asian gurl be born and raised in Trinidad and be a Trinidadian? Can a black man be born in Finland and just be Finnish?Or does race always have to be an issue? I'm really starting to have a distaste for racial classification. It just seems like another type of segregation.Don't get me wrong. I think History & Heritage are super important. But with the way the world is going into this global village deal, shouldn't it be about time we start including others in? Instead of excluding others out?This isn't directed to anyone in general. Just a topic for discussion.Maybe it's just the fact that my life everyday as a Torontonian comes into so many different cultures and beautiful people, that I think this way. Growing up as a kid with friends and family from everything under the sun with different backgrounds helps alot I guess.Man, does this sound like a pipe dream?? I wish I could bottle this up and share it with the world.Don't get me wrong. Everything is not amazing here. We have our racial problems. But maybe it's time to start discussing & debating (Good or bad talk), instead of hiding from it. People just stay ignorant that way and never get to know any better.Anyways, I wish nothing but good shit in y0 life, no matter where ur comin' from.DOR
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  Comments


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Or does race always have to be an issue? I'm really starting to have a distaste for racial classification. It just seems like another type of segregation.

    There is no genetic proof of race. No one is pure. One of the greatest mythologies created by humans.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,899 Posts
    Or does race always have to be an issue? I'm really starting to have a distaste for racial classification. It just seems like another type of segregation.

    There is no genetic proof of race. No one is pure. One of the greatest mythologies created by humans.

    Understood. But I'm looking to more what society bundles us up as.


  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    Or does race always have to be an issue? I'm really starting to have a distaste for racial classification. It just seems like another type of segregation.

    There is no genetic proof of race. No one is pure. One of the greatest mythologies created by humans.

    Understood. But I'm looking to more what society bundles us up as.



    There's the rub. the concept of "race" has no basis in reality so it will stop when people stop believeing in it and useing it as an excusse for the ills of the world.

    People are ignorant and they suck!


  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    I'm really starting to have a distaste for racial classification. It just seems like another type of segregation.


    I already am. This whole people of color shit is making it worse (because implicit is everyone but white people). But maybe I just redifine myself as person of color becuase of [secret] blood? Or maybe I can just be an Earthling?

    If you are a person of color with a meditation practice or if you are interested in developing a practice then this Sunday gathering would be of benefit. You don't need to consider yourself a Buddhist and you can drop-in any Sunday. If you have no experience with meditation, you can still come to the Sunday gatherings.

    Instruction is offered by Viveka, a woman of color of Chinese ancestry who has been meditating and working for social justice in and with the Bay Area???s low-income communities of color since 1991. She is an ordained Buddhist and meditation and dharma teacher at the SFBC. Her writing appears in Dharma, Culture and Color: New Voices in Western Buddhism, published by Parallax Press (2004), a book written by practitioners of color. Viveka also has an essay about being a person and Buddhist practitioner of color being in the upcoming book Blue Jean Buddha II: Voices of Young Buddhists (Wisdom Publications, fall of 2005). In April 2004 Viveka was one of teachers participating in the Asian and Pacific Islander Dharma Retreat and Conference hosted by Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

    This mindset is so violent. It kills me.


  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts

    If you are a person of color with a meditation practice or if you are interested in developing a practice then this Sunday gathering would be of benefit. You don't need to consider yourself a Buddhist and you can drop-in any Sunday. If you have no experience with meditation, you can still come to the Sunday gatherings.

    Instruction is offered by Viveka, a woman of color of Chinese ancestry who has been meditating and working for social justice in and with the Bay Area???s low-income communities of color since 1991. She is an ordained Buddhist and meditation and dharma teacher at the SFBC. Her writing appears in Dharma, Culture and Color: New Voices in Western Buddhism, published by Parallax Press (2004), a book written by practitioners of color. Viveka also has an essay about being a person and Buddhist practitioner of color being in the upcoming book Blue Jean Buddha II: Voices of Young Buddhists (Wisdom Publications, fall of 2005). In April 2004 Viveka was one of teachers participating in the Asian and Pacific Islander Dharma Retreat and Conference hosted by Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

    This mindset is so violent. It kills me.




    Ouch!!!!!! Remember your social constructs as you melt away into nothingness!!!!!!

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts

    so are you saying the intent of these programs was to debilitate minorities? i mean, asians are still a minority in this country, no? are we not supposed to benefit from these programs? do you fear that these programs that have been set up to help ethnic minorities might actually benefit us to the point where we take power from the white majority? im not sure what youre getting on about.

    advancement should be based on merit. in america, we ow something to natives and african-slaves and their decendants. (everyone else is on equal footing IMB.)

    intent is how affirmative action came about. and most minority programs are based on the same premise. however, they now include everyone but whites and this betrays the intent and will eventually cause most of the programs to be declared unconstitutional.



    what have they set out to abolish? im not knowledgable on APA programs. im not even sure what APA is supposed to stand for but im assuming asia pacific american.


    minority programs are becoming exclusive clubs packed with upper class priviledged people...along the lines of Daughters of the American Revolution or Knights of Columbus.

    by accepting a m

  • hmmm. i see your point of view even though i dont agree with it. but first things first.

    chinese were also brought over here as slaves so by your reasoning they should also be repatriated, no? the western half of america was once mexico so all of mexico should be somehow repatriated by your argument, no?

    look man, i dont know if youve ever lived abroad, and by abroad i dont mean europe. i lived in japan for a year. which you would think would make me feel right at home. but im not japanese, im way more american than that. and i found that japan is very insensitive to my american needs. like, can i smoke some weed in this bitch without doing hard time in japanese labor camp? there's not a sprig of cilantro in that whole godforsaken country. nobody speaks engrish over there. i found myself hanging out with a bunch of corn fed midwestern dipshits because i could at least relate to them on some level. and every morning i had to jimmy my fat ass into this small ass bathroom so i could take my morning shit. it aint them palacial bathrooms us americans are used to. it aint america. they dont give a shit but why should they? they dont have a constitution that stipulates "all men are equal". i mean, if anything hate on the founding fathers for writing that bit in. cuz now you all are paying for it. trying to balance shit out around here. but if it werent for programs like these "minority programs" whatever that is, do you really think folks from all over the world would be moving here and contributing to americana?

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    mexicans are natives. it's big stretch to put the chinese in the same category as african slaves in the USA, but you can have it. doesn't really help your argument though.

    basically yeah. i'm american and so are you. we should have equal access based on merit and ability. neither on of us should get a leg up becuase of our apearance.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    basically yeah. i'm american and so are you. we should have equal access based on merit and ability. neither on of us should get a leg up becuase of our apearance.







  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    yes. it is a fantasy. so i should give up? ok. you win hero bitch.


  • basically yeah. i'm american and so are you. we should have equal access based on merit and ability. neither on of us should get a leg up becuase of our apearance.

    come on fatback. which of us really has more of a chance to become president? or any position of power for that matter? the white male controls the power in this country and that is an undeniable fact. these "programs" at the very most give middle class ethnic minorities a sense of empowerment.

    i mean, look at california. a state where the white population may in fact be in the minority. id say there is a strong asian and latino presence but i'll bet the farm you wont see either as governor. but motherfuckers will bend over for some austrian born movie star. a FOB if you will. but a white FOB.


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    yes. it is a fantasy. so i should give up? ok. you win hero bitch.








  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts

    basically yeah. i'm american and so are you. we should have equal access based on merit and ability. neither on of us should get a leg up becuase of our apearance.

    come on fatback. which of us really has more of a chance to become president? or any position of power for that matter? the white male controls the power in this country and that is an undeniable fact. these "programs" at the very most give middle class ethnic minorities a sense of empowerment.

    i mean, look at california. a state where the white population may in fact be in the minority. id say there is a strong asian and latino presence but i'll bet the farm you wont see either as governor. but motherfuckers will bend over for some austrian born movie star. a FOB if you will. but a white FOB.


    I think we should really re-think the "minority" idea as well.
    If your speaking globally and numerically whose the real minority?

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    neither on of us should get a leg up becuase of our apearance.



    even if one of you gets fucked over because of it?



    You know how rich folks say ???money???s no object???? ???Money isn???t that important???? That???s because they don???t have to worry about it.



    I kinda feel the same about race. The only people I ever hear saying let's forget about race are those who have the luxury of not having to think about it or deal with how others react to it or use it against them on a regular basis.


  • slushslush 691 Posts
    HUMANS ONLY



    "CAN I GET A FUCKING BREAK?"

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts


    basically yeah. i'm american and so are you. we should have equal access based on merit and ability. neither on of us should get a leg up becuase of our apearance.



    come on fatback. which of us really has more of a chance to become president? or any position of power for that matter? the white male controls the power in this country and that is an undeniable fact. these "programs" at the very most give middle class ethnic minorities a sense of empowerment.



    i mean, look at california. a state where the white population may in fact be in the minority. id say there is a strong asian and latino presence but i'll bet the farm you wont see either as governor. but motherfuckers will bend over for some austrian born movie star. a FOB if you will. but a white FOB.






    you're on slippery slope. becuase legally you will need to define these things.





    so give it a try. i dare you. anyone?



    define these terms:



    race



    minority



    people of color



    merit



    affirmative action

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    There is no genetic proof of race. No one is pure. One of the greatest mythologies created by humans.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    The only people I ever hear saying let's forget about race are those who have the luxury of not having to think about it or deal with how others react to it or use it against them on a regular basis.

    I'm sorry you feel that way. But tell me, for example, why you should get a $6,000 education grant becuase of your race? A grant that is not available to me only because of my race.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    There is no genetic proof of race. No one is pure. One of the greatest mythologies created by humans.

    true. another point is that it's even more absurd to cling to racial ID in the post-genomic era. where we know that there are more genetic differences within races than between races.


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    The only people I ever hear saying let's forget about race are those who have the luxury of not having to think about it or deal with how others react to it or use it against them on a regular basis.

    I'm sorry you feel that way. But tell me, for example, why you should get a $6,000 education grant becuase of your race? A grant that is not available to me only because of my race.

    Affirmative action uses race to eliminate racism. That was it's original goal. But since institutional racism still exists, these programs will continue.
    The playing field hasn't been leveled.

    Stop cryin,bitch.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    The only people I ever hear saying let's forget about race are those who have the luxury of not having to think about it or deal with how others react to it or use it against them on a regular basis.

    I'm sorry you feel that way. But tell me, for example, why you should get a $6,000 education grant becuase of your race? A grant that is not available to me only because of my race.

    Affirmative action uses race to eliminate racism. That was it's original goal. But since institutional racism still exists, these programs will continue.
    The playing field hasn't been leveled.

    Stop cryin,bitch.

    fuck you. your mama and your greasy greasy granny

    i'm telling affirmative action supporters that their ship is sinking because they lost sight.

    ps--you're a fucking pussy. about time you actually wrote something--albeit lame as fuck. but, hey, those images you posted were so powerful. wow.

  • The only people I ever hear saying let's forget about race are those who have the luxury of not having to think about it or deal with how others react to it or use it against them on a regular basis.

    I'm sorry you feel that way. But tell me, for example, why you should get a $6,000 education grant becuase of your race? A grant that is not available to me only because of my race.

    Affirmative action uses race to eliminate racism. That was it's original goal. But since institutional racism still exists, these programs will continue.
    The playing field hasn't been leveled.

    Stop cryin,bitch.

    fuck you. your mama and your greasy greasy granny

    i'm telling affirmative action supporters that their ship is sinking because they lost sight.

    ps--you're a fucking pussy. about time you actually wrote something--albeit lame as fuck. but, hey, those images you posted were so powerful. wow.

    that's a slippery slope because legally you will have to define

    fuck

    greasy

    pussy

    and bnitch

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    you win again gramps!

    ill be back

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    The only people I ever hear saying let's forget about race are those who have the luxury of not having to think about it or deal with how others react to it or use it against them on a regular basis.

    I'm sorry you feel that way. But tell me, for example, why you should get a $6,000 education grant becuase of your race? A grant that is not available to me only because of my race.

    That wasn't really an "I feel" statement.

    But anyway, I'm sorry it's the kind of world that I do, too.

    I don???t know if I should or not. I???m not sure how I feel about affirmative action. On paper, yea it doesn???t read right, but in reality, everyone gets fucked over by racism. I guess this is one of those times. A white dude missing out on the $6k grant is something that I guess folks never planned on when they were helping to build this hierarchy back in the day. I feel like all the first painful steps that will help to level the field and get representation of all kinds of folks is worth it.

  • you win again gramps!

    ill be back

    ha ha!

    no, i hear you though. its sad that you have to suffer as a result of affirmative action. but this country is based on a promise that all men are created equal. which they completely fucked themselves with by having slaves and stealing land. and now those in power have to own up to that promise. which means youre assed out. im sorry youre stuck without a $6000 grant. just be thankful youre assed out of a $6000 grant and living in america rather than some other country that could really give a shit about you being an equal.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    I feel like all the first painful steps that will help to level the field and get representation of all kinds of folks is worth it.

    perhaps. but i just don't think it's going to stand up legally in the USA. see recent Michigan case.

    affirmative action was designed to reduce, over genrerations, the percentages of african americans living in poverty in the USA . it was working well until it became an "everyone who isn't white or male" action program.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    im sorry youre stuck without a $6000 grant. just be thankful youre assed out of a $6000 grant and living in america rather than some other country that could really give a shit about you being an equal.

    i'm not talking about me.

    i'm not suffering the least under aff.action policy. not at all.

    i see too many failures and flaws in the policy and feel we should reevaluate it before it's too late.

    that's all i'm sayin. i fully support the principle but the practice is clearly problematic.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I seriously can't tell if Fatback is serious in half his posts or what.

    I'll say this much: affirmative actions are incredibly vulnerable to the kind of critique that FB is leveling and I think if people are serious about addressing issues of institutional racism, they need to find some better shit than AA to hang their hopes on. I'm not saying AA is a terrible idea per se, but as more time goes by, it simply ceases to address the changing social landscape. Actually, I'm not sure if it ever was conceived to properly address that landscape to begin with. IT's always been a program that, by and large, has benefited the middle class rather than the underclass.

    As for the persistance of race in our society - yes, race is PURELY a social construct, with no proven biological/genetic basis. But the problem here is that you can't command the planet to stop thinking along racial lines and that means, so long as race persists as a social category/division and institutional racism continues to be a reality for many/most, then that's where you are.

    And Fatback, the term "person of color" came about in response to a lot of other terms that people found dissatsifying including colored people (for its historical use) and non-white (since that's an identity based on negation). I'm not sure what term you'd rather use in its place since, as far as I know, read, seen, experienced, etc. we still live in a country that is fundamentally divided along many social lines, race only being one of the most obvious. And given that those racial lines are dominated by the persistance of white supremacy - not in the KKK sense, but in terms of preserving white privilege and institutional control - it stands to reason that American society is split between whites and those-not-white (i.e. people of color).

    This whole "we're all human" tack simply doesn't play out anywhere in the world, let alone America and I actually find the naivete behind the ideal to be dangerous since it presumes equality where there is none and therefore, can only serve to undermine social justice work already being done.

    And the thing is: I have no desire/need to shove my ideology down anyone's throat. The first thing you learn in social organizing is that you can't change how people think/feel but you can change what they do. It's all well and fine to argue ideology on a message board but ultimately, it's the actions you lead off the board that will truly define your position. I don't care how many people get their consciousness raised so long as the social justice objectives I believe in are enacted. What, you think the South got desegregated because Southerners had a change of heart? As if.

  • im sorry youre stuck without a $6000 grant. just be thankful youre assed out of a $6000 grant and living in america rather than some other country that could really give a shit about you being an equal.

    i'm not talking about me.

    i'm not suffering the least under aff.action policy. not at all.

    i see too many failures and flaws in the policy and feel we should reevaluate it before it's too late.

    that's all i'm sayin. i fully support the principle but the practice is clearly problematic.

    um, are you going to be crusading for gay rights in the near future too?

    ok, ok. well, how do you propose we fix the problem?

  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    I feel like all the first painful steps that will help to level the field and get representation of all kinds of folks is worth it.

    perhaps. but i just don't think it's going to stand up legally in the USA. see recent Michigan case.

    affirmative action was designed to reduce, over genrerations, the percentages of african americans living in poverty in the USA . it was working well until it became an "everyone who isn't white or male" action program.

    Hey Fatback,

    I find it odd that you take such a stance against affirmative action when 97% of its recipients were...White women. The job of bringing about equality in terms of proportional representation between races is far from over. Equality will NEVER occur as long as there is "educational apartheid" in this country (see Jonathan Kozol's 1991 book "Savage Inequalities" for more details).

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak
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