Topic: "I'm not racist, but..."

[WindAndConfusion]

If you ever feel the need to say "I'm not racist," please just kill yourself. I guarantee that there is nothing you can say or do that will mitigate the shame of having said whatever it was that prompted you to declare your not-racism in the first place.

This is an email that was sent to the Boston Globe, apparently written by a Boston police officer, regarding the Robert Gates case (wherein a white douche arrested a black douche on account that they couldn't tolerate one another's mutual douchitude).

That was by far the worst article I've ever read. I am a former English teacher, writer, current police officer, father, husband and military veteran. You need to be corrected and I certainly hope others have attempted, for your written messages and material is so 4th grade level, I am embarrassed I paid 1.50 for the paper [rest assured, it is my aim to tell as many readers The Boston Globe and your biased reporting is both sub standard and strictly one sided].

For you are not professional and basically, your writing is ridiculous. A reader may assume, per your article, that criminals are never well-dressed with a tucked in polo [2nd paragraph]. Your defense [4th paragraph] of Gates while he is on the phone while being confronted [INDEED] with a police officer is assuming he has rights when considered a suspect. He is a suspect and will always be a suspect.

His first priority of effort should be to get off the phone and comply with the police, for if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC [oleoresin caseinate aka pepper gas] deserving of his belligerent non-compliance.

Further [5th paragraph], a reader may assume that crimes only happen in back alleys at 0300?! You're kidding me, right? Are you still in the 5th Grade, Catholic School?

That paragraph was a s pathetic as jungle monkey gibberish -- I might as well ax you the question, Is this your first test at reporting?"

You do not understand roles, tactics, and dangers police officers face, as apparently you think no one wearing a polo might possess a firearm of knife on his/her person. Might you fathom a woman could be a criminal? Or are criminals all hairy, dirty, stinky, mean ugly looking men?

You are a hot little bird with minimal experience in a harsh field. You are a fool. An infidel. You have no business writing for a US newspaper nevermind [sic] detailing and analyzing half truths. You should serve me coffee and donuts on Sunday morning.

My last point counters your final 2 paragraphs, in which you state Gates is, "this immensely famous expert on race" -- you really have to be kidding me? Famous for what? Expert why and says who?

What has he done for the law enforcement community or military veterans or to secure freedoms and our borders in this country? What has he done to limit and reduce my income tax?

He has proven to work to get himself attention and become a wealthy lecturer. He lectures students on the subject of racial ethics and profiling. Jee whiz. I must attend that lecture lest I lose my identity and right to free speech and the right to celebrate God and beliefs as I see fit.

I am not a racist, but I am prejudice towards people whop are stupid and pretend to stand up and preach for something they claim is freedom when it is merely attention because you do not receive enough of it in your little fear-dwelling circle of on-the-bandwagon followers.

You mention gates' charges were dropped but that it was too late to stop the damage? Damage? Still kidding? You need to serve a day with the infantry and get swarmed by black gnats while manning your sector. Or you just need to get slapped, look in the mirror and admit, "Wow, I am a failure. I am a follower. Who am I kidding?"

Again I like a warm cruller and hot Panamanian, black. No sugar.

Your final statement reads, Gates, whose great success has allowed him to transcend the racial divide" to which I ask, when did he transcend?

He indeed has transcended back to a bumbling jungle monkey, thus he forever tremains [sic] amid this nation's great social/racial divide that makes it a free and great nation mixed with crazy awkward differences.

Go ahead, ax me what I think? Gates is a goddamned fool and you the article writer simply a poor follower and maybe worse, a poor writer.

Your article title should read CONDUCT UNBECOMING A JUNGLE MONKEY –BACK TO ONE'S ROOTS. JB

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/20215609/detail.html

[Quemaqua]

Douchitude: uniting us all in the hatred of one another since the beginning of time.

[PyroMenace]

Wrong Answer

Some Glenn Beck genius

[WindAndConfusion]

Wrong Answer

I don't have the words to express my gratitude for this video.

I may have shown it to you before, but this is the only thing I can offer in return.

[Cobra951]

Glenn Beck contradicts himself within a minute in that vid.  The guy tries to incite white supremacists to riot on his show now and then.  He's Fox News' worst liability right now, much worse than any of their other conservative histrionics.

"I'm not racist, but . . ." is an attempt at an apology for whatever follows.  It could be changed to something less cliche, like "bear with me; this may sound racist, but it really isn't".  I suppose a lot of white guys feel compelled to use that when dealing with the taboo subject of so-called "reverse racism", or racism from people of color toward white people.  (Newt Gingrich called it "new racism", and went on to say it's no better than "old racism".  I agree.)  They have been systematically intimidated against even bringing it up.  The intimidation-fueled gag affects all whites, not just the racist ones.

When someone of color gains a significant advantage over a white simply because of his race or ethnicity, a legitimate complaint is possible in a nation founded on principles like equality.  "I'm not racist, but . . ." may be a popular introduction to it, if not the best advised one.

[Quemaqua]

What Cobra said.  It's a perfectly logical statement for any white male American, because we live in a country that doesn't tolerate our opinions anymore.  For instance, I think very poorly of a number of ethnic cultures and believe them to be broken and unhealthy (and before you start bitching, average suburban white culture is included).  However, I'm not a racist.  I don't believe people belonging to those cultures are genetically inferior to myself or anyone else, and given the proper environment, they can be every bit as productive and intelligent as the next guy.  But to say that I think a culture is unhealthy or wrong is to be called a racist, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with race and everything to do with culture.

[WindAndConfusion]

When someone of color gains a significant advantage over a white simply because of his race or ethnicity, a legitimate complaint is possible in a nation founded on principles like equality.  "I'm not racist, but . . ." may be a popular introduction to it, if not the best advised one.

You read that whole thing, right? "I'm not racist, but... BANANA-EATING JUNGLE MONKEY."

[Cobra951]

Yeah, I did.  I was commenting on the often-used phrase you brought up.  No doubt the guy is racist, and not in a politically correct way.

[Xessive]

Racial sensitivity is a little out of hand these days. I agree with Que, that it seems uneven against caucasians, like suddenly everything is hypersensitive and peoples' ears are delicate instruments that could crack at the utterance of a slur. It's pretty ridiculous at times.

I remember back in Uni it was often white people who pointed out racial stuff, as opposed to the internationals who were more or less indifferent to it. I recall a specific incident in the international students' lounge (where Pug and I usually hung out); I entered the room and said to a friend of mine "Hey, the black guy out in the hall is looking for you.." and instantly the two white North Americans (I have to indicate that becuase the three white Europeans in the room didn't react) remark "What did you call him? Why would you say he's black? You should at least say African American or something!!" I thought it was a joke until one of them stood up and said "that was racist, you should be more careful with your words.." I replied bluntly "First off, I'm describing the guy, I don't know his name. Second, I don't know if he's 'African American' he could very well be just African! Stop waving around words like 'racist' about shit that's not racist, it's downright ignorant. It's people like you, who point out stuff like this, that make the problem." They left the room and apparently went to discuss it with the International Student Advisor. He called me in, and this is when I decided to use racism. I basically said that they had singled me out because I am of Middle Eastern heritage etc. They panicked and started defending themselves "that's not what we meant, oh my God.." and right then I said "see how easy it is to make a fuss over nothing? Come on back in and relax, the lounge is a chillin' zone!"  The original problem faded away.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that it's easy to interpret things as you wish them. If you want to see racism you'll start interpretting it in every little thing. If you want to see the good in people, you'll start noticing all the little good things. I'm not saying we should just switch off our 'racism detection' but we need determine the context and the intention because that's what really matters.

I think anyone who resorts to racism, those who offend with it and those are easily offended by it, should be penalized. I abhor racism. I also absolutely disdain the "we should all be colour-blind" crap. Holy frick, that's retarded.

[Cobra951]

Great post.  You know, the old "sticks and stones" proverb works real well for me.  (Google that, and find out how very right you are about hyper-sensitivity.)

[KontrollerX]