[mudweiser]

I'm not a racist.

I was just thinking...

Every time I meet someone in this town I always get the question "where are you from?". So I reply "Canada", I was born here. To which they reply "No..what are you?". What is my race.

Really. Why should it matter? Would your perception of me change if I were half Irish, or a quarter African American or even a full blooded Native-American?

When I did go to school I remember the Hispanic kids sticking their flags onto their backpacks. "Puerto Rican Pride", "Salvadorian 4 life", etc. Most of them segregated themselves and would dismember you if you were from another race trying to talk to a member of their group. I'm positive not all schools are up to these extremes- but mine was.

My family is also the type to stick a flag as their car bumper sticker- I've always been opposed. I would take it off, not because I was ashamed, I just didn't want it to define who I was. I'm not a flag. I am not my ethnicity. I am me. My mother of course would think it was my "racist" neighbor that would take off the bumper sticker.

I had a friend who is raising 4 girls and teaching them that their race is the best race. White people are trash and minorities are the better ones. White people are racist and hate it when minorities bring something better to the table- because white people always want to be in the spot light. ← where does this logic come from?


I'm not sure about the rest of you, but isn't it all a little ignorant?

It's one thing to be "proud of your roots" but it's another to make it a production out of it.

What does being "proud where you come from", "proud of your roots", "pride for your ethnicity" even mean?

Anyone out there think the same or are you against this type of thinking?

Sarah

[Wondergirl]

I'm 100% German heritage, fourth generation American.

Do you still like me?

I ask the "what is your heritage" question mostly to find a common place for us to begin a relationship.

[Stringer]

There are some historical things that play a part Sarah.

I am Austrian and when I went to meet my wife's parents in Poland she asked me to say that I was American only which I usually do unless someone specifically asks my ethnicity. She explained what her family went through and about the family members that were lost during WW ll. They still hold animosity toward Germans and Austrians and I can understand this.

I am what I am (as Popeye says... ) but I was born and raised here I am not an Austrian American. I see no other reason to think differently, I personally fought for the right to say that I am an American.

Stringer

[Athos]

Anthropologists classify human beings as primarily falling into one of three groups - Negroid, Mongoloid, or Caucasoid. It is generally accepted today that all humans originated in Africa (Negroid) and, over long periods, evolved into the other two groups (there is some dispute about this).

Within each group, differences arose which are called "ethnic". For example, Europe, a Caucasoid area, evolved into Italians, Germans, English, Spanish, etc. etc. etc. The differences were marked in many ways, but primarily by language. The same evolutionary characteristics were at work in the other two groups.

As language became a defining characteristic of identity, nations formed. In addition to language, they tended to have similar culture - food, religion, governance, and some physical characteristics primarily due to their geographical location. People living in southern Europe, because of exposure to the sun, developed darker skin compared to those living in northern Europe where lighter skin was an evolutionary advantage.

As these ethnic groups found themselves in other societies, they were perceived as different - and therefore threatening. The US is a good example of this. Each immigrant group had to find its own way, often at the price of violence and prejudice. This continues today.

To maintain its identity, the group on the lowest rung has to forcefully define itself amidst the dominant group(s). As each group assimilates with second and third generations moving more and more into the mainstream through education and language, the differences (and the prejudice) gradually disappear. Hence, the Italians, Irish, Germans, Jews, etc. have more or less become inculturated into US society after initially being pariahs.

This obviously hasn't worked to perfection - yet. Anti-semitism still exists in the US, and, in Europe, the Germans are still hated in much of that area due to the events of the Second World War. It is always a long process even under the best of conditions.

As long as groups perceive themselves to be discriminated against, they will fight back in the ways you described in your post. It's a matter of survival.

All any of us can do is NOT discriminate to the best of our ability and recognize the other as at least as valuable as us in his humanity. It's never an easy task.

[mudweiser]

Thanks Athos and Stringer for your input; the personal story and the facts gave me a little more insignt.

As for you Wondergirl, let's not be silly- of course I still like you.

Sarah

[0rphan]

I find the whole thing very sad.. people ridiculing others for their ethnic origin or the colour of their skin.

Every day I deal with many races, all of different colour skins,I treat them all exactly the same,because they are the same, just in different shades.
Unfortunately this is not reciprocated,many times I have suffered racist abuse,not by all, but always by the same people.

I am white born in the UK, the racist are immigrants who have recently moved over here,sadly they do not intergrate with the english preferring to remain with in their own communities, up to a point I can understand this but they are given the same curtesy as I give every body else,yet still they remain extremely rude and arrogant... manners do not exist.

However many of them are very lovely people who will have a joke with you. Maybe eventually the rest will treat us with the thanks and respect we deserve.

WE are all the same,just grown into different cultures and beliefs.
Children will develop the doctrine that has been instilled in them by their parents,some of which is incorrect and totally racist, no matter what country they come from.

In the end we are all people of the human race, none of us better than each other, but all of us as good as one another.

We just come in different shades... but we all bleed red.

[Ren6]

Well, I think it's rude if people are walking up to you and asking where you're from. Clearly, you must look as if you're not from around those parts, and they're curious, but it's still pretty rude.

As for the ethnic pride, I am one of those people who carries that pride. I have a now threadbare pair of flannel shorts that proclaim "Irish", and several celtic knot-work tees. I'm trying to learn Norwegian (my other ethnic half) in preparation of a trip next year. I've always know who I am and where I come from, and I like that I'm half Norwegian and Irish.

I don't feel superior to anybody based on this pride, however.

[excon]

Hello mud:

The question doesn't make a lot of sense.. Because it attempts to identify your heritage at a moment in time. But, our heritage isn't about a moment...

Mine is a good example... I'm a Jew. But, my grandparents immigrated from Poland.. But, were they Polish, or were they Jews? I don't know. They didn't start in Poland. I don't know where they were before they were Polish, but it was probably somewhere in the middle east. So, am I an Israeli? Maybe. But, they didn't start in the middle east. They started in Africa. So, I guess I'm African.

I don't know. Some day we'll get past it. The internet is helping that along.

excon

[spitvenom]

I'm 100% Italian. Most people think I am Puerto Rican because of how dark I am. I usually just say I am whatever you want me to be cause It really doesn't matter. If they insist to know "what" I am I say I am Chinese the puzzled look on peoples faces are hilarious. If the say come on we know you aren't from China then I say I am a human. That really makes people mad. But eventually my wife gets annoyed and says HE'S ITALIAN NOW SHUT IT!!

[jammixmaster]

Racist people are just stupid. Science has proven that human life started in Africa, which would probably mean at the start of it all we were all dark skinned. Over the centuries of people moving all over the world where the sun wasn't as harsh caused the melanin in the skin to die out, causing them to have lighter skin. Does that make them better? No.

Race, ethnicity, background, religion, sexual orientation or whatever should not define someone or a certain group. Just because one white person robs a bank does not mean they are all bank robbers. Just because one black person murders someone does not make them all murders. People who are racist need to wake up and realize that there are more than just their race in the world. However, if black people want to be racist and live in a country of all black people then head straight to Africa. If white people want to be racist and live in a country of mainly white people, Russia is open for business. And so on and so forth. End of story. Watson, bring me my cigar.

[21boat]

I had a friend who is raising 4 girls and teaching them that their race is the best race. []White people are trash and minorities are the better ones. White people are racist and hate it when minorities bring something better to the table- because white people always want to be in the spot light. ← where does this logic come from?

I know this is an older post but I would like to add here.

As human beings our eyes see color in many light spectrum's. That's a good thing. As we grow up we use this to identify shapes and then colors. Our brains start to connect the both together to mean or identify something.

Snow on the ground doesn't look like rain. So when we see snow we think its cold out because that's usually required for snow to lay on the ground. Its what we are exposed to and see with our eyes to represent things.

Why does red mean stop and green go... Its what we accepted it to mean.

As we use our eyes we start to identify people that way. Before the tanning beds we would see a white person with a tan during the winter and say that person must be from the south where its hot and sunny. Or they were on a southern beach vacation. The color identified that person to a point.

Many of the cultures/races is identifiable by color and looks. The comment she looks Italian and has that smooth Italian skin.

All of this is normal and natural and its part of our senses.

When you think about the word racist what's the first thing that comes to your mind. Color. We get stuck on that because of the big difference in color of races. Racist in the U.S. is more of color issue mainly because of two different distinct colors. Generically it's easier to identify certain races. Our eyes recognize the spectrum's differences. I remember back in the 70s I could identify a car at night just by its white headlight brightness and shape and position on the car.

What's very interesting is the Puerto Ricans will refer to another Puerto Rican and say " He's a dark or black Puerto Rican.
Different forms of racism:

We visually look at President Obama and label him African American. He looks like a light skinned black man with black features yet he.s 1/2 white.

By proper Definition he's not an African American. Yet the races call him that because of color and that resemblance of a race.

He is a mulatto
define:mulatto - Google Search

So by true Definition labeling him an African American is being racist to the Mulatto's. Calling him a White president may also be racist to the Mulatto's. Ironically to be correct he is simply an American that happens to be a Mulatto

To get it right, historically he is the first Mulatto American to become the U.S. President.

That being said,lets keep this neutral and in the classroom...

" Mulatto: was commonly used in Europe for centuries and to this day and not as a derogatory connotation.

It seems the U.S. is the only country that negatively pushed the race cards so hard when it came to black and white. One could easily say that for 100s of years there were to distinct races, White and black. Again its our eyes that pick up on this.

Obviously the actual color is not the issue. Its what we perceive it to represent and their lies the problems we have here and all over the world.

I'm not a racist.

I think its so sad we need to say this to express thoughts about races.

Race, ethnicity, background, religion, sexual orientation or whatever should not define someone or a certain group

To prove we all have some racist in us lets look at housing in the U.S.

I do find it ironic that we all say Don't be racist, and yet we all usually feel better living with our own race. I drive through neighbors in the cities and see our natural racism.

The Spanish with the Spanish, The blacks with the blacks. The whites with the whites. When The U.S. was more predominately white, the cities were segregated to religion and different white races. It was the Italians with the Italians. The Jews with Jews, Germans with Germans etc... Weather it be simply by nature or design or choice. To this day most would rather live with there own kind for whatever reason. Obviously this isn't everybody. But it does exist..

To prove that a step further go back to U.S. desegregation of schools in the 60s. Now its 2009. The schools today are naturally reverting back to segregated schools. The white fight took place and now we have many all black schools, many all Spanish schools, all Mexican schools. Explain that as not being a type of racist. Why be ashamed of that. We all are racist at some point.

Races will never go away until we all become one color and all look the same. Until then we are what we are. Be kind to all and hope it comes back. Set the example.

[jammixmaster]

How about this, why don't we all just get over it and realize that America is a melting pot and will remain so until the end of humanity. If racist white people want to live in a country where the majority is white people then go to Russia. If black people want to live in a country where people are majority black then northern africa is your homestead, and the same goes for mexicans or any other people of a particular race and is racist. GET OVER IT.

There, I'm done... *snaps fingers* "Watson, bring me my cigar* :D

[excon]

To this day most would rather live with there own kind for whatever reason. Obviously this isn't everybody. But it does exist..

Hello boat:

I don't agree. SOME small minded racist people would rather live with their own. But MOST of the country has grown beyond that.

Yes, racism does exist. For MY part, however, when I look for a place to live, I DON'T look at the color of my neighbors... Maybe that's because I'm NOT racist.

excon

[21boat]

Hi excon,

But MOST of the country has grown beyond that.

Not sure what country you live in but to state that is very naïve to say the least.

Just to point out how prevalent that is look at the rubber stamping here of professing ones view.

Excons part it quote...

Maybe that's because I'm NOT racist.

Mudweiser...

I'm not a racist

See how society's conditioning produces this opposite labeling here, over compensating. I feel this has gone so far one way that it greatly inhibits dialog between the races to iron things out. Its to a point that it stifles us as a country. Take it the next step and all of us must like our neighbors. Odd how many times that is never truly achieved. Funny how that's not an issue unless the other person is of a different race. You may still have the EXACT opinion but are supposed to keep it quite because its considered and automatic racial comment. Gee could it be they happen to be of another race and you just don't like then because they are trash the neighborhood or are to loud too many times.

Maybe some day the other cultures will realize its more about trash and crime period. Maybe they will understand that the U.S. wants there streets back , to be clean, safe, like those streets were 5, 10, 20, years ago.

Excon not sure what country you live in but here in the U.S. there is natural segregation period. All you have to do is open up your eyes and do the visual thing and study the Demographic housing form the white flights and the other race flights.

My city 50,000 went from predominately white to about a 1/3 white 1/3 black 1/3 Puerto Rican. Guess what after, its basically segregated by natural expanding. The blacks complain about living by the Puerto Ricans. The Puerto Ricans complain About the opposite. In a nut shell Whites/blacks/Puerto Ricans all generally have the same feelings and complaints.

Excon please lets not knee jerk your response to this my last sentence to be correct by a 99% statement. I'm stating If had an empty city and lined up all the ethnic groups. Asked them to get together and pick out where there's groups want to live MOST will surround themselves with there own culture/race in the housing pick. That is a natural form of racism. Just study the history of housing in NY in the early days.

I think you are either very naïve here or your ideology's is getting in the way of actual visual facts.

The quite power struggle I see in housing is real and quite often.

Even the Salvadorians in my town have verbally expressed the same thing. Need to wake up here and see the reality of it.

What ever the ideology's you have or even me facts and statistic won't change, at least in the near future.

I personally have no problem with natural racism at all. It actually represent the freedom we have in this country for all races. Within reason we chose how we want to live and where.

Personally I find it all but impossible to find an actual site to discuss races differences. What few forums I find is either an ACLU Jessi Jackson site or the white extremists. Its all but impossible to find a good grown up ( keep it in the classroom ) site and state feelings/opinions etc. It really comes to a halt when One post actual Government reports of crime/ rape/ etc.

What's the old saying. ( Truths can hurt ) My race isn't perfect and I'm not naïve about that.

Too many times Its so bad we can't even get to the " I agree we disagree"

The problem I feel is a poster will use one incident to justify

Just to re a firm the natural racism of 4 million Puerto Ricans on there island the blacks live mostly in Lozia. The Amerciano choose locations they grouped in. As I was shopping for a house in Puerto Rico the Puerto Rican that works full time for a customer of mine in the states as he also lives there was showing me housing doesn't there. He knew me for over 20 years. He started to show me where the white Amerciano lived first, assumed like him back in the states wanting to live beside my own race.

I CHOOSE NOT to live with the white Amerciano. 99% of my neighbors in P.R. is Puerto Ricans. I have some of the nicest neighbors then one can imagine. Old school Puerto Ricans..

[excon]

Hello again, boat:

We just fundamentally disagree.

You are unable to see the forest because of the trees. The dynamics of racism can't be identified by a particular moment of time. It needs to be viewed as a journey - not a destination.

We're taking that journey. I don't know when we'll get to the end, but I know what it looks like when we get there.

You're taking a moment of time along that journey, and saying that's how we are... But, that's not so. A moment in time taken 200 years ago, when we owned black people, didn't represent us, any more than the moment in time you're talking about now.

excon

[N0help4u]

I don't believe all have racism. Many do not. It is only an excuse some racists use to take the spot light off their racism... and others fall for it.
I like asking people what their ethinicity is because I find it interesting. I feel that we are losing our culture heritage and many young people don't even understand the question when asked. I think that part is sad.
I remember when people were proud of their ethinicity, heritage and culture.

[21boat]

I like asking people what their ethinicity is because I find it interesting. I feel that we are losing our culture heritage and many young people don't even understand the question when asked. I think that part is sad.
I remember when people were proud of their ethinicity, heritage and culture

.

I agree with that and wish it was more often. When I work in the Caribbean I meet many different cultures. And many were very interesting to say the least.

On the flip side I see misplaced pride.

I feel we should all be good ambassadors of our race and wish it was more often on all races.

Bottom line is if one culture has a negative opinion about another culture listen to that complaint to see what validation it may or may not have. If that validation is real then tweak it. What's the old saying. " Lest not give them fuel for the fire" / Lets not give them something negative to talk about"

Lets not be in the news for a negative reason.

My biggest pet peeve is lets not be physically lazy and throw trash on the streets. Show the rest of the communities and the world we are really proud of our cultures and streets and not look like hogs. Think how easy that could be done and not cost money to hit the public trash cans or your own garbage can...

That's real PRIDE of ones culture> What's the other old saying talk is easy doing something is harder.

[jmjoseph]

Sarah,

I'm half Lebanese and half "American"( meaning American descendants from other places, generations ago).I'm darker skinned also, and I live in a small southern town where that is "different" . You were either white or black. But I had friends of both races, ALWAYS have, and ALWAYS will. With all the bad press Lebanon has been getting over the last 40 years, I've had some prejudice, and some smarta$$ remarks, but all in all it's not been bad at all. My paternal grandparents came over from" the old country", and made a good living. I AM PROUD of my roots and will be forever. I cook the food, I play the music, I butcher the language. You see, I believe that where we came from is who we are. Being ashamed of your heritage is an insult to your ancestors. I don't look down on anyone. I don't judge people by the color of their skin, but by their actions. And am teaching my sons the same. I am not sexist, I believe that GOD's greatest creation is woman. I am amazed at the ignorance in the world concerning racism. And we ALL came from somewhere else( except for native indians) , so don't talk bad about immigrants. But I don't think you should "hang" with just your ethnic group. We are all Americans, something that I am proud of . One day, maybe we will all look at each other as equals. In the meantime we'll just have to be tolerant. GOD bless us all.

[21boat]

Science has proven that human life started in Africa

Actually that's a bit misleading. The planet earth Land mass started with one Continent and weather you call if Africa or not The bottom line is, all the continents were formed by continental Drift , period.

A moment in time taken 200 years ago, when we owned black people, didn't represent us, any more than the moment in time you're talking about now.

There was a lot more WE that didn't own black people, also blacks owned blacks at one time, Better bone up on complete history. So the WE here is what? Other nations owned blacks,whites etc..

I disagree here completely. Most of the animosity today between the black and white culture is based on the ( 200 years ago) Don't know what cave you are living in. The (S) word is still being brought up to often in present day by the Blacks and I'm not talking history month.

The dynamics of racism can't be identified by a particular moment of time

The time is the present and the present will come in time. So the statement " During the time of slavery" meant nothing to you... I see by your philosophy that there is no meaning in time, no starting point or grounding to base things on.

Excon I not only see the trees from the forest I study Human beings in responses/conditioned responses etc and how we as a species tick. MOST of what's being said here is are typical responses form what ever side of the fence someone's on.

To get that out of the box and see the BIGGER picture. I was born in the 50s and I have seen a hell of a lot of changes in the U.S. in cultures and Government, not to mention traveled parts of the world and partly living out of the States every year. Real Education different forest. Not just out of a book... Or slanted medias agendas, and knee jerk reactions by quip remarks or trendy statements.

I don't agree. SOME small minded racist people would rather live with their own. But MOST of the country has grown beyond that.

First of all it's a choice to live with ones own race. That's not being a RACIST period>>>>

If that's the way you feel then you best get out and visit your country. Also cross check that in time with the census of the demographics in populations through out the U.S. and the geographical shift changes in concentration of races for the past 30 years. Never heard the word "China town" Spanish Harlem" etc etc...

[jammixmaster]

Does it really matter what race people are? America is a MELTING POT. You don't like it, get out. It's as simple as that.