Achebe, you b*stard I am on an iMac -- something relatively new to me and at times it seems I cannot type because keys I hit do not respond. I dunno.. 1st was...I told her that I was blacker than she was, and she agreed. 2nd...maybe he was a jerk, maybe he was a racist, or both. I did not mean to imply that I thought you were racist -- that you would only be IF you always responded that way... I am not a graduate english student...I am a soon-to-be art history graduate student. Your first few girlfriends were Filipinos? How did you survive? Don't tell my wife said that, OK? ------------------ Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. " " " " "
rimbaud, thanks for the translation. LOL. Two words: Mom's cooking. Does your mother-in-law live close to you guys? ------------------
Achebe, Not anymore - she is in Houston. So did you have a Filipino fetish for a while there, or was is just coincidence? ------------------ Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. " " " " "
It was just Charleston. There used to be a huge naval base before the evil Republicans downsized the military. There was a large Filipino community, I assume in conjunction with the naval base. I assume there's a connection... there are tons of Tongans in SLC but no naval base (that I'm aware of ). ------------------
That is interesting. Did you really monitor his behavior around white people? Something made you uncomfortable about the situation and you attributed it to race. I do not know if this maks you racist unless you did it every time you were around other races...a kid of heightened racial awareness when faced with the "other." Maybe he was a jerk, maybhe was rmaybe both. ------------------ Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. " " " " "
rimbaud, There were a ton of other African Americans there. This was the only quirky guy. I guess my disclaimer was meant more to be a joke than any personal insight into my being. Most of my workmates over the past several years have been Indian (from India, not Native American ). I was raised by a black woman. My first few girlfriends were Phillipino, yadda yadda yadda. Race isn't really a big deal to me. I was raised to look everyone in the eye... it usually disarms anyone's misc. issues. Maybe this guy just had walleye and was deaf. I'd like to think he just disliked me because I was a consultant... but he was a mainframer, he knew he sucked. He didn't need me to make him feel bad. It's probably more likely that he was intimidated by my good looks and overwhelming charisma. It's unfortunate that I was too naive to eliminate this as a factor in the first place. ------------------
rimbaud, what does this mean? or this? Are you sure you're a graduate student in English? I guess my friend w/ a PhD in physics can't add... so an English major shouldn't be able to write coherently. No biggie. ------------------
I had reservations some time ago about this particular topic. Then my sister became involved in an interracial relationship. That resulted in marriage. Now they have a child, my nephew, who turns 1 next month. I have no problem what so ever with interracial marriages or interracial children. I just hurt knowing that so many people feel differently than I do and that some of these people will be the ones who'll misjudge(lightly put) my nephew. It's much easier to have a strong stance on this issue if you are exposed to it directly. Much like all matters I'd guess. ------------------ "...just because a clever person can complicate the discussion about the truth doesn't necessarily mean he or she is making any progress in finding it." [This message has been edited by Frank Black (edited February 22, 2001).]
So first you have to have an interracial marriage before you have a normal marriage? That must have been one of those hurdles my mom always talked about. ------------------
Achebe/rimbaud, Nice stories. Thanks Live! I pretty much already new them from you guys. I want stories from others, too. sigh? what is it with this subject that generates so little compared to "UT Porno, Scumbags, Iraq, Babies out of Wedlock, etc". Do you understand what I mean by how stereotypes/metaphors are just words unless individual experience shapes them? And further, what do you think about my belief that once language is shaped by experience, you can learn more about an individual by how they use it?
This I do not quite follow. Language shaped by social context? Shaped by cultural roots? And what do you mean "how they use it"? Which stereotypes they believe? How they phrase it? Clarify please. ------------------ Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. " " " " "
Well, I'm Filipino (and Achebe, my mom can't cook. In fact, I've never met a Filipino mom that could. They are all princesses. How's that for a stereotype?) and when I was in third grade a little girl asked me what it was like to be black. I got a ticket once and the cop put "White" in the race field. Maybe he should have asked that little girl what to put there. Actually, most people I have dated did not consider our relationship interracial, as if black and white are the only races. I think interracial kids are pretty good looking, and I'm looking forward to having some of my own some day. ------------------ Brought to you by the letter M.
Achebe - That was supposed to be "involved in an interracial relationship"! ------------------ "...just because a clever person can complicate the discussion about the truth doesn't necessarily mean he or she is making any progress in finding it."
Sorry Pixie boy. heypartner, could you give a few specifics? I believe I understand where you're coming from and what you're implying... I've just been too pc to let the words play. Oftentimes it seems as if your language can be acceptable to your peers, but perhaps not to your peers peers in the way in which the media portrays permissible thought/language. Language is inherently an intimate personal tool, but the other guy has to play. ------------------
The interpretation of words being shaped by memories, not dictionaries. Not phrase it at all. How do they use it with other forms of communication (e.g. emotions)? Think about a child. They learn how to use language in context. They have little attachment to the words in a manner that expressing their personality or beliefs. Once they gain experiences, they must choose expresssions that define them. If everyone must use the same language tools in a culture (stereotypes, metaphors, etc), how do you separate the individual experiences from the words. You cannot if you project your understanding onto others. And that is a very common thing to occur when we share the same language. Thus, tolerance of what people say is very important to understanding. what do you think?
1. What stereotypes do you beleive/sometimes beleive? I believe that certain cultures have tendencies to socialize people in different ways... but race itself is irrelevant (refer to the human genome project). I also think that by over-emphasizing the effects of cultural socialization that we demean the individual. 2. What has been your exposure/experience to different races (creating positive or negative feelings) In the NE, it's odd, but there's alot more anti-Jewish sentiment than in Tx. My freshman year at BC, my roommate and some of his friends were talking about "Jewbags," and my jaw just dropped open. 3. How were you raised in regards to this issue - have your opinions changed from that upbringing? I was always taught not to be prejudiced... think I've done fairly well. 4. What do you feel about interracial dating/marriage. Interracial children? It's tough on the children, but morally it's perfectly fine. I think you just have to be very self-confident and a good child rearer in order to succeed. 5. Ever promoted/experienced any form of racism? (either the giver or receiver, basically) Yeah, I'm Italian, and when I was in highschool some Mexican kids mistook my last name for a Hispanic name. They thought I was "betraying my kind" by acting too white. 6. Are race relations good now? Nope, they're awful, and we don't even realize it. 7. What is your understanding of why there are different races? Adaptation w/melanin for different climates. 8. Is "The Melting Pot" an unattainable goal? A bad goal? It's a good goal, but with the recent emphasis on post-modern cultural understanding, it will be delayed. We're experiencing a "return to our routes" right now that I see as dangerous and divisive. I think that Bosnia, etc, should teach us that lesson. 9. How do you feel about your own race? I'm lucky. Not because being Caucasian is better, but because our social structure makes it easier for me to do well. Recent studies have found very little ACTUAL prejudice among educated people, but a great deal of informal problems. Like, white people and black people like each other fine... but don't hang out that much... and you tend to do your buddies more business favors. 10. Whatever else... We need to merge cultures, not retreat into ethnocentrism. ------------------ Why is it that everytime BC defeats a major conference opponent, that opponent promptly goes on a losing streak? PS. Notre Dame sucks
I do not know how feasable this is. Our minds place immediate identification on sounds, scents, tastes, etc. It is hard in personal communication in that conversations go relatively quickly. We are usually forced to rely on our initial associations. It takes really stepping back and stripping yourself of your own mind, much less ideas associated by society. Language in itself is rediculously inexact. It is a rather finite form of communication for infinite thoughts, ractions feelings, etc. Sometimes other tools can be used (gestures, emotions, etc) to promote best what you are trying to get accross, however, even this is problematic. As I gave examples of my behavior in regards to stereotypes above, my point ws often missed. And this has always been with people who have some insight into me. Dealing in the noosphere in general is hard because no matter how much interpretation comes through, there still cannot be "know" and "truth." I can never know your thoughts, how your mind works, if you are telling the truth -- even if you tell me the truth and are, to your mind, telling me the truth. Tolerence of difference is hard enough for most to embrace, tolerance of interpretive meaning would prove to be even more difficult. I do not know if that is even possible. I guess, however, being aware of such things during discourse is a step down the right path... ------------------ Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. " " " " "
No, one cannot interpret meanings. I agree. You can only attempt to collect various meanings from experience. Upon doing this, I have gained tolerance. Another thing I find useful is matching the emotion level to word use. You may never know the full meanings of what someone is saying to you, but you can learn to communicate better by deferring to the more passionate voice on a given subject. The passionate voice versus the detached one is a great indication that someone is speaking from experience, not a dictionary. One way to look at it is with the word "Love". That word is probably the word with the most definitions...hence, "Beauty (love) is in the eye of the beholder." Think of other ones. Hate. Not surprisingly, most all words that define an emotion are the hardest to agree on across subcultures. However, you indeed know when someone is saying "Love" with meaning behind it. It is not that impossible. Now take the phrase "White Supremacy" and ask people what it means. You can surround that phrase with many different definitions, too. Yet, you will find many people object to there even being multiple definitions. There are many skinheads who will define it with no passion, in a perfectly logical manner. You cannot take away their definition, and call them wrong. But you can dismiss them for showing no true passion behind the word, and defer judgement on the subject to the ethnic groups who have a passionate attatchment to that phrase. Malcom X understood words and emotion. The guy was a genius. He is one of my heroes. rimmy, I can talk for hours on end on this subject. The word breakdown and looking for emotions attatched to them was my ethnography in my senior year survey class. It was the highlight of my best writing and hardest work in my life. My professors gave me the freedom to explore new ways of writing ethnography as a movement led by Yale, Rice and Cornel to pull Cultural Anthropology out of the remnants of deconstruction. From the standpoint of exploring new ways to write Ethnographies, it floored some of my professors and the grad students with the abruptness and realness of it. But mainly, it was hugely carthetic moment in my own reflection and growth. I miss it. I miss that subject. I miss being able to talk about it. My subject is largely taboo in this culture. heyschweetie is uncomfortable talking about it. My family...etc. sigh. thx for listening rimmy and achebe. I don't feel whole without facing race issues. btw: I'm gone for 4 days. cya next week. I'll check this thread first when I get back. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited February 26, 2001).]
