I was working a door at Bike Rally in Galveston and had this dropped on me twice. Both times I had let people in who had already paid cover, and although they were white and the people at the door were black, it was complete coincidence. I find the cavalier use of this extremely weak and instantly lost respect for the people who used it in these circumstances. Racism exists but to snap-judge someone for something this severe is inexcusable. Fun fact: I had let Alton Ford in a few minutes prior.
I was with a friend entering a water taxi. There wasn't a line, more like a blob. My friend stepped up first and handed the guy two tickets. A lady, obviously ignorant that we were together, stepped in front of me and handed the guy a ticket. I stepped aboard and the guy followed me yelling "hey, hey where's your ticket?" I said "In your hand." He said "Oh well enter together next time." I said "Ok racist motherf***er" Was I too quick to play the race card? The guy could have counted three tickets in his hand or seen that I was being polite to the lady who cut in front of me.
I don't understand how that is anywhere near racist. It sounds like it was just a misunderstanding and he was just trying to do his job. Your panties got bunched up way too quickly and you acted like a dick.
The point is that people use the race card when they feel they are slighted instead of taking to find out the real reason why they do not get what they want. How effing hard is it to understand this?
It is very easy to develop a victim complex. After being wronged based on poverty, race, gender, education, etc., it is easy to draw the conclusion that others have done wrong to you or things are not going your way based on whatever disadvantages you perceive or indeed have. It isn't right, nor do I believe it should be excused, but there is value in knowing where people come from and what their perception is based on.
Nice stereotypical white male pic. I wonder where he got that bow tie, it would make a nice addition to my current white guy bow tie collection.
It is ... but that isn't the point of the meme that RR posted. The meme is about white privilege and has a picture of a generic looking dorky white guy in a bow tie. It seems like its supposed to be a representation of white people. Coming from the poster (who I often agree with) its a little funny.
Back in high school there was a girl that set behind me in chemistry. She was fine and cool as hell. We hit it off and went out a few times. Thing is, she never would let me pick her up from home. We always would meet up at the mall or the movies or something. After a month or so she told me that she was starting to like me too much and that we should just be friends. Of course I was like wtf, and we didn't talk at all for a week or so. Eventually one of her friends told me that her dad found out that she had been hanging out with a black guy and that if she didn't stay away from me she would have to transfer to a catholic school. Her friend also told me that she still really liked me but she didn't want her dad to ruin her life. After that I understood and we talked about it. We've been cool every since. She did eventually transfer to a catholic school though. Even though she was not at all a troublemaker. She just loved her some me. The whole thing never has bothered me much. I always thought that if her dad knew what me and his daughter did together, several times, he'd probably have a heart attack. And she really was a cool girl and I liked her a lot. Not sure why I felt the need to type all of that. But it was the first time that I experienced blatant racism directed squarely towards me. And it did affect the way I viewed white men for a long time.
Of course it affected how you viewed white men. My aunt was raped by two black men as a teenager. She spent 2 weeks in the hospital recovering from the beating she took. After that she was scared/is scared of men and black men especially. That was 25 years ago and she still isn't comfortable being around black men. I can tell her it is racist for her to feel that way... but I understand it. She never says anything bad against black men, never shows any hatred.. But the fear is there.
I had a brief relationship back in college with a Jewish girl. We both liked each other very much. She never invited me to her home. She met my own mother a couple of times. I never thought much about it (not meeting her parents) at the time, but I had always suspected that it was because I was black. I'd had enough run-ins with people who were ready to dismiss me outright that I was fairly prepared for the inevitable rejection, and decided not to press any issue I thought I may have had with her. Funny thing...she would tell me one day that she was interested in seeing if we could plan a life together...marriage...kids...dog or a cat...house with a white picket fence...the whole nine yards... ...we went out to eat and we talked a long time. I finally had to ask her directly why she was taking this line now...almost as if she was preparing herself for some great sacrifice for a higher principle. She finally conceded that her parents knew about me. She told them everything about me. She told them how she was feeling towards me. And if there wasn't anything more between us, ultimately, than a deep friendship, she couldn't accept the fact that I was black was a reason to stop it. And she said it broke her heart to know that they didn't approve without even bothering to meet me. I spelled out all the things that she wanted...interracial relationship...interracial kids...at best an indifferent society...and wondered if she was really ready to go through the toughness of being on the outside of so many things that she had grown accustomed to being a part of. Long story short...I made it clear to her that I wasn't going to have her sacrifice her family (her family was fairly well off financially, I remember) and her place in it for somebody who they had no reason to believe in or support, no matter who made a case for me. I couldn't make her choose between what she knew she had, and what she didn't really know she was in for. I suppose I judged her as harshly as her parents judged me. And I couldn't even use the excuse that I hadn't met her. In some way, after all this time (unfortunately, we haven't kept in touch), I still get the feeling that, as much as she was seemingly willing to sacrifice for me...I was equally willing to prevent her from having to sacrifice anything to prove a point...that she had a right to determine who her friends were and how she should live her life. Sometimes, you keep as many things in when you shut yourself off from people as you keep things out. No regrets. Just a lot of what-ifs.
One time I asked out a black girl I knew and was friendly with. She declined; I was sad. She didn't even want to go on a date. I thought, "Maybe she doesn't want to date white guys." But within a few months she had a boyfriend and he was white. Damn. Not "racial" discrimination, just good ol' fashioned "you aren't handsome enough" discrimination. So weak.
I hear you, had a similar situation in college too. Except she was totally cool with an interracial relationship. I met her mom several times and she loved me as well. They were from Minnesota, so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. More than anything else it was my fear of what life would be like for us if things got more serious then they already were. So I'd do and say stupid/******* type things to close her out to keep things from progressing too far. I was about to graduate and she'd even talk about moving to Houston to be with me a year later after she graduated. Looking back I was a real ******* at times and just wasn't mature enough. We broke up after I graduated and she took it pretty hard. Even went into full crazy mode, drunk dialing me at like 3:00 AM a few times. Now she's in Cali working on a doctorate at Cal Berkley. I 100% agree with you... No regrets, but definitely a lot of what-ifs. ALSO: I'm done talking about my past ex's... I actually feel kinda lame for doing it. I'm going to exit my feelings now. Ha! But race relations are a motha...
