Racism? : Shaq and Smirnoff Ice

I don't buy this definition of discrimination at all. You can be poor and racist, you can be jobless and a bigot. It has nothing to do with power. Yes, people with power can cause more harm, but it's wrong for less powerful people to be racist as well.

 

Everyone is capable of biased opinions, so as being racist. A single person doesnt need to have political or economic might to be a racist and inflict harm on others. A poor black dude can beat up a wealthy white person , and vice versa, simpily one hates the other because of different race. It is naive to say a black person cant be racist because of the lack of political or economic power of black people as a group. But it is fair to say , as a group, blacks cant exert "damaging" racism on whites because they just dont have the political or economic power to do so in this country.

 

There's a Taco Bell radio ad that's talking about "Spanglish" and how you'd never hear that anywhere else, like you'd never hear a mix of Chinese and Russian. Then they do a horrible impression of Chinese and Russian.

Have yet to hear any outcry over that, and what Shaq said was nothing worse.

 

Come on, pgabriel, it is obvious that OJ being acquitted is the same as slavery, segregation, lynchings, etc.

First the black man was after our fair daughters and now he is getting all of the breaks in the justice system - has it in his pocket - and can get away with killing white people left and right.

And, going back to one of the original points of this thread, he has convinced white people working for a white company to make commercials that are racist towards white people and promote whitey's exclusion from hip-hop videos.

The days of the black man's dominance must come to an end - we must all rise up and put him back in his place.

 

How about 2 black guys trying to swim? White uys cant dance and black guys cant swin...arent those similar stereotypes?

 

That Smirnoff Ice commerically should be taken with a grain of salt, because no self respecting black person actually drinks Smirnoff Ice...hell, any male who drinks Smirnoff Ice should get his drinkin licence revoked...

 

Black people can't swim? I've never heard that one.

****, now I've gotta figure out what those black kids were doing in my pool when I was growing up.

 

Did I say black people can't swim or did I say it was a stereotype?

Your reaction to my answer (that you asked for by the way) is a perfect example of how if the roles in that commercial were reversed, there would be an uprising.

 

i think it's possible he was kidding...actually i think it's likely he was kidding.

 

I was only going off of PG's response to Nomar's OJ comment. Insults from you are always welcome, though.

I agree that Shaq is an idiot and his comment was racist - I see it as simlar to that Abercrombie shirt thing that forced them to cancel/recall the shirts. Shaq only had to do a lame apology - oh well, he is a rich celebrity.

In regards to the Smirnoff thing - again, I already pointed out (and other's provided a little more) that similar things occur with more than just whites. I think it is a stupid commercial, but it is not really unique (and was created by whites and probably tested in front of whites, blacks, etc.).

I appreciate the rolleyes, but, again, that last post was just in response to pg and Nomar's exchange...and, yes, just a joke to amuse myself because I am so stupid. Sorry you had to get so upset by it.

Of course, the only way to advance equality is to kill all the white people, right?

 

I swear that's how some people think. White guilt is ridiculous. I had nothing to do with slavery. Get over it. OJ deserves to die. Get over it.

 

Hey, when I said "never heard that one", the "one" refers to the stereotype. BTW, if it is in fact a stereotype, and a commercial was made to that effect, I wouldn't support any criticism of it.

Why are people ignoring the examples that have been given?

 

The silly thing, of course, is that you want to excuse the entire history of racism in this country on the grounds that blacks do it too -- with your examples being ONE black man who beat a murder charge and the terrible shortage of white rappers.

The fact that you personally had nothing to do with slavery does not mean that we should ignore the racism that continues to exist in this country today. The outgoing (extremely conservative, pro-death penalty) governor of Illinois was so moved by racism in the justice system that he suspended the death penalty in that state. He understands that racism has not ceased to be a problem.

As much as you or Refman would like to pretend that we have a level playing field right now, we do not. For all the progress that's been made, we're not there yet. One black beating a murder rap does not excuse the many blacks proven to have been wrongly convicted or the many whites who have beat similar raps. Emmett Till, anyone? OJ is also not an excuse for continued racial profiling, the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentencing, the outrageous percentage of death row inmates who are black, etc.

Anti-discriminatory laws exist not because of white guilt, but because certain people from both parties have had the courage to fight for the equal rights this country was supposedly founded upon. The insistence that such equality already exists is not only naive -- it really demeans the hard work and the hard earned progress of civil rights activists of all political leanings.

It's great that we have a black secretary of state -- especially one who recognizes he's there by the grace of affirmative action. But we still live in a country which has only had two black Supreme Court justices EVER, which has never fielded a serious candidate of color for president and which has never seen a person of color seriously contend to lead either body of Congress.

We are not there yet.

 

maybe i'm wrong...but i don't think they're seeking to excuse the history of racism...just demonstrating how it's selectively pointed out in society when its perpetrated against some groups as opposed to others.

but the history of racism in this country can not be excused. it can't be excused anywhere.

 

Nomar


Just like, you had nothing to do with slavery, I had nothing to do with O.J. And I guess blacks are responsible for the justice system that let O.J. off. I mean, we run everything, the justice system, the educational system, every fortune 500 country, the media, Hollywood, we own all sports teams. I see why you are so upset.

 

Its a fricken commercial.

Do you really think black people are proud because everyone thinks we know how to dance better than whites. That is the true stupidity of the thread. Its a joke and a stupid one. Comparing blacks to apes is a whole lot different from saying whites can't dance. This thread is just silly and trivial. Refman, I guarantee, whether I can dance better than you or not, it is not anything to get your panties in a wad about. And again, the commercial is for a company owned by whites, who I am sure approved the commercial, so if you really have a problem, take it up with them, and white actors who decided to take the job.

 

what if your penis is larger?

 

First off, welcome back Refman. Hope you had a good break.

For my response to everything in your most recent post, please see my post on page two. My most recent post was directed toward that ostrich Nomar and all other whiny white people who want their fair share of the racial indignance pie.