Scott - In light of the 2/4 posts per day rule...I've got to post this
one today or I'll forget by tomorrow...but this is it for today.
Promise (scouts honor).
All,
I am in the majority in America as 95% Caucasian/5% Native American
(with a 2% margin of error....sorry, couldn't resist). Does that mean
I've never been in a minority situation? Far from it my friend, far
from it indeed. First off, in the 8th grade (in Kossuth MS) one
morning, I announced that I no longer believed in god. Oh Jesus was
that a mistake! Within a few minutes every bully in the school was
hassling me. Kids that were my "friends" were making fun of me and
ostracizing me. Literally, over the course of that single day at
school, I had determined it was in my best interests to lie and tell
"the others" that I realized I was wrong and that god must be real.
Problem solved. Nope...I don't know anything about oppression. Nada.
Further, I'm sure most of us nerdy movie poster collectors (no offense
intended) have surely faced some level of ostracization (is that a real
word?) on multiple occassions due to our "different-ness". That's
another topic altogether: Collectors and the pack-rat-gene (I've got it,
how 'bout you?)
There's nothing like being on the basketball team when you got cut,
can't even touch the net much less the rim, and are the water boy. As
if being the water boy wasn't bad enough, there was actually a time when
I was singled out by a black team member who accused me of being
racist. That moment (pinned against the wall, being choked, having said
nothing to this guy ever before in my life) I believe qualifies as a
taste of what it is like to be treated as part of a minority.
Okay...so can I think of any examples of being part of a minority after
school? Hmmm...there have been multiple cases where I went to
restaurants with a friend from The Gambia (google it) and we both got
stared at by multiple patrons due to his blackness and my longhairedness
(ok, I know that's not a word, but it works so well). Did I get pissed
off? Hell yeah. Perhaps I should have said something to these people,
but it probably would have caused more problems than solved and I'm not
the type to fight in the first place. "So" you say? "It was your
friend, not you" you say? Okay. But I have been treated differently
just because I have long hair, because I /don't /have a Southern accent,
because I don't believe in any religion, and for other reasons. You
know in movies where city folk go to a small local diner, everyone stops
eating, the music stops playing, and everyone turns around to stare at
you? Yeah, that's happened to me a couple of times.
The point is, race and nationality aren't the only things that cause
people to be in a minority. Appearances, beliefs, shoe size, and just
about anything else makes a person a minority if the person is around
the wrong people at the wrong time....something I seem to be pretty good
at. :(
Physical safety? I definitely don't have it as bad as many, but I've
had my bad experiences involving physical safety (the above
aforementioned and other situations).
I agree that I haven't walked in the shoes of others. But I have been
standing right there with them seeing what's going on and feeling
empathetic. Please do not think I was/am trying to defend
racism/prejudice as this is FAR from the truth. I was really just
trying to illustrate that everyone who laughs at a joke (or, to bring
this discussion full circle, say things like "Texans like everything
big") isn't a bigot. Do I tell "ethnic jokes" in the presence of people
who may be offended? Nope. In general, I don't tell racist jokes
because it is not something I commit to memory. I do poke fun at people
from regional areas, but it's all based on stereotypes and anyone who
knows me knows my intentions.
And just for the record, I voted for Bush (in 2000) before I voted
against him (in 2004). Just thought I'd toss that one in there for good
measure. ;)
So if you have read this far, please just let me leave you with these
last few thoughts about myself before you judge me based on my twisted
humor and defense of my minority experiences and everything else I've
said.... I *try* to follow the golden rule. I find myself wavering
sometimes where I do judge someone unfairly. That's why I'm constantly
re-evaluating the why I say things, the why I do things, and my thoughts
about others. Ultimately, I wish I could give everyone the exact same
deal (even the bigots): Equality in my eyes and a fair shake.
Thanks for listening...promise I won't post again /at least/ until
tomorrow. ;)
Phil
lobby card invasion wrote:
Phil
Its very nice that you can be so brave and full of good cheer concerning
your "cracker" origins, but the bottom line is YOU ARE NOT a member of a
minority group that is/has been discriminated against, let alone persecuted.
Its much easier poking fun at yourself behind the safety of knowing that no
physical harm will come to you, but that luxury (physical safety) wasn't
always the lot of visible minorities. You never walked a mile in their
shoes!
Zeev
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