Racism
 

It might be a small thing but casual racism has reinforced my bacefook reduction. Right-wingers joke about triggering people but I can't figure out how to react otherwise. If you let it pass it is acceptance.

Context: My uncle shared a real estate listing for a local store which fell into hard times and is being sold. They used to have a good meat selection and gas which was enough. Anyway one of his Vietnam buddies replied to it saying we have to make sure no raghead buys it. I could have started a discussion of how an immigrant family would be ideal for the setup, running it, living on-site, repopulating the township etc... but that would have been a non-starter. I could have ignored it but that is acceptance. I just replied with a lame, "WTF?!". The situation requires more discussion about how these attitudes support the depopulation trend in rural America and how racism is cutting our own throats... The buddy lives in the suburbs though so it isn't even his fight. Oh well I've got nothing but ruminations. Any thoughts are welcome.

It's disappointing when a buddy makes himself look like that. I had a go round with a former high school friend because he said something like that about obama after Trump won the election. Turns out Eric is a racist. Unfollowed, but not unfriended was the result of the discussion.

I made it clear to him that i thought his comments were racist and made me uncomfortable. He stood his ground. Nothing else to do really.

Oh, try a nice vapor rub for your ruminations.

That's a big problem, they have a bucket full of racist stock phrases that can't be parried with less than a paragraph, so it's fight or flight.

Maybe poke 'em in the eye with Vaporub. :sniff:

I put vapor rub on my ruminations and now I jet my juice every time I cough.

I've worked pretty hard over the years to change the way I think about certain things and situations. It was not an easy thing.

I wasn't taught to think these things. "It's just how things were."<--Yeah, that's lame as fuck, and I know it.

I wish I had something for ya, Griff, but I got nothing.

Just do what you did. Call it out for what it is, try to move on, and try not to start a war.

Thanks dudes.

The house 2 doors down from me has been sold and the new owner is renovating - it. He'd just laid the drive and put brick work border along the edges asi was arriving home from work.

I said Hi, and commented that the drive looked good - he made a lame joke warning about not 'tap-dancing' on the still setting brick border and I said something inconsequential back - and then:

New Neighbour: 'Postman was about to walk on that - mind, you - he was Asian. I don't like Asians at the best of times.'

Me: *non-plussed* - 'um - why don't you like Asians?'

NN: 'Why don't I like Asians? They're not fit to spread on the ground as muck.'

Me *even more non-plussed* 'uh - the're just people, mate..'

NN 'Not to me they're not.'

Me - *totally at a loss* - ok - well - see ya.




*cultural note - over here 'Asians' refers to Indian, Pakistani, Sikh etc. rather than Chinese or Korean

[uncultured note] At least he called them Asians. Over here, people like him call them sand-niggers. [:/uncultured note]

I thought sand-niggers referred to the middle east. :confused:

Tell it to an Indian former cow-orker of mine who was disheartened while telling me he had just been called that.

I don't doubt it I'm just surprised. Obviously I'm not up to speed on hating.:blush:

Is this a bad time in the UK? Brexit fallout?

There has been a real uptick in racism yes. And it does seem to stem from the whole run up to Brexit - it made that kind of thing seem a lot less socially unacceptable

Time for a Pride rainbow flag of skin shades?

In technicolor. It'll be amazing.