Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:53 pm
Thank you for the phrase "stereotyped unconstructed 'southerner'"...cxt wrote:I think thats part of the problem, in my view, other than the aforementioned criminals and the sterotyped unconstructed "southerner."
Growing up in the south, integration occurred when I was in the 4th grade. The school system simply put everyone in elementary school into the formerly "white" elementary school, the former "black" K-12 school became the middle school for everyone, the junior and senior high schools became the place for everyone to go. That was 1968 and we didn't have any riots, didn't have any fights or yelling, didn't have any problems or issues. I had teachers of a number of different racial/ethnic backrounds and they all got the respect the deserved.
Jump ahead a few years and I was in the middle school across town. I remember my social studies teacher (who happened to be black) bringing a TV into the classroom for us to watch. What he wanted us to see was the busses in Boston carrying black school children having bricks thrown at them! None of us could understand what the problem was. I will never forget him telling us that "You remember this, because those yankees always say southerners are all racists. Look at them and think about how things are here with blacks, whites, hispanics, and asians all together in this classroom to learn. You need to learn that sometimes the person who is truly racist is the one that says they're not." And even though that was over 30 years ago, I will never forget the image of the bricks hitting that bus and the crying kids on board... nor will I forget the lesson from Mr. Brown. In fact, that's pretty darn close to verbatim even after all this time!
Anyone who thinks that skin tone has anything to do with superiority/inferiority is an idiot. But there are racial differences. As previously stated, differences are just differences and don't equate to superior or inferior. I don't have to worry about sickle cell, but I also don't ever have to worry about trying to dunk a basketball either. Those are a pro and con from MY DNA. It doesn't make me superior or inferior, just different.
Using "green-eyed pride" would not have conjured up the negative associations with racism. Those of the PC-ilk, absolutely know that they are bring those negative connotations into the mix when they make this type of statement/argument. It is a tactic that is used and overused, to the point of being disengenuous at best.Valkenar wrote:I used that example because it's the one that resonates most clearly. People are aware of racism. The analogy I made is far more immediately comprehensible than if I had used something like "green-eyed pride" instead.