Entry made January 30, 2007 : Am I A Racist Person?I moved from Montana to Atlanta a little over a year ago now. In Montana I saw a little racism toward Native Americans but not much. Around Atlanta I see a lot more racism, toward blacks though. One thing that I have always beleived is in treating people equally. I've always wondered why it's not considered racist to treat someone different based on the color of their skin. There are laws in the United States defining some such actions. The Superbowl is this weekend. It has been pointed out that it is the first time a team with a black head coach is in it. On top of that, both teams have black head coaches. Why is this relevent? They are both people. The thing that sets them appart from other head coaches is that their team is in the championship. People had to look at the color of their skin in order to find some significance. One of them will go down in history as the first black person to win the Superbowl. I'm sure this will be pointed out after the game. "So-and-so is the first black person to win the Superbowl!!! Let's hear it for So-and-so." The fact that the color of his skin is an issue seems racist to me. One problem that I've been struggling with here is this: What's more racist, telling an offcolor joke, or not telling an offcolor joke because of the people around you? People at my place of work always know I'm joking. I have some pretty crude jokes. The only reason I (not to mention others) can laugh at them is by knowing full well that I am 100% joking. Obviously, if I think a joke is in anyway related to someone that may take offense, I don't say it. For example, if I had a Polish friend that was always defensive about it, I wouldn't tell Polish jokes around him. However, if I didn't know he was easily offended by Polish jokes, I'd tell one knowing full well that he was Polish. After he became offended I would appologize profusely and express my deep belief that it was just a joke and not meant to offend. My point is, I'm not going to not tell a joke simply because it makes fun of a class that someone in audience falls in. Imagine if a comedian, on stage, cut out all blond jokes simply because there were a couple blond women in the crowd. I've been called racist before. The circumstances are usually similar to the Polish situation outlined earlier. I always reply with my, "What's more racist?" question and they usually see the point. However, according to most of society I SHOULD be treating people differently because of their skin color or nationality. Fuck that. I will treat everyone on equal terms. I'm not going to give someone special preference because they a lesbian Jewish Mexican midget (I'm pretty sure even she would see the humor in that anyway). Women bitch because they're not being treated as equals. When they are, however, they claim sexual harassment or insensitivity (no this didn't happen to me). What's more racist, telling a racist joke, or not telling a joke because of the company? I believe that taking a look at someone's skin color before telling a joke is more racist. Jokes are meant to liven the mood. If several people find something funny about you, it probably is funny. Laugh. The problem with Americans is that too many of them can't laugh at themselves. Save the Children!!! |