My Neighbor's Back

[johnnydean1]

Quote:Andreh, it seem that your thing is to argue about everything intellectually. I've been dealing with this emotionally for one and a half years. It's really affected our lives adversely.I'm not going to argue with you about this.End of conversation.ern.it's always the people who have never experienced what you are going through that take the "idealist" attitude.Wait until it's their turn,it will be a different story altogether!

[drew]

A baseball bat does not care where a stupid head comes from

[andreh]

Quote:Quote:Andreh, it seem that your thing is to argue about everything intellectually. I've been dealing with this emotionally for one and a half years. It's really affected our lives adversely.I'm not going to argue with you about this.End of conversation.ern.it's always the people who have never experienced what you are going through that take the "idealist" attitude.Wait until it's their turn,it will be a different story altogether!Johnnydean-Experiencing hardship in one's life should never be an excuse to persecute innocent people.If you read my posts on this subject, you'll see that I commiserate wholly with Ern; I believe the person responsible should be brought to justice.Andre

[aubreyz]

I have resisted the urge of posting this until now, as this is way off course for the purpose of this site or my intention of being here, but…First a disclaimer. This post is not in direct response to any poster here, as I don’t think any offence was meant on either side, but at some point someone has to honestly deal with all this politically correct conclusion jumping that has infested our society. If you even mention someone’s ethnicity then you are fair game to be the target of a racist innuendo at best and a blatant accusation at worst. You may call me a racist for stating the obvious, but someone from a Middle Eastern country like Iran is very likely to have certain characteristics based on CULTURE, not race. In the same way, a guy like me who grew up in west Texas is going to be easy to pick out from the guy who grew up in Boston – and by much more than just an accent. Recognizing those different cultural characteristics is not racism, but simple observation. Stereotypical. Sure. But stereotypes are not in and of themselves bad unless accompanied by bigotry. If someone says that someone is Iranian or Korean, that in and of itself not racism. There are certain inherent customs and cultural influences in those regions that, although not absolute, have a large impact on many of those who are native to those areas. Can you expect your average Korean woman to be more submissive than your average American housewife? You bet your boots, but it has nothing to do with race, it’s a cultural reality. Now, did I say that ALL Korean women are submissive and American women are not? Did I say that either of those conditions was any better than the other? No. It’s just a cultural observation of actual tendencies based on the facts. Would there have even been a question if you were describing someone who was very blunt verbally, and you mentioned that he/she was from the Bronx? Is everyone from the Bronx a loudmouth? No. But if I am describing someone and use their cultural or regional stereotype to enhance a description how in the world is that racism?There is a reverse bigotry at work. The political correct police jump to conclusions and point to, or kindly insinuate some level of insensitivity to anyone who uses any kind of stereotype, whether that person is actually a racist or not. That in and of itself is a bigoted, judgmental paradox. More succinctly, the pot calling the kettle black (black in this context being a pigment and not meant as a racial category).It's this same kind of nonsense that has us making little old blue haired ladies take off their shoes in airports, but prevents us from profiling or watching more closely the actual type of individual most likely to want to blow up a plane.Sorry about the long post, but a guy who grew up in West Texas tends to keep his mouth shut until he can’t stand it and then just call it as he sees it… and yes, I do walk with a slight swagger as well.

[drew]

Good post AZ.I always get a laugh from talk about being PC. Anyone who hasn't bought into that tripe already - never will. That, to me, is for the people who feel like they are more sensitive and caring than others but recent history has proven that not to be the case in any sense of the word. Talk is cheap.I hope we don't get your thread deleted, ern.By the way: I thought all you crazy Californians were PC

[andreh]

Quote:But stereotypes are not in and of themselves bad unless accompanied by bigotry. If someone says that someone is Iranian or Korean, that in and of itself not racism.I agree...that is why I asked Ern how his unfriendly neighbor being from Iran was relevant to the story. If Ern included the comment merely as a passing, innocuous adjective, then we should know that so we don't misinterpret his cultural reference.However, if his comment was to mean, "He is from Iran, and therefore more likely to torment women, and I'd like you all to know that's how I feel," then that should be made clear as well. For better or worse, Ern has acknowledged that he DID mean to imply a negative connotation to the man's heritage. We can all decide for ourselves whether or not this constitutes racism or bigotry.Quote:Would there have even been a question if you were describing someone who was very blunt verbally, and you mentioned that he/she was from the Bronx? Is everyone from the Bronx a loudmouth?This is why I asked Ern if he would've called the man an "American asshole" if he weren't obviously from another country; if so, we could assume that Ern merely likes to include national references when he describes people, without any inherently malicious intent.Quote:There is a reverse bigotry at work. The political correct police jump to conclusions and point to, or kindly insinuate some level of insensitivity to anyone who uses any kind of stereotype, whether that person is actually a racist or not. That in and of itself is a bigoted, judgmental paradox. More succinctly, the pot calling the kettle black (black in this context being a pigment and not meant as a racial category).That may the true in some cases, but not in this one. Quite the opposite, in fact - I was actually hoping to curb any insensitive insinuation or judgment by requesting clarification of Ern's intent with my question.Quote:It's this same kind of nonsense that has us making little old blue haired ladies take off their shoes in airports, but prevents us from profiling or watching more closely the actual type of individual most likely to want to blow up a plane.It's funny you should give this as an example; I was just considering the very same thing when I heard about the alleged airplane-based terror attacks recently thwarted by the British government. I believe we SHOULD be targeting the historically highest-risk groups of people when it comes to national security investigations into terror; this would certainly improve the odds of finding guilty parties.How should this attitude translate into our everyday interactions with our neighbors? That is something we all have to decide for ourselves, but I will continue to give people of all backgrounds the benefit of the doubt until they prove unworthy of my trust on an individual level.Andre

[andreh]

Quote:I always get a laugh from talk about being PC. Anyone who hasn't bought into that tripe already - never will. That, to me, is for the people who feel like they are more sensitive and caring than others but recent history has proven that not to be the case in any sense of the word. Talk is cheap.Drew-I can't speak for others on the subject, but I know that my desire to be fair and just to people extends beyond the words I use when I communicate with or about them. However, talk IS cheap, so don't take my word for it.By the way, I didn't understand the meaning of your baseball bat comment (an auspicious 1000th post, by the way)...can you clarify it for me?Andre

[matto]

Quote:By the way: I thought all you crazy Californians were PC Not to open ANOTHER can of worms...but actually a fairly large number are Mac And to everybody who hasn't been around these boards as long as Drew, ern, or myself...a friendly piece of advice: take it easy on the politics, unless you wanna incur the wrath of Jimi

[mani]

Quote:Quote:By the way: I thought all you crazy Californians were PC Not to open ANOTHER can of worms...but actually a fairly large number are Mac Beat me to it Matt...

[drew]

So you're telling me California is full of politically correct Mac users!OMG!BTW: If I remember it right, Ern posted something mean and Jimi left teeth marks on his arm. Let that be a lesson.