potato??

[Wattage]

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Originally Posted by Raerae \ Your original Canadian settlers from Europe were the French if I remember right. Thus going back to who the original Canadians were (excluding the indians as they dont relate to this subject), it's only logical that people are going to consider the Canadian culture a "white thing."

I am just going to jump in here and note the first nations community... as being in Canada prior to colonization.

 

[Raerae]

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Originally Posted by Indigowaters If you tell someone to stop doing something that you don't like (regardless of what it is), that person should have enough respect to stop, even if they were joking.

But at what point does it get to be too much, and people get way to caught up in whats politically correct. I mean people are already walking on pins and needles over everything when their at their jobs because they are afraid of how Billy who overheard a conversation he wasn't even apart of might get offended over, and complain to HR about.

You'd think that w/in your friends you'd have the freedom to let your hair down and not have to think about every single thing you say, and the potential thousands of different ways that you can react to it. At that point why talk at all?

I love that I can call my best friend a GuineePrincess because she's itallian. Because she knows that when I say that, it's because we HAVE a friendship that is solid enough that silly things like that wont effect it. And I know that if for some reason I happen to spurt something in jest while teasing her, that she's not gonna get all up in my face over it. And on the same tolken when I do something stupid (and i do a lot of dumb things), she can point out that it's not my fault I'm a dumb Polock, and we can both laugh about it.

 

[mzcelaneous]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae negative words used in good spirits.

Well, that makes more sense because I don't think there are any negative terms that are used positively.

I personally don't use "those kind of terms" (IE, "nigga", "cracker", "white trash", "twinkie", "chink", "oreo", "bitch" etc) only because I know how it can affect people and there are plenty of other words we can use in place of "those kind of terms" in the English vocab

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wattage I am just going to jump in here and note the first nations community... as being in Canada prior to colonization.

I have no idea what the first nations is, but i'll forgive you since your Canadian, it's not your fault =P

lol... Sorry Wattage, I always tease all my Canadian friends about being Canadian =P Hope yah dont mind

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mzcelaneous there are plenty of other words we can use in place of "those kind of terms" in the English vocab

Thats the point though. Were close enough and comfortable with each other that we can use those types of words and not have to worry about upsetting anyone.

I woulnd't dare use those types of words with people i just met, or only had fleeting interactions with. I'm sure most everyone else is the same. So when Lady_Macs friend teased her that way, she felt close enough to her as a friend that she could say something like that w/out thinking she was going to upset her. Not because she was racially motivated.

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae I'm a dumb Polock,

Haha Me too! My boyfriend is German, he calls me a polock , i call him kraut, its all in good fun though

But, I have encountered name calling in a NON-Joking way.. such as there were two, African american girls i used to work with and they used to call me "stupid white girl" among other things, and they were not nice to me, we were not friends, and i was offended, and they knew it , I told them. they did not stop. They told me that I didnt know racism like they did. and that made it OK. .. I find this terribly wrong.

 

[Indigowaters]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MxAxC-_ATTACK Haha Me too! My boyfriend is German, he calls me a polock , i call him kraut, its all in good fun though But, I have encountered name calling in a NON-Joking way.. such as there were two, African american girls i used to work with and they used to call me "stupid white girl" among other things, and they were not nice to me, we were not friends, and i was offended, and they knew it , I told them. they did not stop. They told me that I didnt know racism like they did. and that made it OK. .. I find this terribly wrong.

Exactly! Black, white, asian, hispanic...it's wrong. You may not know the kind of racism we experience but it's not to say you haven't experienced it at all. Just on different level. I can't be in your shoes and you can't be in mine, but it's up to all of us to try and understand each other. And I don't condone that type of behavior just because the girls were African-american. Wrong is wrong.

But...I have to ask why was it wrong when they said it, but your boyfriend could call you names. Was it the stupid part or the white girl part that upset you? I don't let friends call me names like the ones mentioned above because regardless if it's joking or not, I don't like them.

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

Its ok for my boyfriend to call me names because I KNOW that he is JOKING. these girls were not joking. They called me this 5 minutes into knowing me.

 

[Indigowaters]

EXACTLY the point!

 

[mzcelaneous]

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Originally Posted by Raerae I woulnd't dare use those types of words with people i just met, or only had fleeting interactions with.

Well, yeah...obviously. I guess I didn't explain enough.

I have never and would never use any terms stated before to label anyone, including a friend. It just wouldn't feel right with me. I think that maybe it is a generation thing. I see a lot of teens/young adults calling each other this and that, and that's cool with them. I just know that I certainly wouldn't want my daughter labeling anybody by their skin color or physique, best friend or not.

I don't automatically call them out and claim that they're being racist for calling each other whatever they'd like to label each other because essentially, I do believe in my heart that most people aren't trying to be racist (bring on the "you're being naive" comments =p).


But I do firmly believe that these terms are derived from a racist, judgemental root that we or others accquire from personal experiences. And that is my reason for not using those terms. There is no reason for me to use any term that was once used to belittle or derogate a certain group of people.

And maybe because I'm a Momma and I'm too old for that kind of stuff

 

[Raerae]

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Originally Posted by Indigowaters But...I have to ask why was it wrong when they said it, but your boyfriend could call you names.

Because her boyfriend, or my friends have a unspoken permission to poke fun at my heritage, skin color, nationality whatever, because even though they are using words that could be negative, i know thats not the meaning they are using when they say them. That type of trust only comes with friendship. It's the same reason she wouldn't get mad at me for telling her to not forget her greencard when we go to the beach. Because with how dark she is, the beach patrol might think she an illegal.

By that same reasoning I would never joke like that with a stranger, or someone i just met, because I dont know them well enough to know, that they know, that if for some reason i tease them like that, it's because i like them, not because i'm trying to be mean.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mzcelaneous But I do firmly believe that these terms are derived from a racist, judgemental root that we or others accquire from personal experiences. And that is my reason for not using those terms. There is no reason for me to use any term that was once used to belittle or derogate a certain group of people. And maybe because I'm a Momma and I'm too old for that kind of stuff

See, i see it more as taking back the word. You take the word, phrase, meaning, whatever that was ugly, and make it positive. This way it's no longer harmful or hurtful.

 

[Another Janice!]

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See, i see it more as taking back the word.

LMFAO....did you see Clerks II? You had to of if you said that.

Between the talk of potatos and crackers....I got hungry.

Going to raid the fridge now. lol.

 

[Raerae]

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Originally Posted by Another Janice! LMFAO....did you see Clerks II? You had to of if you said that. Between the talk of potatos and crackers....I got hungry. Going to raid the fridge now. lol.

haha nope, havn't seen Clerks 2 =P

I heard that term somewhere else, and like the meaning behind it =P

 

[Lady_MAC]

That is called re-claiming, RaeRae. The term "queer" is a very good example of that.

I figured most would understand what exactly she had meant by her “white” comment. When she calls me white for using a word that is large by her standards, it implies that blacks are not as articulate. Even my boyfriend, who just happens to be European, makes endless comments of that nature when I form a sentence that is way beyond his capabilities. “Oh, I didn’t know you were white! LMAO”. Are we going to be together for much longer? No. He knows how I feel about that yet continues.

This mentality has seeped it's way into Black communities where some use one's intelligence against them, as if it's wrong.
Many expect Blacks to use “Ebonics”, but when we don’t “we’re trying to be white” or “think we are white”. Never before have I seen someone dispute this RaeRae, have you never heard of Blacks being stereotyped as unintelligent before? It's the same as saying "You're so Chinese!" when someone is doing well in math. A comment that many of us Blacks also encounter is “You're so different from other black people". Check out Damali Ayo's Myspace and listen to White Noise. I'm not sure if people will understand exactly what her intentions are, but it should be apparent. It's just one girlfriend talking to another, not realizing exactly what she is saying, kinda like my friend- right?

For the hell of it, check out this one too.

 

[SChotgurrl]

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Originally Posted by Lady_MAC For the hell of it, check out this one too.

I think I just spit up [IN my mouth] a little.

 

[Lady_MAC]

Don't worry, it is a joke used to educate

 

[mzcelaneous]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady_MAC For the hell of it, check out this one too.

Oh gosh, I can't believe that site is still up. I remember coming across this lonnng ago.

 

[angelica]

Oh wow you guys, all I wanted to know was the meaning of potato. But thanx anyways.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady_MAC This mentality has seeped it's way into Black communities where some use one's intelligence against them, as if it's wrong. Many expect Blacks to use “Ebonics”, but when we don’t “we’re trying to be white” or “think we are white”. Never before have I seen someone dispute this RaeRae, have you never heard of Blacks being stereotyped as unintelligent before?

Is it a good thing if I haven't? I dont exactly spend a lot of time keeping track of whats the popular racial putdown. And all the blacks I've known have always seemed as normal as everyone else <shrug>.

I get judged on the whole, "intelligence" thing enough as it is being Polish, and having a casual vocabulary when i'm just chatting that does involve saying, "like omigod" every other sentance. You think I really pay attention to that stuff lol. Not to mention I am guilty of being a total ditz at times, when thinking isn't involved, so it doesn't help =P I'm just a dumb brunette with blonde highlights. Think Legally Blonde, thats me.

People don't believe me at my jobs when I tell them I know how to use a PC, and I started out a CS major at the University of California Irvine. And they are always amazed when I "get it" the first time they explain it. This guy Scott (the one who pulled me onto his lap in the sexual harassment thread if you read that) at my job, in front of the two other ladies I work with said, "She's not as dumb as she looks!" When i fixed a problem he was having with one of his orders. Ever heard of girls who wear cute clothes and talk ditsy being steriotyped as unintelligent before?

Hey we have something in common!