What color/race do you see?

[Poodles 0]

Well Leatha, I would never purposely post something I thought would start a fight.

I was just curious about the situation. Seems the thread has taken on a life of its own though, good or bad, it is nice that we can speak about our thoughts as adults.

My family has Iranian, Cambodian, Mexican/Hispanic, and white people in it. We have every color from lilly white to dark skin, some have accents, and my child is commonly known as the "white baby", since I am the only one in the family that fell in love with a white man. :girl_hug:

I just truly hope that my child grows up knowing the beauty that we all possess... no matter what color our skin is... no matter what language we speak... and no matter where we live.

[green 6]

You don't have to be White for the colour thing to be an issue. One of my friends is from Jamaica. She is quite dark. She has told me that the lighter skinned members of her own family almost always elect to estrange themselves from their darker skinned relatives. This has been going on for generations.

And in India the matrimonial adverts will list the candidate's colour of skin if he or she is light, along with other qualifications, such as caste, education, size of dowry.

[green 6]

Well Leatha, I would never purposely post something I thought would start a fight.

I was just curious about the situation. Seems the thread has taken on a life of its own though, good or bad, it is nice that we can speak about our thoughts as adults.

My family has Iranian, Cambodian, Mexican/Hispanic, and white people in it. We have every color from lilly white to dark skin, some have accents, and my child is commonly known as the "white baby", since I am the only one in the family that fell in love with a white man.

I just truly hope that my child grows up knowing the beauty that we all possess... no matter what color our skin is... no matter what language we speak... and no matter where we live.

And Poodles' family sounds like it is both the most interesting and fun. You've got a generous mix of cultures and cuisines there, Poodles. Green wants an invite to dinner.:hungry:

[Poodles 0]

Guacamole, tamales, egg rolls, and chicken balls (fried chicken and stuffing with jalepenos/cheese) are on the menu every get together. Yummy Yummy! Oh and don't forget the green bean caserole!!!!

[Jachut 487]

I think we've come a long way - in Australia anyway. We have a very multicultural society but its quite white multicultural with a strong Asian contingent too. Australian aborigines are of course black, but you dont see many Aboriginal people around in the major capital cities.

Anyway, where I drop Eliza off to daycare is a very Sri Lankan community but in the street is a few families living next to each other of very very black people, that midnight black skin tone. You hardly ever see that in Australia - my boys stare as they're always getting off school buses and the like as we arrive to get Eliza.

I said to Fraser one day "why are you staring, you see these people every time we come here". He said "they're just amazing, look how incredible their skin is and how athletic they look".

I was pretty proud of him. He wasnt staring because they were "different" or "weird" but because they were beautiful. Who doesnt look twice at incredible looking people? He's 10 and its not really something we've ever talked about, so that's come from within him.

I just thought it was great that it wouldnt enter his head to judge or make assumptions, he was just looking at somebody who was very physically commanding - a good balance I think. Its silly to think you have to be so PC as to not acknowledge cultural and physical difference, but its healthy when you can simply accept it.

[jojo41 0]

I come from Italian heritage and have lived all of my 42 years in Australia.

Recently I had to interview someone for a "junior" position. I had 4 applicants, two with Anglo surnames, one with a Greek surname and one with an Arabic surname. All the applicants were wonderful but one stood out with her enthusiasm and neat appearance. When I rang the applicants who were unsuccessful, all were very polite except the girl with the Arabic surname. Her response was "you're just racist against us Muslims". I was dumbfounded at her comment and replied that I had NO idea she was even in fact a Muslim.

Of all the nationalities living in our big multicultural country the Muslims seem to be the first group who have made a big issue out of being villified and seem to love waving around the race card whenever possible.

[Wheetsin 714]

Most of my black friends are offended by the term "African American". The only people I know who care about whether or not blacks are called blacks are white people. My grandfather was from Greece, but I was born and raised in San Diego. I've certainly never been called "Greecian American", I'm called white. So why does my black friend, who is 3 generations removed from Africa and who was born and raised in Chicago, get called "African American"? (PC BS).

And I hate "He's racial" being misused as a negative statement. We all have race. We're all racial.

Something I've found interesting, but never shared here - a black lady I work with is considering LB seriously, and we've talked quite a bit about it. Another black lady sits across from her and once day when I was coming up to talk to first lady, second lady says something to her - I didn't hear what - and first lady looks at me and says, "It's a black thing..." So I asked her, "What's a black thing?" - as I hadn't heard what was said. She tells me "Weightloss surgery... black people don't really like that stuff." And lady 2 then says, "It's just a matter of mindset, you don't need all that stuff" (referring to the surgery) and walks away. I have noticed that of the people who post pictures here, that I've seen, the majority are white. So since I heard this conversation, I've been curious about how WLS is perceived among different races.

My mom has two bothers, one who is married to a Hispanic lady who had two kids from her previous marriage w/ a Hispanic man. One of those kids is very, very dark-skinner, the other is light medium. Once several years ago the older of those two kids was "discovered" to be dating a black guy. All hell broke loose, and my aunt started ranting and raving that her daughter was ONLY to date her own kind. So I asked, "What - you will only allow her to date Hispanics?" -- and she got irate and started screaming at me about how her daughter is white because her adoptive father (my uncle) is white, and how could I be such a racist, and how could I offend my own family that way. She said no other race would ever be good enough for her daughters (even their own, apparently).

[gonnabethin 10]

Be it caucasian, black- african american, hispanic, asian, middle eastern the race card is alive and well. Why be promoted because you are NOT caucasian if both are equally qualified- Thats racism. At a county hospital here if you are caucasian you will not be served if there are black folks in line. The black population is given priority by the black servers. So to mistakely assume that it is white (caucasian) against everyone else is a huge mistake!! I dont owe anyone anything. Unfortunately entitlement is the mentality and loudly verbalized opinion of the lower socio-economic class in this cities particular area. So is it class discrimination or racism?

Unfortunately the racism toward caucasians is growing in our area as a knee jerk reaction to the whole race card. The politicians and press in our area are just as guilty. The FIRST Thing that they do if there is a shooting or incident is go find and air someone touting the race card or go ask the NAACP, or LULAC group what they think- WHO CARES what they think!!!

A local University (UTA) has a hispanic professor who said the hispanic community needs to follow Hitlers lead and overtake the caucasians- He is still teaching and the university said his statement was said outside of the school and they have no recourse and their purpose is to provoke thought in an educational setting. So racism starts at all levels and has MANY faces!!

I had a 4 year old tell me that the Brown lady needed a nap since she was fussy. She is not a racist she is noting an obvious difference from her since she has lighter skin and is asian.

So I think it is there and will always be there like it or not!! How we choose to handle the situations makes the difference.

[mangojoy 0]

I love Tired Old Man, your posts are always insiteful, amusing and educational.

TIRED OLD MAN FOR PREZ!

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

I am always amazed to hear people of all races, religions and ethnic groups complaining that their group is getting the worst end of the stick.

I also hear people from the majority complaining that some minority group is complaining about everything that happens to them.

Yes, you can always find discrimination from A against B.

And if A is the majority, B will probably complain a lot.

But lets look into why.

Could it be power?

Could it be the desire to keep power?

Could it be the desire to gain power?

Could it be the desire to have power that has been denied?

It is common knowledge that the amount of racial and ethnic strive is usually inversely proportional to the well being of the economy or at least to the fairness of the economy. Many people claim that the US economy is doing well, but just as many others, if not more, claim that the economy has benefited some at the expense of others.

I hear that Blacks or Muslims are always ready to complain about being picked on or singled out. Could it be that they get stopped by police more often? A judge ruled that it was ok to search a Black man's duffel bag because it was a known drug area. Almost all Black neighborhoods are known drug areas. So, I guess that means than any Black man has no rights to a “presumption of innocence” or that police do not need “probable cause” to stop a Black man and conduct a search.

Maybe, Blacks and Muslims watch the TV talk shows and they hear politicians debating whether profiling should be allowed. No one ever suggests stopping all white men when ever there is a serial murderer at large in any community or city, even though 99% of serial killers are white.

But is ok to discuss profiling Blacks or Muslims for drugs and terrorism.

The FBI estimates that over 85% of all cocaine users are white. The Wall Street area of Manhattan is renowned for cocaine use. But you don't see police stopping Wall Street Money Managers and asking them to open their attache cases. You don't see actors stopped at random in Hollywood because it is a known drug area.

Is every demand by a Black and/or Muslim valid? Of course not. But people who are not from those groups are always quick to point out any demand by those groups as another example of how pushy those groups are.

When the Christian Right political movement complains about their group being an endangered species, I almost fall out of my seat in disbelief. The people that the Christian Right political movement have helped get elected and who allegedly share their views control the White House, both “Houses of Congress” and the majority of the “Federal Bench”. Are they crying because they do not have everything?

Being raised in neighborhoods where quite often I was the only white person in the playground, walking the street, riding the train, in a store, etc. and believe it or not, I was once the only white member of (what had been) an all Black semi-pro softball team. When they had arguments, they called each other racial names. The light ones picked on the dark ones and the dark ones had equally mean things to say about the lighter ones. Most whites would not even know what many of the insults meant.

But, when I worked on a job that was over 95% white, the whites made jokes based on ethnic or national origin. When I went to college, my freshman class had one non-white and there were only three non-whites in the school. Freshman year, during the three day orientation, the 50 members of my floor sat on the hallway floor getting to know each other. We played a game where the first guy said a euphemism for Black. The next guy had to say another one, if you repeated any that had already been said, you lost. They would get up to the high 20's. When I refused to play, they tried the same thing about Italians (because I am of Italian heritage). They only made it to about 8 or 9. Gays and Hispanics were also fodder for this game.

In Belfast, Northern Ireland in the 1970's, the Catholics and the Protestants played the same game that the USA does with Blacks and whites. Irish men that I know told me that it wasn't about religion in Belfast, it was about economics. But isn't it the same thing in this country when it concerns Blacks and whites I asked? “No! It's about uppity Niggers.”

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

By the way, I post on quite a few forums.

When I am reading and writing here at LBT, I forget that you people are fat and mostly women. And I don't know what race, religion, age or national origin you are.

I assume that would be true for most of the members who post here.

Too bad we couldn't go through our REAL life that way.

[gonnabethin 10]

wouldnt that be nice!!!

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

OK I have to speak on this one! First of all unfortunately racism in this country is institutional MORE than it is individual. It is sad that there are people that are racist, but it is ever sadder that it is BUILT into our system and MOST of us don't even know it!

For example in 1950 before Affirmative Action, African Americans were 3 times more likely to be in poverty and 2 times as likely to be unemployed. In 2000 50 years later and after Affirmative Action, there are STILL 3 times as likely to be in poverty and 3 times as likely to be unemployed. An African American man makes .60 cents to the dollar of a white man doing the SAME job with the SAME experience. What does that tell you?

In an school where the children are predominately minority they suffer GREAT institutional racism. They often do not have books, proper seats, too many students in one class, poor equipment or none at all. I could go on and on. How do you think these children are EVER going to get ahead if they are not even getting the basics? If you want to compare schools, please go to www.schoolmatters.com and look it up! Stats never lie.

What really hurts minorites is the systematic racism. Yes, it is sad that someone could be so ignorant to judge them on skin color. AND by the way, race as we know it is a social construct. It is based on visual sightings "Oh she looks Hispanic or he looks black" it may not be so, but we use visual markers. And I am sorry to say in America we ARE all almost a mixed race. BUT what hurts minorites are those things that are so woven into our system we do not even see them.

In the south many slaves were raped or had affairs with their white slave holders. The Native Americans also became mixed, for alot of them with the white man, many not by choice. We are all a product of some cultures mixing, and it can be proven we all came from the same blood. (No I am not talking evolution I am talking proven genetics)

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

In an school where the children are predominately minority they suffer GREAT institutional racism. They often do not have books, proper seats, too many students in one class, poor equipment or none at all. I could go on and on. How do you think these children are EVER going to get ahead if they are not even getting the basics?

One of the reasons for the that disparity is that most municipalities fund schools by local property tax. High real estate value translates into higher school budgets.

If you make the mistake of being born Black or being born poor, you get what you deserve.

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

One of the reasons for the that disparity is that most municipalities fund schools by local property tax. High real estate value translates into higher school budgets.

If you make the mistake of being born Black or being born poor, you get what you deserve.

Absolutely, and they have no chance of getting out of the cycle because of the wage difference and the lack of education they experience themselves. It is a vicious and sad circle they are trapped into. I know few break free, but what about the rest?