Original text on this post:
A few of the previous years, as you might know, went into my DeviantArt page as opposed to here.
All of the things in the not-quite-a-poem here are true- I live near Toledo, Ohio, where you do indeed hear about tension between the Neo-Nazis and the mostly black communities that they think it's a great idea to march through. A sociologist teacher of mine spent an entire semester telling us how racism is horrible, but there's no way we're ever going to stop ourselves from that "split second" where we think things like "that black guy who's speeding is obviously a drug runner" (and I thought, "Wow, you can tell the race of the guy who just sped past you on the highway? Pay more attention to the darn road, man.")
As for the third not-really a stanza, let me tell you a little story about the term "Redskins," which is the name of sports teams for about half of the schools in my area. "Redskins" refers to how, back during the earlier years of our great nation, furriers could fetch prices for various kinds of pelts... "coonskins," "beaverskins," and "redskins-" the last being the scalps of any random Native Americans they managed to kill (there was a general bounty on their heads.)
In other words, you call someone that, you're reducing them to the level of a hunted animal.
Someone please explain to me how naming a sports team that is supposed to be respectful.
I don't like "Indians" as a team name, either, but "Redskins" is a lot more disgusting and needs to be tackled first.
[/it's 2016]
I should note that the professor in question mentioned in this was... basically one of those white liberal types who essentially uses the idea that "We're all a little bit racist" as an EXCUSE for why he's a jerk, not as a meter to pull himself back by. And he also tended to assume he knew what was going through everyone else's heads.
Let's say he wasn't the best teacher when it came to this kind of stuff.
A few of the previous years, as you might know, went into my DeviantArt page as opposed to here.
All of the things in the not-quite-a-poem here are true- I live near Toledo, Ohio, where you do indeed hear about tension between the Neo-Nazis and the mostly black communities that they think it's a great idea to march through. A sociologist teacher of mine spent an entire semester telling us how racism is horrible, but there's no way we're ever going to stop ourselves from that "split second" where we think things like "that black guy who's speeding is obviously a drug runner" (and I thought, "Wow, you can tell the race of the guy who just sped past you on the highway? Pay more attention to the darn road, man.")
As for the third not-really a stanza, let me tell you a little story about the term "Redskins," which is the name of sports teams for about half of the schools in my area. "Redskins" refers to how, back during the earlier years of our great nation, furriers could fetch prices for various kinds of pelts... "coonskins," "beaverskins," and "redskins-" the last being the scalps of any random Native Americans they managed to kill (there was a general bounty on their heads.)
In other words, you call someone that, you're reducing them to the level of a hunted animal.
Someone please explain to me how naming a sports team that is supposed to be respectful.
I don't like "Indians" as a team name, either, but "Redskins" is a lot more disgusting and needs to be tackled first.
[/it's 2016]
I should note that the professor in question mentioned in this was... basically one of those white liberal types who essentially uses the idea that "We're all a little bit racist" as an EXCUSE for why he's a jerk, not as a meter to pull himself back by. And he also tended to assume he knew what was going through everyone else's heads.
Let's say he wasn't the best teacher when it came to this kind of stuff.