Basically I was at school and didn't come back home until 11:10 ish. I come home and find out that we were robbed out of Holden's laptop and my PS3 nothing else as they were in a "hurry".
Basically my roommate let some "friends" in who when Holden was otherwise distracted unlocked the door let in "non friends" in who took what wasn't bolted down or difficult to get at and ran off.
They were friends of a friend who owed me a favor for fixing his computer so he called them up and forced them to return our stuff as best as we can tell its ours in return for not making a scene or calling the police. Only thing I don't think they returned "yet" was the PS3 control.
First thing tomorrow morning we're getting homeowners insurence and yeah, no more strange people we don't know coming over.
Posted by Dan_Frank (Member # 8488) on :
Call the police.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Um, yeah. you know who did it? Report it.
Posted by Starsnuffer (Member # 8116) on :
That is so ridiculous.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I don't know who did it, all I know is we have a friend who knows who did it, and my roommate is being an IDIOT and being intentionally oblivious and not finding out to "not cause a scene" this is a bad neighbourhood.
Still haven't got back the ps3 controller and hes being an idiot going "I don't wanna press our luck. worst case I'll replace it for you". The problem he doesn't realize that know they'll be like "yo my man, we can steal their sh*t and only give back some ov it mon, and wez can keep the rest yo, they crackers yo."
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
Wow. That was racist.
I no longer feel bad for you.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
whatever you think of Blayne's personal characteristics no one deserves to have their property stolen.
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
Call the police.
Personally I would also start considering where I would be moving since I wouldn't keep living with people like your apparently currently living with.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shanna: Wow. That was racist.
I no longer feel bad for you.
Yes well, you would feel that to if this had happened to you, at least for a little while.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
quote:Originally posted by HollowEarth: Call the police.
Personally I would also start considering where I would be moving since I wouldn't keep living with people like your apparently currently living with.
We have a lease/contract thingy for the next year or so.
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
quote:Yes well, you would feel that to if this had happened to you, at least for a little while.
Umm...no. Course I'd be ticked but I would certainly not respond in that way.
Your friend has *profane expletive* friends and you already have everything back except a video game controller. I fail to see the huge tragedy.
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
You know, first day I moved in to my place on campus, that night some folks from the nearby crackhouse (that's what the policeman called it) kicked in our door and stole most of my stuff, none of which I've seen since.
And yet, oddly enough, I didn't feel the need to go racist over it.
You lost a game controller. Tough. Jeez.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
So if I walked to your home, stole your car, drove it around and only gave it back the avoid the possible involvement of police and neglect to return the car cd player you think this is a perfectly alright situation?
Next what makes you think I'm talking about black people? Even white around here talk in Eubonics.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
quote:Originally posted by Joldo: You know, first day I moved in to my place on campus, that night some folks from the nearby crackhouse (that's what the policeman called it) kicked in our door and stole most of my stuff, none of which I've seen since.
And yet, oddly enough, I didn't feel the need to go racist over it.
You lost a game controller. Tough. Jeez.
This doesn't magically become a case of borrowing-without-asking from strangers just because they gave it back.
Your local police officers were obviously incompetant if they couldn't even get it back from the usual suspects.
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
"Borrowing with asking" is not an "alright" situation. I'm simply saying that your response was inappropriate. Calling the police and having a good long talk with your roommate about guests would be appropriate. Throwing out speech typical of what one would use to stereotype African-Americans, complete with the word "cracker," is not an appropriate reaction regardless of whether you got your video game system back or not.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
undoubtably, but it should be nonetheless be understood an understandable reaction to one's stuff being stolen. Note that the friend who arranged to get back the stuff was a blond white kid so...
Posted by Dan_Frank (Member # 8488) on :
Deriding a ridiculous and grammatically offensive way of speaking is not being racist. Anyone who thinks Blayne's comments were racist needs to seriously rejigger their Political Correctness meter.
There's a huge difference between mocking/criticizing/etc a race and doing the same to a particular ridiculous subculture that happens to have some ties to a race.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Personally I always visualize bad guys as being from East London. "Oy, there ain't no need to get heavy with a geezer mate."
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orincoro: Personally I always visualize bad guys as being from East London. "Oy, there ain't no need to get heavy with a geezer mate."
My British pal over Teamspeak has the same reactions as I expressed here, you can't even withdraw money from an ATM machine alone, you have to go in groups or you'll you get jacked by the ripper mate.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
And what Dan said, I'm not mocking them because of their race, afterall I'm not a racist individual and hold no special place in my heart for one ethnic group over another (okay i can't say that with a straight face, "China will grow larger" ) but I'm not mocking them because of their race (white or black) I'm mocking them for their pretentiousness (can't think of a better word).
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shanna: Wow. That was racist.
I literally thought these exact words when I read the post above, and snorted with amusement when I scrolled down and saw them half a second after thinking them.
I still feel for you though, Blayne. I hate that some people just think that they can do whatever they want and don't care about who they hurt. I say call the police. Sounds to me like your roommate is either afraid of retaliation or just not looking cool. Either way it just makes him look like their b*tch (no offense), and as you said, it just lets the perpetrators continue to think that they can do this sort or thing with no consequences.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I dunno, everytime I reread it I grin and laugh a little, its seems funny at least to me on rereading.
Neo, just to clarify you thought of the words that I posted or thought of the words Shanna said?
My roommate is "le tired" I'll be talking with his mother and him about it tomorrow. Now if the controller turns up still call or call anyways?
Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
Shoot. I'm in the middle of moving my things to a dorm room on campus, and I left some of it (clothing, some books, sheets, a trashcan, a microwave) there before driving the 25 miles back home for work. So, now I'm at home, with some of that stuff over there.
At least the things that'd cost a lot to replace aren't there, and most people probably wouldn't steal just clothes or random, non-school related books.
Still. I feel nervous all of the sudden...
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
I thought of Shanna's words. What you said did come across as quite racist, but I know that people don't always mean what they say when they're upset... Cracker. Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
Honkey. That'd be a more appropriate one. Honkey, not Cracker. ^_^
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Eh, leave us old decent simple folks alone darn fool.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Hmm, my roommate says he's afraid of retaliation that they'll break in and steal our TV as we "can't prove anything" and will sell the TV within ten minutes of stealing it and leave no evidence. Now, as much as I am with kicking ass it doesn't strike me as common sense to call the police if its only going to end up costing us more, and if they stole my computer with my months of hardwork and no reliable means of backing up 400 gb's of work I'll be set back months.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
How about new locks? And, you know, not letting people in in your absence?
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: How about new locks? And, you know, not letting people in in your absence?
They let themselves in when the roommate wasn't looking, our locks aren't compromised they don't have our keys. And while agreed to not let anyone in anymore there's still the issue that unfortunately our security is only as good as one's roommates vigilance, Thursday I came home with him at work and the door unlocked for god knows how long.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Okay.
How about a lock on YOUR room that only you have a key to and keeping your stuff locked up when you're gone?
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Aha.
Posted by Dan_Frank (Member # 8488) on :
And a new room mate.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I have Ninja's already tasked for that.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:Your local police officers were obviously incompetant if they couldn't even get it back from the usual suspects.
It is not uncommon in this country for someone to not get his stolen stuff back, even if he knew who took it, when they took it, and even what they did with it.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley:
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: How about new locks? And, you know, not letting people in in your absence?
They let themselves in when the roommate wasn't looking, our locks aren't compromised they don't have our keys. And while agreed to not let anyone in anymore there's still the issue that unfortunately our security is only as good as one's roommates vigilance, Thursday I came home with him at work and the door unlocked for god knows how long.
See, no matter what happens to blayne, he is not to blame in any remote degree. Not for choice of friends, or his choice of locks. This kind of thing could, after all, happen to anyone...
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I locked the door on my way out that morning, and I think its hardly "blamable" in having a roommate with the common sense of a lemming. When he pitched it to me I didn't know these things, and getting out of my home was top priorii.
The locks as I said aren't compromised, my roommate forgot to lock the door. Are you trying to spin this that its my fault for choosing him?
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley:
quote:Originally posted by HollowEarth: Call the police.
Personally I would also start considering where I would be moving since I wouldn't keep living with people like your apparently currently living with.
We have a lease/contract thingy for the next year or so.
Have you called the police yet? They're not friends if they steal from you. And if you can't go ahead and move (which is not unreasonable since you do have a lease) it would be best to have a report in if this happens again.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
yes but, we can't prove anything, and they could sell our stuff in 10 minutes and never be able to do anything about it.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
If you're worried about your comp, spend the fifteen, twenty bucks to get a security cable and padlock.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I am, i sent an email to my dad to drive me to canadian tire.
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
Just want to reiterate the advice earlier- PUT A GOOD LOCK ON YOUR DOOR!!!! Then, it does not matter what your roomie does or doesn't do. Your stuff is always safe.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:The problem he doesn't realize that know they'll be like "yo my man, we can steal their sh*t and only give back some ov it mon, and wez can keep the rest yo, they crackers yo."
I have a serious question for those of you whose first impression was 'Wow, that was racist." Can you explain why you find it racist? I'm having a hard time phrasing this in a way that doesn't sound like a rhetorical question, but if possible I'd really like to here your side.
From my perspective, Blayne didn't say anything about race. He seemed to be mocking these people based on their dialect and a culture that justifies steeling, neither of which are racial characteristics. In fact it was you who presumed based on his portrayal that the thieves belonged to a particular racial group. If he'd portrayed them speaking with a Mafioso accent aka Godfather, would you have though "Wow, what anti-Italian bigotry".
Since Blayne pretty much knows who the thieves are (or at least he knows what friends they run with), I presumed that his mockery was specific to this group and that they actually talk like that. From that perspective, it just isn't a racial slur of any kind.
So I'm curious to know what assumptions you made that make this a racial slur. Since there was more than one person who responded that way, I'm guessing there is a logical explanation and I'd really like to hear it.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by scholarette: Just want to reiterate the advice earlier- PUT A GOOD LOCK ON YOUR DOOR!!!! Then, it does not matter what your roomie does or doesn't do. Your stuff is always safe.
If there is a window in that room, or any other entrance, it needs to be secured as well. This is harder than it looks.
If you have expensive things and live in an environment that isn't secure, then it is very difficult to make your part of it secure. This is another reaosn to talk with your local police. You do not have to press charges, but you can ask for an assessment of how you can help avoid this in the future.
If you do not have renter's insurance, you should. That is another place to ask for help with ensuring security.
Good luck.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote: In fact it was you who presumed based on his portrayal that the thieves belonged to a particular racial group.
The last line, "they crackers yo".
Crackers is a slang word for whites by some blacks, sort of the reverse n-word. The statement at the end heavily implies that the speaker is a black person.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
Also, Find a way to back up your hard drive and keep the back up somewhere besides your apartment. Your computer can be replaced but the stuff on it is invaluable. You don't necessarily need to back up the full 400 GB. You don't need to back up software, that's replaceable. But you absolutely must back up your documents, the programs you've written.
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: "yo my man, we can steal their sh*t and only give back some ov it mon, and wez can keep the rest yo, they crackers yo."
I really know about 5 white teenagers that don't speak like this, it seems anyone who thought it was inherently racist should look a little closer to home.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
I don't know any white teenagers who talk like that, so I guess our anecdotal evidence cancels out.
Given the use of the term "cracker", I don't think it is unreasonable to guess the speaker is black. Are there some white kids who would use the term that way? Yes. Is it far more common and likely to hear it spoken from a black teenager? Absolutely.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by adfectio (Member # 11070) on :
quote:Originally posted by Xann.:
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: "yo my man, we can steal their sh*t and only give back some ov it mon, and wez can keep the rest yo, they crackers yo."
I really know about 5 white teenagers that don't speak like this, it seems anyone who thought it was inherently racist should look a little closer to home.
There is a fairly popular white culture which acts identical to the 'black' culture that Blayne Described. I don't think what he said was meant as racist, but more as a way of making light of them specifically.
Since Blayne didn't mention race at all, I think it's just as much a possibility that the people Blayne is talking about are white as black. So, maybe, Shanna, it's your preconceptions that need rethought. Eh?
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
quote:Originally posted by prolixshore: Given the use of the term "cracker", I don't think it is unreasonable to guess the speaker is black.
--ApostleRadio
I do think it is unreasonable.
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
I call people saltines, and I look really white, I'm a reverse twinky.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
erm... twink means something entirely else...
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
Twinky: Someone who looks asian but is white on the inside.
Yellow on the outside and White on the inside
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
ooo I never realised that it was used as gay slang. Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
quote:Since Blayne didn't mention race at all, I think it's just as much a possibility that the people Blayne is talking about are white as black. So, maybe, Shanna, it's your preconceptions that need rethought. Eh?
As others have pointed out, there was the use of the word "cracker." And the fact that I have NEVER heard anyone throw out language like that when they weren't stereotyping African-Americans. But then again, I've in the South my whole life so maybe that's why. I didn't realize white people acting like a black-stereotype and using "ghetto-speak" was a popular thing in Canada. Aside from a few low-slung pants, its a new thing to me.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Its verryyyyy popular.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
I never knew the word Twinky was slang at all. . .
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: Its verryyyyy popular.
Hmmm maybe since i live in vermont we are just exceptions to the rule. Every where else it might seem racist except for in canada and canada-wannabe.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Throwing out speech typical of what one would use to stereotype African-Americans, complete with the word "cracker," is not an appropriate reaction regardless of whether you got your video game system back or not.
Why not? First off, I wouldn't have thought of this as an African-American stereotype, I would have called it a gangster stereo-type. But you and Xavier seem to be missing the real issue. Yes this is a language that is stereotypical of a certain sub-population of African Americans. That's not my question. Why do you see it as automatically racist to describe people in a way that is frequently use in a stereotype?
Growing up in the intermountain west, all the blacks I knew were from middle class, college educated professional families. I presumed that the stereotypical African Americans depicted in the media were just racist propaganda, no one with those characteristics actually existed. So imagine my surprise when I spent a summer in Washington DC where there were thousands of black people who talked and dressed and walked like their stereotypical counterparts on TV. On the fourth of July, my best friend and I were on the mall and she was eating this enormous piece of watermelon she'd bought from a vendor when a black man came up and said in the most stereotypical black southern drawl you can imagine, "Dat Watermelon look real gooood, Ken I have a bite?" Is it racist of me to retell that story which really happened to me solely because the man was behaving in a stereotypical fashion?
Stereotypes aren't just manufactured out of thin air. They exist because many people really do behave that way. There are a lot of gang members (and gang member wanna be's) many of whom are black who do say things like Blayne implied. Stereotypes, even racial stereotypes, aren't in and of themselves racist. In fact stereotypes aren't necessarily always a bad thing. Stereotypes are dangerous when people presume that they accurately describe any individual or when people presume that because a person shares some characteristics with a stereotype, they will share them all. It is racist when you presume that because people belong to a certain race, they will act according to a stereotype. It is racist to presume that because people talk in a stereotypical fashion, they belong to a given race.
If Blayne had implied that all black people talked like that, that would have been racist. If Blayne knew nothing about the thieves but presumed that they were black gangsters solely because they stole from him, that would be racist. If Blayne had presumed that it was African Americans who talked like gangsters who stole his stuff without any evidence, that would be racist. If all Blayne knows about these thieves is that their black and he therefore presumes they talk like gangster rappers -- that would be racist. But I didn't see evidence that Blayne was doing any of those things.
Blayne actually knows friends of these thieves so I presume he has a pretty good idea what sub-culture they belong to. If they actually talk like that, would you see it as racist for Blayne to mock them for it after they stole stuff from him?
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I have a friend who met some of the people my roommate hangs out with, "I would not want to be alone in an alley with any of them even if I had a knife" this friend is like 7 feet tall and well built.
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
But he wasn't recounting an actual dialogue. It appeared to me that he was mocking the criminals involved. Its not like he said, "I bet they think they can get away with this." And it didn't appear as if he was mocking the individuals because he used what appeared to me to be an exaggerated caricature of a style of speech. Its one thing to add in a "dat" because its a cultural dialect. But the continuous string of slang seemed purposeful. It appeared to me as a joke, and not a particularly funny one.
Sorry if people think I took the wrong way. But I've always lived in racial-tense places and if someone near me said something like that, I wouldn't assume he was talking about some white Canadian wannabe-rap-cliches. I would assume prejudice and I'd be right, and I don't tolerate it.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
you know its not just Canadian i am nearly 100% certain that in any urban enviroment in the states you have it as well.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shanna: ... I didn't realize white people acting like a black-stereotype and using "ghetto-speak" was a popular thing in Canada. Aside from a few low-slung pants, its a new thing to me.
It happens. If you think thats a bit odd, try taking a gander at Bling Bling in Beijing Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
yo b-boy les go steal a playstation from them crackas FO REALS word to your black homie (i'm black) yo yo yo way to be co-opting the barrier of pc speech (black)
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
what I am saying with that point is that I reserve the right to ghettospeak online and abroad.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
To clarify, I don't think Blayne was neccessarily being racist. I also don't think anyone who assumed his fictional speaker was inherently racist, either. It is a reasonable conclusion, certainly no LESS reasonable than assuming the imaginary speaker to be white.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
I have only heard the term cracker used by white people. Of course, all the black people I regularly associate with would never use ebonics. For me, the language is much more indicitave of a certain class (urban, uneducated) then a race. I think the assumption that he is referring to a specific race is more racist then anything Blayne actually said.
Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :
In my experience, I've only heard speech like in Blayne's quotation used by white people to make fun of black people.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit:
quote:Throwing out speech typical of what one would use to stereotype African-Americans, complete with the word "cracker," is not an appropriate reaction regardless of whether you got your video game system back or not.
Why not? First off, I wouldn't have thought of this as an African-American stereotype, I would have called it a gangster stereo-type.
Then you're pleasantly naive, which isn't a bad thing.
quote: On the fourth of July, my best friend and I were on the mall and she was eating this enormous piece of watermelon she'd bought from a vendor when a black man came up and said in the most stereotypical black southern drawl you can imagine, "Dat Watermelon look real gooood, Ken I have a bite?" Is it racist of me to retell that story which really happened to me solely because the man was behaving in a stereotypical fashion?
No, because as you said, it actually happened.
quote: Stereotypes aren't just manufactured out of thin air. They exist because many people really do behave that way.
Of course. There are no doubt Asians out there who are bad drivers, and Jews who are ridiculously cheap. Of course, there are also whites and blacks who have those traits as well, so why do we use them to identify one group in particular? Because it's more frequently true of them? And that's how some ignorant people reach the conclusion that certain traits are inherent to certain groups of people, and therein lies the seeds of racism.
quote: In fact stereotypes aren't necessarily always a bad thing. Stereotypes are dangerous when people presume that they accurately describe any individual or when people presume that because a person shares some characteristics with a stereotype, they will share them all. It is racist when you presume that because people belong to a certain race, they will act according to a stereotype. It is racist to presume that because people talk in a stereotypical fashion, they belong to a given race.
So where's the not bad part of stereotypes? Okay, well they do provide excellent material for jokes.
quote:
Blayne actually knows friends of these thieves so I presume he has a pretty good idea what sub-culture they belong to. If they actually talk like that, would you see it as racist for Blayne to mock them for it after they stole stuff from him?
Maybe I missed something, but from his post I was under the impression that Blayne knows someone who knows these people, but he doesn't know them himself, which led me to believe that at the most he knows that they are black and they robbed him, and his imitation of their probably speech patterns came from that knowledge alone. I could very well be wrong about that, but I hope you can see how I might have misunderstood.
quote:Originally posted by scholarette: I think the assumption that he is referring to a specific race is more racist then anything Blayne actually said.
Posted by Dan_Frank (Member # 8488) on :
quote:Originally posted by neo-dragon: [QB]
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit:
quote:Throwing out speech typical of what one would use to stereotype African-Americans, complete with the word "cracker," is not an appropriate reaction regardless of whether you got your video game system back or not.
Why not? First off, I wouldn't have thought of this as an African-American stereotype, I would have called it a gangster stereo-type.
Then you're pleasantly naive, which isn't a bad thing.
She's really not. It is a very common and accurate stereotype of most gangs. I have met people from many races that conform very closely to that stereotype, who would use the term "Cracker" in that way. Some were white, some were black. Some were latino, some were asian. I even encountered plenty of Navajos who talk like that, back when I lived near the reservation. And if Blayne is aware of the thieves, through a degree of separation, I don't think it's an unreasonable leap on his part to guess what sort of subculture they belong to.
As it turns out? That subculture is also responsible for a disproportionate number of petty crimes! Who'd have thunk it, eh?
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
I can only speak from my experience and knowledge as a young black man. The fact of the matter is that some people will look at me and assume that I speak a certain way and use words like "cracker" before they know anything else about me, even though I certainly don't dress like a gangsta. Most people aren't going to look at a 20-something white guy dressed like me and assume that he speaks ebonics when he's "kickin' it wit his homies". Hell, where does the word "ebonics" come from, and why are white gangstas called "wiggers"? The truth is, the gangsta subculture was originally, and still is in many people's minds, synonymous with black urban culture.
Posted by Dan_Frank (Member # 8488) on :
I don't disagree with anything you said, really, neo-dragon. That subculture is still dominated by young black men, too. But I still think that it's important to differentiate disdain for that culture with disdain for black people.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
Exactly. I should elaborate on why I called Rabbit naive, and why I gave an eye-roll to scholarette's remark. It's not that I disagree with what they're saying. They're right. What I think is naive is not realizing that to a LOT of people "gangsta" pretty much equals black. Thus Blayne's comments came off as somewhat racist (and let me again state that I don't actually believe that Blayne is racist, nor was I offended) because blacks suffer more from the perpetuation of that kind of gangsta stereotype than any other ethnic group.
Sorry about getting all preachy.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
quote:Originally posted by scholarette: I have only heard the term cracker used by white people. Of course, all the black people I regularly associate with would never use ebonics. For me, the language is much more indicitave of a certain class (urban, uneducated) then a race. I think the assumption that he is referring to a specific race is more racist then anything Blayne actually said.
I have heard both races use that word. It sounds stupid from both of them.
My SIL is white but thinks she is from the ghetto. It is really funny (in a sad way)listening to her at a family gathering, as no one else in the family speaks that way.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Stereotypes aren't just manufactured out of thin air. They exist because many people really do behave that way.
quote:Everyone's a little bit racist It's true. But everyone is just about As racist as you! If we all could just admit That we are racist a little bit, And everyone stopped being So PC Maybe we could live in - Harmony!
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kwea:
quote:Originally posted by scholarette: I have only heard the term cracker used by white people. Of course, all the black people I regularly associate with would never use ebonics. For me, the language is much more indicitave of a certain class (urban, uneducated) then a race. I think the assumption that he is referring to a specific race is more racist then anything Blayne actually said.
I have heard both races use that word. It sounds stupid from both of them.
My SIL is white but thinks she is from the ghetto. It is really funny (in a sad way)listening to her at a family gathering, as no one else in the family speaks that way.
Agreed on both points (well, I don't have a SIL who speaks that way but I've met people, relatives of friends, who do.)
I must say though, I much prefer funny-in-a-sad-way to just plain sad, or offensive... Like the way MY brother speaks (he thinks he's a white supremacist now. )
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: what I am saying with that point is that I reserve the right to ghettospeak online
That's fair. But my memory for these things is terrible, so could you put some sort of footnote or parenthetical reminder (maybe a link back to this thread) every time you do? That way I'll remember not to be offended.
Thanks!
Posted by dab (Member # 7847) on :
Get Renters insurance if you are worried about a future break in, take photos of all your stuff, then call the police. If you choose not to call the police even when you know who robbed you, then you deserve to be robbed... because you know that they will do it again to someone else if you don't do anything about it. It is your civil duty to report them.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
::::edited to (try to) be a better person::::
[ September 22, 2008, 03:26 AM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Awww, man, I liked the person you were.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:That's fair. But my memory for these things is terrible, so could you put some sort of footnote or parenthetical reminder (maybe a link back to this thread) every time you do? That way I'll remember not to be offended.
Thanks!
Only as long as i'm not forced to label my hawaiian pidgin english. mahaloz fo sho.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
That will probably go straight over my head, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
My thoughts on cultural stereotypes... in short, humans can't help to make generalizations about others, and to categorize different groups - heck, a large part of sociology is just making generalizations about cultures and groups. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily. It can become a bad thing, when generalizations develop into stereotypes that are inflexible and used to pigeonhole others.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
That post pretty much nailed all I think about it as well. Great link.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
) but I'm not mocking them because of their race (white or black) I'm mocking them for their pretentiousness (can't think of a better word).
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)