"I want to be treated the same as everyone else"

[Wingates_Hellsing]

And judging by the whole 'on a farm bit', I'd say somewhere not particularly urban, as implied by the rural nature of farms...

[JuniorMintz]

WTF? I just said she grew up in America.

WTF? America's a big place! No need to bite her head off for being curious what state she grew up in.

[Ree]

WTF? America's a big place! No need to bite her head off for being curious what state she grew up in.

Seriously!

She also asked when she grew up.
I don't believe you gave the dates for that.
Kimmik was genuinely curious about that because times have changed so much.
She was looking for a frame of reference.

There was no need to be so snarky.

[Hobbs]

WTF? America's a big place! No need to bite her head off for being curious what state she grew up in.

She didn't ask what state my grandmother was born in. It was as if she didn't believe my affirmation that my grandmother was American...which I presume is due to her language barrier.

For your information, she was born in 1913, about 50 mi. North of San Antonio, TX. My grandfather was born 7 years later in the farm next door. He fought in WWII. His father fought in WWI, and his father's father fought for the CSA.

Both grew up and taught their children not to trust whites.

[JuniorMintz]

She didn't ask what state my grandmother was born in. It was as if she didn't believe my affirmation that my grandmother was American...which I presume is due to her language barrier.

I can only speak for me, but I thought the "what state" question was implied. I'll remember to be very specific if I ever find myself having to ask you a question, though.

I'll leave it to Kimmik to address your presumptions from here.

[Hobbs]

I can only speak for me, but I thought the "what state" question was implied. I'll remember to be very specific if I ever find myself having to ask you a question, though.

I'll leave it to Kimmik to address your presumptions from here.

How do you get "What state" from "curious where your grandmother grew up..."

[JuniorMintz]

Did you see the part where I said I felt it was implied?

I don't appear to be the only one who interpreted it that way either. Are you deliberately looking for an excuse to take offense?

[Hobbs]

Did you see the part where I said I felt it was implied?

I don't appear to be the only one who interpreted it that way either. Are you deliberately looking for an excuse to take offense?

No. Are you deliberately trying to offend me?

[JuniorMintz]

Not really, I don't give enough of a fuck about *your* feelings one way or the other to make the effort. If you take offense to what I said, I don't know what to tell you.

I do think you're reading too much into what was a relatively innocent question on Kimmik's part, but I get the impression you don't really give a fuck what *I* think either.

So, here we are. *shrug*

[Hobbs]

Not really, I don't give enough of a fuck about *your* feelings one way or the other to make the effort. If you take offense to what I said, I don't know what to tell you.

I do think you're reading too much into what was a relatively innocent question on Kimmik's part, but I get the impression you don't really give a fuck what *I* think either.

So, here we are. *shrug*

Just as long as we're on the same page, then.

[Plaidman]

Jebus bro. Even I got the impression she wondered where in US. Its like what, 3000 miles. Maybe she grew up in Alaska. Maybe Hawii. Maybe Florida. Maybe Maine. We didn't know. Now we do.

[Hobbs]

I think y'all have blown this way outta proportion. Let's wait for Kimmik to respond.

[MadMike]

OK, there's nothing wrong with debating this topic, but everyone needs to remain civil, and refrain from personal attacks.

I consider myself very anti-racism, and my hispanic wife would not be with me if she thought there was a single racist bone in my body. That being said, I agree with what the OP is trying to say. People should never be treated like second-class citizens because of their race, and minorities should get equal treatment. But not preferential treatment.

Can you imagine the backlash and accusations of racism if someone tried to start a "United Caucasion College Fund?" It would be wrong to set up an organization to help only white people, but for some reason it's OK to set up one solely for black people. Some people say it's to right the wrongs that occurred during the slavery era, and I might agree with that if any of the former slaves and people who enslaved them were still alive.

I saw a blatant example of preferential treatment at my job years ago. They hired a black woman (a double minority), into a non-entry level position. I didn't think anything of it, until I was asked to help her with some training assignments she was working on. Anyone who got hired into the position they gave her would not have been doing training assignments, and upon reviewing her work, it quickly became clear that she did not have the slightest idea what she was doing. It wasn't long before she ended up quitting.

Hopefully no one takes anything I said out of context, so I'll sum it all up as follows: Everyone should receive equal treatment, regardless of race. No race, whether it's black, white, red, green, or whatever, should receive preferential treatment.

[smileyeagle1021]

Gays / Lesbians / Bisexuals - you demanded to be allowed the same rights as married couples / shared benefits. Many states and companies give you this now yet my wife and I can't go into a friend's resort room when he's here because we're a straight couple.

reality check on that one, by many states you mean 5. 5 out of 50 (well 6 if you include the District of Columbia and then it is out of 51). That is the entirety of states that have extended "full" equality (at a state level only, the number of states where there is equal rights at the federal level is 0). In half the states there is ZERO legal protections. If my boss wanted to, he could walk into my cubicle and say "I saw you out with your boyfriend last weekend, I don't approve of that, I don't care that you've passed all your test calls, you're fired." And with the companies that offer it are a huge minority of companies in the country.

And please explain your story of your friend's room. Is that your friend's rule or the resort's rule?
If it's your friend's rule, then your friend is a douche which isn't limited by age, gender, race, religion, or orientation.
If it's the resort rule, welcome to my world. I've had a hotel clerk refuse to check me and my boyfriend into a room with one bed, told us if we wanted to check in and not have a no show penalty that I had to pay to upgrade to a room with two beds.


As far the rest of the post, I do agree with you that it is annoying when people will try to guise special treatment as equality.
I'll also agree with you when it comes to (insert word here)-American. For that matter, drop the American bit too. I'm sorry, I'm not an American, I'm a human, and I don't see how a location on the map makes me any different.

[MadMike]

If my boss wanted to, he could walk into my cubicle and say "I saw you out with your boyfriend last weekend, I don't approve of that, I don't care that you've passed all your test calls, you're fired."

Sadly, something like that happened here in PA years ago. I don't know if anything has changed since then, but back then, sexual orientation was not a protected category. There was a new story about an attorney who got hired at a law firm, and subsequently fired once they found out he was gay, citing their policy that listed "homosexuality" being one of the reasons that are grounds for dismissal.

And his problems didn't end there. He started his own law firm, and when some of his former company's clients starting doing business with him, they sued him over a non-competition clause in the contract he had with his former company.

I don't know what, if anything, happened after that.