You're white, you can't say that...(NSFW)

[gremcint]

actually for me it's less that only one group gets to say nigga but that the same group then gets to turn around and say cracka.

Further why are all white people grouped together and noone has a problem wtih that but If I act as though Puerto Ricans and Mexicans are the same, or Japanese and Chinese are the same.

What I mean is I am Canadian I shouldn't be grouped in automatically with people from England or the US.

[Mytical]

actually for me it's less that only one group gets to say nigga but that the same group then gets to turn around and say cracka.

Further why are all white people grouped together and noone has a problem wtih that but If I act as though Puerto Ricans and Mexicans are the same, or Japanese and Chinese are the same.

What I mean is I am Canadian I shouldn't be grouped in automatically with people from England or the US.

I absolutely agree. People love grouping others together, but man does the fur fly when they are stereotyped.

[wolfie]

actually for me it's less that only one group gets to say nigga but that the same group then gets to turn around and say cracka.


What I mean is I am Canadian I shouldn't be grouped in automatically with people from England or the US.

IMNSHO, if ethnic group "A" uses a (reclaimed) offensive term for itself but doesn't want other groups to use that term, they shouldn't be using offensive terms for those other groups.

As for the second part of the quote, I believe it was in one of Harry Turtledove's "Colonization" books that two members of The Race (what the alien lizards called themselves) referred to Canada as the land that wasn't Britain and wasn't the United States, but seemed to be a mix of the two.

[Eddie the 'Ead]

if you don't actually belive the stupid shit you're saying, say it all you want. we make women in kitchen jokes all the time. the one time our friend was legit being sexist he got kicked out for the night.

This is how I feel as well. I honestly have no issue with racist jokes, as long as they're just that- jokes. If they're actually being racist, then GTFO.

[Jester]

... if you don't really believe the racist bullshit in the jokes you're telling, then you're really making fun of the racists and their stupid stereotypes.

Which brings up one of my favorite black jokes of recent times.

ME: "What do you call a black man flying a plane?"
THEM: "What?"
ME: "A pilot, you fucking racist."


On a more serious note, for those of you saying that this double standard isn't fair and isn't right, you are correct. Welcome to Planet Earth. Enjoy your stay.

[Sarah Valentine]

When I was still working with Terry and Kevin there was this one time when I was on lunch and I spent it over at Henry's booth with him and Travis, and we were all eating different stuff hotdogs (me), bacon cheese fries (Travis), peanut butter crackers (Henry). To help you get the full picture of what happened next Henry is black and in his 40's and me and Travis were white and early to mid 20's, and there were a couple of customers looking at his stuff. Henry forgot where he put his food and said "Where'd I put them damn crackers at?!" Travis just smiled and said "Henry, we're right over here!" Henry started laughing and so did we, the customers didn't like it and left. Henry said he didn't want to sell to anybody with no sense of humor anyway.

[Lillfilly]

I actually had an argument with my supervisor over being called racist names. The dictionary lists most of the common insults as being 'racially derogatory' so being abused with these words could technically be a hate crime. The word 'cracker' for one, is a hate word. In my job, we get called this a lot, along with other terms thrown at white people. HOWEVER, after being abused with such language, my supervisor was adamant that I could not take police action against the attackers because 'it's not actually racism.' Yet, had a racial word been used against a non-white person, I'm sure charges would have been rung-up faster than a Justin Beiber poster purchased by a pre-teen girl! So, double standards much?

I just don't like any racial words; they make me uncomfortable even in jest, even if the people using them are of that particular ethnicity, and I will actually ask people not to use said words when I'm around.

[Mytical]

Which brings up one of my favorite black jokes of recent times.

ME: "What do you call a black man flying a plane?"
THEM: "What?"
ME: "A pilot, you fucking racist."


On a more serious note, for those of you saying that this double standard isn't fair and isn't right, you are correct. Welcome to Planet Earth. Enjoy your stay.

I am trying to enjoy the stay, but the idiots in the human race are quite vexing. When I make my reports to the mothership, they think I am lying .. and that there is no way any individual in an advance race could be so idiotic. Nanu Nanu.

[wolfie]

Which brings up one of my favorite black jokes of recent times.

ME: "What do you call a black man flying a plane?"
THEM: "What?"
ME: "A pilot, you fucking racist."

One that I have a hard time finding a suitable audience (language reasons) for is:

Pourquoi les pilotes devrait etre en carcel?
Parse qu'ils volent les avions.

It's a pun. First line translates as "Why do pilots belong in jail?" In French, the verb "voler" means both "to fly" and "to steal".

Henry forgot where he put his food and said "Where'd I put them damn crackers at?!" Travis just smiled and said "Henry, we're right over here!" Henry started laughing and so did we, the customers didn't like it and left. Henry said he didn't want to sell to anybody with no sense of humor anyway.

One that I (white) told a (black) former co-worker - fell flat because he didn't know about the term "cracker".

Me: At a Wal-Mart in Arkansas, would you find $item?
Him: Yes
(repeat 3 or 4 times for different values of $item, such as "TV sets", "jeans", "light bulbs", etc.)
Me: At a Wal-Mart in Arkansas, would you find crackers?
Him (assuming food item in the grocery department): Yes
Me: Y'all know that ain't a very nice thing to call us white folks.

Of course, the punch line needs to be delivered with a smile and a tone of voice that makes it clear that you're giving the punch line to a joke, rather than being angry about him using an ethnic slur by answering your question.

[HYHYBT]

Will someone *please* tell me why people say "life isn't fair" (or, in this case, "Welcome to Planet Earth") as if the mere existence of unfairness were a valid reason not to challenge it?

[KabeRinnaul]

Will someone *please* tell me why people say "life isn't fair" (or, in this case, "Welcome to Planet Earth") as if the mere existence of unfairness were a valid reason not to challenge it?

Because cynicism is way easier than trying to change oneself or others.

And to throw in my two cents on the "racist jokes shared with friends" angle, I had a friend who was half white and half Hispanic. It was eventually decided among our circle of friends that since he was only half a wetback, that made him a dampback. He took it well enough, calling me a "fat blubbery French piece of shit" (my real last name is French in origin, though it's been in the US since the Revolutionary War) and threatening to stab me. But that's practically how he and I said hello, so the description stuck.

[Andara Bledin]

I had a friend whose parents were from Mexico, but since they came over via land, instead of a wab (short-form for wetback), he was a scab (short form for scratch-back, as in digging under the non-existent fence.

^-.-^

[violiav]

I saw Django Unchained over the weekend and that got me thinking about this thread. Specifically Spike Lee's reaction to the movie. That is to say he's against it.
http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-...181207156.html

I was talking to my bf afterward and we came to the conclusion that:

1. Both Spike Lee and Tarintino are egomaniacs.

and

2. There wouldn't be any whispering of controversy if Spike Lee had made the film.

The movie is intense and gruesome,; it's not "laugh a minute" (I saw it called that in some article linked form imdb), but there's not great historical meaning to the film. It's a fantastic movie (one of QTs best, I think), in that it blends dark humor in with the serious parts fairly seamlessly. I don't think the film is racist or offensive by itself. That is, it's not made to put down a group of people.

[Andara Bledin]

I've never really listened to Spike Lee when he publicly takes offense, because he takes offense at some of the stupidest shit. He "cried wolf" to the point where I can't trust that he's not either white knighting or publicity whoring.

^-.-^