EPTOn August 20 2012 03:52 Djzapz wrote:
So true.
I've been meaning to write my own blog post about racism in general and why people are fucking stupid about the whole issue, but I always stopped myself because sometimes I feel like I'm the one person in the world that's capable of not thinking in black and white (no pun intended). People have this very dichotomous view of the world wherein things are either all bad or all good, without any nuances. That is incredibly sad.
The word "nigger" has been put on such a massive pedestal because those people have had a terrible past, and now it's like racism against black people is the worst kind of racism. That's amusing to me, because it strikes me as racist for someone to be more concerned about treating black people respectfully than like, those native Americans who still get treated like trash to this day, after your ancestors essentially fucked those people, I can't even find the words to describe how bad.
I have 2 things to discuss.
1- When the word is used WITHOUT its racial meaning:
When it's not intended as a racial slur, but rather used as a cookie-cutter insult, people still view the word "nigger" as racist. Indeed that word, when it's used as a standard derogatory label like "faggot" and "dick" or "asshole", is somehow the end-all of all terrible things to say.
Why is the word "nigger" worse than the word "faggot"? I can jokingly call my friend a faggot and that's fine, but if I jokingly call him a nigger then I'm racist? Are homosexuals not important enough to be worthy of the same respect?
*FYI: It is my opinion that using those words, while it may be trashy and childish, is not "bad" and does not necessarily represent hatred of anybody.
2- When the word transcends racism:
Now, strangely, the use of the word "nigger", no matter the context, is the worst thing in the world and it transcends the mere problem of racism. Why the fuck?
It's like a large number of Americans have been conditioned to only view racism against blacks as actual racism, and everything else is unimportant. Orb's use of the word "nigger" was arguably completely devoid of its racist definition, and he essentially got crucified for it regardless.
IdrA casually uses the word "faggot", but more importantly, IdrA has actually spoken truly racist things, literal hatred or at the very least dislike of French Canadian people.
Quotes:
-"He's French Canadian so he's gonna do a fast expand into a stupid zealot timing and then something else gay" -IdrA
>Ok, that seemed playful and in character. I don't mind.
When asked whether he liked Canadians:
"I have nothing against Canadians, but French Canadians in general seem a little bit off" -IdrA
>That, my friends, is what racism looks like, granted in his case it's probably mild and rage-induced.
+ Show Spoiler +
1:43 and up
I'm pretty sure most of the people who will read this won't see it at all, because French Canadians are only French people who lost a war against the Brits and they've been oppressed until 1960-ish, and they're still hated by most of Canada so maybe it's fine?
Which is worse?
1- Black people in general seem a little bit off!
2- [Playful] Oh Joe, you're such a stupid frog!
I'm French Canadian myself so I may come off as biased, but trust me it has nothing to do with it. I'm not very nationalistic and I didn't take it personally, and I kind of enjoy IdrA's gig regardless because I wouldn't call him racist. Maybe a little misguided is all.
So my point overall for this thread is, if you don't realize that there's a double standard here, you're fooling yourself. What IdrA said is much worse than what Orb said, but it's not viewed as such because while black people have fought to earn the respect that they deserved from the world, French Canadians have not, just like Native Americans have not. Certain groups of people simply haven't been able to lobby to earn respect. And so racism against those people is, in practice, generally more accepted in today's world.
So true.
I've been meaning to write my own blog post about racism in general and why people are fucking stupid about the whole issue, but I always stopped myself because sometimes I feel like I'm the one person in the world that's capable of not thinking in black and white (no pun intended). People have this very dichotomous view of the world wherein things are either all bad or all good, without any nuances. That is incredibly sad.
The word "nigger" has been put on such a massive pedestal because those people have had a terrible past, and now it's like racism against black people is the worst kind of racism. That's amusing to me, because it strikes me as racist for someone to be more concerned about treating black people respectfully than like, those native Americans who still get treated like trash to this day, after your ancestors essentially fucked those people, I can't even find the words to describe how bad.
I have 2 things to discuss.
1- When the word is used WITHOUT its racial meaning:
When it's not intended as a racial slur, but rather used as a cookie-cutter insult, people still view the word "nigger" as racist. Indeed that word, when it's used as a standard derogatory label like "faggot" and "dick" or "asshole", is somehow the end-all of all terrible things to say.
Why is the word "nigger" worse than the word "faggot"? I can jokingly call my friend a faggot and that's fine, but if I jokingly call him a nigger then I'm racist? Are homosexuals not important enough to be worthy of the same respect?
*FYI: It is my opinion that using those words, while it may be trashy and childish, is not "bad" and does not necessarily represent hatred of anybody.
2- When the word transcends racism:
Now, strangely, the use of the word "nigger", no matter the context, is the worst thing in the world and it transcends the mere problem of racism. Why the fuck?
It's like a large number of Americans have been conditioned to only view racism against blacks as actual racism, and everything else is unimportant. Orb's use of the word "nigger" was arguably completely devoid of its racist definition, and he essentially got crucified for it regardless.
IdrA casually uses the word "faggot", but more importantly, IdrA has actually spoken truly racist things, literal hatred or at the very least dislike of French Canadian people.
Quotes:
-"He's French Canadian so he's gonna do a fast expand into a stupid zealot timing and then something else gay" -IdrA
>Ok, that seemed playful and in character. I don't mind.
When asked whether he liked Canadians:
"I have nothing against Canadians, but French Canadians in general seem a little bit off" -IdrA
>That, my friends, is what racism looks like, granted in his case it's probably mild and rage-induced.
+ Show Spoiler +
1:43 and up
I'm pretty sure most of the people who will read this won't see it at all, because French Canadians are only French people who lost a war against the Brits and they've been oppressed until 1960-ish, and they're still hated by most of Canada so maybe it's fine?
Which is worse?
1- Black people in general seem a little bit off!
2- [Playful] Oh Joe, you're such a stupid frog!
I'm French Canadian myself so I may come off as biased, but trust me it has nothing to do with it. I'm not very nationalistic and I didn't take it personally, and I kind of enjoy IdrA's gig regardless because I wouldn't call him racist. Maybe a little misguided is all.
So my point overall for this thread is, if you don't realize that there's a double standard here, you're fooling yourself. What IdrA said is much worse than what Orb said, but it's not viewed as such because while black people have fought to earn the respect that they deserved from the world, French Canadians have not, just like Native Americans have not. Certain groups of people simply haven't been able to lobby to earn respect. And so racism against those people is, in practice, generally more accepted in today's world.
Even though Idra is BM, he's more of an entertainer. He's not a caster. I have a strong feeling that Idra would have problems getting a casting job.
. See, the blade has two edges!
