Black Lives Matter

lastexitlondon

Im trying to learn what is even going on . So here on this forum is where  im learning there are these people.  I may seem stupid but im not.  I just would  never see this kind of video because  i dont have  it coming into my phone.  Is what i mean. I see why the  phrase  is  angering people now.
Its what  these idiots are doing . So who knowingly  would be like that on this  forum.
I dont  know of anyone on here  acting  like that im sure we all agree here.

gimmesometruth27

tempo_n_groove said:

OnWis97 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

if you really want to piss some people off, on july 4 go around and tell all your right wing friends that ALL countries matter.

You just wrote my July 4 Facebook post (assuming I haven't ditched Facebook by that point).

I almost pissed myself reading this, lol!!!

follow me for more recipes!!

brianlux

DarthMaeglin said:

I’ve been hesitant to speak in this thread for fear of being misunderstood, but since at the moment this is largely a discussion about the phrase “Black Lives Matter”, there’s a thought that’s been running through my head as I’ve followed this discussion.

Couldn’t at least some of the confusion have been avoided if the phrase was “Black Lives Matter Too”? To me it doesn’t water down any of the message but simply clarifies.

From my own perspective I agree and sympathize with the BLM movement in the U.S., but feel the problem isn’t so much police brutality (which does happen, to be clear) as it is a matter of economic disparities that force many of the confrontations to occur.

A friend of mine recently asserted that other minorities have been less discriminated against than Black people throughout North American history, a claim I’m not sure I agree with.

All that said, I’m incredibly grateful I grew up in the multicultural mecca of Toronto, Canada. As well in my household colour was never anything more than a physical descriptor. Doesn’t mean I can’t learn from what’s currently happening though, so thank you to all in this thread (and elsewhere) for helping me in this.

Now that the rioting has mostly stopped my only request of those out protesting is to try and be more mindful of the current viral pandemic. It occurred to me that images of the protests might be even more powerful if everyone took care to properly physically distance themselves.

 I hope I’m not being offensive in what and how I’ve said.

Good thoughts all, Darth.  I find nothing here offensive in the least. 

nicknyr15

What an obvious idiot that guy is. He is not what that blue line flag stands for at all. 

josevolution

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1270431720446164994?s=21
I know Floyd’s brother is supposed to testify but this guy is also testifying 

DarthMaeglin

brianlux said:

DarthMaeglin said:

I’ve been hesitant to speak in this thread for fear of being misunderstood, but since at the moment this is largely a discussion about the phrase “Black Lives Matter”, there’s a thought that’s been running through my head as I’ve followed this discussion.

Couldn’t at least some of the confusion have been avoided if the phrase was “Black Lives Matter Too”? To me it doesn’t water down any of the message but simply clarifies.

From my own perspective I agree and sympathize with the BLM movement in the U.S., but feel the problem isn’t so much police brutality (which does happen, to be clear) as it is a matter of economic disparities that force many of the confrontations to occur.

A friend of mine recently asserted that other minorities have been less discriminated against than Black people throughout North American history, a claim I’m not sure I agree with.

All that said, I’m incredibly grateful I grew up in the multicultural mecca of Toronto, Canada. As well in my household colour was never anything more than a physical descriptor. Doesn’t mean I can’t learn from what’s currently happening though, so thank you to all in this thread (and elsewhere) for helping me in this.

Now that the rioting has mostly stopped my only request of those out protesting is to try and be more mindful of the current viral pandemic. It occurred to me that images of the protests might be even more powerful if everyone took care to properly physically distance themselves.

 I hope I’m not being offensive in what and how I’ve said.

Good thoughts all, Darth.  I find nothing here offensive in the least. 

Thanks Brian, appreciate the feedback, lol. Now I’m out into the muggy heat here to cut some grass, lol.

OnWis97

DarthMaeglin said:

I’ve been hesitant to speak in this thread for fear of being misunderstood, but since at the moment this is largely a discussion about the phrase “Black Lives Matter”, there’s a thought that’s been running through my head as I’ve followed this discussion.

Couldn’t at least some of the confusion have been avoided if the phrase was “Black Lives Matter Too”? To me it doesn’t water down any of the message but simply clarifies.

From my own perspective I agree and sympathize with the BLM movement in the U.S., but feel the problem isn’t so much police brutality (which does happen, to be clear) as it is a matter of economic disparities that force many of the confrontations to occur.

A friend of mine recently asserted that other minorities have been less discriminated against than Black people throughout North American history, a claim I’m not sure I agree with.

All that said, I’m incredibly grateful I grew up in the multicultural mecca of Toronto, Canada. As well in my household colour was never anything more than a physical descriptor. Doesn’t mean I can’t learn from what’s currently happening though, so thank you to all in this thread (and elsewhere) for helping me in this.

Now that the rioting has mostly stopped my only request of those out protesting is to try and be more mindful of the current viral pandemic. It occurred to me that images of the protests might be even more powerful if everyone took care to properly physically distance themselves.

 I hope I’m not being offensive in what and how I’ve said.

I hope questions like this don't lead to people saying you're being offensive or whatever...it's an honest question. And it's the kind of dialog people should be able to have respectfully and not search for the negative intent or, even if someone is wrong, angrily "educate" them when respectfully doing so will work.

Language and norms are so important...even when it can be so subtle.  In this case, my gut reaction was the "too" is that it could validate the idea that blacks are "lesser. I mean, don't kill them or anything; their lives matter, too but they are lesser."  I'm not sure that this is how it would be taken. But maybe.  So there's the "what's this say about black lives" and then there's "how will the white nationalists and apolitical whites react?"  And I suppose the "too" would make it harder for them to say "you're saying ours don't?" But they don't really believe that anyway.

In short...maybe.  My gut reaction is that I like BLM (sans too) because even the negative reaction leads to dialog, as evidenced in this very thread.  But like I said, language is important in ways we don't even think about. The more I think about this, the more BLM and BLM, too seem the same.  But the difference would matter...I'm just not sure how.

Kat

texasistheSTEVEN said:

hrd2imgn said:

lastexitlondon said:

All lives matter

Yep, they ALL matter

...and they will "all matter" once black lives matter.
You can also go and read a book or two and educate yourself about why saying "all lives matter" is ignorance personified.

...and they will "all matter" once black lives matter.

I thought this explained it perfectly.
This keeps the focus where it belongs while this issue is being resolved in society. I'm not worried that someone would think my life wouldn't matter. Be safe all and take good care of each other. Big hugs.

Matts3221

lastexitlondon said:

Im trying to learn what is even going on . So here on this forum is where  im learning there are these people.  I may seem stupid but im not.  I just would  never see this kind of video because  i dont have  it coming into my phone.  Is what i mean. I see why the  phrase  is  angering people now.
Its what  these idiots are doing . So who knowingly  would be like that on this  forum.
I dont  know of anyone on here  acting  like that im sure we all agree here.

You are a good person Rob. I am not shaming you at all for what you said but will just input my two cents , I feel we are very connected so I don't think you will take any of this the wrong way.

You don't live in the US.

All Lives Matter has been the cat call of most people who refuse to accept that the united states was built on slaves and continued racism to this day. Every aspect from police to jail to school to how your life will go is in a very large part played on your skin color.

To me All Lives Matter is the rally cry for those that don't want to admit our mistakes and our systemic racisms. Almost like an alcoholic can never get help if they don't first admit the problem , I find those that chant all lives matter over black lives matter to not admit the problem they are in denial.   

Growing up in the an area that is 98% white you tend to not see what was happening the world , as an idiot teen I  know I used the N word as slang not as racist  ( that said there was not excuse for me using it even if I thought it was just a cool word to use , if it was 2020 and I was on tape my life would be over) I have learned and moved on to try to help the cause.

I think if everyone took a step back we would see we all have our biases in this world , how can we not they have been hammered into our brains since birth , we can only learn , accept our past mistake and move forward.

African Americans in this country must feel crazy because they have people telling them that racisms is a think of the past and we need to move on , they know this is not true , the people saying it know it is not true and it is basically gaslighting the whole black community.

I think some of the cartoons or meme's people post make good points that others can possible understand.

However I think some thought of you as a redneck racist when you posted that.

I would highly suggest to everyone to watch John Oliver's last week tonight from Sunday June 7th ( Free on YouTube ) , if after watching all of it you still think all lives matter over black lives matter than you are an asshole. Sorry but its true , until Black Lives Matter in the US then All Lives Do not matter.

Just my two cents.

cincybearcat

brianlux said:

DarthMaeglin said:

I’ve been hesitant to speak in this thread for fear of being misunderstood, but since at the moment this is largely a discussion about the phrase “Black Lives Matter”, there’s a thought that’s been running through my head as I’ve followed this discussion.

Couldn’t at least some of the confusion have been avoided if the phrase was “Black Lives Matter Too”? To me it doesn’t water down any of the message but simply clarifies.

From my own perspective I agree and sympathize with the BLM movement in the U.S., but feel the problem isn’t so much police brutality (which does happen, to be clear) as it is a matter of economic disparities that force many of the confrontations to occur.

A friend of mine recently asserted that other minorities have been less discriminated against than Black people throughout North American history, a claim I’m not sure I agree with.

All that said, I’m incredibly grateful I grew up in the multicultural mecca of Toronto, Canada. As well in my household colour was never anything more than a physical descriptor. Doesn’t mean I can’t learn from what’s currently happening though, so thank you to all in this thread (and elsewhere) for helping me in this.

Now that the rioting has mostly stopped my only request of those out protesting is to try and be more mindful of the current viral pandemic. It occurred to me that images of the protests might be even more powerful if everyone took care to properly physically distance themselves.

 I hope I’m not being offensive in what and how I’ve said.

Good thoughts all, Darth.  I find nothing here offensive in the least. 

Was having a discussion with a much further left friend of mine.  He stated the same.  We talked about the inability of some organizations (and the Dem Party) to brand themselves correctly.  Which causes the whole discussion to be about a name or a saying rather than the meat of the topic (or non-meat alternative for those V's).  I would love to live in a world where it started as "Black Lives Matter Too" and see if anything was different.  

DarthMaeglin

OnWis97 said:

DarthMaeglin said:

I’ve been hesitant to speak in this thread for fear of being misunderstood, but since at the moment this is largely a discussion about the phrase “Black Lives Matter”, there’s a thought that’s been running through my head as I’ve followed this discussion.

Couldn’t at least some of the confusion have been avoided if the phrase was “Black Lives Matter Too”? To me it doesn’t water down any of the message but simply clarifies.

From my own perspective I agree and sympathize with the BLM movement in the U.S., but feel the problem isn’t so much police brutality (which does happen, to be clear) as it is a matter of economic disparities that force many of the confrontations to occur.

A friend of mine recently asserted that other minorities have been less discriminated against than Black people throughout North American history, a claim I’m not sure I agree with.

All that said, I’m incredibly grateful I grew up in the multicultural mecca of Toronto, Canada. As well in my household colour was never anything more than a physical descriptor. Doesn’t mean I can’t learn from what’s currently happening though, so thank you to all in this thread (and elsewhere) for helping me in this.

Now that the rioting has mostly stopped my only request of those out protesting is to try and be more mindful of the current viral pandemic. It occurred to me that images of the protests might be even more powerful if everyone took care to properly physically distance themselves.

 I hope I’m not being offensive in what and how I’ve said.

I hope questions like this don't lead to people saying you're being offensive or whatever...it's an honest question. And it's the kind of dialog people should be able to have respectfully and not search for the negative intent or, even if someone is wrong, angrily "educate" them when respectfully doing so will work.

Language and norms are so important...even when it can be so subtle.  In this case, my gut reaction was the "too" is that it could validate the idea that blacks are "lesser. I mean, don't kill them or anything; their lives matter, too but they are lesser."  I'm not sure that this is how it would be taken. But maybe.  So there's the "what's this say about black lives" and then there's "how will the white nationalists and apolitical whites react?"  And I suppose the "too" would make it harder for them to say "you're saying ours don't?" But they don't really believe that anyway.

In short...maybe.  My gut reaction is that I like BLM (sans too) because even the negative reaction leads to dialog, as evidenced in this very thread.  But like I said, language is important in ways we don't even think about. The more I think about this, the more BLM and BLM, too seem the same.  But the difference would matter...I'm just not sure how.

Thanks, that’s a very good point about how “too” could go the other way, it honestly hadn’t occurred to me.

Matts3221

I would also suggest reading White Fragility , especially if you take offense to BLM  or want to comment how you have black friends , have worked with black people , dated a black person or anything to that type of comment.

brianlux

Matts3221 said:

I would also suggest reading White Fragility , especially if you take offense to BLM  or want to comment how you have black friends , have worked with black people , dated a black person or anything to that type of comment.

So we're not supposed to mention that we have black friends or co-workers?  This sounds like over-the-top PCism.  Yes, no?

hedonist

brianlux said:

DarthMaeglin said:

I’ve been hesitant to speak in this thread for fear of being misunderstood, but since at the moment this is largely a discussion about the phrase “Black Lives Matter”, there’s a thought that’s been running through my head as I’ve followed this discussion.

Couldn’t at least some of the confusion have been avoided if the phrase was “Black Lives Matter Too”? To me it doesn’t water down any of the message but simply clarifies.

From my own perspective I agree and sympathize with the BLM movement in the U.S., but feel the problem isn’t so much police brutality (which does happen, to be clear) as it is a matter of economic disparities that force many of the confrontations to occur.

A friend of mine recently asserted that other minorities have been less discriminated against than Black people throughout North American history, a claim I’m not sure I agree with.

All that said, I’m incredibly grateful I grew up in the multicultural mecca of Toronto, Canada. As well in my household colour was never anything more than a physical descriptor. Doesn’t mean I can’t learn from what’s currently happening though, so thank you to all in this thread (and elsewhere) for helping me in this.

Now that the rioting has mostly stopped my only request of those out protesting is to try and be more mindful of the current viral pandemic. It occurred to me that images of the protests might be even more powerful if everyone took care to properly physically distance themselves.

 I hope I’m not being offensive in what and how I’ve said.

Good thoughts all, Darth.  I find nothing here offensive in the least. 

Agreed. Some very good food for thought.

Thank you, Darth. Don’t wilt in the wet heat!

RYME

brianlux said:

^^^An interesting discussion about the phrase "Black Lives Matter".

Personally, I'm not into slogans, labels and the like. I rarely if ever use them.   For me, it's more important to learn as much as reasonably possible about other people and act in a matter that is unoffensive to their beliefs or style or whatever.  And it's important to me to advocate for equality and fairness. 

I was at a memorial in a home once.  Three of the guys that were friends of the deceased were black, everyone else in attendance was white.   At one point, I notice the black guys were outside by themselves.  I didn't know if they felt ostracized or just preferred to hang by themselves, but I knew one of them pretty well and hadn't had a chance to catch up with him so I thought I go out and say hello while I had the chance.  It wasn't about being PC and showing how cool I could be hanging with the minority dudes, it was about how I liked this one guy anyway and, to be honest, I liked the idea of hanging out with the brothers because they seemed like cool people.  When I went out and started said hello, I think they were surprised that a white dude wanted to hang out with them and before you know it, we were all talking away and having a good time.  I think they thought it was cool that I felt comfortable hanging with them. 

I'd do the same with other people of color or other nationalities.  It's great rubbing elbows with people who are different. 

"Black Lives Matter"? Yeah sure, OK.  But learning about and getting to know different kinds of people- that's where it's at for me.

brianlux said:

^^^An interesting discussion about the phrase "Black Lives Matter".

Personally, I'm not into slogans, labels and the like. I rarely if ever use them.   For me, it's more important to learn as much as reasonably possible about other people and act in a matter that is unoffensive to their beliefs or style or whatever.  And it's important to me to advocate for equality and fairness. 

I was at a memorial in a home once.  Three of the guys that were friends of the deceased were black, everyone else in attendance was white.   At one point, I notice the black guys were outside by themselves.  I didn't know if they felt ostracized or just preferred to hang by themselves, but I knew one of them pretty well and hadn't had a chance to catch up with him so I thought I go out and say hello while I had the chance.  It wasn't about being PC and showing how cool I could be hanging with the minority dudes, it was about how I liked this one guy anyway and, to be honest, I liked the idea of hanging out with the brothers because they seemed like cool people.  When I went out and started said hello, I think they were surprised that a white dude wanted to hang out with them and before you know it, we were all talking away and having a good time.  I think they thought it was cool that I felt comfortable hanging with them. 

I'd do the same with other people of color or other nationalities.  It's great rubbing elbows with people who are different. 

"Black Lives Matter"? Yeah sure, OK.  But learning about and getting to know different kinds of people- that's where it's at for me.

Well said Brianlux, this is precisely what I was respectfully trying to say befoure.
Yet some continue to be flippant calling my comments "groovy"
For me it's not about being cute or groovy.  It's serious stuff.  Hash tags, labels, & virtue signaling just arn't my thing.
I went to a lot of Chicago area summer basketball camps when I was in high school.  On day 1 of the camps breakfast usually 7:00am, on day one, you don't know anybody,  I'd go to the cafeteria for breakfast get my tray, and I picked a table that had quite a few black guys at it and sit down with them. After a few whad'ups, and "what the hell is that on your plate? and are you going to seriously eat that? Lol,,
What's your name and where you from, thats cool,  basic breaking the ice stuff,  Then by the time It was time to go to shoot around 7:30 - 8:00AM, , walk over to the gym, already know a few guys by name and start shooting around.  The camp then puts you into teams based on age and skill level and do some drills, and scrimmages and then  Lunch time comes I would sit with them again.  Some good camaraderie "Those mashed potatoes looks like a golf ball" lol. And or "that was one hell of a shot you made on that last time down"
And by the end of the camp four days later had some good quality acquaintances every time.  It's not always hunky-dory, some guys were naturally a bit skeptical of me at first,  but I enjoy breaking down the walls of distrust, and gaining some of their trust whenever possible.
Sadly there are always going to be bad apples in the world trying to ruin the good intentions of many.

Matts3221

brianlux said:

Matts3221 said:

I would also suggest reading White Fragility , especially if you take offense to BLM  or want to comment how you have black friends , have worked with black people , dated a black person or anything to that type of comment.

So we're not supposed to mention that we have black friends or co-workers?  This sounds like over-the-top PCism.  Yes, no?

This is in response to those that say All Lives Matter or dog whistle in another way.

What I meant by this is that whenever someone gets caught saying something racist on a hot mic or did not know they were accidentally streaming live on Facebook , every single time a person gets caught the following lines are used.


”I did not mean to offend anyone with my words “
” I have black friends “
” I once dated a back person(s)”
” I work with black people “
” I don’t have racist bone in my body “
” it just slipped out”

just because you have a back friend does not mean your not racist the same way you can love your mom but beat your wife , you would not say in court to the judge “ I love my mom so I cannot possible hate / abuse women “

So I don’t think it is PC of me to say that. In fact here is a story from just last week with an navel officer using the N word while his wife was disparaged Asians and they got caught.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.capitalgazette.com/education/naval-academy/ac-cn-naval-academy-alumni-racism-20200606-yfva6wcaknhpndfrmmvgzdkt7a-story.html%3foutputType=amp


guess what they said when it first came out ? I’ll give you a guess ( it’s what I mentioned above ) 

So I was referencing people saying racist shit and then come out with one of the comments below.

if you took it as you cannot say you have friends / coworkers that black then I apologize as that was not my intent. Somethings typing out on a phone I may miss a word or two so my bad.

brianlux

RYME said:

brianlux said:

^^^An interesting discussion about the phrase "Black Lives Matter".

Personally, I'm not into slogans, labels and the like. I rarely if ever use them.   For me, it's more important to learn as much as reasonably possible about other people and act in a matter that is unoffensive to their beliefs or style or whatever.  And it's important to me to advocate for equality and fairness. 

I was at a memorial in a home once.  Three of the guys that were friends of the deceased were black, everyone else in attendance was white.   At one point, I notice the black guys were outside by themselves.  I didn't know if they felt ostracized or just preferred to hang by themselves, but I knew one of them pretty well and hadn't had a chance to catch up with him so I thought I go out and say hello while I had the chance.  It wasn't about being PC and showing how cool I could be hanging with the minority dudes, it was about how I liked this one guy anyway and, to be honest, I liked the idea of hanging out with the brothers because they seemed like cool people.  When I went out and started said hello, I think they were surprised that a white dude wanted to hang out with them and before you know it, we were all talking away and having a good time.  I think they thought it was cool that I felt comfortable hanging with them. 

I'd do the same with other people of color or other nationalities.  It's great rubbing elbows with people who are different. 

"Black Lives Matter"? Yeah sure, OK.  But learning about and getting to know different kinds of people- that's where it's at for me.

brianlux said:

^^^An interesting discussion about the phrase "Black Lives Matter".

Personally, I'm not into slogans, labels and the like. I rarely if ever use them.   For me, it's more important to learn as much as reasonably possible about other people and act in a matter that is unoffensive to their beliefs or style or whatever.  And it's important to me to advocate for equality and fairness. 

I was at a memorial in a home once.  Three of the guys that were friends of the deceased were black, everyone else in attendance was white.   At one point, I notice the black guys were outside by themselves.  I didn't know if they felt ostracized or just preferred to hang by themselves, but I knew one of them pretty well and hadn't had a chance to catch up with him so I thought I go out and say hello while I had the chance.  It wasn't about being PC and showing how cool I could be hanging with the minority dudes, it was about how I liked this one guy anyway and, to be honest, I liked the idea of hanging out with the brothers because they seemed like cool people.  When I went out and started said hello, I think they were surprised that a white dude wanted to hang out with them and before you know it, we were all talking away and having a good time.  I think they thought it was cool that I felt comfortable hanging with them. 

I'd do the same with other people of color or other nationalities.  It's great rubbing elbows with people who are different. 

"Black Lives Matter"? Yeah sure, OK.  But learning about and getting to know different kinds of people- that's where it's at for me.

Well said Brianlux, this is precisely what I was respectfully trying to say befoure.
Yet some continue to be flippant calling my comments "groovy"
For me it's not about being cute or groovy.  It's serious stuff.  Hash tags, labels, & virtue signaling just arn't my thing.
I went to a lot of Chicago area summer basketball camps when I was in high school.  On day 1 of the camps breakfast usually 7:00am, on day one, you don't know anybody,  I'd go to the cafeteria for breakfast get my tray, and I picked a table that had quite a few black guys at it and sit down with them. After a few whad'ups, and "what the hell is that on your plate? and are you going to seriously eat that? Lol,,
What's your name and where you from, thats cool,  basic breaking the ice stuff,  Then by the time It was time to go to shoot around 7:30 - 8:00AM, , walk over to the gym, already know a few guys by name and start shooting around.  The camp then puts you into teams based on age and skill level and do some drills, and scrimmages and then  Lunch time comes I would sit with them again.  Some good camaraderie "Those mashed potatoes looks like a golf ball" lol. And or "that was one hell of a shot you made on that last time down"
And by the end of the camp four days later had some good quality acquaintances every time.  It's not always hunky-dory, some guys were naturally a bit skeptical of me at first,  but I enjoy breaking down the walls of distrust, and gaining some of their trust whenever possible.
Sadly there are always going to be bad apples in the world trying to ruin the good intentions of many.

Breaking down walls of distrust is always a good thing,, RYME, well done.

brianlux

Matts3221 said:

brianlux said:

Matts3221 said:

I would also suggest reading White Fragility , especially if you take offense to BLM  or want to comment how you have black friends , have worked with black people , dated a black person or anything to that type of comment.

So we're not supposed to mention that we have black friends or co-workers?  This sounds like over-the-top PCism.  Yes, no?

This is in response to those that say All Lives Matter or dog whistle in another way.

What I meant by this is that whenever someone gets caught saying something racist on a hot mic or did not know they were accidentally streaming live on Facebook , every single time a person gets caught the following lines are used.


”I did not mean to offend anyone with my words “
” I have black friends “
” I once dated a back person(s)”
” I work with black people “
” I don’t have racist bone in my body “
” it just slipped out”

just because you have a back friend does not mean your not racist the same way you can love your mom but beat your wife , you would not say in court to the judge “ I love my mom so I cannot possible hate / abuse women “

So I don’t think it is PC of me to say that. In fact here is a story from just last week with an navel officer using the N word while his wife was disparaged Asians and they got caught.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.capitalgazette.com/education/naval-academy/ac-cn-naval-academy-alumni-racism-20200606-yfva6wcaknhpndfrmmvgzdkt7a-story.html%3foutputType=amp


guess what they said when it first came out ? I’ll give you a guess ( it’s what I mentioned above ) 

So I was referencing people saying racist shit and then come out with one of the comments below.

if you took it as you cannot say you have friends / coworkers that black then I apologize as that was not my intent. Somethings typing out on a phone I may miss a word or two so my bad.

I'll say this as a generalization and a reflection of my feelings, Matts, not about you specifically:

I get it about how some racists will say "I have black (or Asian or Hispanic, etc.) friends" and are still truly racist.  But what I don't buy into is saying that anyone who doesn't strictly follow PC rules is a racist (or whatever).  I'm tired of people being judged by such strict rules.  I'm tired of people scolding others for good intentions that may be a bit misled instead of using thoughtful and kind words to educate (not that one needs to do this with an obvious overt racist).  I'm tired of people who are so self-inflated and self righteous that they can't take the effort to try to engage in constructive dialog but, rather, choose to lash out.  You this this kind of thing happening all over the place-  Facebook, Twitter, videos, in the media.  Me, I still have a lot to learn.  Educate me, don't berate me. 

hedonist

One of the things I loved about my father was that he never gave me the old "Because I said so!" routine.  If I did something wrong or disappointing (in his eyes), he'd explain to me why it was so.  He also respected me even in our most heated exchanges.  It was neither personal nor sanctimonious.

(Goddammit, I miss him!)

Conversely, I had an intelligent but misogynistic history teacher who would slap his students with a chalky board eraser.  I was never subjected to his ways but wonder of its and similar effects, if any, on my classmates.

brianlux

hedonist said:

One of the things I loved about my father was that he never gave me the old "Because I said so!" routine.  If I did something wrong or disappointing (in his eyes), he'd explain to me why it was so.  He also respected me even in our most heated exchanges.  It was neither personal nor sanctimonious.

(Goddammit, I miss him!)

Conversely, I had an intelligent but misogynistic history teacher who would slap his students with a chalky board eraser.  I was never subjected to his ways but wonder of its and similar effects, if any, on my classmates.

Good man!  (I miss my Pop too!)

Bummer about the shitty teacher.