A Nation At War - Racism

I would be happy to see people just stop the hate of race. When you hate just because of color it is the stupidest thing possible because no person has control over their skin color at birth. When it comes to choices in life I see that as a totaly diffrent thing and there will always be intolerance and some times rightly so.

Originally posted by factfinder38
I would be happy to see people just stop the hate of race. When you hate just because of color it is the stupidest thing possible because no person has control over their skin color at birth. When it comes to choices in life I see that as a totaly diffrent thing and there will always be intolerance and some times rightly so.

So its wrong to hate a black person, but ok to hate a homosexual?

Some times rightly so? Oh could you please elaborate on this point.

I'm sorry but your post seems very hypocritical.

A message of peace, not war.

A message of love, not hatred.

A message of intelligence, not stupidity.

A message of strength, not weakness.

A message of wisdom, not ignorance.

A message of unity, not division.

A message of honor, not dishonor.

A mesage of trust, not untrust.

A message of honesty, not dishonesty.

A message of diplomacy, not terror.

A message...that brings people together throughout the World.

This is what needs to happen.

Unity through Diversity, Diversity through Unity.

Chissler
No that is not what I am trying to say because I feel everyone is due basic human rights. However lets not confuse a race or color wich is something people have no control over with a choice. Their are many choices out there and gay is only one of them where does it stop.

A lot of good responses to this thread so far.

I may be a warrior, but a warrior knows how to bring peace, just as much as he knows how to bring death and destruction...if he wants it.

I want there to be peace.

I do not want to bring death and destruction.

If I am attacked however, I will not hesitate, I will not stop, I will not be a victim.

I´ve found this way to recognize retarded people some time ago, if they make any racist remark or comment in a serious way = retarded

Originally posted by Zeratul
I´ve found this way to recognize retarded people some time ago, if they make any racist remark or comment in a serious way = retarded

Thats a term I don't like to see used. We all perceive things in a different way so maybe others are not insulted by this, but personally it is a problem for me.

How about misguided? Racist? Bigot?

Grouping a racist with someone with a disability is insulting.

Only my opinion, which I am entitled to just as much as you are entitled to yours.

Originally posted by chissler

Originally posted by Zeratul
I´ve found this way to recognize retarded people some time ago, if they make any racist remark or comment in a serious way = retarded

Thats a term I don't like to see used. We all perceive things in a different way so maybe others are not insulted by this, but personally it is a problem for me.

How about misguided? Racist? Bigot?

Grouping a racist with someone with a disability is insulting.

Only my opinion, which I am entitled to just as much as you are entitled to yours.

Way to go Chissler. We can not forget that a mentally handicapped individual is just that and even though a racist, a bigot, or an ignorant person may seem this way, they are not.

Retard is not even socially acceptable as a word anymore.

Words are powerful, be careful how you use them, they are as powerful as a sword if used in the right context or in the right person's ear.

If I were to call our "illustrious" leader in the White House a few certain key words, I could be locked up, but I won't, so he can't send the Secret Service to kick My door down...words are powerful.

At the same time, do not let words be more powerful than you are. Someone calls you ignorant, say thank you. I bet the shock value of the stupid look on their face when you walk away would be worth more than letting them win by accepting the insult.

I have people accuse Me of looking too much like a Police Officer all the time.

I just say thank you. They get this look of increduality and stunned silence and then they ask why I said thank you.

I just tell them, I've been called a lot worse and walk away smiling. They usually laugh and back off.

The least amount of effort can have the maximum amount of impact, if you only try.

[edit on 4-11-2006 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

I am sorry I thought "retarded" was a deamening way to call the mentally challenged

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
At the same time, do not let words be more powerful than you are. Someone calls you ignorant, say thank you. I bet the shock value of the stupid look on their face when you walk away would be worth more than letting them win by accepting the insult.

Whoever coined the Sticks & Stones was certainly a bully in my opinion, because words do hurt. But we can always try to shine some optimism on any situation. If a person is talking about me, that only means their not talking about someone else. Better me than you. I shrug most things off and chalk it up to experience. Through my experience as a hockey referee and volunteering as a coach, I've been called many things. Some of which I am proud of, others I would not wish to repeat. Whats it matter? Why does their opinion matter? Why does your opinion matter? It matters if we choose for it.

If you know me, and have a negative opinion of me, than I would be affected. I would take a second look at myself and try to figure out where the issue lies. But when someone does not know us, why are their opinions so valid? They don't know us, they are just spewing prejudicial hatred.

Not everyone is capable of just shrugging it off though. So it is this percentage that we need to defend. They do not deserve to feel the way they do when they are prejudged in a negative way.

Zeratul
I am sorry

Hey, no hard feelings. It was nothing personal. I just have strong emotions with that word and I felt obligated to express my opinion. No assumptions or judgments here my friend, I appreciate your response.

[edit on 5-11-2006 by chissler]

Chissler?

Dude, you really think that the phrase "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me..." was made by a bully? That's sad.

I don't think it was made up by a bully at all. I belive it was made up by a very intelligent person or a group of people.

The simple reason I believe that is that there's more meaning to those words than what is actually said. It goes like this.

"Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Will Never Harm Me."

The true meaning to this phrase, which it took Me until I was 25 to finally realize is that words only hold the power over you if you let them. That may not mean a whole lot to you, but it speaks volumes to Me.

Words are just that words, some hold power, some don't. If someone was to call Me a bastard, I'd laugh and say "Your point is exactly what...?" Any number of names that I've been called used to get to Me, but since I learne dthat lesson, about words only holding the power over you if you let them...no word has phased Me when someone calls Me something nasty.

Yeah, that may not work for everyone, but it works for Me. It's kind of why I began this thread here on ATS. I've been called about every name in the book and then some.

Words are only as powerful as you make them. The person using them has no hold over you if you don't let them.

But you've said it yourself Spartan, what works for you is not for everyone.

Words do hurt, they can cause a lot of damage to who we are as a person. Sometimes complete strangers can have a dramatic effect on our lives, simply from the words they speak.

My post did come across as narrow minded, because the people who did coin this phrase were very intelligent. But I do believe they were never picked on, bullied, mocked, etc., in school. Most kids who are not bullied in school, are in fact the bullies. Assumptions from top to bottom here, but I stand by 'em! (I hate assumptions)

Some of us are lucky enough to choose which words we allow to hurt, while others do not have that luxury. We are impressionable by the views of others, and often others dictate the person we become.

If words did not hurt us, racism would be non existent. Racists, Bigots, Prejudices, all non issues if this were the case.

[edit on 7-11-2006 by chissler]

I can respect that Chissler. There are some people who can do what I do and walk where I walk...and there are some who can't or won't try.

I'm not in any way saying that about you Chissler. I am talking more about other people who choose ignorance instead of denying the ignorance.

I don't consider it choosing ignorance.

Often the ignorant, are not even aware they are ignorant.

And with the topic at hand, sometimes ignorance can hurt. Your more than capable of shrugging off certain comments. I believe I am aswell. But I do understand that there are many who can not. Many of us do have issues that we are sensitive about, and if someone acknowledges the existence of this insecurity, we find ourselves in harms way.

Your strength is admirable.

Why is it that hatred has to breed? Is it an actual living thing? Some people seem to think so.

So, they think they need to feed it.

It must be hungry, right? If it's a living creature, it will get hungry and we must feed it, right?

Well, I believe all things are living entity's in some sense or another.

Time creeps by or flys by and we watch it, so it lives.

History is constantly shifting, moving, or being re-created, so it lives.

So, if I don't feed hatred am I wrong because I am starving it? Am I a foul human because I don't show hatred pity and feed it?

No.

I may not feed it, but instead of Me killing it, I choose to tell it to go elsewhere and find the sustanance it seeks. Is this right of Me to let it go and let it go elsewhere? I do not know. I know that when I do choose to tell hatred to go away and find someone else, I tell hatred that I love it. It has nothing to prove to Me. It can find love somewhere.

Maybe when all hatred runs into is love, it will finally love itself and stop being hatred, it will become love.

I would agree that hatred is a living thing within us. Why do I believe this? Hatred is more than capable of completely consuming some of us. Everyone is guilty at one time or another of allowing this to consume us. Good, honest, hardworking people, who are great role models to their children. They could never allow this to consume them, right? Check out one of their kids hockey games, football games, baseball games, etc., many are guilty of going off the deep end at these events. Incapable of controlling their anger, over what?

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
I may not feed it, but instead of Me killing it, I choose to tell it to go elsewhere and find the sustanance it seeks. Is this right of Me to let it go and let it go elsewhere?

If anger and hatred are in all of us, your choice to starve it would affect noone else. Hatred is not leaving you, to attack someone else.

These are basic human emotions, its existence is constant. Our prospects should be to control this hatred rather than abolishing it.

You're right on so many points of what you've said over various responses on this thread Chissler. You're so close to what I am saying. Maybe it's a point of view difference, I do not know.

The reason I wrote that last post to My own thread is because of the Business Ethics assignment I did where the black woman who threw hatred at Me and I refused to pick it up and throw it back at her.

By Me not doing this, I chose to make hatred go elsewhere. The lady quite literally did not know how to deal with this as that was what she was expecting Me to do.

The hatred did not find a place to feed in Me. It sure could have kept going with the woman and inside her. But instead it didn't know where to go. It had become a learned behavior to that woman and she was wating for Me to show her it was okay, but I didn't show her that.

The hatred had been thrown away by that woman. The person who it thought would hate it to and pick it up to throw it back didn't do what it expected.

To hatred, this was what it wanted. It wanted to be picked up and cuddled so it would gain power, so it could feel something inside Me.

I would not let it though. I made it stand on it's own two feet. In this instance, the hatred had to learn it was not as powerful as it thought it was.

[edit on 9-11-2006 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

If you refuse to play the game of hatred, then you win. If someone expects you to play with them and you refuse to throw hatred back at them, in this instance you win.

This is like the saying, "your words are like rubber, and you're like glue, whatever you throw at me bounces back and sticks to you" in so many way. I may not quite have that phrase correct, but you get the general drift of the saying whether I made the correct quote or not.

[edit on 18-11-2006 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

I agree with what your saying, but I tend to stay away from winning and losing. With hate, we are all losers. Pointing fingers or placing blame does nothing to resolve situations. If someone engages us and we choose to ignore or not fire back with hatred, society wins first and foremost. If this happens on this website, than ATS is the winner. We the individual are not the winner, we have merely set the example and society/ATS is a better place for it.

Well, here I am wondering if anyone else out there thinks like I do when it comes to racism. I know I've gotten some good posts, and apparently Chissler likes to comment to it, lol, but I thought there might be more individuals who might post to this thread and keep it moving.

I see so many threads that end up dieing out from lack of interest, but I would love for this one to be one of those that are still going 5 or more years later.

Here's hoping this thread last for a long, long time.

[edit on 26-11-2006 by SpartanKingLeonidas]