Strongly Disliking Some White Folks

I finally forced Danz's hand and made him write a thought-provoking (or I thought it was) piece on what white people say around other white people.

Now, my thing is, I'm curious. As a black female, for some odd reason I hang out with a few too many...um, woefully unaware white male friends. I'm excluding females for now because my white female friends tend to be a little more sympathetic and I generally don't have issue with them. My white male "friends"...well that's a different issue.

I've always wanted to know if they would really say the same shit they tell me when they're around people of their own color, of their own general interests and beliefs. As a black person, I'm supposed to shrug off racial humor because I've heard worse. I'm supposed to laugh at sexist jokes, I'm supposed to not care when someone displays blatant homophobia, Antisemitism, all sorts of -isms. As a teenager more or less I'm supposed to get the ironic humor, I guess.

Unfortunately for most of my "friends", I really do not, I don't hesitate to tell them when I don't, and frankly I don't care if I ever understand their sheer, sheer ignorance.




I could just blame it on living in TN. I could blame it on being in Appalachia. I could blame it on being in the South in general. Maybe it's my fault that I attract assholes in general. Except, perhaps I should start placing the blame on people that damn well know better.

So, the lad's been going on about his clueless room mate and his even more clueless friends and I've been nagging at him to share his experiences with the class and I guess he finally found time or got fed up enough to do so. And while I'm glad he did, I don't think I'll ever stop being disappointed in the way people think sometimes.

The Irish got over their discrimination, why can't the blacks? What an apt comparison except it ISN'T AT ALL. It's not about how many US History classes you pass or fail, it's about being simply AWARE and having a goddamn clue. You think blacks, native americans, mexicans, asians, women, gays, lesbians, trans, et al are complaining just to complain? Is our whining annoying you? Should we all just get together and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps even like your _____?

If only, if only. On one hand, nothing ever changes...on the other, they just might if we try.