My Counter Argument...
This was an interesting letter that I recieved, and I thought that I would share it with you...and present a counter argument:
You call me, "redneck" ,"hillbilly", "slaker" , "Cracker", "Honkey", "Whitey", "Gringo"and you think it's OK.
...But when I call you coon, jiggaboo, toad, sand nigger, rag head ,Towelhead, WOP, Camel Jockey, Gook, nigger, moon cricket or Chink you call me a racist. (Ummm, ok...to make this as SIMPLE as possible, if you refer to people as niggers, gooks, chinks, etc...then YES, you DEFINATELY are a racist.)
-You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live? (So you're implying that all black people live in the ghetto. There definately is a deeper socio-economic problem with black-on-black crime...but I wonder if things would have been different if black people were given equal rights from the start.)
-You have the United Negro College Fund. (...and exactly what percentage of awarded scholarships does the UNCF make up? Those are qualified students who are deserving of a college education.)
-You have Martin Luther King Day. (If there was a civil rights leader that helped get equal rights for white people after 200 years of salvary and decades of being treated as second class citizens...then go ahead and take give him a holiday too and take the day off of work. But you know what is the "equivalent of MLK Day in South Carolina...Confederate Memorial Day!!!)
-You have Black History Month. (Black History MONTH?!?! Ummm...last time I checked there are 12 months in a year. So if you're so jealous of Black History Month, lets trade February for the other 11/12ths of the year...that sounds fair right? Right?!?! Black History isn't a twelvth as important as any other part of American History...but "some people" think that it's not even worthy of that 8.33% of the year.)
-You have Cesar Chavez Day. (Ok, ok...you win, you want a holiday for a white civil rights leader, July 13 shall hereby be known as Nathan Beford Forrest Day. Stay home, have a picnic, shoots some fireworks...)
-You have Yom Hashoah. (Now you're just getting ridiculous...Holocaust Rembrance Day?!?!?! And it's only a holiday in ISRAEL!!! When did the genocidial murders of six million white people occur? I dunno, I'm not the smartest guy so I might have missed it. When there have been the mass deaths of tons of white people...it's been by OTHER white people. And I'm pretty sure they have a holiday for it over there.)
-You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi (Ok...this is a holiday for the celebration of birthday of the prophet Muhammad. If ONLY we had an equivalent holiday for an equivalent Christian figure. We could call it ChristDay or something. Nah...we'd never get a holiday like that.)
-You have the NAACP(The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The NAACP only exsist to try to acheive racial equality. It will be a joyous day when there won't be a need for the NAACP...but trust me, RIGHT NOW none of the NAACP employees are in danger of loosing their jobs. Black people have the NAACP, but white people forget that they also have an advocacy group working for them, it's called the United States Government. *zing!*...once again, wanna trade?!?!)
-You have BET (Yes, you are correct. Black people do have Black Entertainment Television...)
-If we had WET(white entertainment television) ...we'd be racist. (This is a continuation of the last idea; Black people have BET, and if white people want to consolidate the 400 or so channels devoted to WHITE ENTERTAINMENT into ONE CHANNEL, then that programing space is going to be at a premium. I have over 400 channels through Time Warner Cable, and ONE of them is catered towards Black people(ok, two...BET Jazz) You know, they currently add more gay characters than black characters on television shows today.
-If we had a White Pride Day... you would call us racist. (First of all, there ISN'T a Black Pride Day...now you're just making stuff up. I don't know about you, but when I hear the phrase "White Pride" it makes me think of Neo-Nazi's. Anyhow, it's cool to have pride in your heritage. Be proud of the individual that you are...but if you're the VAST MAJORITY( 74.67% in the United States), do you REALLY need a holiday to rub it in? Do you REALLY need a holiday to celebrate the accomplishments of a collected group of people who've "conquered the world" numerous times? And once again, if you break up the collected heritages that fall under the umbrella of "white people", you'll find that each of those heritages and cultures take the same pride in celebrating their accomplishments that everyone else does. EVERYBODY is free to celebrate their heritage, just don't do it at the expense of others.)
-If we had white history month... we'd be racist. (Actually if you had White History MONTH you'd be pissed. Once again, I'll trade you February for the other 11/12ths of the YEAR (that's 92.32% ). And if we'd give out "Months of History" based on the proportion of the population, we'd have a month and a half of Black History, about two months of Hispanic/Latino History, about a month and a half of "Every Other Ethnicity in the Country" History, and the other SEVEN months would be devoted to White History. So don't complain, you only have to indure ONE ethnic month now, because when you're spending April and May celebrating Hispanic Heritage you'll look back on these times with fond memories.)
-If we had an organization for only whites to "advance" our lives... we'd be racist. (You had a two hundred year head start, and STILL have the goverment in your corner. If you aren't about to "advance" your lives with that advantage then there just no hope...)
-If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships...you know we'd be racist. (I'm going to go out on a limb here...but who do you think gets the MAJORITY of scholarships?)
-In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights...you would call us racist. (When exactly did white people LOOSE their rights? 3/5ths, Jim Crow, sufferage, etc. If there is some right that white people DON'T already have, then feel free to march for your right to stop oppresive injustices that are impossed on white people. I think the Ku Klux Klan are the only white people who are aware of such injustices because they certainly do like marching.)
-Did you know that some high school students decided to make a club for only the white students because the other ethnicities had them... they all got sent to court for being racist but the african-american, Latino, and Asia clubs were not even questioned. (If you constitute the MAJORITY, then why exactly do you need an exclusive group? The only purpose a "White's Only" group would serve would be to further distance themselves from the other ethnities.)
-You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists. (One again...the phrase "White Pride" just sounds oppresive. Once again, if you're the VAST MAJORITY when you come together under the flag of "White Pride" it does becoming intimidating to ethnic groups that have a fraction of your numbers. And these days the silent majority is still heard MUCH louder than the vocal minority)
I am white.
I am proud.
But, you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
Now watch, I'll be a racist for posting this
So what? no one will re post this for fear of being called racist
In conclusion, the entire tone of the letter was like a wealthy person complaining that they aren't elligible for welfare. You should be glad to be in that position, and not jealous of the others who are striving to be at the level that you are already on. In every proffesional sports league the teams with the worst records are awarded the most leverage; and having only been in the same league since the late 1960's Black People could be considered an expansion team. Its an uphill climb to become competitive...especially when the 300-time league champion is complianing because they aren't getting the best draft picks.
I know sometimes it feels like I'm talking to myself, so I was wondering WHAT DO YOU THINK? Do you think I'm off base and the letter was on point, or do you agree with my position...?
You call me, "redneck" ,"hillbilly", "slaker" , "Cracker", "Honkey", "Whitey", "Gringo"and you think it's OK.
...But when I call you coon, jiggaboo, toad, sand nigger, rag head ,Towelhead, WOP, Camel Jockey, Gook, nigger, moon cricket or Chink you call me a racist. (Ummm, ok...to make this as SIMPLE as possible, if you refer to people as niggers, gooks, chinks, etc...then YES, you DEFINATELY are a racist.)
-You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live? (So you're implying that all black people live in the ghetto. There definately is a deeper socio-economic problem with black-on-black crime...but I wonder if things would have been different if black people were given equal rights from the start.)
-You have the United Negro College Fund. (...and exactly what percentage of awarded scholarships does the UNCF make up? Those are qualified students who are deserving of a college education.)
-You have Martin Luther King Day. (If there was a civil rights leader that helped get equal rights for white people after 200 years of salvary and decades of being treated as second class citizens...then go ahead and take give him a holiday too and take the day off of work. But you know what is the "equivalent of MLK Day in South Carolina...Confederate Memorial Day!!!)
-You have Black History Month. (Black History MONTH?!?! Ummm...last time I checked there are 12 months in a year. So if you're so jealous of Black History Month, lets trade February for the other 11/12ths of the year...that sounds fair right? Right?!?! Black History isn't a twelvth as important as any other part of American History...but "some people" think that it's not even worthy of that 8.33% of the year.)
-You have Cesar Chavez Day. (Ok, ok...you win, you want a holiday for a white civil rights leader, July 13 shall hereby be known as Nathan Beford Forrest Day. Stay home, have a picnic, shoots some fireworks...)
-You have Yom Hashoah. (Now you're just getting ridiculous...Holocaust Rembrance Day?!?!?! And it's only a holiday in ISRAEL!!! When did the genocidial murders of six million white people occur? I dunno, I'm not the smartest guy so I might have missed it. When there have been the mass deaths of tons of white people...it's been by OTHER white people. And I'm pretty sure they have a holiday for it over there.)
-You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi (Ok...this is a holiday for the celebration of birthday of the prophet Muhammad. If ONLY we had an equivalent holiday for an equivalent Christian figure. We could call it ChristDay or something. Nah...we'd never get a holiday like that.)
-You have the NAACP(The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The NAACP only exsist to try to acheive racial equality. It will be a joyous day when there won't be a need for the NAACP...but trust me, RIGHT NOW none of the NAACP employees are in danger of loosing their jobs. Black people have the NAACP, but white people forget that they also have an advocacy group working for them, it's called the United States Government. *zing!*...once again, wanna trade?!?!)
-You have BET (Yes, you are correct. Black people do have Black Entertainment Television...)
-If we had WET(white entertainment television) ...we'd be racist. (This is a continuation of the last idea; Black people have BET, and if white people want to consolidate the 400 or so channels devoted to WHITE ENTERTAINMENT into ONE CHANNEL, then that programing space is going to be at a premium. I have over 400 channels through Time Warner Cable, and ONE of them is catered towards Black people(ok, two...BET Jazz) You know, they currently add more gay characters than black characters on television shows today.
-If we had a White Pride Day... you would call us racist. (First of all, there ISN'T a Black Pride Day...now you're just making stuff up. I don't know about you, but when I hear the phrase "White Pride" it makes me think of Neo-Nazi's. Anyhow, it's cool to have pride in your heritage. Be proud of the individual that you are...but if you're the VAST MAJORITY( 74.67% in the United States), do you REALLY need a holiday to rub it in? Do you REALLY need a holiday to celebrate the accomplishments of a collected group of people who've "conquered the world" numerous times? And once again, if you break up the collected heritages that fall under the umbrella of "white people", you'll find that each of those heritages and cultures take the same pride in celebrating their accomplishments that everyone else does. EVERYBODY is free to celebrate their heritage, just don't do it at the expense of others.)
-If we had white history month... we'd be racist. (Actually if you had White History MONTH you'd be pissed. Once again, I'll trade you February for the other 11/12ths of the YEAR (that's 92.32% ). And if we'd give out "Months of History" based on the proportion of the population, we'd have a month and a half of Black History, about two months of Hispanic/Latino History, about a month and a half of "Every Other Ethnicity in the Country" History, and the other SEVEN months would be devoted to White History. So don't complain, you only have to indure ONE ethnic month now, because when you're spending April and May celebrating Hispanic Heritage you'll look back on these times with fond memories.)
-If we had an organization for only whites to "advance" our lives... we'd be racist. (You had a two hundred year head start, and STILL have the goverment in your corner. If you aren't about to "advance" your lives with that advantage then there just no hope...)
-If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships...you know we'd be racist. (I'm going to go out on a limb here...but who do you think gets the MAJORITY of scholarships?)
-In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights...you would call us racist. (When exactly did white people LOOSE their rights? 3/5ths, Jim Crow, sufferage, etc. If there is some right that white people DON'T already have, then feel free to march for your right to stop oppresive injustices that are impossed on white people. I think the Ku Klux Klan are the only white people who are aware of such injustices because they certainly do like marching.)
-Did you know that some high school students decided to make a club for only the white students because the other ethnicities had them... they all got sent to court for being racist but the african-american, Latino, and Asia clubs were not even questioned. (If you constitute the MAJORITY, then why exactly do you need an exclusive group? The only purpose a "White's Only" group would serve would be to further distance themselves from the other ethnities.)
-You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists. (One again...the phrase "White Pride" just sounds oppresive. Once again, if you're the VAST MAJORITY when you come together under the flag of "White Pride" it does becoming intimidating to ethnic groups that have a fraction of your numbers. And these days the silent majority is still heard MUCH louder than the vocal minority)
I am white.
I am proud.
But, you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
Now watch, I'll be a racist for posting this
So what? no one will re post this for fear of being called racist
In conclusion, the entire tone of the letter was like a wealthy person complaining that they aren't elligible for welfare. You should be glad to be in that position, and not jealous of the others who are striving to be at the level that you are already on. In every proffesional sports league the teams with the worst records are awarded the most leverage; and having only been in the same league since the late 1960's Black People could be considered an expansion team. Its an uphill climb to become competitive...especially when the 300-time league champion is complianing because they aren't getting the best draft picks.
I know sometimes it feels like I'm talking to myself, so I was wondering WHAT DO YOU THINK? Do you think I'm off base and the letter was on point, or do you agree with my position...?