no one seems to pay attention to subject lines, though they tend to summarize my feelings...
my little sister's best friend made a couple posts in her journal that were ... wow. she's really bright. i'm proud of her.
I happened to wonder something - why do people always say that "Bush has to work with the Democrats/liberals," or "Republicans/conservatives need to be flexible with Democrats/liberals," or what have you, always implying that we need to give in, roll over, compromise, and what-have-you to them? why can't liberals work with us? why can't Democrats be flexible with us? why do we have to tone down our ideologies while they bulldoze all over us, and complain and whine when they can't? why do liberals have a chip on their shoulders when it comes to doing whatever they feel like? Why must they be indulged in every whim and pleasure? why must they have free reign in every aspect?
they're like spoiled little kids.
*****
guess what. I am not allowed to be proud of who I am. Every single other race, creed, ideology, and ethnicity can be proud of who they are in the public square except me.
I cannot be proud of either of my flags; for one, I may *never* display it, lest I be a neonazi or a member of the KKK, or at least a racist or a bigot. For the other, I *should not* display it, lest I be a fascist or at least a flag-waving jingo, or perhaps even a nationalistic war-mongerer.
I cannot be proud of my race. I must bow out of college applications in deference to those of other races, and sometimes lesser qualifications, to add insult to injury. My heroes are degraded, my role models derided, and my forefathers consigned to the forgotten pages of early 20th century textbooks. if I ever make the colossal, inforgivable mistake of publicly declaring my pride of my identity, I will be labeled a supremacist and instantly ostracized, except by groups whose views and members anger and scare me.
I am not allowed to acknowledge my ancestry in connection to my citizenship. I am simply a skin color, and an inaccurate one at that.
I cannot be proud of my religion. in fact, I am not allowed to acknowledge my religion in any way. if I do, then athiests scream about perceived injustices and whine about how they are being indoctrinated. I cannot speak ill of other religions, but I cannot defend myself when viciously attacked by members of the opposition. I cannot be a scientist, for my religion makes me and my work faulty and in-credible.
I cannot tell others about my political views. I am silenced, or at the very least censored, when I try to discuss my position. I cannot challenge incorrect arguments regarding the ideals I hold dear. The partisan media unmercifully mocks and lambasts those in the public (or private) who think as I do. College students who share my views must keep them under their hats, lest their professorr find out, and either publicly ridicule them or fail them entirely.
I am not permitted to be proud of my heritage, if it is even indeed acknowledged as such. I have no place in Ethnic Pride week; I have no cultural dishes to bring in, I can perform no traditional dances, I cannot bring in samples of artwork or literature, I have no traditional garb, and I lack a native language. I am not recognized as having unique roots. All I can do is wander around the periphery of the festivities and peer in, always from the outside.
Others have the protection from prejudice and stereotypes that comes from being mistreated before. now *my* people are being mistreated, denigrated, scorned, stereotyped, and discriminated against, but society has created a double-standard in which we cannot cry out without being called liars, supremacists, greedy, self-centered, or petulant, and summarily cast aside and ignored.
Every other nation, wave your flags proudly. Wear them, paint them, sew them, decoupage them, fly them from the highest flagpoles. Display it in the form of stickers, teddy bears, patches, mini flags, collages, cross-stitch projects, pencils, jewelry, buttons, and a host of other items. I am not allowed to disply mine. Mine are the Confederate flag and the United States flag.
Asian-Americans, be proud. African-Americans, be proud. Alaska Natives, be proud. Native Hawaiians, be proud. Pacific Islanders, be proud. being who I am, I am not allowed to be proud. I am white.
Muslims, be proud. Athiests and agnostics, be proud. Jews, be proud. Wiccans, be proud. Buddhists, be proud. Hindus, be proud. I am not allowed to be proud. I am a Roman Catholic Christian.
Democrats, be proud. Libertarians, be proud. Members of the Green Party, be proud. Liberals, be proud. Independents, be proud. Communists and Socialists, be proud. Environmentalists, be proud.
I am not allowed to be proud. I am a conservative Republican.
Africans, be proud. Native Americans, be proud. Hispanics, be proud. Arabs, be proud. Asians, be proud. I am not allowed to be proud. I am white.
I happened to wonder something - why do people always say that "Bush has to work with the Democrats/liberals," or "Republicans/conservatives need to be flexible with Democrats/liberals," or what have you, always implying that we need to give in, roll over, compromise, and what-have-you to them? why can't liberals work with us? why can't Democrats be flexible with us? why do we have to tone down our ideologies while they bulldoze all over us, and complain and whine when they can't? why do liberals have a chip on their shoulders when it comes to doing whatever they feel like? Why must they be indulged in every whim and pleasure? why must they have free reign in every aspect?
they're like spoiled little kids.
*****
guess what. I am not allowed to be proud of who I am. Every single other race, creed, ideology, and ethnicity can be proud of who they are in the public square except me.
I cannot be proud of either of my flags; for one, I may *never* display it, lest I be a neonazi or a member of the KKK, or at least a racist or a bigot. For the other, I *should not* display it, lest I be a fascist or at least a flag-waving jingo, or perhaps even a nationalistic war-mongerer.
I cannot be proud of my race. I must bow out of college applications in deference to those of other races, and sometimes lesser qualifications, to add insult to injury. My heroes are degraded, my role models derided, and my forefathers consigned to the forgotten pages of early 20th century textbooks. if I ever make the colossal, inforgivable mistake of publicly declaring my pride of my identity, I will be labeled a supremacist and instantly ostracized, except by groups whose views and members anger and scare me.
I am not allowed to acknowledge my ancestry in connection to my citizenship. I am simply a skin color, and an inaccurate one at that.
I cannot be proud of my religion. in fact, I am not allowed to acknowledge my religion in any way. if I do, then athiests scream about perceived injustices and whine about how they are being indoctrinated. I cannot speak ill of other religions, but I cannot defend myself when viciously attacked by members of the opposition. I cannot be a scientist, for my religion makes me and my work faulty and in-credible.
I cannot tell others about my political views. I am silenced, or at the very least censored, when I try to discuss my position. I cannot challenge incorrect arguments regarding the ideals I hold dear. The partisan media unmercifully mocks and lambasts those in the public (or private) who think as I do. College students who share my views must keep them under their hats, lest their professorr find out, and either publicly ridicule them or fail them entirely.
I am not permitted to be proud of my heritage, if it is even indeed acknowledged as such. I have no place in Ethnic Pride week; I have no cultural dishes to bring in, I can perform no traditional dances, I cannot bring in samples of artwork or literature, I have no traditional garb, and I lack a native language. I am not recognized as having unique roots. All I can do is wander around the periphery of the festivities and peer in, always from the outside.
Others have the protection from prejudice and stereotypes that comes from being mistreated before. now *my* people are being mistreated, denigrated, scorned, stereotyped, and discriminated against, but society has created a double-standard in which we cannot cry out without being called liars, supremacists, greedy, self-centered, or petulant, and summarily cast aside and ignored.
Every other nation, wave your flags proudly. Wear them, paint them, sew them, decoupage them, fly them from the highest flagpoles. Display it in the form of stickers, teddy bears, patches, mini flags, collages, cross-stitch projects, pencils, jewelry, buttons, and a host of other items. I am not allowed to disply mine. Mine are the Confederate flag and the United States flag.
Asian-Americans, be proud. African-Americans, be proud. Alaska Natives, be proud. Native Hawaiians, be proud. Pacific Islanders, be proud. being who I am, I am not allowed to be proud. I am white.
Muslims, be proud. Athiests and agnostics, be proud. Jews, be proud. Wiccans, be proud. Buddhists, be proud. Hindus, be proud. I am not allowed to be proud. I am a Roman Catholic Christian.
Democrats, be proud. Libertarians, be proud. Members of the Green Party, be proud. Liberals, be proud. Independents, be proud. Communists and Socialists, be proud. Environmentalists, be proud.
I am not allowed to be proud. I am a conservative Republican.
Africans, be proud. Native Americans, be proud. Hispanics, be proud. Arabs, be proud. Asians, be proud. I am not allowed to be proud. I am white.