Why be Racist?
People make a big deal about racism, and it bugs me, because often times racism is opposite of how people talk about it. In the past, whites have been racist against minorities such as Asians, Africans, and Mexicans. However, somehow times have switched around completely. Now minorities are racist against whites. Whites are ASHAMED to be white. This makes me angry, because minorities get their undies in a bunch when they think a white has made a racist comment about them, but they never hesitate in making a racist comment about whites. I hate hypocrites like that. Why would anyone want to be a different race than what they are? Minorities seem to be overly proud about their race. Tis okay to be proud of how you look, but don't act like other people are inferior to you just because of the color of their skin. That's racist! Can't we all just get along?
An example of this is white kids thinking black kids are kool because black people are often rappers. A recent study says that 92% of teens want to be black. Does this make white kids inferior? No. White kids WANT to be black for this rap reason. And I even have proof, because I know a white kid in my school who said himself that he wanted to be black. What a coincidence that he likes rap.
Where Asians are concerned, it seems like they all cluster together. Certain towns have 90% Asians in them. (This sort of goes for other minorities too.) They have this slogan -- "asian pride" -- and even have a certain way of writing it -- "aZn PrIdE." This also annoys me. Tis like they refuse to hang out with anyone else besides Asians. You are probably thinking, *No, I have non-Asian friends.* Okay, so you do, but most of you Asians out there think you're better than whites on the sole reason of your race. Maybe YOU aren't, but I know quite a few at my school that I could name. There is a club at my school that has nothing but Asian kids in it, yet the club has nothing to do with Asia (the club isn't anime related). I know an Asian person who wanted to join the club. I asked why. They told me, "Because there's Asians in it." SO WHAT?!
Don't take me for being racist. I'm not trying to be. FYI, I'm half Asian and half white. I'm not racist to anyone, but I do hate hypocrites. If you don't like racism, don't be racist yourself.
2006 Update
Because I'm half Asian (Chinese) and half white (German and Irish), I believe I can be objective on this matter. I look more white than Asian, which is unusual but true. I do not hang out with only Asians. Asians don't flock to be my friend, because they can't tell I'm Asian. White people don't either, because well, white people don't cluster together like that. Asians are being racist when they choose to make friends with only other Asians. I could care less about what race someone is. Some people ask "What's your nationality?" as one of their first questions when meeting someone, both online and IRL. I don't ask theirs unless they ask mine. My hometown where I lived for 18 years is predominantly white, despite the stereotypes of California towns. And here are the 2000 census statistics on my town incase any of you still don't believe me:
Hispanic: 9.02%
White: 73.90%
Black: 4.66
Native American: .46%
Asian: 7.39%
Multi-ethnic: 3.99%
I don't live in California anymore; I moved to Oregon for college. Again, despite stereotypes, the town I now live in has more Hispanics: 17%. 15.6% speak Spanish at home, 10.3% don't speak English very well, and 10.2% are not U.S. citizens! In my California town, no signs were in Spanish, no school newsnotes were written in Spanish on the flipside, and everyone of every ethnicity spoke English fluently. That is not the case in my Oregon town. I am not racist, but it really annoys me when people around me need a translation for everything because they can't speak English.
I use the term "white" loosely. No, caucasian is not any more kind or non-racist than white. Let me inform you on the origin of the word "caucasian." It comes from Mount Caucus, a mountain between IRAN AND IRAQ. It was chosen to mean the same as "white people" because Mt. Caucus was where the most beautiful people in the world were supposed to live. That sure isn't racist-free! Now occording to the U.S. census for race, white or caucasian does include people from the Middle East AND NORTH AFRICA. They don't look too white to me. Race is a social and cultural construct. It is strictly a category the government uses. Ethnicity is broader; it's more about what culture you identify with than what your biological roots are. Nationality is simply what country you're from. To talk about this subject, I prefer to use the term "ancestry" because that's really what everyone wants to know--where are your ancestors from? An American wouldn't ask another American what their literal nationality or ethnicity was, because they're most likely both American! And race doesn't tell anyone anything they want to know, because if you say you're white, that could mean European ancestry, Middle Eastern ancestry, or North African ancestry. Plus the government could decide at any moment to change what group belongs in what category. Better check with the recent census before you declare your race! Irish and Itallian people were not always in the "white" racial category. The best term for "whites" is "European American" because the "white people's" ancestors came from Europe. These are the technicalities and true definitions, but I will continue to use "race" and "white" because everyone knows what I'm talking about, and they're shorter words.
The only true Americans are the natives who were here before Europeans came, and even they (the natives) probably came from Asia across the Russia-Alaska bridge, whatever it's called. There are metaphors for the blend of U.S. cultural groups. The main metaphor used to be "melting pot," but it was changed to "tossed salad" because melting pot sounded racist with all the diverse cultures melting together and assimilating their unique heritages into a single cultural entity. A tossed salad is a mixture with all the tastes staying unique and unchanging. But ya know, people who are different and refuse to associate with and cooperate with those that aren't like them . . . that causes problems and chaos. A country has to have a common culture; we are the UNITED States of America. United we stand, divided we fall. If every little culture wants to separate itself from mainstream society, there are going to be hositilities and no one will get along. Having pride in the culture your ancestors lived in is just a stupid lie. You need to wake up and face reality. You live in America. Not some Asian, African, or South American country. Your ancestors may have lived in those far off places, but what do you care? The only reason you're interested in it is to feel special and different. And you're being racist in doing so! Because that "pride" you feel for your ancestor's culture means you feel superior to anyone who isn't part of that culture/race. When one feels superiority, that means there's another group of people who are seen as inferior. That's called racism. I never hear any white people going around saying "white pride!" That's because it sounds racist. And it is!
The truth of the matter is that we all came from Africa in the beginning. Everyone is related to everyone else, as long as you're human. Having different shades of skin is no different than having different shades of hair. If you're racist against someone because they have light or dark skin, then you might as well be racist against someone for being blonde! That's how silly racism is. And it is definitely not the whites who are doing all the descriminating. MINORITIES and their refusal to ASSIMILATE is the problem. MINORITIES are the ones who ask what race you are. Asians and Hispanics not only care if you're Asian or Hispanic, but they want to know exactly WHICH COUNTRY you originated from, because depending on that, they will think differently of you. They may even hate you. Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese--any of them can hate the other one and feel they are not one in the same, even though they all look so similar they could be brother and sister and I wouldn't know the difference! The same goes for Mexicans, Cubans, and other South Americans. That's as racist as it gets. These people shouldn't demand to be treated as equal Americans when they make such a point to show the world how they're not American.
Recently there's been the political issue of immigration across the Mexican border. Today I heard a DJ on a talk radio station describing what a true immigrant was: He said that a real immigrant comes to the U.S. to be an American, to learn English, to get their kids through school, to start at the low paying jobs and work their way up, do whatever they have to to live the American life/dream, and they take the test to become a legal citizen, and become one ASAP; their kids lose their accents, and remember little of their heritage. He said that's how real immigrants are; the Polish did it, the Germans did it, the Itallians did it, etc. We ALL assimilated when we came to this new country. America is very different from Britain, even though we both speak English. All the whites from their different European countries shed their old culture and made the new one. Thus America was born. But the Mexicans who are coming across the border don't want to be American. They just want the stuff/benefits. That's not immigration; that's just leaching, taking advantage of this country when they don't even bother to learn English or become legal citizens. Then there's protesters. If you don't bother to become a legal citizen, you deserve whatever consequences you get. You only have yourself to blame.
If you want true equality, you have to drop the "azn pride" or "latino pride" or "black pride." You have to pick up the "American pride." Because that's what you are. American. And nothing more. If you don't like it, get the heck out of America and go back to your ancestor's country that you're so proud of. Learn the language and learn to live under their corrupt government, and shut up and stop complaining.
Copyright © 2004-2006. JANS INDIGO. All Rights Reserved.