What’s wrong with Americans?

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 27 total)
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  • #45574

    ACC25040
    Participant
    It used to be we knew that, to racist Anglos, 'todos somos illegales,' we were all seen as wetbacks. Now we have to worry about being attacked for 'looking Arab,' too. Over here we've had a rash of hate crimes against anyone 'Arab looking,' including the murder of an East Indian Sikh who was killed because a hateful idiot thought his turban meant he was Arab. The guy was screaming, 'I'm a patriot, why aren't you killing all the damned Arabs!' as the police hauled him away. Sept. 11 has brought out the worst in Americans in a lot of ways. Most Mexicans and American Indian males I know decided to shave off any facial hair they have to avoid being mistaken for Arab. Plenty of foreign exchange students have left, travel only in groups now or wear clothing with American flags or sports teams to try and stave off attacks. One poll I saw said two-fifths of all Americans support the deportation or internment of all Arabs and Muslims in the country. Yes, there are plenty of hateful and ignorant people here. It's one of the biggest reasons I enjoy visiting Latin America so much, since I'm treated far better there than here. But I also know there are plenty of good people here as well, and this is the land of my ancestors and family. Even Bush Jr., as much I think he is an idiot and dead wrong about virtually everything else, showed a better side of America when he came out against the wave of prejudice sweeping the country when his father had stood by and encouraged it during the Gulf War and had the FBI targeting Middle Eastern people. We have our David Dukes and Strom Thurmonds, but we have our Dr. Kings and Cesar Chavezes as well. I don't judge all of Mexico by its crooked and brutal cops and racist, upper-class criollos. The idiots who attacked you represent part of America, but not all of it. Just remember to be careful, and get their sorry asses sent to jail if anyone tries anything like that to you again.

    User Detail :  

    Name : ACC25040, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, 
    #41022

    Matthew
    Participant
    America is angry. Not all Americans are alike. You met some angry, ignorant people. Sorry, but times are different. Nerves are more on the surface, inhibiting the editing of 'thought-to-mouth' impulses.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 45, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, 
    #3970

    Omar-G
    Participant
    This is for any American: I'm a Mexican living in Mexico City. Two weeks ago I had a business meeting in Atlanta. This trip turned out to be the most traumatic experience of my life. I was walking in a mall when a group of men mistook me for an Arab. They started to yell and abuse me in the most profane language they knew. I just walked away without responding. I never expected this of the American people. I've been thinking about this a lot after my return home. Is American society just flat ignorant or racist? Can anyone enlighten me?

    User Detail :  

    Name : Omar-G, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Catholic, City : Mexico City, State : NA Country : Mexico, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
    #30343

    Shari28083
    Participant
    Some Americans ARE just ignorant or racist, yes. But please don't lump all Americans in with those idiots who yelled at you. Most of us can tell the difference between a Latino and an Arab. I'm sure you can understand why Americans are a bit uptight of late, but that doesn't excuse their behavior. I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience. We're not all like that. I promise!

    User Detail :  

    Name : Shari28083, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Canton, State : MI Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
    #42394

    Vincenzo24847
    Participant
    Many people are just plain ignorant, anywhere. If I were you, I would have fought back, unless there were a bunch of them and they seemed dangerous. Americans aren't anymore ignorant than anyone else. I am somewhat sure that a lot of hate groups operate in Atlanta, though. Do you remember what these people look like? You should report them.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Vincenzo24847, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 17, City : Small town in Saskatchewan, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : musician, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 
    #40607

    Bill23242
    Participant
    Omar, be assured that the vast majority of Americans abhor this kind of bigotry. Please accept my apology on behalf of all decent Americans for the treatment you received by a group of ignorant racists in Atlanta.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Bill23242, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 43, City : Burlington, State : VT Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    #35747

    Lucy22377
    Participant
    There is a lot of variation in U.S. society, so much so that it is basically impossible to say American society is like this or like that. There are Americans who are ignorant and racist, but most Americans are not. Unfortunately, you seem to have run into some of them. I don't believe these people are representative of Americans in general, and I hope this experience won't deter you from coming here again. Regardless of where you go, there will be good and bad people. It's true in the United States, in Mexico, and all over the world.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Lucy22377, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 27, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #29706

    K26952
    Participant
    As with any other country that contains humans, we have many who are ignorant. I don't think most think of themselves as racist. My best guess is that these guys are just not too bright. They're angry and probably scared by recent incidents and don't have the ability to go within their thoughts and think about things, and/or they don't have reasonably intelligent friends and family with whom they could discuss their feelings.

    User Detail :  

    Name : K26952, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, 
    #26752

    Trudy24914
    Participant
    You will find segments of American society that are ignorant and racist, but most people are quite tolerant. It sounds like you just ran into a few of the first type. Although this doesn't justify the treatment you received, the most likely explanation is that emotions are running very high right now due to recent events and they were looking for someone to lash out at.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Trudy24914, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Mormon, Age : 19, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
    #17984

    ACC25052
    Participant
    They were not being rude. It's common in Latin culture to comment on physical appearance. Adding the 'ita' or 'ito' on the end of it signifies an intention to regard your physical traits as endearing or cute, such as morenita (little brown one) flaquita (slim little one) or guerita (fair-skinned little one). It has no more an offensive or rude intent than someone in the United States saying 'lefty.' Lots of Mexican men find voluptuous or full-figured women very appealing, and they were probably trying to flirt with you. It's a shame you didn't know more about the culture before you completely misjudged what was happening to you. You might try something very common sense like asking people what they mean by a comment instead of projecting your own cultural presumptions upon it next time. As for the sex comments, here's something that might surprise you: Americans have a reputation in Mexico for being oversexed, probably because so many of them come to the border towns looking for cheap prostitutes. Blame American males for that.

    User Detail :  

    Name : ACC25052, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, Occupation : Grad student, ex-Army, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    #20067

    Lori22579
    Participant
    Gee, when I spent time in Mexico a few years ago, a cab driver asked me to have sex with him, people on the street routinely called me 'gordita,' which I find rather rude, and I was followed around by men I didn't know on several occasions, sometimes with them requesting sex from me. Is Mexican society rude and disrespectful of women? No, just some individuals. Same with America ... and just about every country I have ever visited.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Lori22579, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #14153

    Nathan20136
    Participant
    People posting here are living a delusion. It's easy to say that only a few 'ignorant' Americans are racist (or more simply and fittingly put, 'hateful' ) when you're not one of the people racism is directed at. Fooling yourself into beliveing that only 'ignorant rednecks' are racist just lets you feel superior and comfortable in your ivory tower. Plenty of doctors, lawyers, physicists, politicians and other highly educated people are racists, and you cannot call them ignorant. Sept. 11 didn't bring anybody together, it just tossed one more group on the hate pile. I believe that all of the American majority is racist. It's to a much higher degree in some, and not so apparent in others. Being the whipping post for the majority, minorities think in racist ways, too. I saw a group of Asian men playing basketball this past week. It reminded me of all the commotion that occurs when someone tries to start a midnight basketball program for young blacks, to give them some direction. If a group of blacks play basketball, they're a dangerous gang, but if anyone else does it, it's community bonding.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Nathan20136, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 35, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : science, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 
    #45678

    Mike20386
    Participant
    American is a country of hatred and bigotry.Most white Americans are racist and that goes for all white people everywhere.It's in their nature to hate.This is one of the few countries in the world that can opress a race of people for centuries and blame the victims for not rising up.When I travel to places in America.I am considered a criminal or vagrant because of the color of my skin.Before,September 11th I was just considered a regular nigger but now there's all this talk of 'uniting for peace regardless of race or nationality'.Which is a crock of shit because that can never be in America.September 11th was no more than 'chickens coming home to roost'.So,to answer your question America is ignorant and racist.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Mike20386, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Law, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
    #15344

    Matt-Cramer21992
    Participant
    Just like there are honest lawyers, but it's often the corrupt ones who are famous and give the others a bad reputation, the worst in American society often manages to stand out. In your case, I'm especially startled that people in Atlanta would mistake a Hispanic for an Arab - we've got enough Hispanic immigrants that some sections of town have more signs in Spanish than English. You'd think that the inhabitants of Atlanta would have learned to recognize Latinos by now. That just goes to show that racism is based in ignorance and misunderstanding. I think that people that racist must make up less than 1% of the population in Atlanta. Since the malls here draw hundreds of people of different ethnic groups, if people like that were encountered routinely here, you couldn't open a shopping mall without riots breaking out on a daily basis.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Matt-Cramer21992, City : Covington, State : GA Country : United States, 
    #28275

    Shawn Fayne
    Participant
    I know it's sad but you're gonna find alot of stuff like this in the south and midwest. Whenever you intorduce someone different into an American society there's gonna be problems. The prodominenty white societies have really just began tolerating blacks within the past decade opr two. I go down south to visit relatives during the summer. In the past couple of years, hispanics have been moving down there in large numbers. There has been many problems down there. Like calling all hispanics Mexicans and assuming that they all cut grass. All I can say is in a few years they'll become more tolerent of hispanics in the south.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Shawn Fayne, Gender : M, Race : black/white, Age : 15, City : Laurel, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 
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