Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 26 replies, 27 voices, and was last updated 21 years, 2 months ago by
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Name : Sean, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Italian American, Age : 19, City : Indianapolis, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : Customer Service, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class,Americans hate Middle-Eastern people because of what they did to our country. Don't blame us for feeling resentment.User Detail :
Name : Matt22047, Gender : M, City : Janesville, State : WI Country : United States,Most Americans are racist. I know that statement is going to get me a lot of flack, but that's the way I see it. Almost every person I've met in the States had some people/culture/religion/race they couldn't abide by. Even the best people I've met, the type who'd give you the shirt off their back, have felt 'blacks' were dangerous, or Asians suspicious, or Mid-Easterners violent.What makes their racism so subtle is that they hide it behind an excuse. 'Well, their people are terrorists,' or 'Their religion doesn't approve of me' or 'They don't treat their women well' or 'They're communists.' It's as if the entire American social consciousness is built on a huge double standard. You cannot say that statistically speaking, the majority of America's criminals are black, or else you'll be shouted down as a racist. However, if you feel like saying that we should bomb the hell out of Afghanistan, and their people, too because it's their fault they had the Taliban to begin with', then you're a patriot. You can rant and rave against the mandatory covering of women in Iran all you like, but to point out the Hindu tradition of burning widows is close-minded. We have allowed ourselves to accept a bias, and now that we've been confronted with it, instead of looking within to fix it, we defend it like the nutty Americans that we are.
I was born and raised in the United States, but because my foreign ancestry is evident on my face, I have been on the receiving end of racism all my life. Most people can't tell where I'm from exactly by looking at me, but by my name and dark hair and eyes they know I must belong to some backward, oppressive, terroristic country. I've been spit on, had rocks thrown at me and been beaten up, all within my schooling years, because of my nationality. I've been called racist names by African Americans, Greek Americans (the boy who spit on me said, 'I'm Greek, we hate Muslims'), Caucasian Americans, Assyrians, Russian Americans, Jewish Americans, Asian Americans, you name it.
I am not going to be an idiot and paint all Americans with the same brush, because simply put, that would make me equally wrong. There are good Americans who do not allow themselves to fall into the trap of bigotry. But sadly, many are racist and continue to defend it. We claim 'We're angry and have a right to feel this way,' but as my lovely Irish Grandma tells me, 'You can't hate just because you're mad'.
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Name : Hayat21436, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 19, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Unfortunately, America and Americans were still reeling from the shock of 9/11 at the time you happened to be visiting Atlanta. While Georgia hasn't necessarily been touted as the most tolerant state in the union, I don't think you would have experienced the same if you had been there prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center. None of this is offered as an excuse for what people did or said to you, and yes, sadly, some Americans are very ignorant and racist. I hope that you visit again someday and are able to experience the warmth, acceptance and friendliness that is also very American.User Detail :
Name : Kalpana, Gender : F, Age : 24, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I am a Muslim convert to Islam and wear the scarf on my head. I was born and raised in the South and am confused with being an Afghan or Arab. Omar, don't care what people think. Be proud to be tan-skinned. If those people yell at you, just say you are a proud Hispanic.User Detail :
Name : Jenna, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 22, City : Savannah, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I think many Americans and Latinos are racist and ignorant. I wasn't surprised that those racist Americans from Atlanta couldn't tell the difference between a Mexican and an Arab, because I have lived here for a long time. I immigrated to America when I was 11 and was shocked that many multirracial people - and even those who could pass for white - were considered 'black,' because where I come from (Europe), they would be 'mixed ' or 'mulato.' Americans have discriminated against me more than Europeans have. I went to Switzerland a few years ago and was treated like a beautiful 'queen' for being a brown-skinned Indonesian, Hawaiian, African, Latina (the list goes on ) woman. I was beautiful in the eyes of European men because i wasn't 'white.' In America, I am looked at as an inferior, foreign and not good enough for a man to take to see the family, because I am not a blond-haired, blue-eyed white female. My Dutch boyfriend told me to move to the Netherlands because they don't focus on race as much as Americans, and some Dutch men are married to brown-skinned women.User Detail :
Name : Strella-G, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 26, City : Norman, State : OK Country : United States, Occupation : student,First, I am sorry you experienced such vileness. Unfortunately, it is a fact of life in this country to varying degrees. I believe the United States has not come to peace with it's 'isms' (racism, sexism) or prejudices (homophobia, xenophobia). We just haven't been as blatant and open with them as, say, back in the Civil Rights era. They are still here, riding on the edge of the subconscious, and in light of the terrorist attacks, these subconscious ideas/thoughts/feelings are returning to the spotlight. Still, not all Americans are racist, but by the actions of a few we could certainly be described as 'ignorant' - as could many others in the world, regardless of country of origin.User Detail :
Name : A. Adams, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,I'm not trying to excuse what happened to you; it was reprehensible. However, I don't think it's just Americans who are racist (or, more generally, are prejudiced against those who are not like themselves). This is a world-wide phenomenon, with rather temporary and generally small exceptions. Look at how the English and the Irish felt about each other for centuries, or the French about the Germans, the Germans about the Poles, the Albanians about each other, and everybody about the Armenians. Then there are the Japanese attitudes towards the Koreans, the Han Chinese towards the Manchurians (and vvs.), the Hutu towards the Tutsi, and on and on. That being said, the USA is the largest and most successful multi-ethnic, multi-racial society the world has ever seen. I think that, however flawed it might be, is remarkable.User Detail :
Name : JerryS, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : New Britain, State : CT Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,In mexico, there is discrimination against more 'indigenous' looking people. In Africa, there is ethnic violence. Every society has a second class citizen. I am not trying to defend this societal phenomenon, but I don't think that U.S. citizens are demonstrably more racist than everyone else in the world.User Detail :
Name : Jeff-B, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Athens, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I find it ironic that not one response has pointed out that the Mexican victim of racism indulged in it himself. Those idiots attacked him because they mistook him for an 'Arab' and because they blame all 'Arabs' for 9/11. He then concludes that all 'Americans' are racists. (How about Americans of Arab descent?) And his respondents have generally done the same thing.Human beings tend to identify with people who look like they do, act like they do and talk like they do - and to be suspicious of or hostile toward those who look, act and talk differently. Not surprising, given the history of humans. But really humane humans try to overcome those 'instinctive responses' in favor of civilized behavior.
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Name : Gordon P., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 74, City : Whitewater, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : retired professor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,im sorry 2 here that u were harrased like that im white . but i still get harrassed by black and peurto ricans though i hate it and yes i would said that alot of americans are very racial. i try not 2 be i dont say things 2 offend ppl . i say jokes 2 be funny that tend 2 be racail jokes but i treat every1 equal .User Detail :
Name : jay31286, City : hillvalley, State : CT Country : United States,Omar, it's the sad truth, America hates all of the Middle East including all Arabs. I wear the traditional Muslim covering for women, and get horrified looks from Americans regularly. Since the 9/11 attaks America automaticly felt that since Bin Ladden is an Arab that All Arabs should be taught a lesson by being called names and putting news bullitens on CNN about how unfair Muslims are. I could sit here all day and tell you this, but I'll just put down the plain facts: 1) Countries hate the US, some don't. 2) When America finds out that someone else doesn't like them they go out of their way to make them do something nice like write a peace treaty. 3) America now feels the responsibility to call Arabs names like cowards even though it's not every Arab person's fault that Bin Laden did something bad. Amen to that!User Detail :
Name : Nadia Basidiq, Race : Asian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 13, City : Ceres, State : CA Country : United States,
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