[John K.]

Sorry, but "political correctness" does exist, though it is often misapplied by the media. Let me give you an example. "Black History Month" is very politically correct. It gives a great appearance of cultural diversity. It also happens to be a farce. Any multiculturalist worth his/her salt would recognize that the best way to make people aware of black history is to teach it all year, as part of a unified history. Instead, we make the shortest month of the year "Black History Month," and we all can say we are really being diverse. I'm all for tearing down the walls of racism, sexism, etc., but there is a difference between tearing down the walls and doing things for the sake of appearance. Go to Brown University and take a look at the student guidelines for just about everything, and you will see what "political correctness" means. Ask to see their policies on student dating/sexual activity, and that should be a good start.

One more example: Gun control. It is PC to support gun control laws right now, even though none of the new laws would actually prevent any incidents like the recent school schootings. Speak out against the new laws and you are branded an extremist or a nutcase. Can you see the difference? Most things that are PC are a matter of appearance, rather than examples of multiculturalism. Even the examples of college students being expelled for "hate speech" were mostly actions taken by the colleges so they could appear to be taking the concerns of ethnic students into account. The same thing happened to students when I was at college ... but the school never did a thing about much more difficult and pervasive racial problems. They just wanted to look like they were on the right side. Hence, it was political correctness. Final example: It is very PC to bash Republicans.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

Actually, I found more people who were offended by the race with the extremely stereotypical Asian accents. I suppose a few Christians might find aliens worshipping idols a problem, but I would imagine those same Christians would also be offended by the Force. I suppose it depends on how seriously you want to take Star Wars in general. I mean, take the original trilogy. Ever notice how all of the evil Empire characters speak with British accents?

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

Unfortunately, I have found there are two things people have a very hard time discussing objectively: Religion and politics. My parents are not very religious anymore, but even now they expect me to follow in their religious footsteps, so to speak. It may not be possible to tell them how you feel without getting a negative response. Catholics are, in general, very assured of their point of view, and cannot understand why someone might not 'see the light.' (This is typical of old-style Catholics, which I would think your Eastern European parents would be.) My advice would be to either move very slowly, or wait until you are in a more stable personal position, where you can act from a position of strength (like when you are on your own, not dependent on them). However, if this is basically about your homosexuality, it might be best to simply come out. Time will not change their views on that subject, and there is no reason to deny yourself because of their beliefs. No matter what decision you make, I hope that everything goes well. Just remember to stand firm in your own beliefs.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

I cannot speak for nonwhite men, since that attraction includes a completely different dynamic. However, I think that it is easy to explain why white men tend to find women with light features attractive. It actually has very little to do with the color, per se. I think it has to do with the shape of the facial features. While it is not always the case, humans tend to feel more comfortable around people who have features closely resembling their own. For whites, that would mean a generally thin face, thin nose, etc. This is true of women of any ethnic group, though personal racism can get in the way. Women with features that tend towards the 'European' norm are seen as more attractive. Look at Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, even Janet Jackson...they may be nonwhite, but they have facial features that are very similar to whites. You can probably think of some other nonwhite celebrities that can serve as examples. Just keep in mind that this is a generalization...there are always going to be exceptions.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

'Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.' Maybe not an exact quote, but it fits. Shall we ignore a terrible tragedy of human history simply because we are tired of hearing about it? We need to remember these things, and be reminded, so that maybe we can prevent it from happening again. As for the Palestinians, I think that it is safe to say that many, many people are aware of the situation. Another thing about the Holocaust: keep in mind that Jewish people were not the only victims. Blacks, Romany, *any* group that became a scapegoat for the problems of society under Nazi Germany...they were sent to the camps as well. The only difference is that of scale...far more Jewish people were killed than any other group in the Holocaust. One last point...if you want to make the plight of the Palestinians better known, then just do it. The fact that there are films and such about the Homocaust does nothing to prevent you or anyone else from speaking out about Palestinian troubles.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

I think it depends on how you wish to define "black culture." Egypt has always been a bit isolated from the rest of Africa, mostly because of the various Middle Eastern entities that continually took control of the region. Egypt has been conquered and occupied by all kinds of nations in the past ... Nubians, Assyrians, Persians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, etc. Most of the invaders came from the north, not from Africa, so there is more than enough reason to believe Egyptian culture is not entirely "black culture." It all comes down to how a person wants to look at it. Or more realistically, it all depends on how a person wants to spin history for their own purposes.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

To hear it from my bisexual friends, it simply means that she has no preference for one gender over the other. In other words, she is sexually attracted to men and women, rather than just one.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

This sounds very familiar. My parents always have something to say about a biracial couple when they see them in public. They find biracial couples very offensive. They claim that they feel this way because of the inevitable stigma that would be placed on any biracial children, but that is just a lame excuse. The only people who would discriminate against biracial children are the ones with a problem with biracial relationships, so it is a circular argument. Your parents are trying to push their racism onto you. Think about the assumptions that go into their side of the argument, and you will see what I mean. If you are comfortable with your relationship, then do not let the closed-minded thinking of others get in the way.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

To Rhiannon: I agree with you quite a bit in terms of racism against Latinos. In many places throughout the country, they are discriminated against. However, I disagree with your assertion that there is a difference between the Taco Bell chihuahua and the Irish or Italian stereotypical characters. They all assume the same thing. The only difference is that you have bought into the idea that it is all right to stereotype Irish and Italian people.

You see, the Irish and Italians fall under the category of "white." As a general rule, non-whites see whites as a large, homogenous group. Little things like ethnic background are often ignored. Well, it doesn't work that way. Most non-Irish still believe that all Irish are drunks, and most non-Italians still believe that all Italians are involved in organized crime. But that's all right, you see ... because they're "white." Just like Polish people are white, so it's all right to stereotype them as immensely stupid. Well, no, it's not all right. It's just accepted.

One other thing: Some racist whites discriminate against Italians because they have darker skin color and therefore have "black blood," so there's another angle. Also, your statements about discrimination against the Irish, specifically, have only applied in this country for the last few decades, and do not apply at all in other parts of the world. Take a trip to Northern Ireland sometime; you'll see what I mean. The Irish there had their own civil rights movement during the same time that the United States had ours - only theirs was much more bloody.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

All of the above is true, but I would point out that the BCE/CE designation is not a purely 'PC' construct. The fact remains that the people who determined the BC/AD system messed up. It is off by a few years, if you use the historically accurate year of Jesus' birth as a point of reference. So that is easily corrected by the BCE/CE designation.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

Just as you do not have the "right" to scream "fire!" in a crowded theater, you do not have the right to disrupt your teacher's classroom without penalty. It is also a matter of respect. No matter what you may think of your teacher personally, that teacher is in a position of authority within his or her classroom. Of course, I would also have to wonder why you would feel the need to express yourself with foul langauge in a classroom.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

Certainly there is a problem in this country with the way we view these incidents. We always think it is going to happen in the cities, not the suburbs, because people left the cities for the suburbs to get away from the crime (or so they believed). But that is a false sense of security for everyone involved. Suburbs tend to be more isolating, so outsiders feel even more alone. So that is part of the problem. I am not going to comment on your theory that the majority of white parents work to buy their children expensive cars. That is absurd. However, we do treat our children very oddly, as a whole. We constantly tell our children that they are not the center of the universe, but do we act that way? Listen to any politician, watch any news story, read any environmental article. Everything we do comes down to 'the children'. So we tell them one thing, and the talking heads tell them the exact opposite. One last thing: the shootings are not just a problem for the white population, as you would like to think. Plenty of nonwhite children are killed everyday. The only difference is that it happens in the areas where such violence is 'expected'. It is news when a suburban school gets shot up by a couple nutcases, because it does not happen everyday. It is not news when nonwhites are shot or killed in South Central LA or the Bronx, because everyone knows that it happens and therefore is not sensational enough.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

It sounds to me like you are simply encountering rude behavior. It happens all the time up here in New York/New Jersey, with people from all walks of life. I would like to address something about your question, though. You seem to imply that Hispanics are not raised in the United States. Are you operating under the assumption that Hispanics are all adult-aged immigrants? If so, maybe that false assumption is affecting your point of view. Just something to think about.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

I'm the one who mentioned kilts. What makes you think they do not require accessories? Check out the next St. Patrick's Day parade or Scottish festival, and you'll see what I mean. Sure, no makeup is involved, but it does require a lot of time and patience. You do make one good point, though: Women have to wear something under the skirt (usually), where the kilt is often worn by itself. That's the part that some guys find uncomfortable!

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

The "legal age" of 18 is a falsehood. Yes, it is the traditional age of passage from childhood into adulthood, but that is very misleading. At 18 you can take the steps to become independent, but that does not mean you have the maturity to use that independence wisely. For instance, most of the people under 21 who complain about drinking laws do not drink responsibly. While some people might see this as a result of the drinking laws, I have noted that it has more to do with the maturity of the person involved. Most young drinkers have no self-control. Go to any college party (or high school party, for that matter) and the evidence will be right in front of you. The same is true for renting a car. Statistics show that young drivers are more likely to have serious accidents. Since car rental services do not want to have their cars destroyed or damaged, they choose to rent cars only to experienced drivers. That means they set a minimum age of 25, which is about the same age that your car insurance rates will drop.

Now, so far as military service goes ... I agree that the age for service should be increased to 21. Again, it is a matter of maturity and discipline.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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