Is it my professional mentor, a black Harvard educated attorney? Or is is that Crip who smashed my windshield and grabbed my purse? Or is it Africa, or is it Haiti or is it the West Indies? I would argue that there IS no one black experience. And regarding Tiger Woods, it was his half black father who created such a hoopla about his race. Multi-ethnic people should be allowed to identify themselves as they choose.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, AIPAC represents a lot of wealthy campaign contributors. Few politicians are willing to give up that source of financing. Most of them can't see past their next election.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, I personally find it painful to walk on a hard surface without shoes for very long. This is why I wear shoes at home.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, Before I noticed your age I assumed you must be a teenager because the situation you describe sounds so juvenile. Dump this guy. You're a grown woman, you don't need this Jr. High School behavior.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, But I urge you to talk to your rabbi about this. Mine told me, "just because you go to someone's birthday party doesn't mean it's your birthday", to make me feel okay about eating Christmas dinner with my family of origin despite keeping a Jewish home and raising my children as Jews. I have decided that when they die I will honor my parents' relationships with God as they see them. Once someone is buried it's too late to do things differently. My heart goes out to you and I just hope you can find a way to honor your mother's wishes while still holding your own faith. At the very least, a discussion with a rabbi might make you feel better about your ultimate decision.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, My Lutheran parents want to be cremated. I intend to honor their wishes despite my own personal beliefs.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, In my city I have found black/white relations to be MUCH better since the election of Obama. Mind you, I live in a very liberal place, but I noticed by the day after the election that blacks returned my smiles when perhaps in the past they hadn't. I'm "white" btw. I don't know Jacksonville but perhaps this historic election has had the opposite effect there.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, One suspects you must also see whites with greasy hair. When people live in crowded conditions and don't have the kinds of jobs that demand a neat appearance, they often don't make it a priority. I work with many black people who spend a lot of time and money on their hair and they all look great. Keeping braids (or straightening for that matter) takes a lot more energy than simply washing one's hair. Those without the disposable income to visit the salon twice a month sometimes have trouble maintaining the look.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, Or a Dalit shopkeeper? The supposedly outlawed caste system in India has much to do with the attitudes amongst Indian immigrants. However, the Indian upper castes that produce engineers and physicians DO have the right to think they're smarter than us. The average American high school graduate reads at about a sixth grade level. Upper caste Indians ARE better educated.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, This was outlawed years ago but exists informally just like racism in the U.S. Additionally, in places where whites are a minority, like Los Angeles, being a light skinned black or Latino might be considered desirable but actually being "white" is not. On the east side with its overwhelming Latino majority (mostly poor and uneducated) racism against Caucasians is becoming a big problem. School beatings, epithets hurled randomly in the streets, etc. As being white becomes less and less desirable, one can guess than being a light skinned member of another race will as well.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, The response would likely be tempered by class and geography. Educated urban parents would probably be more accepting than rurals with little schooling. This is certainly true in the U.S. and one would assume Australia as well.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, Have you ever met Christians who eat shellfish or wear clothing made of blended fibers? It's odd that some people cleave to the single line in Leviticus that may or may not condemn homosexuality (depending on which translation you're reading), while happily ignoring so many of the other restrictions listed in the Bible. Gay Christians believe God made them as they are. Who are we, as heterosexuals, to deprive them the religious crutch they seem to need?
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, I have never noticed bad driving as being more prevalent amongst blacks. In my town it's young Latino males perpetrating much of the traffic nonsense (a lot of hit and runs of late). However, I have noticed a certain segment of the African-American populace who aren't very good pedestrians. They seem to walk intentionally slowly through crosswalks, giving the stopped drivers stinkeye the whole way and forcing people to miss lights because they are essentially jaywalking throughout the duration of the green light. Like most things, I only notice this is poorer neighborhoods. Blacks in Westwood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills don't do this.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, I'm a lily white German/Irish person who has never been attracted to people who look like me. I am happily married to a man of Moroccan descent. As for not seeing many interracial couples, you should get out of Lewisville, TX more often. My neighborhood is juxatposed between Koreatown, Little Armenia and a largely Latino area. I see nothing BUT interracial couples around here. Also, open any fashion catalogue these days and take note of the use of black models. I just don't think you're paying close enough attention to the world around you (and outside of your town).
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, And here in L.A. I'm looking forward to watching North Korea invade your country when my tax dollars can no longer support the military infrastructure that protects you. WTF is your problem with the cities you pick out for extinction? FYI a lot of people in L.A. grow their own food since we have the climate for it.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 
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