Racism problems

[nono195]

Ok so ill jump right in. I just got back from thanksgiving dinner and my mother was talking about a rude Asian clerk. She said the clerk had been rude to her and talked down to her so she told her not to speak so slow and that she could probably speak better English than her. I was put-off by this and I just finished eating and left.

I wanted to take this time to ask if your family had been like this on any occasion and if racism is a growing or declining problem?

EDIT: The clerk was the one talking slowly to my mother and she was also asian.

 

[grimsprice]

By the sounds of it, that wasn't racist. If the clerk actually had a problem with communication, then why does their race make them immune from criticism?

Sounds like you're just overly PC, and ubber sensitive.

EDIT: Oh, ok. Well then that sucks. I don't usually have a problem with people around me being racist. Most of my family and friends are pretty tolerant.

Theres not much you can do about it but learn from it and promise yourself that you wont pass that on to your kids.

 

[nono195]

Her english was fine she was just being rude. She had said this because of her race

 

[Gxas]

I'm confused... Was your mother being racist? Or was it the clerk?

 

[darkless]

Wait, I'm a little confused was it your mother who told the clerk to stop talking so slow or did the clerk tell your mother to stop talking slowly?

 

[dududf]

You're overly sensitive.

[/thread]

...


Oh wait wait!

Remember this well, Racism will never end until people stop being so overly sensitive to it AND remove the hate.

So all in all, you're contributing to the problem.

 

[captainwillies]

wait im confused was your mother the clerk telling an asian lady she could speak english slowly?

 

[faceless chick]

It's actually a nervous reaction.
It's induced by your mom's anger at the clerk and she acted upon a stereotype intentionally knowing it would offend the clerk, thus getting satisfaction.

I can't say that it's exactly racist, as she would've snapped in a similar way if the clerk was say irish and called her a "drunk bible-thumper" or smth.It's like when someone annoys you and you call them "idiot" to feel better or humiliate the person.

It doesn't mean that she would've talked the same way to the woman if the situation was different though.

 

[sms_117b]

Yeah, I'm a bit confused by this to, if the clerk had been rude to her and talked down to her, I think your mothers come back was perfectly reasonable.

 

[BillyShakes]

Racism is, and shall remain, a rampant problem until everyone realizes that we're all just people. Most of the time they're just words; stop being offended by them and they suddenly lose their power.

 

[Puzzles]

I don't see much racism from my friends, but bigoted old grandparents will always be bigoted.

 

[Swaki]

my grandmother, she calls me Christian, my name is Sakilaris but that sounds to... i don't know the correct term for that racism word, but ethnic should suffice.

also once i took her to an Vietnamese restaurant, and she started snapping at the waiter, insisted that he was Chinese even after he politely told her he was Vietnamese, called him chong, and was generally rude and racists towards him, i think i left a 150% tip that evening.

 

[Biosophilogical]

Yeah, her reaction was racist, but really, everyone has racist moments. However, if the clerk was the same race as your mum, her reaction would have been similarily rude, just not in a racist way. So really your mum wasn't angry at the clerk's race (she wasn't being racist) just angry at the clerk, and everyone is sensitive to racist issues so of course a racist remark wouuld hurt most.

 

[thiosk]

It sounds like mom put her goods on the counter then spoke very slowly... "DO.. YOU... KNOW.... WHAT... MONEY... IS?"

I think walking out of thanksgiving is worse than a minor cultural clash between old women and asians.

 

[A_Parked_Car]

According to my sociology class racism is, and always has been ingrained in our culture.
Anyways, my family is kind of racist, but they don't think that they are. I'm a white guy, but in some weird turn of events I ended up being more East Asian then white. Now I'll make it clear that I'm not some kind of weirdo that as Yahtzee puts it "cursing the roundness of my eyes." I just have always liked things that East Asians like (for example their women among a million other things)and I get along with them far better then I do with white people. I didn't make this decision, it just happened and my parents don't like it. So anytime my family gets mad at me they start yelling about how I'm so Asian, and how it bothers them. This has gotten to the point where they get openly pissed when I go hang out with my only friend (who happens to be, you guessed it...Chinese). Last week my mom actually just screamed at the top of her lungs "why do you like that damn ch*nk so much!!"
So yeah, I guess my family is pretty racist haha.

 

[Wadders]

Aww hell, most of my family has racist moments. My Grandparents especially. Not because they hate non whites as such, it's just they're ignorant because thats how things were when they were young, and no one has ever told them any different.

For example, my uncle tells some pretty racist jokes. Sure they're funny, but it shouldn't really be allowed. (does it make me racist if I find them funny? :S)

Also, my Nan calls black/ Indian people darkies, because no-one's told her its not allowed any more. Same with my granddad, he calls Japanese people Japs, Germans Krauts, and black people Wogs. It's just the way they are, They're not maliciously racist, just a bit ignorant, but it's embarrassing nonetheless.

Edit: My family is from Manchester, but where I live now (Shropshire) is also pretty racist, but only in a casual kind of way. No one would go "paki-bashing" (as they called it in the 80's) or anything like that, they just distrust outsiders because it's such a tight-nit rural area. I still love it though

 

[Actual]

My grandma told my mum, after meeting my girlfriend for the first time; "She was surprisingly sweet, for a black girl."

My mum passed this on to me and we both had a good laugh about it. My grandma's not a bad person just learnt things a certain way and isn't smart/open minded enough to change. At least she didn't say anything insulting while the gelf was there.

 

[Bedewyr]

According to my sociology class racism is, and always has been ingrained in our culture.
Anyways, my family is kind of racist, but they don't think that they are. I'm a white guy, but in some weird turn of events I ended up being more East Asian then white. Now I'll make it clear that I'm not some kind of weirdo that as Yahtzee puts it "cursing the roundness of my eyes." I just have always liked things that East Asians like (for example their women among a million other things)and I get along with them far better then I do with white people. I didn't make this decision, it just happened and my parents don't like it. So anytime my family gets mad at me they start yelling about how I'm so Asian, and how it bothers them. This has gotten to the point where they get openly pissed when I go hang out with my only friend (who happens to be, you guessed it...Chinese). Last week my mom actually just screamed at the top of her lungs "why do you like that damn ch*nk so much!!"
So yeah, I guess my family is pretty racist haha.

You're not "more east asian than white." Genetics don't work that way. You're a white guy who just so happens to enjoy East Asian culture, cuisine and women (I'm just guessing those first two are one of the millions of things, unless you meant you like millions of women and each one is one thing)

That's kind of an odd statement to make. I mean, I enjoy Indian food, Chinese, Thai, Sushi and Italian food immensely and would eat them over a traditional Irish meal any day just because I don't get to normally. That doesn't make me more Indian or more Chinese than Irish. I'm still just an Irish dude who just happens to enjoy the foods, traditions and lands around the world. All that does is make me an open individual. A "man of the world" if you will.

And I doubt you get along better with "East Asians" than White people. That's another silly notion that you yourself are basing on race. You no doubt enjoy certain traits in friends and if a White person or Black person just so happens to share those traits I'm sure you'd get along just fine and dandy with them.

I have Moslem friends, White friends, Asian friends, Black friends, and you know what. None of it has to do with the colour of their skin or that I "get along better with X race than Y race." I get along with my friends because they share the same traits as I do. They're outgoing, intelligent, funny, silly people who know when and how to have fun and when and how to be serious. They are good at balancing those things and we share many of the same qualities, likes and dislikes.

If someone were to read your post in the wrong light, they might wholeheartedly agree with you that your family is racist, including you.

 

[Del-Toro]

I'm confused... Was your mother being racist? Or was it the clerk?

The clerk I guess, it's hard to tell unless you consider the context. Quite frankly I'm not sure the OP's mother had great grammar, her spawn sure as hell isn't great with the written word.

 

[A_Parked_Car]

You're not "more east asian than white." Genetics don't work that way. You're a white guy who just so happens to enjoy East Asian culture, cuisine and women (I'm just guessing those first two are one of the millions of things, unless you meant you like millions of women and each one is one thing)

That's kind of an odd statement to make. I mean, I enjoy Indian food, Chinese, Thai, Sushi and Italian food immensely and would eat them over a traditional Irish meal any day just because I don't get to normally. That doesn't make me more Indian or more Chinese than Irish. I'm still just an Irish dude who just happens to enjoy the foods, traditions and lands around the world. All that does is make me an open individual. A "man of the world" if you will.

And I doubt you get along better with "East Asians" than White people. That's another silly notion that you yourself are basing on race. You no doubt enjoy certain traits in friends and if a White person or Black person just so happens to share those traits I'm sure you'd get along just fine and dandy with them.

I have Moslem friends, White friends, Asian friends, Black friends, and you know what. None of it has to do with the colour of their skin or that I "get along better with X race than Y race." I get along with my friends because they share the same traits as I do. They're outgoing, intelligent, funny, silly people who know when and how to have fun and when and how to be serious. They are good at balancing those things and we share many of the same qualities, likes and dislikes.

If someone were to read your post in the wrong light, they might wholeheartedly agree with you that your family is racist, including you.

lol, I'm not racist...and ethnicity isn't genetic, it's sociological. Race is the physical features your born with, ethnicity is how you think. That would be why a Chinese person that is adopted by a white family ends up having that "white" kind of mind.
I was pretty much raised by Chinese people, not my white family. Therefore I ended up being more East Asian then North American. I don't prefer one over the other, I just don't get along with white people very well. I don't dislike my own race obviously XD, that would be retarded, I just don't have anything in common with them. Hence why my only friend is Chinese, and my family has such a large problem with me. I apologize if I confused you in anyway, I didn't mean anything along the lines of judging on skin colour. I used the word race incorrectly, that is all.