Stephani(e S Says): August 2008

Forwards. Normally, I just skim and delete them. There are just too many of them and I know that I will probably be annoyed if I read them. Some of them are even okay until I get to the end and my fate is threatened if I don't spread the message. In general, I am pretty non-confrontational but there have two instances in which I just could not keep my mouth shut. Today was one of those days.

This morning, I received a forward from a family member. We don't know each other well. In fact, if you know me at all, you know that I would find this kind of thing really offensive. Here is the email that caused me to be all kinds of fired up before 830 this morning.

Michael Richards Court Speech

Makes one stop and think after reading this :
Michael Richards is better known as Kramer from tv's Seinfeld series.
This was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act.
He makes some very interesting points. He said :

I'm proud To Be White
Someone finally said it.
How many are actually paying attention to this ?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman' ... and that's OK.

But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head,
Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner , Gook, or Chink .
You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live ?
You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month , we'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance'
OUR lives we'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that ?

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant,
but any color can be in the Miss America pageant. If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we 'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US . Yet if there were 'White colleges' THAT would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights,
you would call us racists. You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.

But , when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or
beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a
threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud.
But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists ?

There is nothing improper about this e-ma il.

Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on

Um, yeah. Before I launched into the many reasons why this is just STUPID, I wondered, "are people actually called 'cracker'?" I wrote this as a reply to all and received a couple of responses saying, yes.. it totally does. Well, does this HONESTLY bother people? Is life so rough for white people in America? Give me a freaking break. As the responses came back stating that "yes, people call me cracker", I became even angrier.

I sent another "reply to all":

Sure. I agree that there are people from all walks of life who are hateful and racist... but I certainly don't think that excuses white people from calling others [But when I call you,] Nigger, Kike, Towel head,
Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner , Gook, or Chink .
[You call me a racist.]

Two wrongs never make a right... Be proud of your heritage, but not at the expense of others. Besides, "white" isn't a race and every nationality has been ostracized by another at some point in their history. It's 2008... we should focus on coexisting, already.

Now, Michael Richards didn't even SAY all of this garbage! So, to whoever decided to just spew this nonsense all over the internet and chastise those who aren't "proud" enough to be hateful and ignorant, I have a few things to say.

You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.

Paranoid much? Yes, maybe there are those who are laughing at how white you are. The ability to laugh at yourself is a pretty key component to being happy in life. If you're truly worried that people are sneering at you on the street, well, I'm sorry you're stuck in that adolescent mind-set.

You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman' ... and that's OK.

Do ALL people of color refer to you this way? Seriously. That's ridiculous. If there is proof out there that every non-white person refers to YOU as "white boy" then by all means, cough it up. No, it's not okay if anyone calls YOU names... Who says it's okay? Insert thumb in mouth and suck. Everyone has their feelings hurt but this does NOT justify your own hateful language.

But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head,
Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner , Gook, or Chink .
You call me a racist.

Yes. That DOES make you a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live ?

A more important question? Why are there ghettos? Click here to gain some perspective.

You have the United Negro College Fund. So do you, jackass:

From http://www.uncf.org/aboutus/faqs.asp:
Q: Does UNCF only support African American education?
A:UNCF was founded to address inequities in the educational opportunities afforded to African Americans. UNCF believes in higher education opportunities for all Americans. UNCF-member schools do not discriminate and UNCF-administered scholarships are open to all.

You have Martin Luther King Day. At my place of employment, white people are allowed to take this holiday off too. I'd talk to your Human Resources Manager if only blacks are allowed to celebrate MLK Day.

You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.

There is also Asian-Pacific month and Women's history month and the list goes on. What do all of these groups have in common? They had to overcome adversity in order to be treated like people. If "you" are going to categorize all white Americans as one group, I would like to know when in American history, your white ancestors were sold in to slavery or sent to gas chambers to die. (As you hit the forward button, do you even KNOW what Yom Hashoah is?)

You have the NAACP.

The mission statement of the NAACP: The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.

So I take this to mean that the members of the NAACP are not advocates of calling you honky. They're on your side!

You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.

Let's take a look at network television, shall we?
Samantha Who, Boston Legal, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Gossip Girl, Chuck, Heroes (somewhat more diverse, though still predominantly white), Private Practice, Old Christine, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, 30 Rock. Sure, there are a couple of minority characters on these shows, but overall, I'd say that YOU have a losing argument if you have a problem with an all black network when three networks combine to create mostly white television.

In the interest of going to bed sometime tonight, I'm going to pass the rebuttal for those poor beauty queens who so desperately want to be a part of their "own" beauty pageant, though, there's PLENTY I can say about the standards of beauty and being judged for the way one looks, and I am going to skip to,

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.
But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or
beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a
threat to society, you call him a racist.

When YOU say "you rob us... etc." YOU are being racist. YOU are assuming that THEY are a whole. Do you not know that everyone is individual? Maybe you should read a little more about black (and Asian, and Women's, and Latin American) history and you will see that robbery and crime are not the only things that "they" have contributed to our society.

WHY WHY WHY are you forwarding this nonsense? WHY are you trying to justify your own hateful feelings? It doesn't make any sense at all.

I doubt that writing this has changed any minds, but I just really cannot wrap my brain around an intolerant world in 2008. There are two things I hate in this world... Intolerance and stupid-ass people. :-)

I am very excited to move into our new home this weekend but I have been worried about how the transition is going to be for Molly Dog. For the last two years, she has had constant company. Matt's Grandmother and the caretaker Delores did not really play with Molly, but they kept each other company, at least. During the last three months, as Matt and I have been looking for a place, Molly has had the company of my in-laws and her "cousin" Lucy,(my sister-in-law's sweet beagle/lab mix.)

I am trying to decide between two to three local doggie daycamps to take Molly, maybe twice per week. Matt will freak when I bring this up with him, but I think I can convince him that this is a great idea. For the same price that a dog-walker charges for a 20 minute walk, she can go to camp ALL DAY and play with a bunch of other dogs. We'll see how this conversation goes over...

I am going to be a complete wreck when I have kids because I feel sooooo guilty about leaving Molly, my DOG, home all day. I know that some people think I'm a little nutty, but really, she deserves companionship and fun. The work day is just so blasted long. I work because I have to, (duh, that's why most people work,) but it's probably going to kill me to have to leave HUMAN babies at home.

If Matt would just triple his salary and let me stay at home with the dog... oh the things I like to think I'd be doing. A schedule would be necessary, lest I fall back into the oblivion of my typical summer vacation mode from school days... endless hours of television and naps. (To be fair, that regimen didn't really start until about 9th grade. Before that, there were plenty of bike rides and outdoorsy things.) Instead, I would wake up at 8ish each day and do whatever housecleaning needs to be done before going for a run with the dog. By noon, I would be showered and ready to face the day. There would be an agenda on most days of the week... volunteering, maybe a part time job at a fun place with a worthwhile discount - Crate and Barrel, Nordstrom, Sephora? A book store, a record store? I'm sure kids will come along eventually and I'd be the mom that helps out in class, baking cupcakes for birthday parties, (or is that not allowed with all of the obese kiddies nowadays?) and reading stories.

Oh well. As much as I would like to devise a plan to change the 40 hour work week into a 24 hour work week, I have to go to bed - so I can go to work.