(This is for my (black) friend Courtney "C.J." Jones, who laughs at black jokes not because they're funny, but because white people have actually taken the effort to hate a race enough to waste their time making up crude jokes. The same C.J. that I had lunch with at Convergy's the entire time I worked there and would ask "lame white-guy" questions to. And the very same C.J. that, after work, put his gold grille back in his mouth and went home to talk about the "crackers at work" then told us about the "fellas at home.")
(And the same C.J. that car-jacked my friend Bill with a water pistol after Bill said we were going to "Start Punk'd-ing each other." C.J. - "You been Punk'd motha f--ka!!")
I can't call myself a racist, by any definition of the word.
I can, however, say that we ALL have our prejudices.
Though today, an African-American male called me, "boy."
For those of you who are missing it, I'll try to explain.
Blacks and whites...
Wait, scratch that.
Caucasians and African-Americans (read: whites and blacks) have always had this little rivalry.
~Note: This does not apply to every black or white person, just a small group that make the rest of us look bad.~
When an African-American person pulls the slavery card and is demanding reparations for his people whom the white man made into slaves, here's a thought:
1. When the white man pulled up to Africa and saw the native peoples we thought, "I wonder if they're friendly." And we asked them, "Do you have any slaves?"
Our reply was a quick and hasty one when the native (black) people ran into the woods and began capturing opposing tribesmen (and women) and rushing them to us.
(This does not excuse white people from buying slaves, or the poor treatment, or the duration of said treatment, it only states we bought black people FROM black people.)
2. I did not personally own a slave. No living member of my family owned a slave. I'm willing to bet you can't find not one single solitary living person that ever even f'ing SEEN a slave! I didn't even grow up with a maid, or butler. We had a paperboy that we had to share with all the neighbors, and he was white.
While I agree, the treatment of said slaves was extremely very poor, and THEY (or the next of kin) did deserve reparations for all of the mistreatment, I think that day is done.
I don't hear about reparations for the Jews, and they don't ask.
Yet every once in a while, someone will tell me the white man is keeping them down.
The white man is keeping them locked up for "some bullshit."
They only shot four (4) people in the head on a drug deal gone bad, but it's MY fault they got sent to jail.
Now we're starting to get to the point.
I can be called everything under the sun, and I'm not supposed to care.
None of it is derogatory.
But a black man can call another black man "nigga" or "boy" and it's ok.
If I call anyone but my son, "boy" it's a class action lawsuit.
Yet today, an African-American male called me "boy."
I replied "Congratulations, you've just set "your people" back at least 1oo years."
Martin Luther King was looking for reparations for slavery, he was just trying to be recognized as an equal.
Civil rights.
And ladies and gentleman if you want to talk about slavery, look closely at MLK's name tag.
It says DOCTOR (Dr.) before it says Martin Luther King.
I, personally, can get credit for enslaving all of Africa, and imprisoning every gang banger behind bars, but it's nary the man who takes the time to think Dr. King got himself educated, President Obama is an educated man.
While you were "bangin" for some dope, or some "hos" or a little beer, some people are getting an education.
Some of "your people" are becoming CEO's of companies, movie stars, musicians, VERY wealthy businessmen, athletes, doctors, president.
I work side by side with a black man every day.
He does the exact same job I do, and gets paid the exact same amount.
And while the racist white trash might call him "the N word" (A variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning "black") the black people he encounters call him much worse and ridicule him for getting an education and making something of himself.
It's really ridiculous.
Back to the point.
A black man called me boy.
A name/phrase that is degrading and derogatory to black people, and he used it against me, like I've ever said it in my life.
The only time I call someone boy is in addressing them in sentence. (i.e. Boy, I could really use a drink after the day I've had.)
I have never, in the history of inhaling life giving air into my very lungs said to anyone (EVER) "Get out that mop and get to cleaning, BOY."
And I really don't appreciate ANY-F'ING-BODY treating me like I was the Grand F'ing Pooba of the entire Rebel F'ing Army.
I sincerely apologize to each and every African-American person because those of you who are bettering yourself (as all of human-kind should be doing) will almost always be drug down by the people who don't care.
(Then again, whites will always be drug down by NASCAR and "wife-beater" shirts.)
(And serial killers.)
(And domestic abuse.)
(And the French.)
Just kidding France!
On the plus side... there's always THIS GUY!
Don't let 'em getcha... down.
V.V.
(And the same C.J. that car-jacked my friend Bill with a water pistol after Bill said we were going to "Start Punk'd-ing each other." C.J. - "You been Punk'd motha f--ka!!")
I can't call myself a racist, by any definition of the word.
I can, however, say that we ALL have our prejudices.
Though today, an African-American male called me, "boy."
For those of you who are missing it, I'll try to explain.
Blacks and whites...
Wait, scratch that.
Caucasians and African-Americans (read: whites and blacks) have always had this little rivalry.
~Note: This does not apply to every black or white person, just a small group that make the rest of us look bad.~
When an African-American person pulls the slavery card and is demanding reparations for his people whom the white man made into slaves, here's a thought:
1. When the white man pulled up to Africa and saw the native peoples we thought, "I wonder if they're friendly." And we asked them, "Do you have any slaves?"
Our reply was a quick and hasty one when the native (black) people ran into the woods and began capturing opposing tribesmen (and women) and rushing them to us.
(This does not excuse white people from buying slaves, or the poor treatment, or the duration of said treatment, it only states we bought black people FROM black people.)
2. I did not personally own a slave. No living member of my family owned a slave. I'm willing to bet you can't find not one single solitary living person that ever even f'ing SEEN a slave! I didn't even grow up with a maid, or butler. We had a paperboy that we had to share with all the neighbors, and he was white.
While I agree, the treatment of said slaves was extremely very poor, and THEY (or the next of kin) did deserve reparations for all of the mistreatment, I think that day is done.
I don't hear about reparations for the Jews, and they don't ask.
Yet every once in a while, someone will tell me the white man is keeping them down.
The white man is keeping them locked up for "some bullshit."
They only shot four (4) people in the head on a drug deal gone bad, but it's MY fault they got sent to jail.
Now we're starting to get to the point.
I can be called everything under the sun, and I'm not supposed to care.
None of it is derogatory.
But a black man can call another black man "nigga" or "boy" and it's ok.
If I call anyone but my son, "boy" it's a class action lawsuit.
Yet today, an African-American male called me "boy."
I replied "Congratulations, you've just set "your people" back at least 1oo years."
Martin Luther King was looking for reparations for slavery, he was just trying to be recognized as an equal.
Civil rights.
And ladies and gentleman if you want to talk about slavery, look closely at MLK's name tag.
It says DOCTOR (Dr.) before it says Martin Luther King.
I, personally, can get credit for enslaving all of Africa, and imprisoning every gang banger behind bars, but it's nary the man who takes the time to think Dr. King got himself educated, President Obama is an educated man.
While you were "bangin" for some dope, or some "hos" or a little beer, some people are getting an education.
Some of "your people" are becoming CEO's of companies, movie stars, musicians, VERY wealthy businessmen, athletes, doctors, president.
I work side by side with a black man every day.
He does the exact same job I do, and gets paid the exact same amount.
And while the racist white trash might call him "the N word" (A variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning "black") the black people he encounters call him much worse and ridicule him for getting an education and making something of himself.
It's really ridiculous.
Back to the point.
A black man called me boy.
A name/phrase that is degrading and derogatory to black people, and he used it against me, like I've ever said it in my life.
The only time I call someone boy is in addressing them in sentence. (i.e. Boy, I could really use a drink after the day I've had.)
I have never, in the history of inhaling life giving air into my very lungs said to anyone (EVER) "Get out that mop and get to cleaning, BOY."
And I really don't appreciate ANY-F'ING-BODY treating me like I was the Grand F'ing Pooba of the entire Rebel F'ing Army.
I sincerely apologize to each and every African-American person because those of you who are bettering yourself (as all of human-kind should be doing) will almost always be drug down by the people who don't care.
(Then again, whites will always be drug down by NASCAR and "wife-beater" shirts.)
(And serial killers.)
(And domestic abuse.)
(And the French.)
Just kidding France!
On the plus side... there's always THIS GUY!
Don't let 'em getcha... down.
V.V.
