White Men Can’t Jump
Today while waiting in line at a Mexican Restaurant in Sacramento I walked into a conversation that was taking place between a black man behind the counter of the restaurant and a Hispanic customer in line in front of me. They were talking about some sports subject when the Hispanic gentleman turns to me and says ‘we’re talking about white guys’ (full disclosure…I am a white guy). The black guy behind the counter then goes on to describe how the slap-shot in hockey was invented by a African-Americans escaping slavery in the US through the underground railroad and taking up hockey when the reached Canada. He heard this tidbit of information on ESPN. The Hispanic guy was impressed by this and inquired….’Damn! What sport aren’t you guys good at?’, to which the black guy responded after a short pause…’I can’t think of anything…we are even trying to take over NASCAR’. The two gentlemen laughed and casually looked at me, seemingly to see if I was interested in joining the conversation.
Hell no, I wasn’t joining that conversation. What possible good could come from it?
If I turned to a black guy in line and exclaimed, ‘we’re talking about black guys’ or turned to the Hispanic guy and spouted off ‘we’re talking about Hispanic guys’ I would run the high risk of being socially ostracized…at a minimum!
This double standard stinks! I look like a whiny cry-baby if I complain about white stereotypes in society. As a married white guy (MWG) I am the butt of practically every joke. Don’t even get me started on the way MWG’s are portrayed on commercials, sitcoms, and Oprah! It would be cool if everyone else was open to the same criticism…but alas, in double-standard land white men can’t jump….but never say black men can’t swim.
Which comment is the racist comment? The answer is both or neither…if you think one comment is racist and the other isn’t then you have an inconsistency in your logic that should be examined through serious introspection. You have a double standard that makes you a hypocrite. Deal with it.
I should have jumped in that conversation today and said something about the white man’s ability to excel in business or the Jewish peoples strangle hold on the entertainment industry. I wonder how they would have reacted? Too bad I have enough class to just keep my mouth shut and move-on. I hate hypersensitivity to racial observations of any kind in this country…but I hate the double standards about which groups we can disrespect even more. Either everyone is fair game…or no one is, it’s as simple as that in my mind.
The UN is a Joke To Me…(Post Also Known As ‘Idiotic Americans Just Don’t Understand the Virtue of the UN’)
Krupo over at A Counting School recently wrote about the UN…
It had, and continues to have, the potential to be a great force for good. Unfortunately it’s been undermined repeatedly … where the organization has failed completely in its mission.
And it happens to serve as a good example of the cycle of cynicism: initially you’re pleased to know the UN exists, and it’ll make the world a better place. Then you learn that it’s populated by representatives from all countries, including those that don’t necessarily care about making the world a better place. You start sliding towards despair.
I have had distaste for the UN for quite some years now. As website EYE on the UN points out, “
At the foundation of the UN in 1945, democracy dominated the character of the majority of member states, despite pockets of instability. Nevertheless, democracy was not made a pre-condition for membership in the UN. Sixty years later, the majority of UN members are not full-fledged democracies. The consequences for UN operations and outcomes are profound.
It is estimated the only 88 of the 191 member states are functioning democracies. If dictatorships dominate the UN how can the organization be considered a democratic body? A body of democratic nations would be a much more respectable and authoritative body on issues like human rights, economic policy, and political arbitration. When the UN commission on Human Rights is chaired by Libya the jokes write themselves. The UN is a joke and will remain so until the democracies in the organization are the only ones with a vote in the Security Council and the dictatorships are second class members.