yesterday i had a nice walk in the park with my girlfriend in our new neighborhood and it was really nice out and there were great views of the schuylkill river and the skyline and a nice gazebo and lots of cute dogs and i was feeling good about philly.

then we were playing with this white guy's cute dog when he starts talking on the cell phone loudly about how he's a landlord and how tenants x are "good tenants, good germans" tenants y are "dominican republic people [he didn't say dominicans!] but they're good tenants" and then about how tenant z ("muhammad") is "funny, you know, because he knew i was coming by to check on the place and he had it all messed up. but you know why, it's because he's a goddamn n____"

i was totally shocked -- as far as i can remember, i've only heard this word (with the ER ending, not the A ending -- two different words as far as i can tell), said in full malice, by a white person, at or about a black person, once before, and that was in la on the hollywood strip. this was really disturbing to hear in my hometown and to hear this guy say it like he didn't think we'd be offended, like the black people playing with their kids 25 ft. away don't exist, like i don't know what.

i wanted to just say "Fuck you." and walk off, but i looked at my girlfriend first to get a sense of how she was reading the situation and i got no sense of anything -- she just seemed to carry about her business. 10 seconds later we walk away and i hold the middle finger out behind me for him to see but i doubt he saw it.

then i felt like crap. my girlfriend was like "it was horrible, it shocked me too but there's nothing you can really do or say, he's on the phone and you're playing with his dog etc." but i really wish i'd just said to him (fuck whoever he's on the phone with) as soon as i heard it "fuck you, you piece of shit. i hope you lose all your property, you don't deserve anything." or at the very least "fuck you." because i don't want to tolerate that kind of shit in my town without any kind of statement. it's popped in my head repeatedly since and my gf says it's also been bugging her.

very frustrating.

trilonaut wrote:yesterday i had a nice walk in the park with my girlfriend in our new neighborhood and it was really nice out and there were great views of the schuylkill river and the skyline and a nice gazebo and lots of cute dogs and i was feeling good about philly.

then we were playing with this white guy's cute dog when he starts talking on the cell phone loudly about how he's a landlord and how tenants x are "good tenants, good germans" tenants y are "dominican republic people [he didn't say dominicans!] but they're good tenants" and then about how tenant z ("muhammad") is "funny, you know, because he knew i was coming by to check on the place and he had it all messed up. but you know why, it's because he's a goddamn n____"

i was totally shocked -- as far as i can remember, i've only heard this word (with the ER ending, not the A ending -- two different words as far as i can tell), said in full malice, by a white person, at or about a black person, once before, and that was in la on the hollywood strip. this was really disturbing to hear in my hometown and to hear this guy say it like he didn't think we'd be offended, like the black people playing with their kids 25 ft. away don't exist, like i don't know what.

i wanted to just say "Fuck you." and walk off, but i looked at my girlfriend first to get a sense of how she was reading the situation and i got no sense of anything -- she just seemed to carry about her business. 10 seconds later we walk away and i hold the middle finger out behind me for him to see but i doubt he saw it.

then i felt like crap. my girlfriend was like "it was horrible, it shocked me too but there's nothing you can really do or say, he's on the phone and you're playing with his dog etc." but i really wish i'd just said to him (fuck whoever he's on the phone with) as soon as i heard it "fuck you, you piece of shit. i hope you lose all your property, you don't deserve anything." or at the very least "fuck you." because i don't want to tolerate that kind of shit in my town without any kind of statement. it's popped in my head repeatedly since and my gf says it's also been bugging her.

very frustrating.

Shoulda punted the guy's dog into the river, Anchorman style! "That's how I roll."

I just had a double-racism day this past weekend.

I went up to a pretty rural town a little west of Rockford, IL, to pick up an amp that I was being sold for cheap... it's a gated community, which surprised me, being in farmland and all. Anyway, we get there, and near the access gate, I see a sign about some upcoming Italian fest they're having... and then when we get in there, driving around, I saw a house flying the German flag... and I kinda had a suspicion as to the nature of the gated-ness. Long story short, the guy I got the amp from told me the story about how he had to threaten to shoot a guy to get the amp; after he won it in a real-world auction, a "black guy" was trying to steal it while it was sitting there. After the auction-house people came and clarified that the white guy did indeed win the auction (I'm wondering if the black guy's bid was conveniently ignored) the black guy says something like "well screw you, I'm taking it anyway". And the white guy tells him "you might be stronger than me, but I guarantee I can put a bullet somewhere in your back before you have it in the trunk of your car" and the black guy apologizes and leaves.

I kinda felt like he was waiting for me to say something bad about black people so he could really launch into it.

Then later that same day, back in the city, I go to a convenience store to pick up some berrs for the practice space. The woman behind the counter, in her almost-nonexistent English, tells me about how just a couple days ago someone came in and robbed her, put a gun to her head. Then she says "maybe Mexican, maybe Puerto Rican." twice. She's old, and I know that a lot of old people, especially immigrants, have a different way about them... but still, the story about being robbed and having a gun to her head was enough. She didn't need to clarify, and then *double* clarify that it was a hispanic guy. But her tone was clear, and so was her message.

The second event was much more tame than the first, and if it were not for the first, I may not even have thought anything of the second. But still, it just felt like it was "encounter with racism" day or something.

It's weird trying to think about it, how many older people are totally racist, how many people in rural neighborhoods are totally racist, how many people in suburbs are totally racist. The single most striking thing about the *vibe* I got the first time I was in NY was how it felt really, really un-racist. Like there had been so many people of so many different ethnicities interacting with each other so much for so long, that it was kinda old. Versus places like Chicago, or DC, where there are times where I've felt such a strong vibe of racism.

Kinda crazy, how many people think like that. If I wasn't a white kid, I'm sure I'd be a lot more attuned to it.

scott wrote:It's weird trying to think about it, how many older people are totally racist, how many people in rural neighborhoods are totally racist, how many people in suburbs are totally racist. The single most striking thing about the *vibe* I got the first time I was in NY was how it felt really, really un-racist. Like there had been so many people of so many different ethnicities interacting with each other so much for so long, that it was kinda old. Versus places like Chicago, or DC, where there are times where I've felt such a strong vibe of racism.

Kinda crazy, how many people think like that. If I wasn't a white kid, I'm sure I'd be a lot more attuned to it.

sadly, i think racism is everywhere, urban, suburban, rural, northern, southern, east or west. it manifests differently and there may be different levels or forms, but it's all over. nyc is no exception (louima? diallo?) even if it's eclecticism and density may have helped some people lose some of it.

it's terrible that in America people think they can just say whatever they want. you should've called the police on him for using that word (n****R). at least you stood up for your principles by discreetly giving him the middle finger behind your back (which he could conceivably have seen if he was focused on you while you walked away). I know I'm new here and you're just gonna call me a troll but seriously dude, if it bothers you THAT much to hear someone say "nigger" then you should've actually gotten in his face over it and not wimpishly resorted to your childish little hand-gesture-rebellion-which-he-may-or-may-not-have-seen.

weak.

very weak.

way to show your girl that you won't tolerate racism.

real weak dude.

seriously.

You show an amazing amount of restraint. I personally wouldn't have got out of that situation without some kind of altercation.

You are the stronger person.

Alcoholophile wrote:way to show your girl that you won't tolerate racism.

real weak dude.

Welcome and all...

Why does he have to "show" his girlfriend that he won't tolerate it? If she is his girlfriend she clearly knows him, this includes his stance on racism, what political beliefs he subscribes to and what his favorite fucking foods are.

I don't think that not wanting to cause a scene or make trouble is "weak."

he didn't show "an amazing amount of restraint" ubercat, he did what 99% of the pussified populace does when confronted with shit they don't like: he let it go, bottled it up, and vented once there was zero danger to himself.
pussified wussyboy.
don't get all huffy NOW, after the fact.
if someone violates or assaults your moral stance on an issue you feel strongly about: ACT!
i bet if when he said "nigger" you PUNCHED him right in his nose he'd think twice about saying it next time...
but instead you kept quiet and ranted about it anonymously online.

weak.

trilonaut wrote:i was feeling good about philly...

despite what everyone else thinks, that's the only thing you did wrong.

Yah,and he used the F*** word twice on this thread!
Is it really necessary to use profanity like this,Trilonaut?