When people are pantywaists about race…
October 26th, 2006
Sometimes I just don’t understand why people are such pantywaists about race and culture. I used to be a really militant pantywaist myself.
This brings me to a conversation on Yelp SF about “WP who love PINOYS” that my “white chick” office buddy Charlene came up with. (“WP” meaning “white people,” not WordPress, by the way. *cough*) While I could go into one of my normal brown-fist-raised tirades, I just sort of step back. Not that I’m now indifferent to the issue, but there comes a time where you sort of roll it off your back while you gauge the level of the situation’s ignorance. And if so, I say, respond with an equally appropriate insult. Fair?
I’m just prejudiced against the stupid and ignorant in people, not the snarky — because that stuff is kinda fun and funny because there is truth involved. Otherwise, why would it be so funny in the first place? Ah yes, it’s because “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”
Here’s a Bronx tale for you, while I’m at it. That kept my head wagging back and forth exclaiming “Oof!” for a while.
Entry Filed under: Filipinos, Identity, Philippine Culture, Race, Racism
9 Comments Add your own
1. Jesse! | October 26th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
heh. I totally thought wordpress too… isn’t it popular in the PI’s?
Well to be sure that whole convo on Yelp seems more like a beef between Heidi and Oozing (eew) and then it just degenerated into snark… so it’s really hard for me to form an opinion about this as being “racist” (though, for my opinion on Yelp in general, see here)… though I would certainly say the word “figga” is totally 100% racist… just think of where it derives from. And don’t give me the “empowered voice” argument… a nasty word is a nasty word.
Also, it’s spelled “whitie”.
2. umetaro | October 26th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
actually, it’s “whitey.”
http://m-w.com/dictionary/whitey
3. Jesse! | October 27th, 2006 at 10:48 am
only suckers trust MW…
4. umetaro | October 30th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
I’ve got a lot of free time.
whitey. Bartleby.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. http://www.bartleby.com/61/73/W0137300.html (accessed: October 30, 2006).
whitey. Dictionary.com. WordNet® 2.0, Princeton University. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/whitey (accessed: October 30, 2006).
whitey. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1), Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/whitey (accessed: October 30, 2006).
5. Andy Smith | November 4th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
i miss the glenda
6. Dr. Emile Shoffhausen | November 8th, 2006 at 9:52 am
As a smart person, I agree. As a Black person I. . . disagree? I was kickin’ it with this dude once about cars and I bought up my love of a fine German engineered automobile. He said, I’m jewish and i don’t support anything German. I had never thought about that way, but I told him, you gotta let some things go. ‘Cause if I used his logic, as a black person, it just wouldn’t work. I’d be buck naked in the dessert someplace.
7. Kyle Virina | November 30th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Hey Doc – That’s one of the most refreshing, highly insightful perspectives I have bumped into re: “race” for a long, long time. Simple, elegant yet full-bodied.
Thank you…
8. Eyeballs | December 5th, 2006 at 11:52 am
simple… elegant… full bodied…
hmm
sounds like a beer commercial. maybe a german beer.
in any case, racism is 99% interpretation. Who is saying what in front of what group of people, what are the cultural and social backgrounds and upbrining’s and language/nationality of those people, etc… It all defines wether or not a person will interpret what another person says as being racist, funny, social commentary, or many other classifications.
its a rough mix no matter what you do
9. Jackie Danicki » He&hellip | February 15th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
[...] comment on an oldish post on Glenda’s blog about race: As a smart person, I agree. As a Black person I. . . disagree? I was kickin’ it with this dude [...]
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