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What would resolve the issue for her had she been there?
Well, I know my wife sure would be insulted.
What would resolve the issue for her had she been there?
Is there some organized boycott going on? Or is it only the two random black people they interviewed in the article?
Speak for yourself.
My race is frequently, in fact almost universally, singled out for something good at the detriment of other races and I mind it very much. To the point that I've dedicated a good deal of my time and energy to educating myself, calling attention to, and fighting to end such inequities.
Not only should people get their panties in a knot when their own race is, as you put it, on the receiving end of an unfortunate prank, but members of other races should get their panties in a knot about it, too. This kind of isn't okay. The fact that it still happens in 2010, even in jest, saddens me. The fact that it would be so quickly dismissed as a prank, and further that such pranks would be dismissed as an inevitable and unavoidable part of the human experience, flat out depresses me. And threatens my optimism that we'll ever move beyond this .
I've been more than clear about my hatred of Wal-Mart as a corporation in the past, but as it's highly unlikely this was a company endorsed announcement, I think it's a waste of energy to blame them as a whole. That being said, I think that everyone in the store at the time of that announcement -- black, white, brown, purple, or otherwise -- is well within their rights to feel/have felt uncomfortable and/or offended.
Good thing they didn't ask for all the stupid people to leave.
Well I got an SUV........hmmmm
Damn I hate the outlets at that time and Northstar at any time!
And what race would that be?My race is frequently, in fact almost universally, singled out for something good at the detriment of other races and I mind it very much.
If you consider yourself white, don't mind me calling you conditioned by society.
Geez. Sticks and stones, people. The e-tough guy-ness that goes on here is way more petty than what this idiot did.
I don't, personally, identify as "white," since the parameters/definition of whiteness have changed so much throughout our country's history as to make the term itself completely arbitrary. And because both my Irish and Sicilian heritage would have, at different times within that history, kept me from being considered white no matter the color of my skin.
That being said, I would today be considered white by others and have definitely benefited from white privilege as a result. I'm curious to know how I have been conditioned by society.
I absolutely agree "white" is the most "subjective" race. Probably because white people are actually mixtures of races rather than their own distinct "race" (IMO - trying to be PC).
That being said, I would today be considered white by others and have definitely benefited from white privilege as a result.Don't you find it kind of odd feeling guilty or privileged being a normal white person in this day and age, especially when you are preaching about moving past such ideals?I'm curious to know how I have been conditioned by society.
Can you be more specific about which "white" privileges you enjoy that other races cannot?
rich, ain't it?
Wow. I agree with you in that it is dangerous to become complacent to prejudice because that is how it becomes acceptable.
And I love a good cause as much as anyone. My family are crusaders in nature- always standing up for the underdog.
But this incident was to me not a huge one in the grand scheme of things. It is not as if any vulgarities were used. No one was hurt- other than their feelings.
To be severe with Walmart, in regards to this particular incident, to me seems an overreaction- especially as Walmart has been so apologetic.
The reason people do this is because it's a lot more fun to mess with people who get all pissed and emotion than it is to mess with people who just ignore you. People crave attention and getting pissed cons utes attention.
It was a dumb prank that probably made a lot of people in the store feel uncomfortable when they shouldn't have had to. But I don't know that a national conversation around the incident is really the answer for preventing this kind of thing.
I think the best course of action is to collectively roll our eyes and move on.
She/we would walked out. It was a stupid thing to do but that doesn't mean one shouldn't feel offended by it.
It also cons utes anger and frustration. Getting pissed can lead to positive results in some cases.
Your wife getting pissed is a healthy and righteous reaction.. demanding an apology is also good idea. But had she tried to boycott and make it a national dialogue screams of bull .
Cmon, you're black, I get it. But don't try to act like the Anti Defamation league. Have some dignity. Demand respect only, don't demand money or some kind of reparation. Walmart didn't do this, nor does it endorse this behaviour.
Who said I felt guilty about it? I find the whole "white guilt" thing to be completely unproductive in creating any kind of social change. I do think it is important to recognize the way power/privilege/oppression works within our society and to recognize the ways in which we all are hurt and helped by that system based on various aspects of our iden y and at different times in our lives, but guilt does nothing. I don't feel guilty for receiving privilege based on my race, nor do I expect someone who is male and/or heterosexual to feel guilty for receiving privilege that I don't.
Guilt is not a necessary component in recognizing a need for change.
Privilege in general can mean any number of things, but is as often as not defined by the you just don't have to worry about: things that are granted you automatically. In terms of race, that can range from big things -- I live fairly assured of never being turned away from an apartment or a job based on my race, for example -- to little things, like knowing that I can turn on the TV and see countless other people who look like me or that I can shop in any store without half the staff following/watching me.
If you're genuinely interested in what I'm talking about, rather than just looking to argue, Peggy McIntosh's 1988 article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," is generally seen as the defining text on the subject and is a pretty interesting read. That link above is a PDF.
Of course Walmart didn't do it or endorses the behavior but it sure doesn't help their reputation. Businesses can and do get their reputations tarnished by their employees.
Whatever. If we're gonna have sympathy amongst the races, we need to end distinctions positive or negative. Also we must eliminate double standards. Just because you've been enslaved, doesn't mean its acceptable for you to hurl slurs at a "priveleged" group. Don't piss and moan when you don't have the colorblind society.
"It's a black think, you wouldn't understand" "Only Mexicans..etc"- that bull needs to stop if we want there to be an egalitarian society.
And while white progressive POS's bask in white guilt and condone seperatist behaviour in minority groups while expecting their own to rise above and swallow this PC garbage, this whole race thing isn't gonna be solved.
Because you know what. I don't give a if we all hold hands, sing the same song, and act like there is no difference.
I don't want equal results. I want a fair chance at life. And yes, discrimination and race still does affect alot of us from conquering some task we wish to aspire to. But we should confront those issues when they matter. This walmart thing is a scratch from a pebble on an otherwise totaled car we call "race relations".
Stop being primadonas, limpwristed fruits, and oppurtunistic.
All i want is respect. In your mind, i don't give a if you think i'm a dirty lazy . All i want is to make my money, and get some respect. your parties, your racial awareness.
I just want to bbq, listened to my cultural music, and for you to fack off.
it sure doesn't help their reputation if your a moron and can't seperate the difference from a company condoning and an individual comminting said act.
If a stranger walked up to your car and wrote " s! go to !" and it wasn't you, do you have to apologize to every asian and send them a fruitbasket?
No, that's ridiculous.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T!! sockittome, sockittome, sockittome
totally.
We can agree on that.
Of course one can separate the difference but that doesn't mean the company is not affected by their employee's actions. It happens all the time.
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