Prejudices, stereotypes, and dreams – a far-too-serious MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Today in the US is the federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It has gotten me thinking about a particular line from his famous “I have a dream” speech: that people be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Since this isn’t a scholarly piece, I didn’t look it up so the line may not be exact…

We all have preconceived notions about certain things based upon when and where we grew up, our experiences, what we were taught, and just about anything else in our lives. And I expect all of us have experienced prejudice of some sort because of our sex, our size, our accent, our clothing, our color, or a bajillion other things. I’ve dealt with being a female in a predominantly male world, both in the Navy and as an engineer. As recently as this weekend, it’s been laid before me that as a woman, all I can possibly care about is the color of the item I’m looking to buy rather than the quality, the characteristics, the performance, the durability, and on and on. And as I’m getting older (shaddup, swampy) I notice that many of the elderly are treated like they’re senile, when perhaps the only issue is that they don’t hear as well as they used to.

Anyway, on this MLK Day, I have a dream that people will think before they assume. Or that they’ll assume the best rather than the worst. The whole world should be like the MMP, where if you’re here, you’re one of us. And we accept you as you are, as long as you’re not a total butt head. We may not share the same politics or movie preferences or common hobbies, but we get along. Maybe it helps that we “see” each other first as a mental image long before we see a photo or meet for real. We get to know, as much as is possible, the character of each other, unaffected by physical characteristics. And, of course, we’re just exceptionally nice here, dammit.

I have a dream, too, that common sense will prevail some day and people will grow up. Also that you’ll all send me fine chocolates… I can dream.

2

First! Woot!

Great OP, FCM. I’ve been stereotyped many times in my life and I am sure it’s going to happen many more times but these days I have learned to live with it and not let things get to me as much as they used to. My dream is that people will give others a chance to prove themselves before making snap judgements based on nothing but their own prejudices.

I’m nice, dammit!

3

What were you talking about? Could you speak up please?
…
Where am I…? :eek:

I thought last week was the week for weird dreams :confused:
:smiley:

I’ve been – not so much the target of prejudice, but picked on – for being red-headed. The joke on my peers from school is that they can still see I’m a red-head; many of them cannot prove or deny the color of their hair anymore! :stuck_out_tongue:

Surprisingly, I have never found myself the target of prejudice for being Jewish, despite having lived several years in the US and having traveled in Europe extensively (including Germany and Poland.) I think this may be because I present myself as an Israeli first (kick ass!! :D) and as a Jew second…

Great OP! And a great way of honoring the Honorable Dr. King.

4

You are nice, dammit! :smiley:

And I’m clean, dressed, and more or less beginning my day. And one thing about this holiday impresses me. I was certain by now some idiot mattress company would have a “I Have A Dream” bedding sale. There may be hope yet…

5

Could be worse – could be a Sleep Clinic.
Or an “Adult Toy” store… :eek:

6

Ah, to see that day! After many years in which, whenever I ran into assumptions, I was usually able to challenge them, I’m now back in college and therefore back into not being able to raise my hand and say “I’m reasonably sure the Chinese students don’t care much about not being properly represented in EU institutions” or “ehr, less than a quarter of this 100-people class intends to go for a PhD; what should those who don’t be doing?”

It’s refreshing when any of the teachers asks something rather than make assumptions. Among other things, because I’ve realized that, not only do I find people who assume they know everything about someone else based on one (1) piece of data (in this case, “being in my class”) extremely irritating: they lose so many Respect Points that it just can’t be good, specially because those tend to be the same teachers who want their class regurgitated back, and if I don’t respect them I’m in danger of tuning them off.
Has anybody seen the courier that’s supposed to pick up my laptop? It’ll suck missing today’s class :frowning:
I thought you were supposed to stay awake, in order to enjoy adult toys? It’s “I’ve got a dream”, not “I’ve got a bed”!

7

OK, Nooner, you’re just sick.

I like that about you!

And I wasn’t too senile to link. I assumed (silly me) that Mumpers are smart enough to figure out where the latest MMP is…

:stuck_out_tongue:

8

If you’re not day-dreaming about somebody in the process, you’re not doing it right! :wink:

That’s not true!! I’m not just sick! There are several other thing wrong with me, besides that! :smiley:

ETA:

I’m going to assume you did that on purpose. At least I’d like to think so… Oops. Assumed before thinking… :stuck_out_tongue:

9

Great OP, Mom! We can all dream that dream - that we don’t assume the worst about people because of anything we see at first glance. I work on that every day. I am jealous that it’s not a national holiday. :frowning: I’d like to still be dreaming!

I have some good news from my gyno - not too TMI. I’ve entered menopause! W00t! No more periods, no more birth control. :slight_smile:

10

…?

Are you restricting the definition of “adult toys” to include only those that are used by a single person (and not in front of an audience), or saying that when you’re sharing sexual activity with someone, you do daydream of another? Because if it’s this second, you deserve a spanking so thorough you won’t be able to think of anybody!

11

Very thoughtful OP, FCM, and it goes right along with Dr. King’s ideals. Dare I add that it’s what -should- be celebrated on the holiday in honor of his birth … imho, that is. :slight_smile:

I know for a fact you’re right about the hearing issues as you age. I definitely do not hear as well as I used to; it’s mostly being unable to distinguish different sounds and inflections. And ye gods, hearing aids are expensive! Health insurance does NOT cover them. Heh, I’m not going down that road, though.

I’m up, caffeinating - along with some peanut butter toast (YUM!) and surfing, but will also spend a bit more time a-bed this AM. :slight_smile:

12

Well, I ***was ***thinking of the former case… But don’t let that stop you :wink:

13

Great OP, mooom!!! I’m witcha all the way what with being an old woman who doesn’t hear as well as I used to. Must be all those heavy metal concerts. Just kidding! :smiley: May I add yet another prejudice I am subjected to? Being left-handed. We’re called sinistrals, for heaven’s sake! Righties just don’t get us and we’re statistically doomed to die sooner than our right-handed counterparts. (I think it’s cause we lack coordination and have more accidents!) :wink: Anyhoo, you made us all think this morning. Good on you.

I am off work today with no particular agenda other than giving the carpets a thorough vacuuming.

Tupug

14

never, never, offer to spank Echod, or VBob for that matter, unless you intend to follow through!

FCM, don’t think of it as us being too ignorant to find a new mmp, just too lazy to go looking.

I have been the target of chauvanism and sizism but of late I’ve decided that people who insist on confining others into stereotypes are just asshats and don’t deserve the energy I’ve put into defending myself.

Besides, as Princeton and Kate Monster so eloquently put it: “everyone’s a little bit racist”

15

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffienatin’ on a not freezin’ cold mornin’. Normal Winter weather has returned!

Nava and Special1 get a room! I forget which one it is, but we do have a room available for such things. :stuck_out_tongue:

Interestin’ OP MOOOOOOM. For me the dream would include the ability to get married to the one I love with all the rights and responsibilities included. One can dream. Or move to Massachusettes which I don’t want to do.

Tonight is men’s night at the church. I have steaks marinatin’ and beer chillin’. Interestin’ enough, that’s one place where OYKW and I are accepted as a couple and are known as each other’s SO, partner, whatever. On occasion, one of us will be at men’s night by himself and will say stuff about leavin’ the old ball and chain at home tonight and get laughs about it. :smiley:

I also have a pork loin and some chicken boobs thawed out and marinatin’. I shall throw it all on the grill today for dindins durin’ the week. It’s nice to have stuff like that already to just heat up. That will be the extent of my exertion for today. I deserve to be slothful somewhat due to the fact that I worked hard yesterday cleanin’ up da cave.

Oh, and I’m nice dammit!

16

Morning all. Nice OP, Moooooom!

17

Oh no, rosie! You had to go and get Avenue Q songs stuck in my head. :rolleyes::stuck_out_tongue:

Nice OP, FCM.

As a mentally ill, morbidly obese Baptist Jew, I try to roll with the punches. :smiley: There are those who hate me and scrutinize my every public word looking for ways to tear me down. Oddly enough, though, I take comfort in the fact that even if I weren’t crazy, or fat, or religiously offensive, that they’d most likely still hate me anyways! :stuck_out_tongue: Seriously, though, I’m far, far, faaaar from perfect but I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Those who keep my trust have an undyingly loyal friend for life.

ETA: Leave it to Noonie to turn a thread about oppression into a thread about sex toys. :smiley:

18

I’m all cleaned up and purtified. I knew y’all would want to know. :smiley:

Puggy I hear ya about bein’ left-handed. Heh. I can use a mouse with either hand but sometimes when I’m feelin’ mean, I’ll switch the mouse over to left-handed at work and leave it there for the next person. It’s my little way of gettin’ revenge.

19

I’m doing all kinds of exerting today.

To help my group get caught up on all the merger-related work, the option to work today was offered. We’re also still in a mandatory overtime situation, so I not only get paid for the holiday, but I get time-and-a-half for the first 8 hours, and any OT rings up as double time.

Losing a worker-friendly curiosity in how California handles OT vs the employer-friendly way that pretty much the whole rest of the country follows cost me about $600 on the previous paycheck. I intend to recover this, so I’ll be grinding away all day until either DH whines that I’m ignoring him or I fall asleep.

Speaking of DH - after one full year, he finally has a semblance of employment. Nothing much - a temp job that doesn’t pay much, but it is a job and it gets him out of the house. We’ll save the celebrating for a real, non-temporary job where the paycheck isn’t coming from a temp agency.

Just like Mom, last night was Spin-A-Bird Night, and even to the point of slightly overcooking it so it’s fall-apart tender.

Got SIL’s new office PC set up yesterday. I expect to be able hear the gasps and/or squeals of joy from over here when the user fires it up for the first time. Installing Office was scary fast - took longer to boot up another PC to find the address for their printer than it did to install the full suite. We’re finally getting close to that instant-on that the industry has been promising all these years. Apparently it just takes a quad-core i5 processor. :smiley:

20

All I have to say about MLK day is that it took me moving to one of the last bastions of Jim Crow (Virginia) to get over my lily-white preconceived notions. 'Nuff said.

Rough night, last. We had a double fatality single car wreck. The 2 killed were teens, and the mother survived. It was heart wrenching to hear her screaming for her young daughter.

The car went off the road, got some air under it and inverted, them hit a tree at the driver’s door and slid down like a fireman on a pole. It was a near carbon copy of another bad one from around Halloween.

Enough of the depressing stuff. It gave me some rather vivid dreams, and one of the fun ones was I met the cast of the old TV show Emergency! at a convention, and I gave them credit for me getting into the fire and rescue biz…