# white men are obsolete **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694 "2007-11-16T15:35:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/61 "2007-11-16T19:56:52Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Eh, I can strum a tune. [/QUOTE] Can you play that guitar just like ringin’ a bell? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/62 "2007-11-16T20:04:37Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > This a non-pitting of the trash I’m constantly hit with claiming that white men are teh devi1. That we’re always oppressing people and our mere existence is oppressive and we can never NOT be racist. It gets real old, and it’s really depressing. I’ve heard a lot of other white people spew this crap, and universally, every single one who says it is a neurotic racist. Every. Single. One. I’m very obviously white and I’ve never been told that I’m “teh devi1”–or if I have, I had the basic adult maturity to shrug it off and forget about it because it really doesn’t mean anything. I hope you, too, can know the magic of being emotionally older than 13 someday. > [@Argent Towers](#): > > White people are not in charge, RICH PEOPLE are in charge. The real division in America is class, not race. That the rich people in America happen to be mostly white means nothing to dirt poor whites in rust-belt towns with no farms, no factories, no homes, and no money. I understand the OP is a joke and this discussion is absurd but I still need to point this out. Not to mention that our economy is practically held hostage by OPEC and China - neither of whom involve whitey. But the rich people _are_ mostly white. Why is that? Because white people are, by and large, the ones who get educated, catch breaks, and don’t have to deal with constant questioning, gratuituous insults and patronizing based on their skin color for their entire lives. The fact that there are a large number of poor white people is reflective of the fact that we have a top-heavy society where a small proportion of the total population has most of the wealth, not that being white is in and of itself a disadvantage. Being able to hear this stuff without shouting “OPPRESSOR! OPPRESSOR!” is a sign of maturity. (I’m referring to the OP here, not you–you brought up some valid points.) And OPEC and China may have an absurdly large influence on our economy, but a whole bunch of white people (the executive and legislative branches of the federal government) can put a stop to it any time they want to by spending their resources on economic protectionism, domestic trade subsidies and the development of alternative energy sources, including such readily-available alternatives as solar, wind and ethanol. Brazil’s cars have run entirely on ethanol for the better part of this decade. Why can’t ours? Is it because someone’s holding a gun to our collective head and forcing us to resist it? I doubt it. > [@What Exit?](#): > > That seems very unfair. **smiling bandit** seems quite serious to me. > [@smiling bandit](#): > > While I am vaguely depressed at so much of the actual origin, it feels me with a sort of bland despair of fixing the problem rather than suicidal depression. Why don’t you go learn English, and then try writing this sentence again? Go ahead, I’ll wait. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > Being completely WASP, we came up with nothing. Really? The United Kingdom doesn’t have customs? I think 60 million people have a surprise in store, then. Somebody go tell them! ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/63 "2007-11-16T20:09:48Z")
[QUOTE=Dunawake] Can you play that guitar just like ringin’ a bell? [/QUOTE] All the white boys think that. That’s why they end up at the crossroads. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/64 "2007-11-16T20:13:38Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] I’ve heard a lot of other white people spew this crap, and universally, every single one who says it is a neurotic racist. Every. Single. One. [/quote] Well, I guess that proves it. Sorry, it looks like the OP’s a racist! ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/65 "2007-11-16T20:21:09Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] All bad things come from white men: guns, pollution, corporations, imperialism. And white men are selfish and emotionally damaging. [/QUOTE] Dude, those are the **benefits**. We’re Number One! **high-fives all around** Don’t leave me hanging, brahs! ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/66 "2007-11-16T20:21:14Z")
[QUOTE=athelas] Well, I guess that proves it. Sorry, it looks like the OP’s a racist! [/QUOTE] You can take whatever implication you like out of my post, but all I meant was exactly what I said: every single person I’ve heard say that IRL is both neurotic and a racist, and usually has a persecution complex as well (which ties in nicely with the attendant “Christians are so put-upon” themes). ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/67 "2007-11-16T20:22:03Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] I’ve heard a lot of other white people spew this crap, and universally, every single one who says it is a neurotic racist. Every. Single. One. [/QUOTE] If you took the “R” word away from the left, they’d all be stricken dumb. Well, that and oil. Everything is always about oil and racism with these geeks. “America just did that because they’re trying to get oil! And they’re racist! I know this because I’m an intellectual!” Do you people ever listen to yourselves? ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/68 "2007-11-16T20:29:15Z")
[QUOTE=LonesomePolecat] If you took the “R” word away from the left, they’d all be stricken dumb. Well, that and oil. Everything is always about oil and racism with these geeks. “America just did that because they’re trying to get oil! And they’re racist! I know this because I’m an intellectual!” Do you people ever listen to yourselves? [/QUOTE] It beats the fuck out of listening to your dumb ass. Anyone who can make the type of generalizations that you do and really believe them must be sharing with Rush Limbaugh whatever few ounces of brain he possesses. Hey, **LonesomePoleSmoker** , we’re all the way on page 2 of a pit thread and you haven’t called anyone a faggot yet. Back on your meds? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/69 "2007-11-16T20:34:24Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] You can take whatever implication you like out of my post, but all I meant was exactly what I said: every single person I’ve heard say that IRL is both neurotic and a racist, and usually has a persecution complex as well (which ties in nicely with the attendant “Christians are so put-upon” themes). [/QUOTE] **Fetus** , you just called \*\*Smiling Bandit \*\* a racist, based on a post that is clearly made for humor and started in MPSIMS. I agree he is showing resentment for the “white man” being blamed for all the evils of the world and that is pushing towards silly. However, there is a kernel of truth to it and he was playing it for humor which more posters seemed to understand than not. **SkipMagic** , changed the context of this thread by moving it. That is why I said it was very unfair. I don’t know if \*\*Smiling Bandit \*\* is a racist or not, but I sure as hell don’t trust your racism radar, what a conceit you have on this issue. Jim ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/70 "2007-11-16T20:41:49Z")
[QUOTE=Sophistry and Illusion] It beats the fuck out of listening to your dumb ass. Anyone who can make the type of generalizations that you do and really believe them must be sharing with Rush Limbaugh whatever few ounces of brain he possesses. Hey, **LonesomePoleSmoker** , we’re all the way on page 2 of a pit thread and you haven’t called anyone a faggot yet. Back on your meds? [/QUOTE] I forget. Did I call you a snippy little faggot or a silly cunt? (Yes, I know I really shouldn’t tease the animals … ) ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/71 "2007-11-16T20:42:41Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] I’ve heard a lot of other white people spew this crap, and universally, every single one who says it is a neurotic racist. Every. Single. One. [/quote] Thank you. Just lovely. Thank you for politeness. Truly, we are in the company of a social god. > [@](#): > > I’m very obviously white and I’ve never been told that I’m “teh devi1”–or if I have, I had the basic adult maturity to shrug it off and forget about it because it really doesn’t mean anything. I hope you, too, can know the magic of being emotionally older than 13 someday. Lovely. How dare I respond emotionally to insults by avoiding open conflict and dealing with it at a distance! The nice insult on the end was truly a good touch, which added so much. I do hope you learn how not to insult people like you’re 16 in the future. > [@](#): > > Why don’t you go learn English, and then try writing this sentence again? Go ahead, I’ll wait. Truly, my occaisional grammatical accident demand this form of response. I’d respond, but I migt mispell a word. Perhaps when you have substansive response, I’ll consider your words worth caring about. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/72 "2007-11-16T20:45:22Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] **SkipMagic** , changed the context of this thread by moving it. That is why I said it was very unfair. [/QUOTE] Please. His OP and subsequent responses stand for themselves, and the location isn’t going to change anything; the most I did was put it in the forum where he can get mauled for his ridiculous ideas instead of just mildly scratched. Trying to fly under the radar in MPSIMS with a bitch and whine session about how the poor, poor white men are put-upon isn’t going to work. If **smiling bandit** had a question and wanted to debate it, it would have been moved to Great Debates. But as was evident from his posts, all he wanted to do was sound off, and so to the Pit it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/73 "2007-11-16T20:48:42Z")
I take this thread very seriously and I am concerned that **smiling bandit** is out of step on this important social issue ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/74 "2007-11-16T20:48:54Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > If you took the “R” word away from the left, they’d all be stricken dumb. Apparently, CNN, Air America, “the MSM” and those other bastions of liberal depravity talk about racism all day. I guess I just haven’t been paying attention. > [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Well, that and oil. Everything is always about oil and racism with these geeks. “America just did that because they’re trying to get oil! And they’re racist! I know this because I’m an intellectual!” When did I say anything here about America doing anything for oil, or about America being predominantly racist? You said that, not me. Might be time for a chill pill and some psychodynamic therapy. Tell me, how do you feel about your father? > [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Do you people ever listen to yourselves? I don’t know what “you people” means. Democrats? I’m not part of that group. People who fly off the handle about oil and racism at the drop of a hat? Because that’s you, not me. People who need therapy? Well, sure, but that’s both of us. > [@What Exit?](#): > > Fetus, you just called Smiling Bandit a racist, based on a post that is clearly made for humor and started in MPSIMS. Just because he’s using hyperbole doesn’t mean it’s supposed to be funny. If someone started a thread in MPSIMS called “Hey! I’m a Nigger!” and then listed ridiculous stereotypes like “I’m too stupid for college! I’m too lazy to get a job! I smoke crack and drink forties!”, how would you feel about its humor value? > [@What Exit?](#): > > I agree he is showing resentment for the “white man” being blamed for all the evils of the world and that is pushing towards silly. However, there is a kernel of truth to it Well, if “a kernel of truth” means that a white person is more likely to be blatantly blamed for the evil acts of some historical person or group of people they may or may not be related to than, say, a black person or a Korean person, sure, I guess there is. But it’s not really relevant. Sure, when I was in grade school other kids told me all the time that they held me responsible for slavery or whatever. It’s absurd, since my family didn’t land on American soil until 1910 and 1/4 escaped slavery in Russia to get here. But instead of whining and screeching about it, I realized that it really didn’t matter once I was, say, 15 years old, and I got over it. That’s what adults do: we use our sense of rationality to get over the little slights and insults that don’t affect us in any significant way. **SkipMagic** didn’t change a damn thing about the OP. > [@What Exit?](#): > > I don’t know if Smiling Bandit is a racist or not, but I sure as hell don’t trust your racism radar, what a conceit you have on this issue. Hey, that’s your prerogative. I’m simply going off my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/75 "2007-11-16T20:52:22Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] And most recently, I found out a very small but touching fact about the British. I did not know the India Gate, which is a memorial to fallen British and Indian soldiers in WWII, was made by the British. I certainly didn’t know it was a tribute to the Indians, too. At that time the British must have been realizing they were at the end of their days in India - the war was in the 30’s and 40’s and the occupation ended in 1947. Yet they still did this small act of acknowledgement, and it touches me. [/QUOTE] Though it pains me to say this, I don’t think the [India Gate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_Gate) was _quite_ such a “selfless parting gift to a soon-to-be-independent India”. The memorial was actually built years _before_ WW2, to commemorate the more than 80,000 Indian ( **not** British) soldiers who died in the First World War and the Afghan Wars. During its construction (1921-1931), the [British Raj](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj) was still very much going strong; this was the period during which [Edwin Lutyens’ New Delhi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Lutyens#New_Delhi) (intended to be an ongoing _colonial_ capital) was being completed. However, after the First World War, in which 74,000 Indian soldiers died fighting for the Empire, there were increased demands for greater autonomy, unsatisfied by the 1919 [Government of India Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India_Act_1919). The [Amritsar Massacre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_Massacre) paved the way for Gandhi’s [Non-cooperation movement](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-cooperation_movement), which would later prove to be the beginning of the end for the Raj. In light of India’s sacrifices in the Great War, the Raj had the options of either (a) granting greater autonomy to the Indian people or (b) continuing to build the new Great Imperial City, and adding a monument to the fallen. It chose the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/76 "2007-11-16T21:01:36Z")
[QUOTE=LonesomePolecat] I forget. Did I call you a snippy little faggot or a silly cunt? [/QUOTE] Neither. But I think I called you a homophobic shitstain. But, you know, if conservatives couldn’t call people ‘faggots’, they would be struck dumb…and wouldn’t that be nice not to have to endure the solid stream of shit pouring out of your mouth. You’re kind of like 2 girls and 1 cup, only in reverse. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/77 "2007-11-16T21:03:24Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Thank you. Just lovely. Thank you for politeness. Truly, we are in the company of a social god. And a master of sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humor, to boot. (ETA: that’s you.) How lucky we are! And I can’t thank the Perfect Master enough for providing us with such a wonderful place as the BBQ Pit to show off my social graces and my kindness. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/78 "2007-11-16T21:06:43Z")
Oh, for the love of! Geez, I put a post sacrastically describing the obnoxities of a certain point of view which I hear, to my disgust, regularly. For this - suggesting it is obnoxious and overblown to the point where half of you though I was serious - I am now insulted and called a racist! Truly, I am now more disgusted at people like **fetus** than at the poeple who originally pissed me off. If you’re so dense youo can’t even tell I’m joking when I start in on _marching white men off the Grand Canyon_, you ought not to bother reading anything I write, cause you’re not gonna get it, skippy. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/79 "2007-11-16T21:13:26Z")
I got you just fine, hombre. I think the reading comprehension problem is on your end. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694/80 "2007-11-16T21:16:07Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] Please. His OP and subsequent responses stand for themselves, and the location isn’t going to change anything; the most I did was put it in the forum where he can get mauled for his ridiculous ideas instead of just mildly scratched. Trying to fly under the radar in MPSIMS with a bitch and whine session about how the poor, poor white men are put-upon isn’t going to work. If **smiling bandit** had a question and wanted to debate it, it would have been moved to Great Debates. But as was evident from his posts, all he wanted to do was sound off, and so to the Pit it goes. [/QUOTE] Well **Skip** , we got different reads on his intent, that is for sure. But if you don’t think changing the forum in this case, changes the apparent context of his Op, I think you have a problem. Maybe \*\*Smiling Bandit \*\* is prone to nearly racist screeds and I never saw it, but I took the Op for humor. If I ran across it in the Pit to start with I probably would have been likely to treat it as a serious complaint and not an over-the-top joke. Please let me in on the secret, is \*\*Smiling Bandit \*\* part of the anti-leftist minority on the board. I never noticed it if he is. Jim [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-men-are-obsolete/426694.md?page=5)