# White people suck **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2008, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808 "2008-07-09T07:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/161 "2008-07-12T19:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] I don’t know what my reputation on these boards is [/QUOTE] Token black guy. Didn’t you get the memo? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/162 "2008-07-12T19:44:21Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Token black guy. Didn’t you get the memo? 😃 [/QUOTE] Actually I didn’t know that. I don’t _see_ color. At least not on Message Boards. You’d think that as a Charter Member I would be able to, but the pricks weren’t even nice about it when I asked. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/163 "2008-07-13T16:18:35Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] Well, there ya go. It makes sense that a position in a _community-based_ authority would be filled by someone who’s a member of that particular community, whatever the make-up of the community might be. (I live in a section of Jersey City, New Jersey, that’s populated by Indians, Hispanics, blacks, and whites–on the side of Journal Square that’s headed towards The Heights, for any Dopers who might be familiar with the area–so a person from any one of these groups would be eligible, for the most part, to fill a position in a community-based organization.) Really, the fact that such a position would be restricted to a member of said community doesn’t support your claim that, for instance, white folks are generally locked out of positions solely because they’re white. [/QUOTE] I stand corrected, although I don’t recall saying genrally, just that I had seen examples of it. Different thing. Of course you do have a point, being neither black, nor American, I am not in a position to know what you have encountered in your life. Also, I don’t believer there is a genetic link for racism, but a strongly ingrained cultural phenomena. Hopefully we can overcome this in time. ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/164 "2008-07-14T01:42:10Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Ooh, baby. 😃 [/QUOTE] Ooh, yeah, mommy, hurts so good! Now, just make sure you don’t tell Himself, 'cause I don’t need any jealous men hunting _my \* gay ass down! After all, darlin’, I’m a lover, not a fighter._😉 \*Well, regardless of that sign that I’m planning to hang over my bed that says “Fuck, or Fight”. ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/165 "2008-07-14T01:47:25Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Token black guy. Didn’t you get the memo? 😃 [/QUOTE] Well, hold on, now, 'cause if I understand correctly, both \*\*Hippy Hollow \*\* and \*\*5-4-Fighting \*\* were here a while before I happened along. I don’t think they’re going to appreciate losing “token black guy” status to the likes of me. What, man, you tryin’ to stir up shit between the bruthas? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/166 "2008-07-14T01:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=Stryfe] Also, I don’t believer there is a genetic link for racism, but a strongly ingrained cultural phenomena. [/QUOTE] Oh, ingrained culturally? I agree. And thanks for your clarification. [QUOTE=Stryfe] Hopefully we can overcome this in time. [/QUOTE] And here’s to hoping that “in time” \< several more lifetimes. ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/167 "2008-07-14T02:04:46Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Actually, that happened to me two or three times that I’m aware of. Once I was stopped an searched after I had left the store. (I think it was the length of my husband’s hair as much as anything.) I also had a pharmacist refuse to fill prescriptions for pain relievers written by my dentist. What’s more, the pharmacist got mad at _me_ for trying to fill it! I was ignored when I went into a nice jewelry store and ignored (and not seated) when I went to a restaurant. In New Orleans my companion and I were not admitted to a locked antique shop. The gentleman accompanying me was the son of the man who owned the second largest antique house in Denmark. We had the last laugh. Other people do _sometimes_ have to deal with discrimination. Maybe it’s just not as constant. I have no doubt that my life has been easier because I am white. Black people of my age were not given the same privileges. I thought it was unfair even then. [/QUOTE] I’m sorry to hear of your experiences, and while I certainly don’t want to give you the impression that I’m trying to minimize them or the pain they caused you (because I’m not), you are correct that, for people who aren’t black in America, these kinds of things are “just not as constant” as they are for blacks. I mean, hell, even though I was born in 1970, I still have to think in terms of being careful about how I dress and conduct myself in public. Not only so that people don’t make negative judgments about _me_, but also to prevent them (although I know that that’s not really possible) from making negative judgments about _other \* black people based on my actions._ \*I was raised to conduct myself with dignity in public “just because,” so even without the racist stuff, I’d still do so, but I think you get my point. ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/168 "2008-07-14T02:25:15Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] I’m a white female, and the only thing that hasn’t happened to me on that list is being stopped by the cops. I don’t dress strangely, and I generally never used to, but I’ve had two of your three examples happen to me quite embarrassingly often between the ages of 13 and 25. It’s not just visible minorities that get treated differently; it’s everyone who doesn’t exactly fit the majority’s idea of what people are supposed to do or look like. [/QUOTE] Oh, no argument here; I totally agree. [QUOTE=nashiitashii] Then again, how often do you get treated like a space alien when talking about activities, foods, and other parts of your “home culture” that aren’t exactly the same as your peers? I get it _all the time_ around here, and less often but still frequently when I was younger and living in a more diverse community. It’s gotten to the point where I want to move to a bigger place where the likelihood of me actually running into someone of my ethnic background\* who can relate to my cultural viewpoint instead of just getting blank stares and “you’ve gotta be kidding” remarks any time I mention something regarding my home culture. (This includes the names of my brothers, who got more distinctly ethnic first names than I did.) [/QUOTE] No argument here, either, but my point is that I (and many other blacks), as “umpteenth”-generation Americans (and I have a “normal,” “non-ethnic”–allbeit uncommon, especially outside of the South, but not alltogether unheard of–first name) don’t have to do anything other than be black in order to be treated like space aliens. Actually, being treated like a space alien sounds tolerable compared to some of the treatment that I and other blacks have posted about on these boards. I mean, when you have to wonder if the (non-black) person you just sat down next to on an open-air-can-be-seen-by-everyone-in-the-area-in-broad-daylight train station bench–and not _right next to them_, but with room for several more people to fit in between you–got up and moved to another bench did so because you’re black or for some potentially innocuous reason…well, yeah, good times. (Perhaps not the best example–though it did happen to me fairly recently, and, honestly, I don’t smell bad or anything like that–but I hope you get my point.) Oh, and **Sampiro**? That was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/169 "2008-07-14T02:32:13Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] Well, hold on, now, 'cause if I understand correctly, both \*\*Hippy Hollow \*\* and \*\*5-4-Fighting \*\* were here a while before I happened along. I don’t think they’re going to appreciate losing “token black guy” status to the likes of me. What, man, you tryin’ to stir up shit between the bruthas? 😃 [/QUOTE] Guess I didn’t get the memo either. I didn’t know either of them were black and/or male. :smack: Anyway, you’ve been selected. Make the necessary changes and move on… ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/170 "2008-07-14T02:47:22Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Guess I didn’t get the memo either. I didn’t know either of them were black and/or male. :smack: Anyway, you’ve been selected. Make the necessary changes and move on… [/QUOTE] Heh-heh. Okay, sir, I’ll wear that crown proudly. Just as long as you can get me one that fits comfortably over my kippah. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/171 "2008-07-14T07:55:13Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Sounds like two different ways of saying exactly the same thing, to me. [/QUOTE] How? Please explain. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/172 "2008-07-14T07:58:25Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] And here’s to hoping that “in time” \< several more lifetimes. [/QUOTE] Hopefully in our lifetimes. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/173 "2008-07-14T09:04:01Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] Yeah, I hear ya. While I’m certainly a proponent of avoiding unnecessary fisticuffs,\*\* I still think it’s important–if we can safely do so–to let those kinds of people know who _we \* are, even if our taking a stand won’t do anything to change who they \* are, y’know?_ Of course, on the other hand, perhaps it’s better to have them reveal themselves for the bigoted dicks that they are sooner rather than later. All the better to let us know which assholes to avoid like the plague they are. But, like I said, I hear ya. [/QUOTE] (bolding mine) Y’know, I do believe you’re right. I’d never considered it in that way before. I’ll try and bear that in mind for next time. I also take some small hope in the possibility that even if my grunting some sort of monosyllabic agreement and walking on is a bit weak on my part (and it is), it will possibly be that one day that guy will wake up and realise he has no friends. So all is not lost, even if we don’t step up to the plate as we should, every time. But I do like your take on it. It’s new to me, but it works. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/174 "2008-07-14T09:16:35Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Token black guy. Didn’t you get the memo? 😃 [/QUOTE] Whatever happened to **Askia?** I haven’t seen anything from him in a really, really long time. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/175 "2008-07-14T09:39:59Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Whatever happened to **Askia?** I haven’t seen anything from him in a really, really long time. [/QUOTE] Didn’t he change his username or something? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/176 "2008-07-14T19:37:43Z")
As near as I can figure, “Craig” said “nigger”. That makes him an asshole. Weirddave got all tormented and apologetic and “curse my race!” about it. That makes him a pussy. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808/177 "2008-07-15T01:37:22Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Weirddave got all tormented and apologetic and “curse my race!” about it. That makes him a pussy. [/QUOTE] You vastly overstate my angst over this incident, but if coming to the pit and ranting makes me a pussy, whatever. Meow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-suck/455808.md?page=8)