So I was sitting in a (shitty) Italian restaurant near where I live, and happened to overhear the conversation of two men, not that old but maybe in their 40’s (and white), sitting a few tables away from me. This was inevitable, as there was no one else in the restaurant except for myself and them.
They get around to discussing the next presidential race, and one of them says, (re: Barack Obama) “You know, I might vote for the black guy just for kicks.”
#2 says, (re: Hillary) “Eh, I’d rather have a woman for president than a nigger.”
Wow. I almost wanted to get confrontational with them, although I’m not black, but I didn’t see the point. I’m not honestly that surprised or shocked but it still feels a little unsettling to know that there are still people out there (and presumably, these two guys aren’t the only ones, which is the most unsettling part) who adopt such simplistic black-and-white (pun intended) attitudes toward people.
Were you extra shocked as you were in LA, where you hope and expect people to be more enlightened?
I still hear comments likes these and it is bothersome. If they are addressed to me, I usually object and ask them if they think Obama’s skin color is a sum of his skills, intelligence, integrity and abilities to govern.
In one case the idiot, then said, “Oh sorry I did not realize you were a liberal.”
Me, :rolleyes: “Actually I hope to vote for Rudy Giuliani, I just think you sound ignorant”.
His reply, “F-you, you are probably just voting for Rudy because he is Italian.”
Me, “So just how big of a bigot are you anyway?”
He laughed at this point and mumbled something about “you’re not worth it.”
Which is good as he was quite a bit bigger than me and I am bad at backing down. He probably would have kicked my “Liberal Italian” butt all over the place.
I think sometimes us Coasters get rudely reminded that racism is not confined to the South, but it just hides better in West Coast and North East.
One of my best friends is bothersomely racist against Mexicans, I call him out on the illogic of his crap when he says it. Thankfully he is rational enough to admit to my arguments and back off. He recently mentioned he hates Hillary, but he couldn’t say why. He actually is considering Obama though, so I guess there is hope for him.
Just as LA has an unusually high thespian population, it also has an unusually high population of bigots and the generally seedy. Ever seen American History X?
True enough. The brand of racismo practiced here is the sneaky, covert kind. For example, it’s not unusual to hear local women say “I don’t like walking around in Spring Valley, because all the Mexicans stare at me. It’s not their fault, it’s just their culture, but it makes me uncomfortable”. Any attempts to argue against this illogic are countered with “But I don’t blame them, it’s just a difference in culture!”–these people have learned the concept of cultural relativity and honestly believe that they’re not racist if they lay claim to it. Similar smoke-and-mirrors bigotry is evident in the strong local opposition to Mexican immigration as well. Then again, San Diego is remarkably more conservative than our northern neighbor.
And all that said, whether someone says “I’d rather vote for a woman than a nigger” or “I’d rather vote for a nigger than a woman”, they’re still voting for either the first woman president or the first black president, which is poetic justice enough for me.
The odd thing about the New South is that ppl of either color will pick favorites … so to speak OH i know him … or OH i know her … and they will pick and choose who they like regardless of color.
As for the question of Hillary or Obama, sadly, most ppl ppl here don’t take the time to acutally read their agenda or positions on things. Bill Clinton is hated across the board among ppl I am subjeted to listen to; by extension Hillary is too. Obama is an unkonwn. I don’t think my black friends know enough about him and they can’t be arsed to find out what the what-what is. Oddly enough, the educated whites here will probably be more likely to go for Obama. Strange.
I’d just tell those 2 men that the Republicans are gonna nominate Condi Rice, who is both a woman and a nigger, so that’s their other choice. Then sit back and watch their little heads explode.
