 |
December 02, 2008 |
|
 |
|
|
This Disease called RACISM!
FOUND by Carrie and Emma
in Bellingham, Washington
Found on a high school campus- looks to be someone's English essay for Mr. Helling. We liked the use of caps lock for RACISM and thought that the author was innovative and surprisingly eloquent in his ideas.... cool.
Sign in or register to start a profile and keep track of your comments. You may also post without creating a profile, but you'll have to answer some tough spam protection questions.
Apocalypse Suburbia May 07, 2007 |
Girl Lazer November 06, 2005 |
Ducks Very Limited December 15, 2007 |
Yeewww! February 25, 2008 |
 |
|
 |
         |
We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
This paper is in and of itself racist(racism was invented by white people, thats a completely unfair and unprovable statement). This is also very poorly written: man and woMEN, the sentence where it talks about some of the few were Martin Luther King Jr and then ends the sentence with information about Dr King and starts a new sentence with others such as... when the others were set up to be introduced in the first sentence, and whats with the emphasis between man AND women why not just say humans, thats making gender an issue when the paper is not about that all. I'm a science major and even I know that is bad writing. Maybe this was found because the person realized they'd fail if they turned it in or not, so they figured they might as well not embarrass themself.
Hopefully this highschool student will study a little more world history and discover that racism has always existed, in all cultures and climates, and is not unfortunately exclusive to one nationality, ethnic group or skin colour. I direct his/her attention to the Old Testament, the history of Egypt and indeed China.
Racism simply means "if it's different, kill it." Not-like-us means inferior. This attitude is and has always been extant in the entire world...one hopes that greater access to education and information, it will lessen, but stupidity and wilful ignorance are human traits.
Whites didn't invent racism, but we sure have been efficient at spreading oppression globally.
Yeah, this kid needs some history education, but honestly, how worldly was your own view at 15?
not much to say except to reiterate what Emily and Baby Basil already said...
my first thought after reading this was "wow, nice job of starting off your anti racism paper by making a racist comment"
racism has existed for as long as there have been two people who looked different from one another.
and when you try to point a finger at one group and blame it all on them, you are yourself guilty of it.
"the white man" did not invent racism, and has not even been the worst perpetrator.
"the black man" was not the first victim of it, and hasn't suffered from it the worst.(there are numerous examples of genocide in history, and genocide out weighs oppression on the atrocity scale)
it's such an ignorant attitude you so often find in the US today, that people really believe the definition of racism is "whites against blacks". it's common to hear things along the lines of "he/she/I can't be racist, he/she/I is/am black". as though being the victim of racism somehow makes it impossible for you too to be racist towards others.
though, to be fair to the papers writer he/she at least never implied that "the black man" was the only victim of it.
"has seeped into the souls of each human being", implying that all men and women have been effected by it, one of the points the paper got correct.
Before I even clicked on the "comment" button I knew I was going to find a bunch of white people denying that white people benefit from racism, and guess what.... that's what I "found".
worst find ever
@Malcom - True, but lighten up...Only when people stop fearing others the 'dream' will be realized. Never going to happen. There is too much money in fear...Just watch CNN, Faux News, or any of the others. Keeping us at odds allows the modern masters to retain their position.
@ Malcolm. I don't think that I denied that whites benefit from racism. Let's face it. I live in North America. I have a home on ground that was taken from a culture decimated by whites 200+ years ago. And that just the biggest and most obvious. I'm sure there are subtle (and not-so-subtle) "benefits" that I experience unknowingly every day.
However, I will still object to the statement that whites "created" racism. European whites just had the weaponry and command of the sea to exploit it to the extent that they did.
Malcolm:
I had the exact same thought.
I've never really thought it very useful to crow "other races can be racist, too!" I'm a white guy. I should probably keep my mouth shut when it comes to these things. I know damn well that in this time and place, I've got a hell of a lot of privilege because of something I didn't ask for or earn.
"Racism" as a word is often used to mean something more specific than its generally-understood definition. In discussions of race, "racism" is often used to describe the intersection of race with power, of privilege with power. The group without the power cannot, by that particular definition, be racist. They can be bigoted, but not racist. Racist implies a cultural climate of hostility, it implies a power structure that reinforces those prejudices.
It's not a right or wrong definition, it's a specific use of an already-existing word for a concept that needs to be articulated in order to be discussed and hopefully dismantled. It's best to understand that when someone -- especially a person of color -- uses the word "racist," they may not mean exactly the same thing by it that you do, and that is not a reason to dismiss what they say. It is best to ask questions and try to understand where they're coming from and what, exactly, they mean. Define your terms, and don't insist the other person use yours, especially if you're a white guy.
All that said, this essay WAS poorly worded. White men didn't "invent" racism. Whatever jerkface asshats first lorded it over a less powerful group "invented" it. It has been invented over and over again in a thousand times and places. Each manifestation is unique, and yet each is revoltingly the same. It's a perennially poisonous weed in the human soul. No race is innocent or immune.
Asshats? - very amusing term there Blaze. I'll have to start adding it to my vocabulary.
Anyway... in the interest of defining terms, Dictionary.com defines racism as...
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
I guess I've been viewing the word by definition #3, but #1 got me thinking. You can find a million (metaphorical number) white guys claiming the right to rule (I'm sure you can find publications for it without effort), but you don't see a lot of black guys claiming superiority over another race and proposing to "rule" them. I'm sure there are exceptions to that thought (so there is no need to post whacko youtube links).
Caucasian people "got over" racism years ago, but other races keep bringing it back up. We get it, our ancestors sucked. We can only apologise that Imperialism made slaves of your ancestors and created such a negative image of "lower races". But dude, seriously, its been DECADES since then, can we all just get along? I don't care what frickin' colour your skin is, but if you keep lecturing me on race issues I am going to find you very boring. Can't we talk about literature, or music, or the new Twilight movie? Its like picking at a scab man, its never going to heal!
I still have some papers I wrote in high school, and once in a great while I'll stumble upon them and read them again. Evidently my writing abilities were not at their peak yet, because some of them resemble this one in style and structure.
So I'll give this kid a break on the quality of the writing.
I will not yield on the first sentence, however- it is incorrect. Every race has some in its ranks that are racist. A person can be a victim of racism and still be racist. A person can be a white protestant male of European origin who treats people as equals, but can still be dispised by those who are victims of racism.
Racism is an ugly human trait that crosses all boundaries, and until someone comes up with a machine like in "Sneetches on the Beaches" it won't go away.
Hey Blaze! Great post, I agree 100%
It was the Canadians. No, I'm just kidding, I like Canadians, they're cute with their flip top heads. Again...kidding.
Can't we all just get along? Live life in peace not pieces. What's so funny about peace love and misunderstanding? Live long and prosper, muthafucka!
And the spelling was so good until the author got to the last full line!
(Earlier grammatical infelicities going un-commented for the moment.)
@Emily in Williamsburg, VA:
"I'm a science major and even I know that is bad writing. Maybe this was found because the person realized they'd fail if they turned it in or not, so they figured they might as well not embarrass themself."
Talk about bad writing.... Singular subject ("person"), plural pronoun ("they"), non-existent word ("themself"), "if" instead of "whether."
Pots and kettles....
People may be different colors and ethnicities, but we are all the human race. Race is such a divisive and archaic word.
Let's not forget that it was other African tribes who captured and sold their brothers and sisters to the "white man", or the caste system in India that is based on subtle gradations of color.
Genocides have taken place between people of different ethnicities and religions. There are many examples of black on black and white on white "racism" if that's the term we're sticking with, eg, Hitler's targets were white, they just weren't his ideal white.
Seems useless to keep arguing about who started what rather than seriously moving toward a more tolerant future.
Ok, back to the other find for me.
Too early in the morning for this sort of tension.
By the way, I am not racist about deer, really. It's just that they eat everything in my yard, even the seed out of my bird feeders.
I am white, too.
I like their use of Malcolm X as one of those purveyors of peace, love, and compassion.
Racism was not invented "the white man."
Other than that false statement, the rest of the paper was really good and I hope this person went on to college and broadened their horizons.
Wow, what a passel of white devils.
I think the person who wrote this is racist against commas.
Blaming all white people for certain atrocities committed by some white people is like blaming all Asians for something the Japanese did or blaming Mexicans for something the Peruvians did. All white people are not the same nationality or the same race. But I think white people tolerate generalizations other peoples get up in arms about because of the guilt we are constantly subjected to--the guilt that's never going to be enough for anybody.
Going out of your way not to be offensive, can become offensive. And one should not make the claim to know what white people are going to say or do, that makes you sound racist yourself.
But whatever.
Blaze, I think hegemony is the word your looking for that will fully incorporate the idea that the majority will always force their beliefs/selves/power on the minority.
Personally, I'm able to overlook the racism; what I can't overlook is the anthropomorphizing of "I Have A Dream." I particularly like the vision of this speech standing there, hands on hips, in front of thousands of people officially taking a "stand" against racism.
I met the white man once, and oddly enough, he did indeed take credit for inventing racism.
Oh, no, wait... that was Al Gore and the internet.
My bad.
I got a sneetch tattoo as just such a reminder. (he has a star upon his.)
What an Ignorantly written paper. I would love to see where they got some of there info other than pulling it out of their ass.
As for "white people benefiting by racism", you think they are the only ones who have "benefited" due to racism?? Thats SHIT!
My spouse was tormented when he was younger for being too white, TOO WHITE so give me a break on all this white people crap. Everyone can be a racist no matter what color you are.
@Terrie--True, all white people are NOT the same nationality, but they ARE the same race. It's called "Caucasian".
Middle eastern people are Caucasian, do you call middle eastern people white?
Let me rephrase anyway, all white people are not the same ethnicity, but it's not called ethnicitism.
Terrie is correct not all "white people" are Caucasian, just because you have white skin doesn't mean anything. I know a very white looking Native American and he is not Caucasian even though he looks it. :)
And I'll just agree to disagree about what race means anyhow, it seems to mean different things to different people. Specifically what comes to my mind is the history of "racism" against red headed people of Celtic ancestry. I'd wager that most Europeans would argue that they are not the same race even if their skin is the same color.
Someone should try to contact Mr. Don Helling, English teacher (and swim team coach) at Selhome High School, Bellingham, WA to see whether he remembers this paper, or the assignment, or whatever.
Remember kids, everyone's a little bit racist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9CSnlb-ymA
@Malcolm
no offense meant, but that was a very foolish comment.
first off you're assuming that everyone who posted before you is white. you don't know the first thing about any of us, and have no right to assume someones race because they say something you disagree with.
second NO ONE said anything about "white people not benefiting from racism".
what we said was, "the white man" did not invent it.
which is undeniably true.
there is absolutely NO connection between what we said and what you complained about. which clearly implies you didn't even bother to read the comments before becoming "frustrated" and arguing with them.
you wanted to see "a bunch of white people denying they benefit from racism", even before bothering to read the posts. so you chose to make assumptions about the posters, and ignore what they were really saying.
because disagreeing and condemning is much easier then actually listening to and considering other peoples opinions.
Hulloah.
yadda yadda yadda
blah blah blah.
there's no beginning and there's no end to this issue. The paper is written by a high school student. Poorly.
Blaze is my new hero. (and not just because you used asshat.)
..that is all..
This paper was brought to you by An American Education: Leaving you in the dark for decades.
Yeah, but I was right though, wasn't I? And you peeps are doing a better job of proving me right than I could possibly do myself. Thanks ;-)
I hate everyone BUT Taiwanese business women and if this writer isn't one of them then I hate him too.
I personally found it halarious that it said malcom x showed love and compassion... Most of what he did was not passionate.
His followers were often violent
Malcom, you are so special, bless your heart.
Erp in Burp
That was my point! I'm not a great writer. I don't pretend to be, but I could see the flaws in this essay. However, in my defense, I wanted to keep my statement gender neutral so I used they, you are right it was incorrect grammar. If I really cared that much I would have used his/her, but I'm not writing an essay to turn in. I'm writing a post on a website, where my identity isn't even on display.
And just to further defend myself I never said that racism doesn't exist, or that white people have not done some horrible things. All I said was that white people didn't invent it.
I find anyone who uses the word "peeps" to be of inferior intelligence, solely because the word is so shamefully lazy and reminds me of the wildly-distributed, gross marshmallow candy.
I assume Malcolm is not of my "race", and for that I am grateful. Blaze, however, seems awesome, whatever color he is.
Fun, albeit predictable, discussion.
Had I authored this paper and stumbled upon this link, I would be beyond upset by the comments correcting my grammatical errors. It's really not that bad, especially as far as vocabulary is concerned. He/she was around the age of fifteen, one should remember.
As for the racism debate, well, it's not worth arguing at the moment.
Add bigotry against redheads. That has a long and illustrious history of of killing red-haired people (women, more than men, there's some sexism for you too) dating back to ancient Egypt.
Or how about bigotry towards albinos?
I prefer to think of racism just as bigotry, so you don't get the idea of mere skin colour. Any amount of difference (hair colour, eye colour, taller, shorter, w/e) and people will find a reason to be an "asshat" to you. (I too like that word, especially in conjunction with "jerkface".)
Oh, I'm white.
(It seems many have found it desirable or otherwise necessary to share their skin color, so I suppose I'll join in)
I once had an argument with my [now former] English teacher. She claimed that only 'white people' could be racist. Also, that 'black people' can't be racist.
I found that completely absurd. Racism isn't owned by one race. The difference is that the only "White Pride Parade" was a KKK or Skin-Head rally. A "Black Pride Parade" or a "Gay Pride Parade" was a celebration of culture, acceptance, etc.
Apparently 'white people' don't need acceptance and tolerance.
I also hate the term "reverse racism" which my white English teacher seemed to suffer from.
But what race am I, you ask?
Not white.
Hope I don't offend anyone, but then again I don't care because it's just my opinion.
I don't think white people invented or 'benefited' from racism. Racism has caused wars and seperation between people of the same white race. You would never see me joining hands with a skinhead.
"Organized" groups such as Nazi's, KKK, Westboro Baptist Church, etc put a bad name to white people. Meanwhile, very few of us white folks are actually like that.
*And Malcolm, I'm sorry you feel the way you do, but honestly it seems like you're the one being racist.*
If you are black, white, tan, whatever, you can be racist. It's not a whites-only club.
Racism is "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race." No where in the definition does it say that white people 'created' or 'benefit' from it.
I am very aware that prejudice still exists, but it really annoys me that 1.<b>nothing is being done about it.</b> 2. <b>a small group of people cause an entire race to be blamed </b>
We can all use a dictionary, but sometimes there's a big difference between reading a definition and understanding what words mean. As Blaze said early in this thread, racism is a power structure - without power it's just prejudice. Most responses have ignored this entirely.
As soon as I saw this "find" my heart sank, as experience has shown me that white people will do their darnedest to point in every other direction, bringing up petty prejudices and rivalries and elevating them to the scale and impact that racism has had on the world. I believe that is what has transpired (see - I can use words like "transpired" as well as words like "peeps"!). The embarassing reality that white people do benefit from racism - whether you personally are racist or not - is a difficult thing to accept. You don't (of course) have to accept it, but that doesn't make it untrue. Perhaps feeling affronted at the perceived slur is the wrong response?
The prejudice suffered by Irish people is not petty, Malcolm. The Irish were slaves, Malcolm. We only should only recognize the oppression of black people? It's just prejudice, they're white, whatev, enh?
Funny you should mention that Terrie. When the Irish first began to immigrate to the USA they were indeed treated as "black". It was largely by collaborating with the white establishment (in some cirumstances by leading pogroms against black communities) that they were able to identify themselves as "white" i.e. by defining what they were NOT. I recommend Noel Igniateff's excellent book "How the Irish became white" (http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Became-White-Noel-Igna Once again though, we are clearly talking about racism as a power structure, not as a prejudice.
On Post Secret this week there is a postcard that says the following: " I'm extremely terrified of Chinese people. But I'm not a racist." Bullshit. The only way that could be true is if this person had been tortured and or killed by a bunch of Chinese people in a past life and seeing as there is no evidence of this having happened....I smell racism.
All this race talk makes me glad I'm not Human!
Sure sounds like a lot of people have been treated very badly by a lot of other people throughout history. Currently, it would seem that people of African descent get the shaft most often. Anyone have any suggestions on how to remedy the current situation instead of playing "my people got it just as bad back then".
To my knowledge, my family has never been oppressed or been oppressors. Malcolm, you sound like an articulate and well read individual (even with the "peeps" reference). If you find yourself in Cleveland, let me know. I'll buy you a beer (or a Pepsi if you prefer).
Now...
Bring on tomorrow's post already - Please!
im glad my soul is seap-proof.
I'm more of a cherry Coke man myself, but that's an offer I can't refuse!
I'm somewhere between light yellow and white. But that's because we all know the most delicious butter is that color.
I am intolerant of Britney Spears (and those who worship her), crack addicts and tweekers.
What does THAT say about me?
Everyone's a little bit racist
Sometimes.
Doesn't mean we go
Around committing hate crimes.
Look around and you will find
No one's really color blind.
Maybe it's a fact
We all should face
Everyone makes judgments
Based on race.
:D
I really hope one day that a high school paper about racism won't be enough to spark a debate about the intricacies of racism, bigotry and oppression and inspire accusations supposedly based on race. But whatev. That'll probably never happen.
back in the saddle again, you said it. "Blah Blah Blah.."
Carry on, dear founders, but I refuse to engage in this one.
Not that I am a racist and I grew up dealing with stereotypes aimed at my culture, but as was stated...there is no beginning and no end to this issue.
Hope tomorrow's find is much less controversial.
Life is too short, ya know?
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Calling other people out for prejudice, injustice, and hate is easier than looking at yourself, but far less productive.
@ ooooohhhh Shiny: that you're super intelligent, have great taste and you're good looking!
@Sammy: you engaged.
Tru that, Night in gale. But what do you expect from a dog?
I feel for Mr. Helling. I eat, sleep, and breathe bad essays right now. I can't wait for the end of the semester, so I can be shut of my share of Fall '08s English 101 students.
Man, I should be doing a presentation over the DRC, but I had to get my found fix and I am wicked surprised to find so many closet racists on such a great venue for like-minded folk. Malcolm, Blaze, you guys are awesome, and I can't believe you've managed to toil through such a laborious board over what could've been a fun find for me.
P.S. As for rude comments about words that people use, I say peeps all the time, there's nothing wrong with commercialization or colloquial speech; I am in fact a language major/linguistics minor and the majority of the linguistic community loves peeps. I like to save the eyes for last so it can watch itself die.
P.P.S. Asshat was one of my faves, Blaze; thanks for its reawakening.
You see, this is what I love about FOUND. My fellow FOUND followers are not so stupid as to be drawn in by the "white man invented racism" bs. Thank you, my friends. I was afraid I'd have to correct people being wrong on the blagonet.
Damn. This is what you get when you stop reading after the first few comments. You find that you really should've been knocking some heads together.
Look. Guys. Racism is shitty. Seriously. But I think when you start making the distinction that ONLY prejudice and hate based on "whites vs everyone else" is allowed to count as "real hate and prejudice," you're kinda missing the point. Social and/or institutional discrimination based on personal aspects one cannot control is the issue, is it not? People from around the world have been subject to discrimination and hate due to everything from race to religion, from socio-economic status to sexual orientation, and believe me, not all of it has been from whites. Get your priorities straight: shouldn't we recognize the human rights for EVERYONE instead of narrowing our gaze to one (albeit large and important) area of concentration?
Racism is shitty. Seriously. But...
And there's my point!
@Carroca re: your "fellow Found followers"
If you'd pay attention, you'd notice that most of us didn't even post comments on this Find.
Hand in hand they cross the way,
The black boy and the white.
The golden splendor of the day,
The sable pride of night.
From lowered blinds the black folks stare,
And here the white folk talk,
Indignent that these two should dare
In unison to walk.
Oblivious to look and stare,
They pass, and see no wonder
That lightning brilliant as a sword should blaze a path of thunder.
Tableau by Countee Cullen
pardon any erors, typed by memory
..."Through it all, I knew that Maurice had been chosen as our victim not only because he was black, and different from us in countless other ways, but because he was the weakest, and weakness, above all things, could not be tolerated"...
From First Snow, a tale in The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas. -- Davy Rothbart
This paper was poorly writen in general.
It had a good theme I suppose but the person shows their ignorance on the subject of "racism" (even though the paper itself seems to be geared toward the civil rights movement and black supression more than racism as a whole.) at some points.
Just wanted to add as someone previously mentioned that Malcom X did not want to promote peace. He promoted separation of blacks and whites. He, unlike Martin Luther King Jr. who wanted everyone to come together, wanted a functioning black society completely seperate from the white one.
Several people have made comments about Malcolm X which are just plain wrong. This is not the place to go into detail, I'd just like to suggest you go and find out about the man before making judgements like these (hell, if you can't be bothered to read his autobiography, even a glance at Wikipedia ought to give you an idea of how wrong you are).
Racism is a never ending battle that will forever plague society. There are ignorant bigots out there, of all races, that give everyone else a bad name and pointing fingers won't change a damn thing.
I am a blond-haired, blue eyed, "white" person, but I have a Hispanic father and Hispanic last name. The sad thing is that when people hear my surname they automatically assume I'm Mexican. I'm Puerto Rican. My point is that assumption is just ignorance rearing its ugly head. The color of a person's skin says nothing about who they really are.
Note to "darkshines in The cupboard under the stairs"
You said "Caucasian people "got over" racism years ago, but other races keep bringing it back up."
Oh really? I bet you don't listen to the news or read up on current issues beyond the latest Twilight gossip because racism does still exist. It may no longer be legally sanctioned in the US but racism towards non-Caucasians is still alive in quite a few people's hearts and minds. There are 98,000,000 Google results for "white power." Educate yourself! Pay a visit to SPLCenter.org (Southern Poverty Law Center). They track white supremacists and other hate groups.
I wish everyone agreed with the author of this piece.
Racism exists.
Bigotry exists.
It is pointless to try to place blame anywhere for its inception.
The real question is: What are we going to do about it now?