being thick skinned.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

100% ditto for my grandmother. I never heard a "nasty" word from her mouth my entire 40+ years I was around her except when she served up a bowl of nuts that included Brazil nuts.

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I'd completely forgotten about the Brazil nuts thing. I can now hear my mother say it clearly in my mind.

What the hell are you guys talking about?

Brazil nuts?

[flatbutt]

As a kid I wore the sleeveless T shirts that were commonly referred to as Guines T shirts but no one said that in my neighborhood. Then they became known as wife beaters. THAT really pissed off the parents in my 'hood.

[Steve Carlton]

I guess they were commonly known as "n-word toes." I've never heard that.

[Monkey Wrench]

cultural, I remember bien in kindergarten, they had a somg to teach kids how to count ot ten, it went i little 2 little three little,,, and in the playgrounds we'd sing well as the "sitting on the fence" ryme,
I grew up with a lot of indiginous frineds, we had not yet ever heard the term indiginous, they were called Indians back then it was not an insult to anyone, and there were also east indians, now the word is south asians, and indian is currently an insult to some , but it depends upon interpretation.

I went back there and attemted to call one of my good old frineds indiginous, he loooked at me weirdly,, he said don't call me that, ho woke! I am an Indian.. What happened was the language changed. what also happend was the divide in culture became less tolerant due to the focus upon separate rights which I always forund morally questionable,

they start almost all public speaches now with a statement about "ceeded land", It feels exactly like I did when they preached in school and if we rere not religious,, We were to just bow our heads, sit quietly, be polite and let the others get on with their little religious poems, as I became a year or so older more wary the prayers were discontinbued in public schools..but before that readint the lords prayer in school was normal,

I actually truly believe in racial equality despite ancestory, so I find listening to that race related political stuff as a part of a work related presentation very insulting, I dont stand up to make a statement about it, I sit quietly, If I were ot speak out I;d be shunned or corrected, it would be very a very awkward moment, I bow my head and sit politely as to not insult anyone although I feel its wrong to say all these things.. I think the annimosity is actually amplified by such race related political statements, cultural divisions create annimosity..

I like the line from woodstock , it was at a crazy crowded huge concert,, but some will remember the statement,, "the guy beside you is your briother and you damn well beeter treat him that way or we blow the whole thing righ there.." - thats what euqlity is, to me,

ive never in my lifetine heard any politician stand up and say they thought we shoudl steer towards equality, and here in canada there are different rights and laws based upon bloodlines,

As much as I attemot to reason within it, I cant; agree to the direction we are heading in becauwe it does not represent my core value of basic equality anongst Canadians, despite race, color, creed or ancestry. I still do not think racial equality is a bad thing, but I dare not stand up and say anything too strongly.

a decision I came to I was trying to get on a bridge and other drivers were pushign theeir way ahead, I sat back and said, I dont have to police the whole world, every day I see situations where I remind myself of it, I cant quite express how much that helped me, gee I dont needot be stessd becaus eome other driver acts like a jerk..

the traffic situation is only an example, Im finding the adjustment to not rule the world applies to many circumstances ..
so it works for me,

another decisoon i made, I don't participate in surveys.. i refues to, the only one I'll do is censius, it is unlawful not to fill it in, surveys are an assessment of only the people willing to participate so they are never very reliable data anyway, I find that so often surveys are a way to create inaccurate data to base a particular judgement a upon..

polls happen in polling stations Thats the reason for the secret ballot in a democracy, the word poll seems to be morhing into "survey data", I do not think a survey and a poll are even related..

so much is about interpretation of terms, and terms do change pover time. Woke is related but use the word woke and you are almost sure to be interpreted as starting a political discussion..

a politican duscussio so often means an agumentative stance.. Im glad I stopped policing the whole world ;-)

Im finding it a lot easier now that I made that little personal change, its not always my gut reaction but when I think that way I so ofen just give a sigh of relief, like "dont sweat the small stuff,,"


I agree that its hard not to be insulted, but the fact is that you were insulted, Correcting the old lady won't accomplish much. I think it takes a "bigger man" to rise above it than to lash back out with some form of retalliation. You chose to take the high road, and its admirable.

[911 Rod]

^^^ Well said Mr. Wrench

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

I guess they were commonly known as "n-word toes." I've never heard that.

I have heard from someone that grew up in the south that smilax (greenbriar) was called that.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Monkey Wrench

cultural, I remember bien in kindergarten, they had a somg to teach kids how to count ot ten, it went i little 2 little three little,,, and in the playgrounds we'd sing well as the "sitting on the fence" ryme,
I grew up with a lot of indiginous frineds, we had not yet ever heard the term indiginous, they were called Indians back then it was not an insult to anyone, and there were also east indians, now the word is south asians, and indian is currently an insult to some , but it depends upon interpretation.

I went back there and attemted to call one of my good old frineds indiginous, he loooked at me weirdly,, he said don't call me that, ho woke! I am an Indian.. What happened was the language changed. what also happend was the divide in culture became less tolerant due to the focus upon separate rights which I always forund morally questionable,

My wife is into mysteries (books, movies, TV) and one of the famous Agatha Christie movies (and story) is "And Then There Were None".

Ten strangers on an isolated island off the coast of Devon are accused of past crimes, and are killed one by one according to the lines of a popular rhyme.

The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Collins Crime Club in November 1939 as "Ten Little N-words", after an 1869 minstrel song that forms the central element of the story. It continued to be published in the UK under that title until 1985, when it became "And Then There Were None".

The first American edition, published in 1940, was called And Then There Were None from the start, and has mostly continued under that title, although between 1964 and 1986 it was published by Pocket Books of New York as Ten Little Indians.

In both the US and later UK editions the text was modified to avoid the racial epithet, referring throughout to "Ten Little Indians" or "Ten Little Soldiers".

[Zeke]

I could have missed something but how did she know you are of Chinese descent? If all Asians are "chinamen" then it was a slur. If she knows your heritage, it's a slur. I'm happy that you talked it over but nothing changed once you leave.

You CAN live with it just as I live with "boomer." Doesn't mean I don't get angry. In fact, most generalizations bother me.

I remember years ago some radio talk show idiot said, "Well, it's Spring time and time for all the contractors to come out and rip you off." Seriously, I'm not making that up. It may not be verbatim but really close. Close enough that I can't forget it 30 years later. He then went into a diatribe about checking for license and references, all of which I agree with, but not with the tone of voice that all contractors are ex felons.

I came close to driving to the station and setting him straight. But then I would have been a felon.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Monkey Wrench

cultural, I remember bien in kindergarten, they had a somg to teach kids how to count ot ten, it went i little 2 little three little,,, and in the playgrounds we'd sing well as the "sitting on the fence" ryme,
I grew up with a lot of indiginous frineds, we had not yet ever heard the term indiginous, they were called Indians back then it was not an insult to anyone, and there were also east indians, now the word is south asians, and indian is currently an insult to some , but it depends upon interpretation.

The reason not to refer to South Asians as "East Indians" is because millions of them are not from India...surely you've heard of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, maybe Bangladesh? I don't consider it "political correctness" to have the basic respect for other people to learn where they are from, (if they are immigrants), and maybe have just a rudimentary understanding of geography. But hey, that's just me. Traditionally, it's not been the American way. I've met a lot of people who are pridefully ignorant, which always seems strange.

Christopher Columbus called Native Americans "Indians" because he could not navigate his ship, got lost and thought that he was in India, (another place he'd never been). He then thought that he had discovered a "new land," which was news to the people who had been living there for 1000 years or more. Anywho...I might have gotten off track a little but your stream-of-conscience post gave me license...have a nice weekend.

[GH85Carrera]

In the 9th grade I went to Wiapau middle school. I was 50% of the Haole attendees. Yep only one other white kid in the school. The racial tension was not subtle, as every Friday was "Kill a Haole day" and even girls would take a swing at me, or trip me. Evey one of those girls had a huge Samoan boyfriend. I learned to run fast as even Chuck Norris can't whip an entire class. Only one teacher on campus was a protector of the 2 Haoles. On the last day of school, there was no way in hell I was going to school as that was the island wide "kill Haole day" in the schools.

I was taunted with the moniker Haole constantly, and like being called a cracker, it never bothered me, and sounded silly. Now hearing "OK, Boomer" just lets me know they are mostly jealous and ignorant.

In Alabama, at the high school where I graduated, the class was 60% black. I never had one single issue of any sort. Except the heavy smoking in the bathrooms. The smoke was so thick by the time I was done using the urinal I honestly could not see the door, but that was mostly the white kids as they had the money for cigarettes. I hated that smoking in the bathrooms.

[john70t]

As they say "No good deed goes unpunished". Good on you, Cliff. Pat on the back. Now go have fun.

Just another perspective:
By downgrading you as some stranger, helping her out so much, she is really criticizing her friends in a circuitous way.
"Look at what others do for me and you don't."

[Steve Carlton]

I didn't know Haoles got treated that badly. I just googled it, and the Hawaiians overwhelmingly opposed the coup and annexation that we forced on them.

[Zeke]

@GH85Carrera, que the song "Smoking in the Bathroom."

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Zeke

@GH85Carrera, que the song "Smoking in the Bathroom."

Yea, that was not an issue at my school. The boys could smoke in the bathrooms on all three stories, and the girls could only smoke on the second floor bathrooms. Once outside the school doors and out into the parking lot, the smoking started up again. Cigarette butts everywhere. Smokers are some of the worst litterbugs on earth.

It was like an airline flight I took in the mid 1970s when the non smoking section was delineated by a line drawn on the floor. All the folks in the smoking section blew out lungfuls of smoke into the non smoking section. That sucked a lot as well.

It is nice to have smoke free restaurants and airplanes now.

[juanbenae]

Watched Gran Torino again last night.... Man, that food they were cookin smelled good, and I'd have me some rice liquor in a basement with you-you....

[HobieMarty]

Wow, what a crazy rabbit hole of a thread but very interesting. My Granny used the "N" word sometimes when talking in her home and my sister and I would get onto her about it, she changed. I never heard her say the word out in public. She also called Brazil nuts a certain name, never really understood why. Anyway growing up in and around Eglin AFB, I had friends and neighbors of many ethnicities so, I really didn't get the whole racism junk. I can tell you from experience, I didn't really experience it until I moved to a small town in Alabama, culture shock to say the least!!!
Anyhoo, I have a question. If you can't say "Indian" anymore, then, what do you call someone who is from India?

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[sc_rufctr]

I wish mine was thicker ... Also, I envy people who thrive/have laser focus under pressure.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by HobieMarty

Wow, what a crazy rabbit hole of a thread but very interesting. My Granny used the "N" word sometimes when talking in her home and my sister and I would get onto her about it, she changed. I never heard her say the word out in public. She also called Brazil nuts a certain name, never really understood why. Anyway growing up in and around Eglin AFB, I had friends and neighbors of many ethnicities so, I really didn't get the whole racism junk. I can tell you from experience, I didn't really experience it until I moved to a small town in Alabama, culture shock to say the least!!!
Anyhoo, I have a question. If you can't say "Indian" anymore, then, what do you call someone who is from India?

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

By their name?? Crazy, I know...

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by speeder

By their name?? Crazy, I know...

I mean like "so and so is of Indian decent as being from India".

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[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

I didn't know Haoles got treated that badly. I just googled it, and the Hawaiians overwhelmingly opposed the coup and annexation that we forced on them.

One day I was walking along right in front of the administration building were the staff and the principal had their offices behind a large glass window. They had a clear view of a large Samoan boy just sucker punch me in the face. He was aiming for my nose, but I had just enough time to lower my head so he smacked me in the forehead. He laid me out flat on my back, and I saw stars. He would have crushed my nose. My forehead hurt his hand so he gave me a kick for hurting his hand. Not one teacher, or any of the administration came to check on me, or ask if I was OK. Lots of students walked past laughing at me.

I laid there for probably 20 seconds trying to fugue out what the heck just happened. I was dazed for sure.

All I had seen was a fist coming at my face, and after many years of fighting with my older brother, I knew how to duck. I was late to class as I went to the wrong classroom first, and the teacher wrote me a tardy note.