Biopanda 2675 Posted July 10, 2016 6 minutes ago, IGM_Oficial said: Trombe's new rank, like "lol, wut" 2 IGM_Oficial and itsukoii reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AliceParanoid 292 Posted July 11, 2016 Just had in another Forum a discussion about Pokemon Go and that's it's so sad that's someone first need a App to get out and move and that's its egoistic to do that. Instead of beeing happy that's people are walking and moving way more then they normaly do lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gekiai 231 Posted July 11, 2016 I never knew that one's head could hurt so bad until today :'D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
violetchain 912 Posted July 11, 2016 (edited) Sad they didn't do Deadman's Rodeo Revolver when they came to Canada. It looks like so much fun live. Then again, they did METEORS, which was like 15 minutes long with the intro, so I guess I can't complain. Edited July 11, 2016 by violetchain Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emmny 4139 Posted July 11, 2016 (edited) i can't wait for fixer's next release...its gonna slay us all... also Mod hater. Edited July 11, 2016 by emmny 4 Aferni, Valicious, Biopanda and 1 other reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhirlingBlack 1043 Posted July 11, 2016 I know it's nitpicking but can people please use the correct terms? No matter what you feel about blacks being shot (not getting into the debate because I frankly don't care for either side of the argument much) please stop calling it murder. Murder is premeditated by definition. The last thing any debate needs is strong words like that used incorrectly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Valicious 572 Posted July 11, 2016 1 hour ago, emmny said: i can't wait for fixer's next release...its gonna slay us all... also Mod hater. RH can get it then combine it with stream stuff for ya. We just recently order all their stuff off Starwave for someone (getting in on that dank free overseas shipping) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted July 11, 2016 3 hours ago, WhirlingBlack said: I know it's nitpicking but can people please use the correct terms? No matter what you feel about blacks being shot (not getting into the debate because I frankly don't care for either side of the argument much) please stop calling it murder. Murder is premeditated by definition. The last thing any debate needs is strong words like that used incorrectly. I understand that this is something that probably doesn't affect you, and perhaps an issue that you may not fully be able to grasp, but as someone that has experienced the effects of this, distinct racism both explicitly and implicitly for the entirety of their life, from my perspective, this comment reads as highly insensitive. And so with all due respect, you'll understand me when I say the last thing that THIS particular debate needs is nitpicky, tactless opinions from people who are, admittedly, unconcerned about the issue at hand. As for the choice of words - murder, homicide, manslaughter, premeditated/unintentional killing - whatever term you'd like to append to it - I'm sure that's a REALLY minor detail to all of the people who are affected by all of the senseless, and very preventable deaths. I doubt it makes a difference to the little girl who lost her father right in front of her eyes, or the little 15 year old boy on the news crying how he wants and misses his dad. I doubt it makes a difference to my sister, mother of three young boys, who actually has to worry about the fact that she is raising her sons in a country where it has been proven time and time again that they are not valued, simply because of their skin. Where she has to teach 3 young boys that even if you do everything "right", you can still be punished because of your skin, and that the punishment may just be fatal. How do you even do that? You know I got love for you, WB, and I'm certainly not trying to come at you sideways or anything - but for me, this is an issue that touches at home, so I wanted to let you know how I feel. I know all of this stuff seems like a fairy tale when you exist outside of the quagmire, but I was literally born into this, and it is very real for me. I would have talked to you about this privately, but since this is an extension of a public discussion (and this is an international forum with many ppl who may not quite grasp the situation), I wanted to put my perspective out there too! 10 beni, plastic_rainbow, fitear1590 and 7 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hiroki 5521 Posted July 11, 2016 (edited) I don't want to wade too deep into this exchange for many reasons so I'll keep this as short as possible. First, to "defend" WhirlingBlack's statement even though I hardly know him at all: every word has a unique political and ethical valence so it's important for us to be always sensitive to how we use words. I don't think he intended to downplay in any way the severity of the situation by suggesting that the word 'murder' is inappropriate for this context. It's precisely because there already is a great deal at stake, that we can do without further amplifying tensions through the careless use of laden words. Describing the situation in precise terms does not mean to trivialize the anxieties that black people in America experience, nor does it mean to nullify the tragic reality of recent events--if anything it enables us to see the injustice for what it is and equip us to better address it. Using words like 'murder' risks reducing the issue to one of individual hatred/racism (it's not at all uncommon to hear people make startling claims like "all we need to do is to go out there and get rid of all black-haters"), while failing to address the much more entrenched and challenging problem of institutionalized racism of which these events are merely symptomatic. I don't question in the slightest how much this matters to someone like @CAT5 for whom racism is a daily struggle. It wouldn't make sense for any of us to try and pretend to grasp what living through all of that feels like. Yet, the capacity of the marginalized to articulate a legitimate and authentic account of their experience is often not ipso facto sufficient to precipitate fruitful transformative action, especially in a country like the US that is historically burdened by centuries worth of social structures in place to systematically work against certain groups of people. This is why I think it's crucial to not foreclose dialogue between the marginalized and people outside of that community simply because they cannot share the specificity of a minority's experience. To believe that these people have nothing to contribute to the existing discourse inhibits any potential coalition-building that can change things for the better. Likewise to claim that there's nothing of value that can be learned from someone living in a different place (or, for that matter, a different historical period) is a little too presumptuous. In my view: the perennial problem with organized movements in the service of virtually any form of identity politics (and not just race) is that the situation quickly devolves into a case of where you stand being all that matters, instead of the actual merits of what you think and say in support of your position. I think this is troubling. Not surprisingly this only became worse with the all the pseudo-journalism creeping into the Internet and in some ways we're already paying the price for it. We don't even have to look very far beyond contemporary US politics to find the opportunist par excellence of this flavor. Many condemn Trump's rhetoric as divisive, but they fail to see that he is doing nothing more than leveraging on the polarizing potential that has always been latent in discourse on identity politics, as well as the general inability of the public to appreciate the actual depth and complexity of human affairs beyond the 'us vs them' dichotomy, as if things are as simple as separating two immiscible liquids by letting the denser one sink to the bottom before draining it off. In sum: it is in our interest to engage every point of view on the table with a provisional openness, while always remaining vigilant to pernicious perspectives regardless of which side of the barricade they happen to fall on. Both sides deserve and demand equal measures of rational scrutiny. This is the only way to foster any kind of fruitful political dialogue that will, with a lot of effort and a bit of luck, translate into the beginnings of systematic change. (Yes I might be typing all of these as someone who's 'living halfway across the planet,' but I'm far from being 'unconcerned.') Edited July 11, 2016 by hiroki 7 enyx, Biopanda, Mihenno and 4 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fitear1590 2414 Posted July 11, 2016 The bottom line is, an outsider like WB doesn't need "defending," because the situation doesn't ultimately affect his livelihood. Of course, he's entitled to an opinion as we all are, but in the end, the opinions and voices that matter most in this situation are of those who are being most affected: black Americans. Let's defend them. I don't think he meant to distract from the conversation, intentionally, but these kinds of detours and sidesteps are all too common in a conversation that is already an uphill battle. Talking about race in the US has always been awkward due to the nation's dicey history, but also because we refuse to face it. It's become so abundantly clear in the mainstream consciousness that even if the horrors of slavery, lynching, and segregation of "the past" are officially over, the aftermath and residues are still very much part of our present. In some ways, it's likely harder to talk about race now, because the majority of white America is "colorblind" and refuses to believe that racism still exists. How can Americans expect to have an honest discussion, when the loudest voices of the most dominant group are so willfully dismissive and/or believe any expression of disdain for institutional racism is "reverse racism"? Talking to racists is already like talking to a brick wall, so the last thing we need is to distract from the real conversation any further. Someone will always have a criticism: use more precise words, be more respectful (which I don't think anyone in their right mind can ask of Philando Castile's girlfriend. She was addressing the policeman as "sir," even as her boyfriend was bleeding and dying next to her), don't be so "angry," etc... It's all just subterfuge and does not really help. And even if we were to accept the "nitpicking," let's nitpick this scenario even further. Maybe "murder" really is a valid term. Is "premeditation" any different from "motive"? Surely, racism, whether institutional (using black male's mugshots as target practice in police stations, etc.) or individual (policemen dropping the n-word on their personal social media accounts, etc.) is a common motive in these tragedies. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the culture of racism has indeed led to the murder of numerous black Americans at the hands of police officers. 10 Kaye, Seimeisen, saishuu and 7 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhirlingBlack 1043 Posted July 12, 2016 I really think I don't need to add anything more on most of this because hiroki explained the whole situation perfectly. About the intent of my comment on choice of words though, I have this to say: If you were to believe that the white policeman regardless of action taken by the other man was intent on shooting him to death before stepping up to him, then yes, murder would be accurate. If his purpose going up to him was to kill him then yes, that is murder. I don't like the idea of people facilitating such thoughts though because it might lead to more revenge murders of policemen (yes when you plan out and shoot people to death with full intent in advance, it's murder) and cause the situation to spiral. It's a tragedy yes and I don't doubt for a second that it's symptomatic for your country, but we are all responsible to not use words that can rile up more racial hate in a situation like this. I realise that is difficult for people affected though, and that's why third parties should be allowed input (if we even entertain the strange idea that only people directly affected by things are allowed to comment on them). That was the reason behind my comment about word choice. 1 Biopanda reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArtFart 375 Posted July 12, 2016 Why do no Pokemon come to my house? Also there is a gym right by my local tacobell... You guys know where I will be! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spectralion 394 Posted July 12, 2016 So, I heard from my friend that my house has became a PokeGym. I think it's because I have a home portal from Ingress. ...but I don't have any motivation to start play PokeGO... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted July 12, 2016 4 hours ago, WhirlingBlack said: I really think I don't need to add anything more on most of this because hiroki explained the whole situation perfectly. About the intent of my comment on choice of words though, I have this to say: If you were to believe that the white policeman regardless of action taken by the other man was intent on shooting him to death before stepping up to him, then yes, murder would be accurate. If his purpose going up to him was to kill him then yes, that is murder. I don't like the idea of people facilitating such thoughts though because it might lead to more revenge murders of policemen (yes when you plan out and shoot people to death with full intent in advance, it's murder) and cause the situation to spiral. It's a tragedy yes and I don't doubt for a second that it's symptomatic for your country, but we are all responsible to not use words that can rile up more racial hate in a situation like this. I realise that is difficult for people affected though, and that's why third parties should be allowed input (if we even entertain the strange idea that only people directly affected by things are allowed to comment on them). That was the reason behind my comment about word choice. I don't have an issue with third party input, but I do have an issue with the way that the input is given. No matter how valuable or sage the words you'd like to contribute are, if you're a third party, you NEED to approach the situation with a certain amount of tact and sensitivity. The way your post read to me was like "oh I don't care about the situation, but you guys should do watch what words you use". You can't seriously expect to be received well with such a crass and insincere tone can you? I felt the same way about @Carmelzors post on the previous page - it wasn't so much what he was saying, as much as it was his authoritative and didactic tone, as if he were an expert on the situation. I know neither you nor carmerlzors meant any harm by your words, but just as 3rd parties want people to be open to their opinions, you also have to be open enough to understand that oppressed people are far too downtrodden to want to hear "nitpicky" opinions or "know-it-all" solutions from people who aren't even affected by the issue in the first place. I'm not saying that outside opinions are invalid or not welcome, but that's like me trying to tell @Pho and @beni how to feel about Brexit when I have no idea what it's like living in England, or me telling @seurong and @saishuu what's the best direction for their government (post-presidential crisis) when I know nothing about Brazilian politics. Outsiders simply have no idea what it's like to actually be on the inside. Sure, you may have comparable experience and knowledge from elsewhere, but every situation is different. You guys see headlines, social media/online posts, and probably talk with a few people, but at best your knowledge is anecdotal. For people like @Zeus and I, when we log off - the injustice doesn't vanish. It's there - in our faces every fucking day. It's easy for people who exist outside of the oppression at hand to sit calmly and analyze each new situation from a neutral standpoint, examine each wayward opinion with "equal rational scrutiny", and nitpick about word choice, but for most black people, these recent killings have been like the icing on a shit-filled cake that we've been fed our entire lives. The injustice against blacks in America is so rich, so deep, so prevalent, and so consistent that at this point, whether you call these recent killings "murder" or not is irrelevant, because no matter what word you want to dress it in for semantics sake - it's all the same to black people at this point. The media does its best to take advantage of this and rile the masses into their bullshit, racially divisive propaganda, and while many ppl on both sides feed into the nonsense and effectively transform the actual issues into a never-ending reality tv show, the issues that plague black america are still very real. I know I'm not alone when I say that, sometimes, I have to ignore it all just to attempt to continue living a "normal" life - all the while knowing in the back of my head that the system is not for me. But no matter how much I try to explain this perspective to you guys, you will never completely grasp the picture. And that's perfectly ok. If you're an outsider or on the opposite side of oppression, you HAVE to honor and respect that gap. That's all I ask. If you're an outsider and you want to contribute something to the conversation, you must do so with grace and compassion. Or else why should your opinion even matter? 9 doombox, saishuu, beni and 6 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enyx 903 Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) Would rep @hiroki's post 100 times over, if I could. I find it utterly bizarre how most modern mainstream 'equality' movements seem intent on reinforcing the perceived divisions in whichever demographic dimension they're concerned with rather than deconstructing them through heterogeneous deliberative discussion and co-operation. It's as though there's a widespread fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of equality; where people somehow perceive increased separation between peoples based on arbitrary identity factors to be preferable to the elimination of those factors from social consciousness. What makes it worse is its self-reinforcing tendencies, wherein which individuals from 'outside' of the debate are marginalized or excluded on the logic that the argument "doesn't affect them", and thus the 'debate' ends up taking place in a homogeneous echo chamber of sorts. I'm seeing this trend in a lot of other aspects of society too, and I have to admit it leaves me feeling very concerned. 2 hours ago, CAT5 said: I'm not saying that outside opinions are invalid or not welcome, but that's like me trying to tell @Pho and @beni how to feel about Brexit when I have no idea what it's like living in England Which would be completely fine, if your opinion was logically well-founded and well-supported. Refer to Hiroki's post above. Edited July 12, 2016 by Pho 4 hiroki, WhirlingBlack, Pretsy and 1 other reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeus 7997 Posted July 12, 2016 4 hours ago, Pho said: Which would be completely fine, if your opinion was logically well-founded and well-supported. Refer to Hiroki's post above. The key words are "how to feel", not "what to feel". You are entitled to your opinion, as is everyone else here, even if your opinion runs counter to mine. What is rubbing me the wrong way, as well as @CAT5, and I would wager any African American MH member, is that there are people trying to tell us how to feel. None of you are African American, so don't tell me your observations about black life in America are equal to our experiences as black individuals. You just won't get it. AND THAT'S OK. To think you can distill our entire life experiences into a few bullet points on an internet forum, to me, is the height of arrogance. You do not get to direct the conversation, or to rephrase the situation to downplay aspects too grisly for you to face head-on, or to tell us what emotions are most conducive to enacting change. NONE. OF. YOU. GET. THAT. RIGHT. STOP. TELLING. US. HOW. TO. FEEL. Now that's not to say you don't get to participate in the dialogue at all but no one is doing that. Not one person in this topic has put forth a solution that will ease our suffering. It's just pages upon pages of people trying to seem enlightened. We will need you at the table next to us in order to enact meaningful change. What we need you to do, as non-African American individuals, is to listen to us and help us. 6 beni, plastic_rainbow, saishuu and 3 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enyx 903 Posted July 12, 2016 20 minutes ago, Zeus said: The key words are "how to feel", not "what to feel". Misread @CAT5's comment as "how I feel" rather than "how to feel", so my bad there. Anyone telling anybody else how to feel is stupid no matter who they are, because every individual decides how they do or do not feel for themselves. People can't dictate other people's feelings. There's a very big difference, however, between that and saying that people's opinions should be heard and judged on the merit of their argument rather than their demographic identity. As such I stand by my post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emmny 4139 Posted July 12, 2016 i think whats so challenging to understand about racism and is how it doesn't cleanly follow lines of logic. for people who are inclined to follow logic to solve issues (me included), it can make no sense how there's such a prominent emotional undercurrent. it sounds lovely to have white and black people chitchat about helping black oppression...but hows that possible when most politicians are white? why don't more black people simply just become politicians? even if they can...why don't they want to? the answer to the last question relates to it in general, one's perception of the society influences what they feel comfortable doing. its within everyone's right to step into politics, but what's the point to represent a system which you feel hasn't supported/represented you? this isn't statistical fact, but kind of an example as to why logical reasoning can't encompass the human feelings and reactions that come from racism. this is a stretch for canadian me to say as well, but i imagine thats why peeps like cat5 and zeus don't entirely want to hear the reactions of "outsiders". people tend to oversimplify everything and try to reason out of a problem, however, having witnessed an issue firsthand--they realize its far more complicated than one thinks. there's a lot of levels to this, and i think acknowledging that and listening (as zeus said) is more relevant than challenging the problem with logic and rhetoric. this isn't a stab at anyone, just a summary of how i feel about whats being said so far. sorry if its vague ;___; also, just try to think of it from a human perspective instead of numbers. it's really challenging to keep an individual perspective in such a political debate, but i think thats the best way to understand why people do what they do. 11 saishuu, hiroki, CAT5 and 8 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ro plz 1290 Posted July 12, 2016 1 hour ago, emmny said: i think whats so challenging to understand about racism and is how it doesn't cleanly follow lines of logic. for people who are inclined to follow logic to solve issues (me included), it can make no sense how there's such a prominent emotional undercurrent. it sounds lovely to have white and black people chitchat about helping black oppression...but hows that possible when most politicians are white? why don't more black people simply just become politicians? even if they can...why don't they want to? the answer to the last question relates to it in general, one's perception of the society influences what they feel comfortable doing. its within everyone's right to step into politics, but what's the point to represent a system which you feel hasn't supported/represented you? this isn't statistical fact, but kind of an example as to why logical reasoning can't encompass the human feelings and reactions that come from racism. this is a stretch for canadian me to say as well, but i imagine thats why peeps like cat5 and zeus don't entirely want to hear the reactions of "outsiders". people tend to oversimplify everything and try to reason out of a problem, however, having witnessed an issue firsthand--they realize its far more complicated than one thinks. there's a lot of levels to this, and i think acknowledging that and listening (as zeus said) is more relevant than challenging the problem with logic and rhetoric. this isn't a stab at anyone, just a summary of how i feel about whats being said so far. sorry if its vague ;___; also, just try to think of it from a human perspective instead of numbers. it's really challenging to keep an individual perspective in such a political debate, but i think thats the best way to understand why people do what they do. Emmy, I present you with this black card. Use responsibly. This is a great honor. 5 Zeus, saishuu, emmny and 2 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emmny 4139 Posted July 12, 2016 stal u fkin kill me thanks for bringing the memes back Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted July 12, 2016 DID SOMENODY SAY MEMES??????????????? 3 emmny, Biopanda and enyx reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pretsy 1343 Posted July 12, 2016 First and most of all, I still fail to see that how I gave @Zeusand @CAT5an impression of handling American matters "much better" than actual inhabitants with experience and whatnot (i.e. "knowitall" and "expert"-attitude). As those hints in my comments already say - there is a big difference when I DICTATE and when I SUGGEST (please do feel free to point out where are such hints). At this point we, non-American MH participants, attempt to facilitate the atmosphere of cooperation here - to outline the discussion for catering various aspects in order to get the bigger picture together - what is truly going on? Of course, as it was mentioned above, there are no immediate solutions available at the moment. Yes, we definitely lack on-site experience in terms of current events. However, generally saying things like "you have it much easier there due to your race" or similar stuff is 1) Dismissing possible BG information about said person's nationality and ethnicity (since racism touches these subjects as well, FYI). Sure, I didn't expect Zess to read my bio like an open book since we are not that familiar with each other but this move is nonetheless guaranteed to rub your partner in conversation the wrong way. I ain't the victim of institutionalized racism, no - but even so, as the person of ethnicity different (and looked down upon) from my country fellows, I can say that I at least "get the gist" of it. Therefore, let's just stop personal addressing and "HA! You said this back in the day"-kind of accusation and assess the merit of our arguments instead. And if we lump this "you live abroad so you just stay away from our business"-rhetoric here as well, it's also 2) Shutting your partners out. Don't exclude - but explain, guide, debate...make the progress if you want us to understand! It doesn't help at all if you find our positioning potentially hurtful and consequently shut us out from your matters. As a global, worried community we are equally worried and willing to help you discover the "right path" . Isolating us from specific topics is just...not exemplary nor helpful for our esprit de corps: we have this shared spirit of J-enthusiasm and it would really suck if it all went away due to such "cloaking". None of us wants you to close your ears and eyes to the potential plethora of choices and literally follow the idiom of "fighting fire with fire", which is really, really, REALLY NOT recommended if you strive for radical changes in racism or any form of complex, prejudice-driven interaction from its institutionalized to its "milder" form (since it cannot vanish, unfortunately). As such, it's advised in the meanwhile to address other frightening realities of today's plethora of events TOGETHER - even if your partners in conversation seem to be really "out of touch" or "biased" about them - be it militarization of police forces; questionable, almost illogical status of amendments; the lack of direct "channels" between the gov and citizens; "bandwagoning"/"witch-hunting" and so on. This may not be of course the wordbook definition of "solution" , but it would at least help to settle some things and avoid the large-scale, social catastrophe. The worst fate for any country is basically the "implosion" - the moment when citizens from different blocks start antagonizing each other and bear very radical intentions to "break the system" (coup, armed takeover, riot, etc.) in hopes of providing better future. For now, this is what you COULD attempt to ponder upon if possible. This is just me and my take (please agree to disagree), but I think there's much more than just and "solely" racial motives. Sometimes, the most complex bodies, entireties can be realized and fixed by assessing the "easiest" parts first. Let this be my final, "non-PC" note on this discussion - and to recap: I had no intents to racially nor prejudice-wise hurt anyone around here. I came here for the sake of cooperative, constructive and eye-opening discussions. 2 CAT5 and hiroki reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) fuck you @Carmelzors, I just gone done writing this big-ass post to see you've already posted. Imma post it anyways, and then read what you've got to say afterwards, so know this post was written without having read yours first! Ya know, It's funny because I think that @Pho, @WhirlingBlack, and @hiroki 's points about outside opinions have been proven - not directly through their arguments, but by simple virtue of them openly engaging in this conversation. Even if I don't agree with their outlooks, by sharing our separate arguments - I think this discourse has allowed all parties to become more aware of our different points of contention, and opened our perspectives a bit. I think this is part of what they were getting at all along, and as evidenced by emmny's post (which ppl from all sides of the debate have liked), there has been some extent of mutual understanding reached. So while I still stand by my words and feel like the opinions of outsiders should not eclipse the opinions of the oppressed in question, I can certainly appreciate the prospective value of those outside opinions. This is a LOADED topic, and one that can get emotional and touchy quick. My posts have definitely been fraught with anger and frustration, but I'm glad that we could hold such a heated discussion without getting too catty about it. It's been unexpectedly cathartic for me, and there is a certain beauty to being able to discuss these things with people from literally all over the planet, all with different backgrounds and ideologies. So I apologize if I made anyone feel as if their opinion is unwanted, but in less angry terms than I stated earlier, I do think that when engaging with a topic this dense, we all have to humble ourselves to each other and respect the different perspectives at play - difficult as it can be. So with that in mind, rest assured that I've no hard feelings towards @Carmelzors, @WhirlingBlack, @Pho, or @hiroki. If anything, it's a good thing you guys are taking part in this conversation, because there are many who are too scared to, can't be bothered to, or simply refuse take part in it, and many others who don't even recognize it as an actual discussion. Also, bless @emmnyfor his post. I think he succinctly communicated what I had trouble trying to articulate in the last few posts. If I were to try and sum up what it feels like to be black in America, I'd describe it as follows. It's like a catch22 of sorts. I wasn't born into world thinking "i am black, this is my identity. this is who i am". I still don't think that either. I'm just a human being with thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears..with an identity, same as anyone else. But unfortunately, we've been thrust into this silly racial game. Nobody asked to play this game. Black people didn't wake up one day say "you know what? let's create some racial tension for shits and giggles!" I like how @Pho described race as an "arbitrary identity factor" - and it is. Race is literally a man-made concept. So all of this racial strife...this "game" is complete and utter, divisive bullshit. But the problem is that for black Americans, this game is unavoidable. Imagine being trapped inside of a video game, but knowing that a world exists outside of that video game, and that you're not the one controlling the game. Even if you try to ignore the fact that you're in the game and go about living your life, you're still in the game at the end of the day. So what do you do? When you try to speak out to the controllers of the game - when you point out all of the racism and injustice - it only serves to antagonize and further perpetuate the game. This is basically what being black in America feels like. Forced to play a game you don't want to. Even if you try to ignore it, the system still sees you as "black". I don't like calling myself black. I don't get off from doing that. It does literally nothing for me. I just want to be a normal human being like everybody else. "white privilege" comes into play when you realize that for the most part, white people can enter and exit this metaphorical game at will. The system recognizes them as individuals. Me on the other hand, no matter what I do and no matter who I choose to be, I'm still appended to this bullshit idea of "black". And if you want to make matters even worse, there are many black AND white in people in America who don't even realize they're in this crappy, antagonistic racial game. They're perfectly content being soulless sprites, living as they're programmed to. But that's a whole 'nother can of worms... I'm rambling at this point, but I do enjoy discussing this. Maybe we should just make a seperate thread? aha. Edited July 12, 2016 by CAT5 6 hiroki, beni, WhirlingBlack and 3 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted July 13, 2016 So I just had a job interview via phone, and they already invited me in for a face-to-face on Tuesday. *doki doki* 4 emmny, Aferni, AliceParanoid and 1 other reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YuyoDrift 1540 Posted July 13, 2016 ^^ Good luck! About how many rollercoaster rides at six flags does it take to throw up my morning breakfast? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites