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Blogs > wickedeasy > wicked and that ain't so easy |
shame on you, on all of us
shame on you, on all of us i wear a star of david around my neck - i have for 4 years. it was a gift. it is cherished. tonight i saw an old (unfortunately not all that old) movie about a prep school and the systemic denigration of a student simply because he was jewish. in the end, there is vindication for this young man. not so in life. too many people still use a phrase when they say they got a good price " i jewed him down", too many people hold the image in their mind of a jew being money grubbing or of the women being complaining and shrill. i am irish. i am a mick. my parents parents came over during the potato famine. we are lace curtain irsih. immigrants. poor. uneducated. what are you? are you a spic, a wop, a kike, a hebe, a nigger, a chink? for the love of all that is human/e.....why do we continue to do this? why do we make ourselves more by making someone else less? i am a woman. i am a Buddhist. i am a submissive. call me something that means something. do NOT ever assume you know me until you know me. do NOT ever tell me that i am less than you......or more than you. i am only margie, a fairly decent irish catholic buddhist feminist submissive with masochistic tendencies. so fuck you. my heart hurts right now and i feel a shame that if there is a god, we should all feel. no one can say they aren't bigotted. if you do, you're a liar. You cannot conceive the many without the one. |
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7/27/2007 8:45 pm |
That is a difficult truth to face for so many, who, like me, like to think we have moved beyond prejudice. I was raised in an environment where prejudice was open and obvious..like many others who are children of the boomer generation, I had hoped to leave that behind like so much unwanted baggage..but like any human, that stain of bigotry can seep out at the strangest and most surprising times.. I suppose all we can hope for is to not let those feelings cloud our dealings with others.. As to what I am....man, pagan, a mish-mash of the various strains that have inhabited the isles of Britain and Ireland.. To better days..
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I've always been closer to a wop and a spic... than a kike, a hebe, a nigger, a chink, or any number of other epithets. But, now... I'm just an old man... from Portugal... in a wheelchair - I think that makes me a Porta-geezer. Solar...
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7/28/2007 4:32 am |
Me...I'm a true blue Dubliner....prejudices yeah....mainly towards all those potato picking mucksavages down the bog. Wise words (harsh but accurate) in your last line. We we all have our prejudices, to delude ourselves that we do not is plainly stupid. Frankly, religion has a lot to answer for.
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7/28/2007 6:03 am |
ah, easy....i grew up being called a pollack ( i dont even know if thats the proper spelling ). funny thing is, while others were calling me that, i was growing up in a family and in a town that was calling them much worse. my home town was a hotbed for KKK activity right in middle America. a grand wizard lived across the street. i have witnessed 3 cross burnings. we had a "black side of town" - in a small farming town that had one bar but 12 churches. the redemption in all of it is, though, that we dont have to be that way. i grew up under a blanket of prejudice, but i kicked the covers off so i could breathe...and i threw the tattered old thing away as soon as i was old enough to escape my family. it is in THAT that we are better than "them". does that count as my own prejudice? btw, my family would have called runzwithknives a "frog"... ~in eternal apology for my relatives~ _lily_of_hmslf_
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Just curious - did someone make an anti-semitic remark because of your necklace? I'm one of those boring WASP's who always have a stick up their butt. And to compound the boring image, I'm also a beancounter. But I'm also a music lover, a Tour de France expert, and an exhibitionist. I know we are incapable of completely shedding racial prejudices....guess all I can do is be aware that that's still in my psyche and try to counteract it. But really, my predudice against other things (like people who can't be bothered to type y-o-u and use "u" instead) are much stronger.
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7/28/2007 10:26 am |
Wicked, I loved the points you raised about the existence of prejudice. I hailed this blog as tremendously poignant and pertinent. Until... Until you say that no one is bigoted. I just don't believe that to be true. There are some truly nice, evolved, truly unconditional people both living and dead. From what I know about them, I would be hard pressed to say folks like Mother Theresa, Oscar Schlindler, Jimmie Carter, Steven Hawkins, people involved with various charities such as Doctors without borders, George Harrison, and Bono are bigots. These folks have a life time of humanistic and altruistic work that demonstrates otherwise. I also find it hard to believe that no one you know is free of bigotry. In fact, I know that's not true because you know me - or at least you know of me. The problem is, it would be self serving to provide you with evidence. I also know that the more a person tries to convince others that he/;she is not a bigot, the more they appear to be a bigot who is lost in denial. So let's just say that I visit your blog because I like you, I like your ideas, and I like the spirit that you display. Until this post, I hadn't checked out your profile, I didn't know what your sexual preferences are, I didn't know anything about you except that I like you as I see you through your blog. This is the same for most of the bloggers I know. This is also the way I approach people - it is their character, that determines whether or not I embrace them - not race, religion, gender, looks, wealth, nationality, etc. Ok, now that I have said my piece, but mow I'm wondering... If every one is a bigot (as you state), that means you are too. So who (what group of people) do you pre-judge based on superficial traits? Bambi
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We are all the same in one respect. We are here to learn. The time it takes some to "learn" spans lifetimes. Many are not prepared to acknowledge truths that their souls tell them in a clear voice are without question. The fear or shame or pride in their minds overides what is self evident about the equality in us all. For the bigot, or the coward,use whatever term you wish, the pain of accepting the fact that their existance and pain and failures are not the fault of others is too much for them to bear. So in failing face this truth the refuse to grow and learn and become something better, something wiser. May we all face such truths with courage, and change the tenor of the universe/world. Be well.
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7/28/2007 11:26 am |
Interesting....no one admitted to have prejudices.being a biggot....I have lots of them...I just try to control them and most of the time I do a pretty darned good job of it.....The first step in being a whole person is admitting there are tendencies you don't like..... We do make ourselves feel better by denigrating others....I actually have no problem denigrating individuals and most of the individuals I denigrate deserve it roundly...thinking of our President at the moment....However, denigrating an entire group is not OK.... OK...I'm Jewish, a skier, a bide rider, music lover, tall, bald, outspoken to a fault, white, a resident of the peoples republic of vermont, a business owner, a capitalist, and probably lots of other things..... One final note, stereotypes are there for a reason....I hate the term jewing someone down, but it does have some basis in fact....Jews are known as very tough negotiators....People who use that term have no grasp of the English language....otherwise they would just say you're cheap...*g*, but that's just a tall, jewish skiers opinion.....*weg* Oh, cheer up.....It's summer.
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and me i am Canadian .... and with all honesty i can say i have never intentionally been racist or a bigot ... however i have told the odd joke and i too use to tease my granny chick about being a tight wad scottish woman .. i guess because i never intended it to be derogatory i never thought of it as being such ... ~mizzy~
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I'm colorless (meaning that if black people were once called colored what would that make white people?) atheist (from a protestant family though) mostly Norwegian, some Scottish, a little German, a little Choctaw the Jew remark is offensive John Lee Hooker Recommended: [blog lucyjane78]
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7/28/2007 3:13 pm |
you're bald??????????????????// btw......i'm anti-summer. give me fall and crisp air and the bite of winter. Can't you tell by my picture....*s* Ya know, you might just be accused of being a communist....anti summer and living in New England....I'm anti November and April...the rest of the year is just fine....
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I'm me and thats all I ever wanted “I am not a teacher, but an awakener” Robert Frost
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7/29/2007 10:40 am |
nice to meet you too...shakes hand.
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I never liked being in an audience when an ethnic or racial joke was being passed. Ever. I always felt as if just being around people who laughed - no matter how uncomfortably - just wasn't cool - but I never could verbalize it until I saw the movie "Gentlemen's Agreement." In it, a question was posed: How else does one know that you are outside of the group that would joke and would laugh unless you stood up and spoke up and said that it isn't funny to you? Silence is as deadly as ignorance. I drank the PC Kool Aid at my grandmother's lace curtained kitchen but I'm tired of the ignorant who abound still. Good post, WickedEasy. Did the movie you saw star Brandon Frasier?
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hmmm...I am Nan...prodical daughter...wonderer....carefree...German ... ..english and Irish..last name says it all...i am a shrew who has been tamed...somewhat...I wore a star of David necklace when i got married...my maid of honour lent it to me as it was her's...I wore it with pride...well your words ring true,as always you are on the money...omg I try hard to be non offensive to most people..but then i am only human...learning as i go...I am so devoid of colour that i am only a voice...
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7/30/2007 4:40 am |
I actually think they are different.....Being prejudiced means you understand that you have preferences and know that those preferences need to be examined....A bigot doesn't know or doesn't care they have preferences......Bigots tend to hold their opinions in a stronger vein than those with prejudices..... I would submit that we all are bigots and we all have prejudices....Now, I have to be careful with the word all....so, I'll re-phrase....the vast, vast majority of us...and, those who say they don't have any.....well, I consider them the most dangerous.....because they "know" their way is the correct way.
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7/30/2007 7:22 am |
we, I am unclassifiable, but if I had to, you could call me a White Flag waving Lepra-Kraut Catholic with Jewish tendencies or you could just call me Andy. Whatever you prefer.
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7/30/2007 11:20 am |
I always thought that other question was self-evident M, that is why I did not answer it or provide an opinion.
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7/31/2007 10:22 am |
my opinions are simplistic *ss*.... when i chat to ppl i don't ask what colour, religion or orientation T/they are *shrugs*... if i like someone i like them and thats it....i never check profiles... some of the friends i have made on here i have never seen pictures of... i have no idea what colour or religion or anything else they are... to me it makes no difference.... i guess i don't care.... as long as they agree with everything i say and do they are fine *WEG*
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hmmmmmmm well even in the room i do not judge people troll or wannabe right off ... i tend to give them a chance to show me they are LOL .... i can honestly say each and every person i do not speak to or have in ignore is there for a reason ... the reasons may not be good enough for others but they are good enough for me and well thats what counts ~mizzy~
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Having been on the receiving end of racist remarks ..all the way from peers to teachers to family members...too white on one side and too dark on the other....Yes I have felt negatively towards others in my lifetime...It was more for individuals then whole groups..as not all people in any group is like another...I have walked out of a class after explaining that I was not going to defend my heritage to someone who was supposed to be "teaching" me...Much to some family members and others dismay I speak up when someone tells an "off color" joke or statement about other races or religions. It hurts..it is not fun...I have tried to teach my children by example that the color of our skin or any religious belief makes us unique and yes different from one another...but thats what we need to embrace...it is hard to do at times when some show that as a person..they are not nice no matter what they are.
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8/1/2007 8:31 pm |
Heinz 57 plus, so i guess i fit all over and no where. no matter i'm here and thats it. figure i'm liked or not, not my problem The Creator had a hand in creating us all, so all complaints and bitchin can go to the top not through the ranks and bottle washers wastin everyones time.
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8/2/2007 2:23 pm |
"........if one believes one thing, they protect that belief and that means they will not , at least not easily, subscribe to an opposing belief....ergo, you have prejudice. no?" I believe all living creatures are apart of the universe as well as a part of me as i a part of them , i may not like or care for what they say or do but they are still a part of the oneness and in judging any part is judging myself. I am hard on myself without adding more. I will defend your right to be wrong as well as right. it is my hope one day small fences will be the landmarks of neighbors world wide with gardens of understanding and sharing. I don't expect it in my life time as is. The measure of a person is in what they do not what they say. so to measure a religion, race , breed or what ever for me is out of my reasoning. many things are done out of desperation and hopelessness. put me in a corner with no escape or choice and it will cause the result of what out come if no out permitted?
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