Weight at start of diet (1 Aug): 192.0Weight at last weigh in (3 Aug): 190.2
Weight today (10 Aug): 187.8
What's got you down, Bub? Is even the pliant, mainstream media criticizing your ads? A little pissed that you are the second fastest man on the planet and the second fastest man on your little island at the same time? Share, people--get it off your chest!
Ok, let's play a game. Suppose you and your mom are visiting New York City and you both are crossing a busy intersection in a huge crowd (with the light of course). Then out of the blue a yellow cab comes barreling around the corner and you have just enough time to push your mom out of the way and get yourself to the curb. Why did you choose your mom and not the person of color next to her? Absurd question right? Not so fast my colorblind friend. That is the exact question we are being asked today, and you'd best choose the "right" answer, otherwise you may be accused of racism.
ReplyDeleteI know your argument. "This is my mom, I know her, I love her, she is family and I don't know this other person. Why would I choose to save a total stranger as opposed to my own flesh and blood? Race has absolutely nothing to do with it."
Oh yeah? We'll see about that. What exactly do you (and we) know? We know you've had problems with this woman, and she you. Need we remind you of all the arguments you two have had over the years? How many times you disappointed her and the money you've cost her and all the times she had to save your bacon for this or that? There's bound to be pent-up resentment and animosity on both sides. Plus, she's old. She's lived her life and her time has passed and if she goes this year or next or five years from now, what's the difference?
The fact is you could have saved a person of color who was young, had their life ahead of them, someone who had many years of productivity left, someone with a future. But you didn't. Why? Because you're racist; there can be no other reason. You're mother is old, she's lived her life and you've had problems with her in the past. The young minority had no attributes you are familiar with whatsoever other than their skin color. What could be more clear?
Stupid fallacious argument you say? Agreed, but that is the exact argument being put to the dominate white culture in American today and if you don't side with the stranger, the minority, you are deemed an obvious racist.
My view is this, people are tribal. Whatever religion, whatever culture, whatever race or whatever whatever, people's nominal set point, their default preference in their DNA ROM is to gravitate towards their own kind. That doesn't mean they are racist per se, that just means they're human.
Hugo Chavez and half the politicians in Mexico regularly use the term gringo to refer to Americans. Asians are perhaps the most racist people on Earth. Japan allows virtually no immigration and therefore has virtually no minorities. The Vietnamese discriminate horribly against mixed race Asian minorities and Gandhi (who spent his early career in South Africa) had some interesting observations about blacks (the most Holy Mahatma and John Stennis would have gotten along famously I'd say).
You name the continent and I'll show you tribalism, ethnic and religious discrimination and bigotry. But hanging with your own kind is not racism, it's self preservation.
So I hereby give Al Sharpton permission to call me Whitey, or redneck, or cracker, or what floats his boat. Chavez too may call me Gringo with impunity. I love it. But I demand reciprocity. I will use any "racist" term I choose at the time of my choosing. I will not be cowed by politically correct assholes. Respect for other cultures, races and religions is a two way street, and when my race and culture are respected, then and only then will I consider changing my ways.
But I do not wish to imply I am a racist, or at least what many of you would consider a racist. Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell and Milton Friedman are all from ethnic and/or religious minorities. All are great and honorable men and I would be speechless in their presence. All I'm saying is I'm a Southern White Protestant, first and last. And if you've got a problem with that, don't let me catch you crossing the street in New York City.