I got this as a bulletin, replied to its sender refuting some of the things listed and got a reply today that called me out on not refuting all of these things...so here is:
my retort to each claim is set off by ~
~Bear with me, it's a HORRIBLE bulletin and I know it but I think it's important to correct these misunderstandings.
You call me "Cracker", "Honkey", "Whitey", "Gringo" and you think it's OK.
...But when I call you Kike, Towelhead, WOP, Camel Jockey, Gook, nig**r or Chink you call me a racist.
~If someone called someone else ANY of those slang names, they are racist, Period.
-You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
~First- the word "ghetto" historically referred specifically to the Venetian Ghetto in Venice, Italy, where Jews were required to live. The term now commonly labels any poverty-stricken urban area; some people in the U.S. and Europe strongly dislike the term ghetto, believing it to have racist, elitist and culturally insensitive overtones.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghettos)
~ As for the White violence there is too much too list here is a page of some of the inter-racial violence (http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/hatecrimes.html)
~ People who live in "ghettos" where the typical socio-economic characteristics are high poverty, welfare dependence, single parenthood, high mortality rate, school dropouts, drug abuse, lack of job opportunities, high unemployment rate, and an alienated culture which leads to a high crime rate. (http://www.oycf.org/Perspectives/4_022900/black_white.htm).
-You have the United Negro College Fund.
~ Only 40 percent of African-Americans and 34 percent of Hispanics attend college, compared to 46 percent of whites. The college Fund acts as a means to encourage black students to get a higher education. (http://www.cnn.com)
-You have Martin Luther King Day.
~We all have Martin Luther King Day, but beyond my opinion, the orgin of the holiday:
Martin Luther King Day was founded as a holiday promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations. After King's death in 1968, Rep. John Conyers introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday, highlighting King's activism on behalf of trade unionists. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Day)
And what is means today:
The day is marked by demonstrations for peace, social justice and racial and class equality, as well as a national day of volunteer community service.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Day)
Not so "us" and "them" as this bulletin makes it seem.
-You have Black History Month.
~ History books had barely started covering black history when the tradition of Black History Month was started. At that point, most representation of blacks in history books was only in reference to the low social position they held, with the exception of George Washington Carver. Woodson, creator of Negro History Week, hoped that the week would eventually be eliminated, when African-American history would be fully integrated with American history. That has yet to happen fully. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month)
-You have Cesar Chavez Day.
~. The holiday is celebrated by California and Texas, and it is an optional holiday in Arizona and Colorado. César Chávez kept fighting for migrant workers until his death in 1993. The American Friends Service Committee nominated him three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez)
-You have Yom Hashoah
~ "Holocaust Martyrs' Remembrance Day" or, literally, "Remembrance day for The Holocaust and Heroism", takes place on the 27th day of the month Nisan, in the Hebrew calendar, which falls in the early spring. It is held every year in remembrance of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Hashoah)
-You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi
~Once again not an often even recognized holiday in the western united states nevertheless, the facts: Mawlid al-Nabi or Ma'uled Al-Nabi is a celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam. It is tradition to give food, clothes and money to the poor on this day, as it is on all Islamic festivals. (http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/ethnic_relig/mawlid.html)
(http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/district/curric/social/mauled.html)
-You have the NAACP.
~ The oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. The NAACP was founded by a diverse group on February 12, 1909. The NAACP's mission statement: To promote equality of rights and to eradicate caste or race prejudice among the citizens of the United States; to advance the interest of colored citizens; to secure for them impartial suffrage; and to increase their opportunities for securing justice in the courts, education for the children, employment according to their ability and complete equality before law. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP)
-You have BET.
-If we had WET(white entertainment television) ...we'd be racist.
~ It was a history-making year for BET Networks in 2006. From new original programming that drove record ratings, to the emergence of BET J, the re-launch of BET International and further expansion into broadband and mobile content, BET Networks left an indelible mark on 2006. BET maintains its rank as the #1 cable network in Total Day and in Weeknight Primetime among Black Households.
(http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20070102/DCTU02202012007-1.html)
~ As for WET: The most significant problem with television programs in the 1990s is the complete lack of color during prime time. In the past two years, less than
six African American themed television shows have premiered at the beginning
of the television season, and even less than that have remained on the air.
In addition to the lack of black programs, networks are also guilty of
producing "white-only" television shows.
(http://cla.calpoly.edu:16080/~bmori/syll/316syll/television.html)
WET exist…it just goes by several other channel names.
-If we had a White Pride Day... you would call us racist.
~After much searching I found NO RECORDS of a nationally/ or even optimally recognized "Black Pride Day." If you can find one, I'd love to know about it, but please include sources as I will check them. I say be pride of your race everyday without excluding others.
-If we had white history month... we'd be racist.
~ All I have to say to this is America has a Black History Month in 2007 because it has only been recently that blacks have been taught their history, and most African Americans still today are unaware of their cultural and ethnic history. This is largely due to slavery and that blacks were not allowed to educate themselves, go to college, etc. until the late 1960's. There were a few, like Fredrick Douglas who were educated but historically most were punished if found with a textbook. Maybe by the 22nd Century there will be no need for a Black History Month.
-If we had an organization for only whites to "advance" our lives... we'd be racist.
-If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships...you know we'd be racist.
~A list of all white scholarships:
Lots on this site http://colorblind.typepad.com/the_colorblind_society/2004/02/exclusive_white.html
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/02/15/whites.only.ap/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111467,00.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1683975
http://main.xanga.com/TheTheologiansCafe/550003894/item.html
http://www.binghamton.edu/sehd/scholarships/whitescholappl.htm
This is just few…but I think I made my point.
-In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights...you would call us racist.
~ The event included efforts to register African Americans to vote in US Elections and increase black involvement in volunteerism and community activism. According to voter registration statistics, one and a half million Black men registered to vote in the months following the March. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_man_march)
As a political active and educated college student I think it's important to encourage people to vote. I think its high time students plan a march for this same purpose, to get more people to vote.
-Did you know that some high school students decided to make a club for only the white students because the other ethnicities had them... they all got sent to court for being racist but the african-american, Latino, and Asia clubs were not even questioned.
~I would like to see documentation it this is to be used in this argument, I couldn't find it, nevertheless I found many white only clubs.
http://www.kansan.com/stories/2005/dec/05/greek_diversity/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4741466
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/051120/frats.shtml
http://wine.about.com/od/wineclubs/a/wineclubs.htm
-You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
~Be proud of who you are your gender, religion, political beliefs, knowledge, experice, and race…everything that makes you who you are. That is not racist and I doubt many people would consider a person being proud of whom they are as racist.
I am white.
I am proud.
But, you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
~ This claim is ignorant and easily disproved. Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism for more information regarding racism around the world.
That took me nearly THREE hours of research but I think it was 100% worth it.
Now watch, I'll be a racist for posting this...
So what? No one will repost this for fear of being called racist
~I don't believe its racist to repost these hypocrite and extremist comments. I think it more showing of poor education and lack of individual research then anything else.
