Ok, so this happened...

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I've noticed an undercurrent of racism within NZ, nearly as much as there is in Oz, but I've not encountered anything as blatant as that.

Racism is one of the things I truly despise.

Sad that there are such people still around in the 21st century, but it's great to see the reaction of the crowd.

And good for you for not only standing up for George, but also getting to know him.

The reaction of the crowd was the 'elated' feeling I was referring to. I didn't crystallize the thought until I was home putting the groceries away, but it struck me as, 'I live among people who aren't going to put up with this shit.'

Yeah, I thought the missus would like to meet George. He's from Angola and she spent a year there when she was in the IDF.

Boru

---

Not like that.

I did have one of my union members ask me how I could "defend some towel head," one time.  I told him "because he's a union member, just like you."

Attaboy.

Boru

[vorlon13]

Not like that.

I did have one of my union members ask me how I could "defend some towel head," one time.  I told him "because he's a union member, just like you."

years ago I was marching with the Illinois ACLU in a community parade and an on looker shouted as we went by "YOU DEFEND PORNOGRAPHERS !!"

And I shouted back "AND WE WILL EVEN DEFEND YOU  TOO !!"


Damn, still chuckle remembering that . . . .

[Fireball]

Not like that.

I did have one of my union members ask me how I could "defend some towel head," one time.  I told him "because he's a union member, just like you."

years ago I was marching with the Illinois ACLU in a community parade and an on looker shouted as we went by "YOU DEFEND PORNOGRAPHERS !!"

And I shouted back "AND WE WILL EVEN DEFEND YOU  TOO !!"


Damn, still chuckle remembering that . . . .

  'cuz he probably looks at it with incredible guilt. They're all hypocrites.

[The Grand Nudger]

So, have any of you been witness to anything like this blatant, unapologetic racism? 

That's just a normal tuesday at the Piggly Wiggly.

[Minimalist]

Not like that.

I did have one of my union members ask me how I could "defend some towel head," one time.  I told him "because he's a union member, just like you."

years ago I was marching with the Illinois ACLU in a community parade and an on looker shouted as we went by "YOU DEFEND PORNOGRAPHERS !!"

And I shouted back "AND WE WILL EVEN DEFEND YOU  TOO !!"


Damn, still chuckle remembering that . . . .

Worse than pornographers I recall when the ACLU defended the fucking nazis when they wanted to march in Skokie, Ill.  Even nazis have rights, it seems.

[paulpablo]

I've been witness to people being called racist names, and myself being called racist names more than I can count but I think the situation you're painting there sounds like the racism would have more of an impact because of the context of the situation.

If you're at a farmers market I imagine a lot of mostly middle class white people who would mostly be horrified at the word nigger used in a racist way towards a black man.  

I've been called a white bastard and white trash a few times, my family got told we should sell our house and leave the area for being white.  A white person being kicked in the face for being white, a pakistani slapping a black kid around the head and telling him to fuck off nigger, a white person putting a sign on a pakistani kids back that said "I am a paki" my teacher being threatened to have a brick thrown at him by a white person because even though my teacher was white he had an indian girlfriend.  
In front of my house a group of Bengalis and Pakistanis were beating each other up then white people tried to split the fight up and they got beaten too.
A white person in my physical education class in school sat opposite this very overweight pakistani kid and called him abdulla the fat paki and made fun of him for about 45 minutes until he the pakistani kid just started crying.  
That overweight pakistani kid did call black people niggers but not to their face, he was soft and would have got beaten.


Just a few instances off the top of my head, but those were mostly when I was in school .  It's probably more shocking when older, middleclass people do it at a farmers market.  It sounds like that old man had been teleported in from a colonial sailing ship from the 1800's.

Those were just instances of racism where the people said it to the race of people they were being racist against. I hear general racist opinions all the time off people when I go into work, probably a few times a week.

[bennyboy]

The few times i encountered racism as a kid, it was always because some kid I got into a fight with was Indian or black or whatever. One time, I was fighting a black kid at tennis camp because he pushed his pudding cup into my face. Pretty soon, there was a ring of kids around us saying, "Fucking hit that nigger again!" and stuff like that. Then I end up being the bad guy, like I'm a racist attacker-- but it was really just a fight between kids over a pudding cup to the face.

This happened about 5 times in my life-- one kid tackled me playing soccer and I ended up fighting with him in grade 1. Kids started calling him "Packy." I didn't know what that meant, because while he was kind of a dick to me that day, I didn't really know that being brown was a thing with words to it-- but it sounded pretty serious, so I kept swinging.

Another time happened with a kid in the "special" class. He was about 7 feet tall in grade 6, and I was like maybe 4 1/2. He stole my friend's soccer ball, and was playing keep away. I went to get the ball, and he wouldn't give it back. After I started fighting with him, he tried very hard to walk away. My friends kept pushing me and calling him out. The sad thing is, I didn't really care about the ball, or the game, or have any problem with the kid. I ended up getting kneed to the head about 100 times (his friends were egging him on, too) and puking up a pack of peanut butter cookies after recess. But HIS mom called the next day saying he was crying all night and he cut himself. He fucking cut himself, because everyone hated him for being "special"-- which he knew was just another word for "fucking retard."

Now, I'm VERY glad I had these experiences. I really understand, and with deep shame, what mob mentality and prejudice have to do with each other, and it sickens me. In 100% of cases now, I'll be standing NEXT to a muslim, or a black guy, or a mentally unfit guy, or whatever. As an adult, I've put my safety on the line maybe half a dozen times, and I LOVE IT-- because redemption for childhood guilt validates me, and that's worth way more than bruises or even broken bones. I think for a lot of people, Guilt is God, and if so I think I'd be okay with being a martyr-- let me take harm for my own damned sins.

[Joods]

I've been subjected to hatred three times in my life because of my oldest daughter having Down syndrome. The first time was the day after she was born. To preface, I was fortunate enough to find out before she was born that she had DS. Most parents don't know until after the birth. So I had a little bit of time to prepare and get ready for a different way of life.

I went into the hospital knowing that I was celebrating a new life and would do whatever it took to make sure she got the best start possible. I joined a DS parent support group, met other parents with kids of all ages. I felt really good knowing the birth of my daughter wasn't something to be sad about, but something to look forward to. I was given books to read as well. One in particular "Babies with Down Syndrome" had been packed in my hospital bag.

I had that book, cover side up, laying on my bed when right around shift change, a nurse walked into my room and bluntly asked me "Does the father of your child know he's got a retarded child?" My face froze and my heart just fell. I was able to only see my daughter once up to that point. And for only five minutes. She was in the NICU. I had to have her via a crash C-section so I wasn't even awake for her birth. They almost lost me in the recovery room. It was traumatic all around and this nurse had the audacity to say that.

I told her to get the fuck out of my room. I was given another nurse for the rest of my five day stint at the hospital. And not only that, but I had contacted an attorney because of how that nurse left me emotionally damaged. Every moment I spent after finding out my child's diagnosis, was spent learning and preparing for what I needed to do for my child. I was excited for her arrival because the stories I had heard from so many parents was that they were left in shock and rather than joy, they mourned the loss of a "normal" baby. Clearly, those parents wished for a different outcome and many said they could have been more prepared had they known ahead of time. But still, knowing that these kids had bright futures and seeing them for myself, gave me hope.

That nurse shattered all of that in one question and the second time I saw my daughter, my immediate thought was not, look at how beautiful she is, but rather, OMG I have a retarded child. No parent should ever have to think that way about their child knowing they have a good future ahead of them. And I will have to live with that for the rest of my life, when it didn't have to be that way. So with the help of an attorney, the hospital's administration office was contacted. That nurse and the five people in the chain of command ahead of her were all fired.

The only other time I have had to deal with that level of ignorance came when my daughter was two years old and the neighborhood drunk came over to ask me how my "mongoloid" child was. I politely educated her, telling her we weren't from Mongolia and then told her my child was fine and to leave us alone. She came up to me again two weeks later, calling my daughter a mongoloid and I told her that if she didn't get her stupid, drunk self out of my face, I was going to lay her out flat on the ground.

There is a reason why I hate the use of certain words. Words like "retard" have no rightful place in society. I don't care who you are or how you were raised to think of that word. It is derogatory and it is always said with malice or the intent to cause harm. Furthermore, people who defend the use of that word are just as ignorant about it as the people who actually use that word. It might take my daughter longer to understand some things or to do some things, but she's a 21 year old woman who has shown me more strength, resilience and intelligence than a lot of people I know who don't have mental health issues. The fact that she smiles and can do so much more than anyone ever gave her credit for is all I need to know that I did a good job raising her. She rises far above many people in this world and is my number one hero.

[vorlon13]

years ago I was marching with the Illinois ACLU in a community parade and an on looker shouted as we went by "YOU DEFEND PORNOGRAPHERS !!"

And I shouted back "AND WE WILL EVEN DEFEND YOU  TOO !!"


Damn, still chuckle remembering that . . . .

Worse than pornographers I recall when the ACLU defended the fucking nazis when they wanted to march in Skokie, Ill.  Even nazis have rights, it seems.

That's the point of the First Amendment, BTW.  Guaranteeing and defending the rights of those espousing 'popular' opinions doesn't mean too much, does it?  Rubber hits the road when you take it to the next level. 

Consider what were 'popular' and 'unpopular' opinions in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s regarding Gay Rights . . . .

[Thumpalumpacus]

Yes, unfortunately I've seen it often enough. Whether it was out in California or here in Texas, didn't seem to matter.