If you thought I had it bad with this guy, see what my friend, Chick Pea, went through at ATL recently. Here’s just an excerpt of this most-unfortunate exchange:
Her: Learn to speak American … I mean English (what a retard). Go back to your country.
Me: Excuse me? I was born here, and will stay here.
Her: Go worship your Buddhist idol.
Me: I’m Hindu, but I bet you don’t even know what that is.
Her: Go back to India.
Damn, I would’ve told the moron to go back home and hide under her KKK getup. Yet another reason I will never live anywhere but New Orleans or Houston when in the south. It was bad enough hearing of the “Keep Mississippi White” stickers and the portrait of someone’s Klan grand-daddy at the Broke Spoke in Kiln, MS.
EDIT: Do you realize today is MLK Day?
That is disgusting!
However, bigotry is in all states and countries and cities, including Nola and Houston. Good decent people also live in all states and countries and cities.
May I say as someone who grew up in MS, I am tired of the old stereotyping of that state. Whenever race issues are brought up it’s always MS that gets blasted. MS has come a long way since the 50’s and 60’s and, granted, has a long way to go. As does Nola and Houston. As does Boston and New York. As does California and Nebraska. Please. Think before always pointing to MS.
MS isn’t the only state where the KKK still exists – example: David Duke right here in Nola. In case there’s any question, this is said in a friendly way…not preaching. I just cannot keep quiet. Thanks and good day! :)
I like the redesign.
TM, I’m similarly tired of southerners blasting Yankees for having no manners. Just pointing out that bad behavior exists down here, too.
i am still utterly disgusted by the occurrence…
and ironically today is mlk day..
we have not progressed enough..
I’m speechless. The only word that comes to mind is “Cracker”.
Point taken, Maitri
As a multi-generation southern yankee, I am equally disgusted by the sanctimonious Northern smug conceit.
I think Broadway said it best in the musical 1776;
Song: Molasses to Rum Lyrics
Molasses to rum to slaves, oh what a beautiful waltz
You dance with us, we dance with you
Molasses and rum and slaves
Who sails the ships out of Boston
Ladened with bibles and rum?
Who drinks a toast to the Ivory Coast?
Hail Africa, the slavers have come
New England with bibles and rum.
Northerners like to deny complicity in slavery but the slaves provided the material in the form of molasses and cotton which built the northern economy.
Historically from early 1900s, Indiana has been one of the enduring strongholds of KKK. There is a small town near Bloomington, I think it is Mendelville, that has the present 3-4 top men of present KKK leadership.
Moreover, KKK is just one manifestation, a grotesque one but not the only one. It exists in different forms in many places. The one that is most dangerous is the one that has a fake benign, smiling face.
On any given day, I’ll prefer a small town in Southern Louisiana where I may have to work to get accepted but I clearly know where I stand. All the cards are on the table.
There is a difference between thinking smarmy and doing smarmy, however. As you yourself pointed out, mominem, everyone has a bit of racist in them, but it’s their composure (or lack thereof) that is a mark of civility.
I’ve never come across or been the target of blatant racism until I moved to the south. Sure, some may have looked at me funny in the north, but they didn’t say anything, and usually accept me once I start conversing with them. This is my personal experience.
I didn’t say I would live in many towns in Indiana, either.
I hate that sort of nativist bullshit; especially because I’m only a Second generation American. My family is only about 90-95 years off the boat…
Isn’t Austin an acceptable Southern city too? ;)
Bigotry comes in all forms, not just race, as is evidenced by the common belief that Mississippians are all racist. It just ain’t so. My point being it’s waaaaay so easy to point to MS when speaking of racism.
My sis-in-law went to college and lived quite a few years in Boston and said she never saw such bigotry and hatred against the African American community and the Jewish community as she saw there.
In my experience growing up in the south, I never heard a hated word against Jews and I never in my home heard the N word spoken. Maybe I was “lucky”, I don’t know. All I know is, decent people don’t think that way.
The end.
TM, I mentioned a bar in Kiln, MS, not the whole state, and I was appalled by the racism there because it’s “the Green Bay Packer bar” in the town where my imaginary boyfriend, Brett Favre, is from. MS produced Brett and two really close friends of mine – it can’t be all bad. :-)