Racism and sexism: how are they different?

I freely admit I'm grouchy as hell today. Having it confirmed I'm SPMS, and in a flare-up, is a little upsetting. If I'm short tempered, I'm sorry for that, but it does not excuse other people who act like assholes most of the time.

 

Growing up where I did down south, by the age of ten I'd been called pretty much every derogatory name you can think of and then some by the local ignorant rednecks. A few times with guns even pointed at me. So people seriously trying to come at me nowadays I just laugh. Especially younger guys now that are coming up. I've had some get upset for getting called some non offensive name like "son". At times like that I'm saying to myself " You just don't know about somebody really insulting & offending you"......

 

I hear you loud and clear, Ra. I don't know how old you are, but I suspect that we grew up at similar times, so what we dealt with, you as a black man, and me as a woman, was a very different world from what the "young folk" have dealt with. I've tried really hard, due to the historical racial connotations, not to refer to some of these guys as "boys"...but to me, some of them are boys, not men - and that has shit to do with the color of their skin.

 

Yeah. I personally try to avoid ever calling any grown black men boy since I know first hand about that deal. It never bothered me personally when good ol' boys would refer to me by that term, but it did bother me when they would use it for older black men like my grandfather and his generation or older, especially when the younger twenty somethings or even younger white males did it. More so since it was a big thing taught to everyone both black and white back then to respect your elders and white guys had no respect for elderly black men. That same thing with the term girl for black women. Still got some pockets of that type of thing around in some parts down south.

 

Ra, I just wanted to stop and say that I appreciate you. You are a magnificent, insightful, intelligent, wonderful man and I continue to be in awe of you awesomeness.

That is all. Carry on.

 

Which completely astounds me, but I've never lived in the south. I've traveled through a couple of times and got out of there as fast as humanly possible. I'm not saying New England was a bastion of racial harmony, but outside of television or film I've never ever heard someone refer to a grown black man or woman as boy or girl. It completely skeeves me out. I haven't heard a white person use the N word since about 1970 either, but it's probably a function of the fact that I tend to surround myself with pretty progressive people.

 

Cosign. Mrs. Ra is one very lucky woman, and I'm glad she appreciates that.

 

Thank you. I'm just being me. Or rather a toned down me for the internet. Most times I log on here and start reading some of the things some of these guys go on about & are upset about it's down right hilarious, that is until you realize that some of them are really serious about shit. Especially some of this non-issue shit they get frustrated about. Motherfuckers do not know. I've seen & experienced as well as had done to me my fair share of fucked up shit coming up from racial shit to seeing the beginning of the whole drug/gang culture taking over & destroying neighborhoods. None of the bad things I experienced was anything compared to what my parents or my grandparents experienced and believe you me, they made sure we knew what they and past generations endured. So coming here and reading about some the silly ass shit that some of these young brothers are supposedly angry & frustrated about..........and acting straight up ignorant about................

 

Knowing your history is important. Some younger people seem to be unaware of how very different things were less than a generation ago. While the progress is wonderful, it's a good idea to stay informed and aware of what things were like just a little while ago - among other things it tells you how far you have left to go.

 

Exactly. Myself & a couple of buddies around here we watch some of the younger brothers around here strut around like they are big shit and every body owns them something just for breathing. Acting hard. We start laughing and saying " Bet the mofo acting the hardest in the group is actually the softest of all. Because if they had to go through some the shit we went through they be crying for mama."

 

I'm probably about to start WWIII here, but if some of them went through what *I* did as a woman back in the day, they'd be crying for mama too. ;-)

 

Uh I mentioned I was pretty much joking around homie. However the fact remains...women have tons of privilege in this country.

 

Yeah I know. And?

 

AND they don't have it so bad in this country like some of the feminist on here want to portray.

 

So? This is an issue because?

 

Peace out. Hopefully the next car dealer doesn't ask what color of car you want.:smt043

 

Looks like we got a suckup on our hands. Its all good.

Ummm the issue is that women have a lot of privilege...you know...the TOPIC of the OP dumbass.

 

Aww... the ghetto gang is in the hizzie. Getting ready to take over & turn this joint in to All Menz.com. Got it.:smt023


And what did I tell you the last time you tried that weak shit son. Take you're little whitebread wanna be ass to the hood for real and up your damn skills and then come check me.