tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post6687469354043273568..comments2023-10-29T06:41:23.910-07:00Comments on Halfway There: Eating their ownZenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-68348848368296404082008-11-18T16:09:00.000-08:002008-11-18T16:09:00.000-08:00Got room for another helping of Schadenfreude, Zen...Got room for another helping of <A HREF="http://coloradoindependent.com/15287/after-pumping-money-into-prop-8-focus-on-the-family-announcing-layoffs" REL="nofollow"><I>Schadenfreude</I></A>, Zeno?<BR/><BR/>(actually, my own <I>Schadenfreude</I> is somewhat tempered by the thought of all those families whose wage-earners Dobson wasn't focusing on, but nothing I can do about that...)thalarctoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11360100320986472145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-63003529880846412032008-11-17T05:51:00.000-08:002008-11-17T05:51:00.000-08:00Hmm. Interesting post.Consider the popcorn passed....Hmm. Interesting post.<BR/><BR/>Consider the popcorn passed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06979158536061044873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-83664346280808659802008-11-16T08:22:00.000-08:002008-11-16T08:22:00.000-08:00[W]hat politician doesn't [make a living off gener...<I>[W]hat politician doesn't [make a living off generating divisiveness]?</I><BR/><BR/>Barack Obama. Next!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-36461646879464211472008-11-15T21:42:00.000-08:002008-11-15T21:42:00.000-08:00I do think most people are inherently them-ist. F...I do think most people are inherently them-ist. For an individual to be not them-ist s/he needs both a willingness to not be them-ist, and a daily or semi-daily, trust-based interaction with people of that race/origin/religion/orientation, to truly see them as part of "us".<BR/><BR/>I grew up in a racist white household, with parents that managed to think ill of "blacks" -- the abstract concept -- while experiencing many good black friends who were somehow "the exceptions". Unfortunately for the family bigotry, these friends were my first encounters and role models for blacks, and so the "exception" notion just rolled off my back. But if I hadn't had such experiences, I'd have grown up as prejudiced as many of my white classmates.<BR/><BR/>Thus, most white people who don't think of black/Hispanic/Asian people as "them" do so because they have had positive, trust-based interactions with such people. Quite honestly, I can only speak from the white perspective, and this may be a necessary but not sufficient condition for people of color, not conditioned to white privilege, to think of whites as part of "us".<BR/><BR/>I expect that a similar dynamic holds true of gays with respect to heterosexuals. I never thought much about gay marriage until I acquired gay friends who wanted to marry. Then it became a real issue, because why should I have something they can't have?<BR/><BR/>I also agree that Jackson, Sharpton, and their ilk make a living off generating divisiveness, but what politician doesn't? After the recent Republican campaign painting all of us with college degrees as being somehow un-American, the Racist Right Wing can easily make itself look like a sea of pots chanting slogans at a sea of kettles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-11692024226471792282008-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:002008-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00Let me get this straight: this guy is saying that ...Let me get this straight: this guy is saying that it's opportunistic for black public figures to use racism in America for political gain? Talk about blame the victim!Freidenker85https://www.blogger.com/profile/15002387818359580590noreply@blogger.com