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doubleaught · 03-15-2007, 04:14 PM

What an odd world to live in. Take these examples:
BET (Black Entertainment Television)
The Chinese District
Woman's Day
Black History Month
Hispanic Heritage Month

While I have nothing against the goal of something like "Black History Month," doesn't the mere existence of such an event actually serve to segregate? Not singularly so, but the more references a child sees in relation to "hispanics," "chinese," and "jews," instead of "americans," a mental separation is further defined practically before the child is aware of the world and able to make their own judgments.

Look at the reversal of this type of label:
WET (White Entertainment Television)
The Caucasian District
Man's Day
White History Month

Yes, those felt as funny to type as I'm sure they felt to read! Now some of these events and labels are necessary. Just because I'm against a type of labeling does not mean I'm advocating mindless extents of being politically correct, or for the elimination of history and awareness. Fact is we've had a lot of amazingly bigoted people around since the beginning of time, and without education of our past I do believe we're bound to make the same mistakes again, given time.

Which brings me to what I'm really against. No, I don't want to get rid of Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month. I'm sick to death of minorities of any type embracing or even capitalizing on any part of themselves with no other goal in mind. Such as homosexual comics where the majority of their act is based on them being homosexual. Or hispanic comics (Carlos Mencia anyone?) who cannot beg/borrow or steal content which does not constantly bring up the idea that he's hispanic (oddly enough, he's not actually hispanic, he just likes to make racial "funnies"). The mere presence of BET widens the difference betweens races, and unlike Black History Month has no benefit.

"The Chinese District"??? What are we doing here? What's the goal of that? I can no more imagine going into say, Italy, and making an "American District" than I can making or keeping a Chinese district here. It's not like I'm some unreasonable and heartless prick. If I were in a foreign country after a couple weeks perhaps I would like some traditionally prepared American food - nothing wrong with that. Having a variety of foods labeled as coming from different parts of the world is just fine. A person who has setup shop providing a service people pay for (such as cooking their countries' traditional foods or offering other unique services) only enhances this country - if they're speaking or trying to learn english, paying taxes, and generally trying to fit in without losing their identities, they should be proud. They're Americans.

If I go into a country and setup an American District, or if I'm gay or lesbian and constantly make fun of this fact, my actions only serve to further my distinction as a minority. I'm only forcing myself into a stereotype the ever-present bigots can abuse. This type of action typically has negative connotations.

I'm posting this for two primary reasons. One is I've had this subject in my mind for a while and wanted to write it down. Another is I've posted a variation of this (I completely rewrote for TFP) in another community and people there seemed to think I was crazy. I don't think I'm crazy (heh), although this is an extremely rough topic to convey without coming across as extremist or out-of-touch with reality. I guess the third would be, I'm hoping for some general awareness of this issue - there's always gonna be crazy people doing crazy things, but I don't think this is crazy. The proliferation of a less-segregated community can only be positive, in my mind.

03-15-2007, 04:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
doubleaught Psycho Location: OMFG BRB	mental segregation? What an odd world to live in. Take these examples: BET (Black Entertainment Television) The Chinese District Woman's Day Black History Month Hispanic Heritage Month While I have nothing against the goal of something like "Black History Month," doesn't the mere existence of such an event actually serve to segregate? Not singularly so, but the more references a child sees in relation to "hispanics," "chinese," and "jews," instead of "americans," a mental separation is further defined practically before the child is aware of the world and able to make their own judgments. Look at the reversal of this type of label: WET (White Entertainment Television) The Caucasian District Man's Day White History Month Yes, those felt as funny to type as I'm sure they felt to read! Now some of these events and labels are necessary. Just because I'm against a type of labeling does not mean I'm advocating mindless extents of being politically correct, or for the elimination of history and awareness. Fact is we've had a lot of amazingly bigoted people around since the beginning of time, and without education of our past I do believe we're bound to make the same mistakes again, given time. Which brings me to what I'm really against. No, I don't want to get rid of Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month. I'm sick to death of minorities of any type embracing or even capitalizing on any part of themselves with no other goal in mind. Such as homosexual comics where the majority of their act is based on them being homosexual. Or hispanic comics (Carlos Mencia anyone?) who cannot beg/borrow or steal content which does not constantly bring up the idea that he's hispanic (oddly enough, he's not actually hispanic, he just likes to make racial "funnies"). The mere presence of BET widens the difference betweens races, and unlike Black History Month has no benefit. "The Chinese District"??? What are we doing here? What's the goal of that? I can no more imagine going into say, Italy, and making an "American District" than I can making or keeping a Chinese district here. It's not like I'm some unreasonable and heartless prick. If I were in a foreign country after a couple weeks perhaps I would like some traditionally prepared American food - nothing wrong with that. Having a variety of foods labeled as coming from different parts of the world is just fine. A person who has setup shop providing a service people pay for (such as cooking their countries' traditional foods or offering other unique services) only enhances this country - if they're speaking or trying to learn english, paying taxes, and generally trying to fit in without losing their identities, they should be proud. They're Americans. If I go into a country and setup an American District, or if I'm gay or lesbian and constantly make fun of this fact, my actions only serve to further my distinction as a minority. I'm only forcing myself into a stereotype the ever-present bigots can abuse. This type of action typically has negative connotations. I'm posting this for two primary reasons. One is I've had this subject in my mind for a while and wanted to write it down. Another is I've posted a variation of this (I completely rewrote for TFP) in another community and people there seemed to think I was crazy. I don't think I'm crazy (heh), although this is an extremely rough topic to convey without coming across as extremist or out-of-touch with reality. I guess the third would be, I'm hoping for some general awareness of this issue - there's always gonna be crazy people doing crazy things, but I don't think this is crazy. The proliferation of a less-segregated community can only be positive, in my mind.