June 24, 2015

  • Let us discuss Racism, Shall We?

    Screen Shot 2015-06-24 at 9.55.04 AM
    For those that have followed me a long time on this blog, you know that I don't address controversial topics that often.  In fact, I prefer to find common ground on topics and move forward together.

    The picture in this post is a screen shot of the definition of racism.   I share this so we can discuss a bit more about this topic....

    First, a little background about me:  I'm listed as a caucasian (white) male.  I grew up mainly in Northern California in a predominantly white small town in the east bay of San Francisco.   However, I have had an eclectic group of friends over the years from various backgrounds.

    Personally I never understood racism.  The concept that one group of people is 'better' than another based on skin color is lacking on so many levels, all it shows is a significant amount of ignorance.

    If we look at History and the subject of racism, it's not always a black or white issue.   Every 'race' throughout history has had a group of people that has had prejudice towards them in some way.   I don't want to downplay any group of people, but just trying to put things into perspective when discussing racism.

    For example:

    When we look at the United States History... the Europeans who landed in the new world perceived the Native Americans as barbaric.
    If one was an immigrant from Ireland - you were thought of as being a lesser person.   Same if you were Asian origin and worked on the railroads.

    There are indentured servants, and there is slavery.   Although much of the population of slaves were from Africa, there were slaves of other origins as well.

    I think society has looked at racism on such a surface level, and with media so focused on the color of our skin - we have lost site at what it's really about... 'cultural identity'.

    Allow me to explain my thought on this before everyone goes crazy here...

    I'm sure that my DNA will show that I'm predominately a white person - of european descent.   Who knows what other DNA strands may show about my family lineage.   When people ask what race I am, I usually say 'white'... or if I am really honest... I'm human.   As last I checked, that's what we really are when we look at the big picture.   For all I know, I may have african or native american DNA in me.   With both sides of my family traced to the prior founding of the colonies - I'm sure that somewhere in my lineage my DNA has strands from various continents.

    But we are so much more than the color of our skin.   We are individuals who were born into different segments of society.  These segments are the different communities that are around us, with each community having it's own cultural differences...thus its own cultural identity.

    Does someone really choose where they are born and who their parents are?  no, we don't have that choice.   This is called life, and what we do with our life is up to us.   We all have choices in this regard.   We can either choose to live how our ancestors used to, or choose to change.

    There is a significant amount of history with each community, and this history must be respected and preserved.   We may not like what one community has done to another - but knowing what did happen so we don't repeat it is paramount of growing as a society.

    So, when someone talks to me about racism - it's so much more than just the color of one's skin.  It's about a group of people, about their history as a community.  It's about infringement on someone else's rights to believe what they believe, and to keep the history of their culture available for all to learn from and understand.

    We must not combat racism with another form of racism either, as that is similar to fighting bullying by being a bully ourselves.   We must educate ourselves, and encourage one another to understand the differences.

    In short, we must look beyond the color of one's skin, and focus on the content of one's character.

    Sound familiar?   It should.   And we should by now, be living it.

    It's our history, our heritage.   Let's preserve it and learn from it.

Comments (12)

  • If you are interested in knowing who you are 23andme.com will check your DNA for $99.00 and tell you. I'm European but have South Asian in me.

  • It is true that when you look at cultures and race and religion, there are more similarities than differences. Trying to find common ground should be easier than it is for a majority of folks.

    • I think most folks are in the middle ground on many issues, with the media and other folks promoting extremist thoughts... like one has to be all on one side or another.

  • My first exposure to racism occured in high school. An off campus social organization asked me to join. i said OK but wanted my Mexican friend to join with me. They refused because he was Mexican. I was outraged. That year we noticed that 'their'' people held all student body offices. I joined some activists and we ran a slate of candidates in opposiition. We won all but one seat. The following year the used radio ads, newspaper ads, and a slick progrma and own them all back. lol

    My folks were Southern, but raised me in California. Our schools were multi-racial so I know their views were false.

    Prejudice started early in the human arena. It will never end---my opinion.

    • I don't think prejudice will ever end as well, but we should do what we can to reduce it.

  • You nailed it when you said this:

    The concept that one group of people is 'better' than another based on skin color is lacking on so many levels, all it shows is a significant amount of ignorance.

    I have been to so many countries, and believe me, I have seen racism and prejudice in all walks of life. Ignorance breeds antagonism.

  • Speaking of ugly truths....

    What became of the set of questions I asked you to forward to John/TeamXanga in February that dealt with the status updates folks cared about the most?

    There have also been no "official" updates since Feb 11- strange coincidence. What happened to their repeated pledge of keeping folks updated on a regular basis?

    Those are two questions that should be again forwarded to TeamXanga.

    The question I have for you is do you think this continued pattern of no updates and glacial time frame of improvements is acceptable for a site charging $48/mo for services far inferior to its free counterparts after taking $70K from folks with a promise to deliver something much superior as we near the 2nd anniversary of "Xanga 2.0"?

    After you answer, it wouldn't hurt to pass this question along to them as well. Thanks.

    • Hey SoullFire!

      Glad you're still keeping track of things. I'll follow up with John and the Team regarding those questions, and will forward the two in your comment as well.

      Personally I was sidetracked due to family reasons this past month - hence my delay on keeping up to date on anything and posting very little/if anything on my blog.

      I do have some updates regarding Autisable, but I know that won't satisfy your curiosity at this time - as your focus is on Xanga.

      I'm also sure that you meant to write $48 per year, and not per month. (about $4 per month)

      In regards to frustration, I sympathize. I wish, however, I could say more - but knowing you - me saying anything won't do much for you.

  • @edlives:

    Your exact words about the questions I asked John/Xanga last Feb:

    "@coolmonkey and @soullfire - John at Xanga texted me today in response to @soullfire's points...and we discussed that these must be addressed. It is being taken very seriously."

    Over 4 months later there is still no response from Xanga, nor have you updated on their intent to answer since that time.

    I waited this long before following up just so there would be NO dodging by saying "big updates" were just around the corner. Well, those excuses can still be made, but they would clearly stand out as poor/unsatisfactory.

    "In regards to frustration, I sympathize."

    No offense, but this has nothing to do with frustration, but simply calling out what at best can be called grossly negligent, and at worst can be considered criminal for soliciting money and promising services that have not been delivered.

    It's 2 years since the supposed "Xanga 2.0" launch. There is still no frontpage, Xanga first stops updating for a year, blames "bot attacks" for the delay, promises yet again to be better at communicating , then drops out again once they are faced with answering real questions as opposed to the side topic updates they chose to bring up.

    " I wish, however, I could say more - but knowing you - me saying anything won't do much for you."

    There's isn't anything you can say that would change that fact that this relaunch has been a complete failure. It's been two years of sub standard services and lacking all the community features of Xanga 1.0.

    What I would like to see you say is an acknowledgement that all the "promises" made by Xanga were grossly overstated and that they failed to deliver. That this is no longer a "transition period", but a prolonged state of dysfunction. That Xanga has clearly dropped the ball with no attempt made to defend their poor performance to the folks who went to bat for them with donations and continued subscriptions.

    Since you refuse to call them out, I hope you realize that in the event any legal action is taken against them for failing to deliver services as promised during their fundraiser, you are also putting yourself on the hook as an accessory.

    "I'm also sure that you meant to write $48 per year, and not per month. (about $4 per month)"

    Yes, I meant $48/yr- but it doesn't matter if it was 48 cents/year. The software is dysfunctional and free WordPress as well as other blogging sites are vastly superior.

    To continue to charge for this level of service is just continued insult to injury and taking advantage of their remaining supporters willing to pay and put up with these dreadful conditions.

    • Good to see you're still in your usual responsive form.

      I've forwarded your comments, and this comment thread to John at Xanga.

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