WTF...and other stuff

[destinie21]

What is the race card? Oh I'm familiar withh the phrase that people like to toss about, but I want to know what it means.
I said something about Black History awareness and was promptly jumped all over. I just need to know what the fuck is going on?

 

[kellycummings]

What's going on is everyone is too sensitive about talking about race. Even if you are just trying to understand or have an opinion about something, everyone assumes you are being racist.
PC has gone waaaay too far and has gotten to the point where people are afraid to open their mouths for fear of being called something they are not.

 

[jeanne_d_artois]

The "Race Card" is like the Ace of Trumps or The Joker when playing card games. It beats any other card.

When the "Race Card" is played, you can be sure that sensible debating rules have been abandoned.

If you are black, female, overtly gay, a member of a minority religious group and disabled - you have a full hand of trump cards.

Nonsense but that is politics.

Jeanne

 

[Boxlicker101]

An example is when Jacko was arrested and accused of child-molesting. One of his brothers loudly announced that it was just another lynching. That was playing the race card. When African-American or Hispanic people are arrested, they frequently play the race card by complaining they are being picked on because of race. Because sometimes, although hardly ever, they are correct, it is an effective ploy.

A while ago, after hassles in court, a woman was admitted as a cadet to The Citadel, a military college. All incomeing cadets are required to have their hair cut very short with a heavy-duty clipper. She played the gender card by claiming she should be exempt because she is a woman. That was an attempt to play the gender card but she didn't get away with it.

Fortunately, it doesn't always work.

 

[gauchecritic]

She played the gender card by claiming she should be exempt because she is a woman. That was an attempt to play the gender card but she didn't get away with it.

That would be the 'sex' card rather than the 'gender' card. Just splitting hairs.

As people have said, the race card is played quite often when perhaps failing an interview or university entrance.

Equally often the Race Card is a card played by the player without the race card in their hand.

Interviewee: "Why didn't I get the job? Am I not qualified enough? The guy you gave it to didn't get his degree summa cum laudi."

Interviewer: "Oh so you're implying I didn't give you the job because you're black?"

The race card is also one of a kind. The opposition can never follow suit.

Gauche

 

[Guest]

When African-American or Hispanic people are arrested, they frequently play the race care by complaining they are being picked on because of race. Because sometimes, although hardly ever, they are correct, it is an effective ploy.

Box, I so wish you would think more than it seems you do when making statements like this. Your first example above is NOT about playing the race card. Your second sentence is such crap. Your very language exposes your own racism, at least against blacks and Mexicans (I'll get particular here). I am not playing any card here, just telling you I live in a different reality than you.

really fucking pissed off,

Perdita

 

[oggbashan]

Perdita's post shows how the race card distorts reality.

Generalisations about race are crap.

Unfortunately some people believe them and act on them. I can remember signs on apartments-to-let saying "No Irish or Coloureds".

In London, a black youth is three times as likely to be stopped by the police as a white youth. That is not racist but a reflection of recorded crime ratios. What is the point of stopping a white youth if a black youth was seen running away from the crime scene?

However, that affects all black youths, even the upright honest church-going middle-class. They then tend have a different attitude to the police from their white neighbours. The black community, if there is such a thing, is more sensitive about police stop and search powers than the white community living side by side with them.

Og

 

[destinie21]

An example is when Jacko was arrested and accused of child-molesting. One of his brothers loudly announced that it was just another lynching. That was playing the race card. When African-American or Hispanic people are arrested, they frequently play the race card by complaining they are being picked on because of race. Because sometimes, although hardly ever, they are correct, it is an effective ploy.

A while ago, after hassles in court, a woman was admitted as a cadet to The Citadel, a military college. All incomeing cadets are required to have their hair cut very short with a heavy-duty clipper. She played the gender card by claiming she should be exempt because she is a woman. That was an attempt to play the gender card but she didn't get away with it.

Fortunately, it doesn't always work.

I don't how you intended this post to come across but it seems more instigatory than explanatory. But prehaps I'm playing the race car. I fold

 

[Black Tulip]

I didn't know what the Race Card was, but I quite frequently have students who complain I am discriminating them because they are black, or from Morocco, or ...
(To a teacher on a school with more than 100 nationalities. LOL)
All because I have the audacity to criticize their work you see.

For years I have had only one answer to that: Yes, I do. And especially you.

 

[mtnman2003]

race, and more........

I taught undergraduate and graduate for many years.

One semester, I filled in at University of Phoenix. a grad school class. We were required to attend a meeting regarding the "grade inflation" occurring on campus.

To assist 40 professors in the room, the moderator handed out a 5-paragraph paper and asked us to grade the material.

In about 2-minutes, I assigned a failing "F" grade. The paper was shit. Now, I had only been teaching about 15-years.......

Well, as you can imagine, I was called on first to address the group, and explain my grading. Well, to say the least, shit hit the fan.

Discussion Points: All were discussed!
1) We are a for profit institution.
2) How could I assign such a grade without considering the individual.
3) They may have not had the same education opportunities of others.
4) I would need to hold a conference and give them the opportunity to redo the paper with assistance.
5) I shoudl consider the race of the student.
6) I should consider the nationality of the student, they might be on a student visa.

And the discussion went on. Imagine, I went back to my class and told them about the meeting. Suggested that the students take their $5000 check to the administration office and trade it for a degree.

This got back to dean, and I was not asked to fill in again.

To this day, I believe University of Phoenix is shit, their degree not worth a damn.

That's the way some race cards can be played....... without their knowledge!

 

[NoJo]

Ali G takes the piss out the race card -- "Is it because I is black?" -- and so does Snoop Dogg!

I looked around the trading floor of an investment bank on my first day of work there and saw to my delight a very mixed set of races -- gradually I learned to identify the Enterprise Technologists like me - most were black. Hmmm...

Here in Britain, the police, judicial and political systems are racist.

If I were black I'd play every damn card I could. I'd play dirty.

 

[Guest]

If I were black I'd play every damn card I could. I'd play dirty.

I do not play it, ever. But I do not judge or condemn those who do.

The USA was founded, created and is still going strong on a violent racist foundation. It is integral to the nation's success. It permeates every aspect of the governing systems and its capitalist fundamentals.

Yes, it can seem much has changed in the past decades, but it is so very superficial and too easily weighed by whatever any body or person needs for any political or feel-good reason.

I am tired to tears by all the expressions of reverse-racism. I cannot care about it. You will not understand me unless you were born into, raised and live on the other side.

Hardly any mercy left for any racist, even those who are merely ignorant,

Perdita

 

[destinie21]

blood on the leaves and blood on the roots

Not so much has changed.

 

[NoJo]

When there's an open mic at a famous London hip-hop music store, any MC playing the Race Card is jeered off by the mainly black crowd; it's considered an unstylish and lazy ploy; an indication that the MC has run out of ideas.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

"Why didn't you hire me? Is it because I'm black?"

-No, no, it's personal. I think you're an asshole.



Would that be PC?

 

[oggbashan]

Re: race, and more........

One semester, I filled in at University of Phoenix. a grad school class. We were required to attend a meeting regarding the "grade inflation" occurring on campus.

To assist 40 professors in the room, the moderator handed out a 5-paragraph paper and asked us to grade the material.

In about 2-minutes, I assigned a failing "F" grade. The paper was shit. Now, I had only been teaching about 15-years.......

For 14 years I was the moderator (= referee) for annual appraisements in a Engineering Department of a large corporation.

The appraisal followed former British Civil Service practice. The performance on the job was completed by the immediate supervisor, the suitability for promotion was assessed by the next level, and the whole thing was countersigned by the third level.

Each year I would chair a discussion group of the third level supervisors. We had about 600 staff who would be appraised. Each supervisor put forward the best and worst in his unit and suggested the mark each should get. Then we discussed until we agreed who was the overall "worst" and who the overall "best".

The "worst" might be so classed because of inexperience, lack of training completed so far, or a bad bout of ill-health. If it was just incompetence then there had to be a record of warnings, targets set for improvement, reviews etc. No one could be "worst" or close without knowing in terrifying detail why they were bad and what they must do. Equally, no one should be best without knowing that their work was appreciated.

Having set the worst and the best we graded the other near misses. The difficult people to assess were those who were "good enough" - the middle of the bell-shaped curve. How could you mark one slightly higher or lower? You couldn't.

Race? Sex? Marital Status? - irrelevant. Competence ON THE JOB was all that was marked. The third level supervisors were of several races, predominantly male but with some females. Now they would be 60/40 because more females do engineering.

Promotability? Our problem was always finding enough good people. We were always short but could not afford to promote incompetents - that cost money.

Og

 

[Guest]

"Why didn't you hire me? Is it because I'm black?"
-No, no, it's personal. I think you're an asshole.

Would that be PC?

PC not relevant there, Flicka; it just makes sense. I said just that to a young Af-Am asshole once. He understood.

P.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Good, I was afraid I might have stepped over the line a bit.

 

[Liar]

PC not relevant there, Flicka; it just makes sense. I said just that to a young Af-Am asshole once. He understood.

I thought that the requirement an asshole was that he did not understand that he was one.

Anyway, on a slightly more serious note.
There is a racist, a sexist and generally 'white straight christian man' elitist structure throughout our society. No doubt about that. To work and fight for a less racist collective mindset is not to play the race card. But there is a race card (or for that matter any not-while-male card) being played, ever so often, on a knee-jerk reaction level where it is uncalled for.

I worked as a bouncer a few years back at a quite popular club. We had but one rule. Drunk people weren't let in. The blond and blue-eyed drunks groaned and trodded off. The more dark-skinned drunks often demanded to know why the sober person before them was let in. Explaining it it straight up didn't help much, there is just no reasoning with drunk people, I guess. I quit that job after a while. Being spat on, threatened and called a racist ten to fifteen times every night took it's toll.

These days I recruit freelance writers and programmers for a living. My boss was pretty upset with "my sexist policy" she said one day, and demanded to know why only one out of ten people I hired were women. The fact that only one out of twenty applying were women hadn't occurred to her.

I understand that the suspicion of racism and discrimination is easily raised, because there are so many times when it is true.

But there is a time and a place, is all I'm saying.

#L

 

[dirtylover]

Why can blacks say nigga, but I can't? That makes me feel like an outsider, when all I want to do is rap.

 

[destinie21]

I'm black and I can spit perfectly fine without the N word but let me explain it as best I can. Nigga is a family thing

 

[Guest]

I'm black and I can spit perfectly fine without the N word but let me explain it as best I can. Nigga is a family thing

Yep. There's only one white person (on the AH) who can call me a Spic and make me laugh.

Perdita

 

[Boxlicker101]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Boxlicker101
When African-American or Hispanic people are arrested, they frequently play the race card by complaining they are being picked on because of race. Because sometimes, although hardly ever, they are correct, it is an effective ploy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resonse by Perdita:
Box, I so wish you would think more than it seems you do when making statements like this. Your first example above is NOT about playing the race card. Your second sentence is such crap. Your very language exposes your own racism, at least against blacks and Mexicans (I'll get particular here). I am not playing any card here, just telling you I live in a different reality than you.

really fucking pissed off,

That first sentence IS an example of playing the race card. Sometimes if a person can make enough fuss and possibly get influential persons to make a fuss, they can get a charge dropped or win acquittal from a sympathetic jury. Johnnie Cochran played the race care very effectively in the O. J. Simpson trial.

I'm not sure what you mean about the second sentence. Remember, I am referring to here and now, not 50 years ago or in the deep south. I will admit there are still some vestiges of racism in both SF and San Jose, and probably everywhere, but don't forget the race of the most recent mayor of SF or the curent one in San Jose. I still say that one somebody says something like "I was just hassled because I am (black, brown, red, yellow, white, green) his or her complaint has no merit and is just to accuse the accusers.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I responded to Des Pm on this. I had decided not to post anymore, but I think something needs to be said here.

"The Race Card" has become a buzz word or catch phrase, if you will. While this thread has centered on what it means you have all also missed what it has become. It is, in a very real sense, the racist's counter-charge to racism. Any time a black or hispanic or in a broader sense a woman or gay person or any minority decries descrimination the charge that "you are playing the race, gender, orientation etc. card" has become the counter.

The prejudiced have taken the term, attached a very negative connotation to it, and now toss it out anytime rascism or racially motivated descrimination are brought into the light.

So while "the race card" does mean calling foul for descrimination by a minority, it has also become the counter charge levied by people accused of racism.

I.e.

"You didn't hire me because I am black,"

"You're just plaing the race card because you weren't hired,"


Due to the close assocciation of the race card as Jonnie Chochran's defense of O.J. it has become an effective counter charge and has a lot of ressonance with people who believed O.J. was guilty.

That is the other side of the coin that I think many here missed. Someone accusing Des of playing the race card is most likely someone who could not effectively argue against whatever point she raised and thus tried to minimize her relveance to the discussion by accusing her of playing the race card.

-Colly

 

[minsue]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Boxlicker101
When African-American or Hispanic people are arrested, they frequently play the race card by complaining they are being picked on because of race. Because sometimes, although hardly ever, they are correct, it is an effective ploy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resonse by Perdita:
Box, I so wish you would think more than it seems you do when making statements like this. Your first example above is NOT about playing the race card. Your second sentence is such crap. Your very language exposes your own racism, at least against blacks and Mexicans (I'll get particular here). I am not playing any card here, just telling you I live in a different reality than you.

really fucking pissed off,

That first sentence IS an example of playing the race card. Sometimes if a person can make enough fuss and possibly get influential persons to make a fuss, they can get a charge dropped or win acquittal from a sympathetic jury. Johnnie Cochran played the race care very effectively in the O. J. Simpson trial.

I'm not sure what you mean about the second sentence. Remember, I am referring to here and now, not 50 years ago or in the deep south. I will admit there are still some vestiges of racism in both SF and San Jose, and probably everywhere, but don't forget the race of the most recent mayor of SF or the curent one in San Jose. I still say that one somebody says something like "I was just hassled because I am (black, brown, red, yellow, white, green) his or her complaint has no merit and is just to accuse the accusers.

I hate to tell you, Box, but there are more than just vestiges of racism left in our culture. You should hear the poison that spews from otherwise rational people when the subject of immigration comes up. Since border security was tightened in CA & TX a couple of years ago, that subject comes up very often in AZ. The shit that people say, and therefore think & feel, never ceases to amaze and disgust me.

- Mindy