Running racism in America thread

I've heard so many times about how racist a city Boston is. Schilling can't fit in there?

 

A good, interesting essay, addressing a different perspective that I could see occurring. Thanks for an honest, heartfelt look into it.

Did your mother convert to Judaism in hopes of strengthening the relationship between her and your father, or did it occur before they met? Or did she do it, as it seems she came to believe/realize (whether or not that actually was the reason), because she thought it might help her assimilate better into white society? Did she practice another religion/faith before embracing Judaism?

As a white person, I literally cannot see this happening -- maybe being called a "fucking chink," but not the rest of it (I am not saying it didn't happen; I simply can hardly imagine it, myself, whether that's because I've lived too sheltered a life and it has never happened to me, or because I just have way more faith in people than I should):

Because no matter how much I held up my Judaism for the world to see, it was not a shield against the overwhelming onslaught of white supremacy. It didn’t help when I was 8 and a white woman attacked me in a store for being a “fucking chink.” I couldn’t use it the night a white man followed me home, begging me to “go North Korea on his dick.” It didn’t protect me in college when a Jewish guy I liked and who I thought liked me recorded us having sex and played it for his entire frat during their annual “Yellow Fever Week.”

My only issue with the essay was that, at times, I wasn't sure whether it was directed toward the Jewish community, or non-Jewish whites. Given your mixed heritage, and living location/circumstances, and probably, many mixed emotions, I'd guess the answer was actually both.

 

I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure Songbird isn’t Rebecca Kuss.

(Diving right into the first-person block quote threw me off at first too.)

 

Yes, Songbird didn't write it. Especially for a site named Hey Alma.

 

Correct.

Posted it as is to let you dive right in with no preconceived notions, hoping that the first 3 graphs were powerful enough to make you want to click the link to finish the essay, by Rebecca Kuss. And yes, on a site called Alma.

Speaking of whom ... where is Alma?

 

Think this is new?
It wasn’t long ago that an Illinois high school had an anti-Asian nickname. It was changed to the Dragons in 1981

 

The true story of a proud little city and its high school mascot

 

This is really interesting, and worth posting as a legitimate, unexpected counterpoint.

I wonder what the racial/ethnic breakdown of the school was, and what any Chinese/Asian students may have thought.

 

It would've been good to clarify that.

It's really difficult, indeed, almost impossible, to tell, based on what was presented/posted, and not everyone knows who people are on here. It's clear that several of us, including myself, obviously, thought it was you. If Kuss's experiences were almost exactly similar to yours, can you answer any of the questions I asked?

 

You're missing the entire point.

 

Basketball hoop on top of the period is genius, by the way.

 

That's been my impression for a while. I'm also figuring out a lot of people where I live think they've never met anyone outside of the WASPy demographic they figure "has always been here." Working from that perspective gives all of us a chance to question our assumptions and prejudices.


Many of us from mixed marriages encounter some form of "you're not a real..." In my case, it is usually Judaism, but it can be about identifying as Latina, North African, or Greek. My coloring suggests my ancestors were worrying sheep in North and Central Europe. Maybe I should be more charitable about this. Getting back to the Judaism question, some don't care, some question my decision to be Christian, some want to know why I'm not Jewish by faith and practice and say it's a function of having the "wrong parent in the tribe." The list goes on and on. After a while, I get Velveteen Rabbit fatigue and say, "Think what you want."