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Just need to get this off my chest.
12 years ago
General
I'm currently taking a Public Speaking class (last day is tomorrow by the way) and every other day we'll do a current event. We pick out a topic and discuss it in class.
Well, for mine I picked out this article about the legal debate going on in Arizona. For those of you who haven't heard, here's a news article about it: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/arizona-.....discrimination
Yeah, basically the bill will allow people to be discriminatory towards others so long as they use religion as the justification. Its probably more complex than that, but that's the main idea behind it.
My argument was that the law would most likely be repealed once those supporting it are reminded that Christianity isn't the only religion in this country and it sparks a ton of legal battles when Islamic business owners start kicking Jews and Christians out of their store (as an example)... to which one of my classmates, an older woman, immediately shouted out "I'd turn to him and say 'I don't wanna shop at your raghead store anyways!'."
I know I shouldn't be shocked by this, the woman is about fifty or so and its freaking Kentucky, we're still the south here... but I felt like I'd been slapped.
I replied, "Well, thats a rather racist thing to say", to which she said "Go ahead and call me racist! Thats how it is! They come to our country and get all these tax breaks. Its not just them, you go into any factory and it'll be the white guys who are working hard, none of the damn nigras will be doing shit".
I just shook my head and said, "Well, I dunno what to say to that." because I honestly didn't. How the hell do you argue that someone is being racist when they will not only agree with you, but proudly describe themselves as such?
Again, I know I shouldn't be shocked. I know that there are people out there like this, and especially in the southern US, but I guess I just live such an insular life in my free time that I really don't know how to react when I do encounter one.
EDIT: Oh and for anyone who's worried about that bill... http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/02.....iscrimination/ It's looking like it's on rather shaky ground now. Politicians can preach Christianity as much as they want, but the real god of America is Capitalism.
Well, for mine I picked out this article about the legal debate going on in Arizona. For those of you who haven't heard, here's a news article about it: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/arizona-.....discrimination
Yeah, basically the bill will allow people to be discriminatory towards others so long as they use religion as the justification. Its probably more complex than that, but that's the main idea behind it.
My argument was that the law would most likely be repealed once those supporting it are reminded that Christianity isn't the only religion in this country and it sparks a ton of legal battles when Islamic business owners start kicking Jews and Christians out of their store (as an example)... to which one of my classmates, an older woman, immediately shouted out "I'd turn to him and say 'I don't wanna shop at your raghead store anyways!'."
I know I shouldn't be shocked by this, the woman is about fifty or so and its freaking Kentucky, we're still the south here... but I felt like I'd been slapped.
I replied, "Well, thats a rather racist thing to say", to which she said "Go ahead and call me racist! Thats how it is! They come to our country and get all these tax breaks. Its not just them, you go into any factory and it'll be the white guys who are working hard, none of the damn nigras will be doing shit".
I just shook my head and said, "Well, I dunno what to say to that." because I honestly didn't. How the hell do you argue that someone is being racist when they will not only agree with you, but proudly describe themselves as such?
Again, I know I shouldn't be shocked. I know that there are people out there like this, and especially in the southern US, but I guess I just live such an insular life in my free time that I really don't know how to react when I do encounter one.
EDIT: Oh and for anyone who's worried about that bill... http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/02.....iscrimination/ It's looking like it's on rather shaky ground now. Politicians can preach Christianity as much as they want, but the real god of America is Capitalism.
