Way OT: Why I'm glad I don't carry a khukuri

Bill Martino said:
We encountered more prejudice in one week than in 7 years during our short week in Florida. :barf:
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Great,

I was planning on bringing my Chinese GF there for holiday at Christmas. I thought our society was better than that now...
 
Individuals are better now, but society is still the same fooked up organism it always was.

As long as small minds continue to be easy to fill...

Glad to report that most of Indiana (cept fer some really backwater parts) is quite culturally integrated and has little in the way of racial prej. or such. Quite a turn from 100 yrs ago, when Northern IN was a hotbed of KKK crap.

Keith
 
Bex said:
Remember having 'White boy' shouted at me by a group of ****wits in a shopping mall in Indonesia. A real eye opener into what it feels like to be singled out for your skin colour. Cant imagine what it would be like to suffer that sort of **** on a regular basis. I wanted to stamp on their heads...
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Yeah, I got the same kind of thing when I stayed in Hong Kong (only there it is 'gwailoh' or 'ghost man'), I was staying with the family of my girlfriend (she is half chinese and so gets loads of flack from the Chinese community around here who are fairly racist in their perculiar way) and whilst they were very accepting and apreciated my attempts to respect their culture and way of life outside the appartment one couldnt help feeling like an alien.

Actually I have little difficulty controlling my temper because the kind of lowlife that causes problems like that around here will not even think about giving you trouble unless they outnumber you by at least four to one. Rather forces one to find a less destructive outlet once the situation has subsided.
 
Might as well note that bigotry isn't any better if served by the 'victims' either. There are places this white man can't go. There's a local high school- 25 years ago it was mixed, no real problems, though whites were in the minority. Now none of the white rancher's children will go because they grew tired of being beaten every day.

A friend married a Gros Ventres. They live on the Res. The folks treat him badly- he's white. Even his own children don't like him being white. They consider themselves Gros Ventres. That's fine with Dad, he loves them. But Dad's been called racial names by his own children.

He told me when they're young it's OK. Seems to start in the 2nd or 3rd grade, and gets worse until Jr High, when it's full blown.

My oldest went to Head Start on the Res- no troubles.
But I wouldn't send him now- he's seven.

The middle kid said he didin't want to go to Head Start because the teacher was dark skinned. Wild eh? Where'd he get that? Anyway, I talked to him, and found out the problem was the gal has very dark circles under her eyes and this scares him. Witch and Monster stuff.

The whole darn thing though is a stupid mess and I wish like hell we could just move past it. I'll tell you, though, there's a whole lot of ndns on the Res who don't want to change. Whitey is bad. They steal from Whitey and now All Indians Are Bad to some locals.

There's a couple local gals who hate me because I'm white and hate ndn's. That's right- they heard me say something somewhere, sometime, misunderstood it and packaged it neatly into a bigot role for me.

Shouldn't have to walk on eggshells. I've got folks hating me cause I'm an 'ndn lover' and ind's hating me cause I'm white.

Truth is I'm the same guy and so are ndn's- we're humans.



munk
 
LR,

First, let me say how very sorry I am that you were treated like that, and that anyone still is foolish enough to judge someone based on something as insignificant as the color of their skin.

Next, I will strongly disagree with the idea- which I have heard expressed before- about carrying knives. What you are essentially saying, is that people cannot be trusted...Which must surely be a form of bigotry, as well (just in a more general than specific sense). You train in traditions that look on many things as potential defensive tools: the real destruction is in us, the user, when we use any of the things around us in that manner. The tool has the spirit and power we give it.

I don't think you're near Augusta? I really need to start training again.

John
 
I agree with my friend Spectre about carrying knives or a weapon. They do not make me more inclined to use force; I am less inclined. The knowledge that lethal force is available allows me peaceful behavior, even avoidance. It is always individual judgement.

Blades and guns do not make us kill that which we would not normally 'kill'

They do not 'make' us do anything.

We make decisions.


munk
 
That's interesting you experienced so much prejudice in FL and not as much where you live in GA. I would think it would be the opposite. FL having a large immigrant population.

I have a friend who is from WV but has lived in GA for a number of years. After not seeing him for a couple years I was surprised how prejudiced he had become after moving there. My brother also became more prejudiced after he moved to VA. Both of these instances were surprising to me since I would think that your core beliefs and experiences would shape your prejudices rather than the company you keep or geographical location.

In livestock breeding the outcross is always stronger than the inbred so I say more power to diff't folks getting together. ;)

I have seen some prejudice against black people here, mainly among uneducated people, but I had never met any anti semetic people or people prejudiced against other ethnic groups till I hung out with some folks in DC.

Here at least I think people under 25 are way less prejudiced than over 25.
 
Actually in areas with a large immigrant population over here the 'natives' are often far more prejudiced against the immigrants, as much as anything because they are that much more visible. In rural areas with a VERY small minority of immigrants nobody cares.
 
StmmZaum said:
Actually in areas with a large immigrant population over here the 'natives' are often far more prejudiced against the immigrants, as much as anything because they are that much more visible. In rural areas with a VERY small minority of immigrants nobody cares.
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Good point. Maybe that's why there's not so much here. New people are more part of all the whole group of people here since there's not enough to split off and form their own subculture.
 
Agreed. "With great power comes great responsibility..."

When I first got into MA as a kid in 6th grade, I wanted to learn to defend myself, to be 'victorous' in a bully situation that I was constantly running into in Erie PA. The more I learned, the more effective I became, and the less inclined I was to fight or to be incited into fighting. I have had to apply "dissuasive pressures" a few times in high school or college, but that defused the sit in a hurry.

I sorta became the weapon and the user in one, and knew I had a choice on whether or not to react. I was able to 'actively ignore' bullies and other fight-seekers, knowing that if the chips were really down I had a chance. I also tried some unconventional warfare, like talking (It's really hard for a bully to keep his sights on fighting you when you're asking him whats' wrong, and why he's acting like this).

So I guess I'd advise some "fortitude" practice. Put up a wall when needed to ignore the ignorant. Otherwise, be confident, competent, compassionate.

If the arsehole situation will continue as it has for millenia, then it is up to us to choose another way.
 
John, I live in Marietta, GA and teach Burmese and Tibetan martial arts at Emory on Tuesday nights. Email if you are interested in coming by sometime. I will probably do some occasional Saturday training sessions this Summer in Marietta. I don't charge for training.

As for prejudice, I don't know, I think it depends on the area. We lived in a rural small Tennessee town, and had no problems there, ever. We have no problems in GA. I'm sure that this was an isolated part of Florida, and don't take it to be representative of the whole state.

Weapons discourage attack, and cause us to use a little more caution and recognize our responsibility. I also know that family is my hot button, and I can overreact. So, knowing myself, I know when not to carry a weapon.
When I feel it's appropriate, I do.

David
 
Agreed. My wife's the hot one, so i usually keep her unarmed or equipped with something blunt (her pref). My daughter tho...

Keith
 
David,

Will certainly contact you the next time I'm headed towards Atlanta, thanks.

John
 
One thing I was thinking about last night, if you arm yourself with a staff of some kind then it is relatively easy to cause a lot of pain with very little actual damage. A smack in the right place will put someone on the ground with buising but little more. With a Khukri on the other hand so far as I can see if you hit someone you are going to cause serious damage, I get the impression my WW2 would slice through skin and muscle without too much of a problem. I guess you just have to be that much more willing to use such a weapon. Then again it is rather more intimidating than a stick, so its a swings and roundabouts situation.
 
cliff355 said:
The thing is, if you stood a bunch of Finns and Swedes in a lineup it would be impossible to tell them apart. Therefore it appears that no region or population is immune from these gripers.
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Very true Cliff. I like to tell the people that come here to our Sweatlodge that children all over the world have a universal language. Children laugh and cry the same all over the world and when young kids are put together they play together just fine!!!!
It's only when they get older and hear us as adults demeaning and dismissing others as inferior in some way that they do the same.:(

Most people are prejudiced because their elders are. And most people don't realize the pain they cause other folks by being prejudiced.
I had a very rude awakening the first time I felt the sting of rascism and it took me no time at all to change my mind about a lot of things concerning people different from myself!!!!

I had a young African man tell me once that I didn't like him because he was black.... I told him, "No, I don't like you because you're an SOB and if you were ndn and acted the same way I still wouldn't like you."
When he found out that many ndns were also held in slavery he started changing towards me and we finally became friends.
And his experinces with me led him to change his mind, albeit slowly, about other folks.
One day he discovered he had a lot more friends when he had became friendlier himself.:D
 
LIONSROAR,Good job on keeping u/r cool and oh the hell with them.... :D I've lived in Tampa for about ten years and being from N.Y.C.I've encountered some of that BS. :barf:
 
Classifications that incite bigotry and prejudice:
1-race
2-skin color
3-political affiliation
4-religion
5-financial status
6-ethnicity
7-unique or distinctive dress
8-national origin
9-age
10-sex
11-hair style and lip size


I'm sure I overlooked some so feel free to add your own.

Liars, cheats, and thieves have always earned disrespect and I suspect always will.
 
You left off body piercing and tattoos (body modification). Especially facial piercings or tattoos.

Hair length (mostly fer men, women can wear it however they want is seems). Everyone assumes that guys with long hair are hippies.

Just a few I've run into.
 
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