By Beauty Damned

Well, it is improving. I don't say there's not still a problem, but I can see a big difference just in the last 15 or so years of my "adulthood" that racial problems are slowly dissolving. I think a good litmus test is interracial dating. A black and white couple back when I was in my late teens/early 20's was almost unheard of and was controversial, but now it seems to be normal and I rarely hear any negative comments about it. I think you hit it on the head: the main problem is with the older generations that grew up in a different environment. As generations pass I see us becoming more and more like one people, as it should be. But, like you, I still get pissed when I see things like this happen. The only good thing I can say about it is that it happens much more rarely now, and when it does happen it gets enormous coverage. Plus, the outrage of the majority now is directed towards the racist, which shows that most of society is growing up. (Whadya think Sasha? ;-)

Well, goodbye to all. School starts back up tomorrow and, as such, my social life effectively disappears for the next 4 months. Maria, I hope your vacation helps your back feel better.

I agree that things are getting better. Just not good enough. You are right that public outrage is a good sign.

Funny what you say about interracial dating, because my boyfriend is Brazilian and pretty dark, and we get some funny looks sometimes, but the most recent weird look we got was from a bunch of black muslim purists who don't believe in interracial couples. So that goes both ways. LOL!

P.S. Best of luck with the school year Lee! I'll miss you.

Thanks. I'll try to pop in every now and then ;) Enjoy your vacation!

Hmmm. My completely uninformed opinion is maybe because there are more whites than non-whites in the country, they really don't have a market to make non-white prosthetics, and so you have to special order. Thus, the higher cost.

Of course, this simply BEGS the question...if you are missing an arm/leg, why do you CARE what color the prothestic is?

Sounds pretty racist to me...:)

I, personally, would want the glow-in-the-dark yellow....:)

Oh, and greetings from the incredibly hot sandbox. I'm enjoying myself immensely...lots of Nazi's still left to kill.

Will check up on y'all sporadically.....I only get back to 'civilization' about once a month or so.

*gives a big flash of the semi-hairy chest to his adoring fans, and then crawls back into the shade*

Very cute evilmike. ;o) But I think it is pretty reasonable for a person to want a prosthetic limb which someowhat matches the rest of their body and not to be charged extra for it. As stated in the article:

"If you've got to have an amputation, you should be allowed to have an artificial limb in the color that is relevant to your skin...It's not cosmetic. Who would want to look like a freak, having one white leg and one black one -- nobody."

"A spokeswoman for the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority said there had been an internal misunderstanding over funding and that the health service would pay for Nicholls to be fitted with the appropriate false limb."

Nice to see you posting here! You've been missed. Stay safe.

If I'm missing a limb, and they offer me a prosthetic replacement...for free, mind you...I wouldn't care what color it is.

If you want the super-deluxe version that matched your skin tone, be prepared to shell out the bucks.

Hell, all you need is a can of spray paint.

She sounds like just another whining loser to me.

Whatev evilmike. You don't know shit from shineola. Hahaaaa! No, but really, you're hilarious. This is the funniest thing:

"Of course, this simply BEGS the question...if you are missing an arm/leg, why do you CARE what color the prothestic is?

Sounds pretty racist to me...:)"

Are you OD'ing on those government administered mind control drugs you've been taking? ;o)

Anyway, just because you're white trash enough to think that spray painting a limb would be sufficient to make you feel as if it was a comfortable appendage to the rest of your body, doesn't mean others are quite so ghetto. Thanks for the input on yet another controversial subject. LOL. You kill me.

Couldn't resist this topic. As a white person who grew up in the South, I can attest to the fact that racism is alive and well and growing stronger everyday, on all accounts, by all people. Blacks are just as guilty as anyone. I do not believe in saying, "slavery is over get over it"..it was a horrible stain in our history and should never be forgotten but in the same token it should not be used in every argument either. It is very unfortunate that some people think that by asking for a limb in your own color is too much to ask though...losing a limb is traumatic, how nice it would be to get one that matches..it shouldn't be too big of a bill to cover. But speaking again about racism, I've never ever taught my daughter to judge anyone by color, she's fair skinned, red headed, blue eyed and she was SPIT on last week at school by some hispanic girls because she is white. I did not stoop to the low level by telling my daughter, well fuck them spicks, what do they know....instead I told her that there are just "mean" people in this world and not to think all hispanics are like that. She was hurt and in her anger she commented that they were "poor"....now I'm upset here, but I even corrected her on that point...there are poor people who do not go around spitting on little red headed girls...it was one of the hardest talks I've had w/her to date and I just hope in the bottom of my heart that there are more parents giving this kind of speech to their kids. I told my kid that life ain't always a bed of roses and kids can be shitheads bottom line but not to ever hate a particular race because of a couple bad apples in the bunch. I think she understood and I hope that keeps this in her heart in her adult life. I would hate for her to close the door to any person because of color because there are some wonderful people out there in all races.
evilmike: Special order a limb? Hell man even Barbie comes in black now, if Mattel can make a black Barbie than we should have some black limbs on the shelf too....

Sandy,
I can't tell you how glad I am that I wrote about a topic that you couldn't resist. :o)

I agree with you completely. A lot of people say that because NY is such a melting pot, people here are more accepting of those of different races, but I have found the opposite to be true, much to my dismay. I hear so many racist comments on a daily basis, you wouldn't believe it. Just today a girl at my work was talking about how she hates Indians because she was sideswiped by an Indian man the other day. It really pissed me off. It always pisses me off the way that people choose to generalize their ill will towards others to include an entire ethnic or cultural group. Like you said there are good people and bad people of all races. I think that's pretty obvious. It's just amazing how people lay blanket judgments based on singular negative experiences. I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter. Believe me, I've been there myself. I'll never forget being in a really bad neighborhood in the Bronx one night. I was picking up a friend and while I was waiting outside in the car a large group of black girls walked by and one of them said loudly "what is that white bitch doing in our neighborhood"...that hurt, but I couldn't just automatically assume that all black people who live in that neighborhood would respond to my presence that way. It was her individual ignorance that brought her to speak that way. And ignorance is everywhere. Not just within any particular group.

Nice to hear from you again. You've been missed.

Exactly...man I hope beyond hope that all people do not judge Southerns by that idiot comedian Jeff Foxworthy!!!!
My roommates in the military have been black and honestly I left home with a certain degree of racism. I bought into all the things I was told growing up about blacks to only have them thrown back in my face. My first black bunkmate was a charming girl from Little Rock, Arkansas and she thought all whites were, "dirty, lazy,etc"...the same things I was told about blacks. We were stationed in England at the time and someone had sent her a video w/the Arsenio Hall show on it and Charlie Daniels was the guest singer, anyway Lolita sat on the edge of her bed and was singing along and she knew every damn word of the song. My mouth almost hit the floor, she was combing her hair, looked up and said, "Damn girl, I am from the south...shit"...and we laughed for ever about that. I stood up w/her when she got married 5yrs later and to this day I wouldn't trade anything for her and what she taught me. If I had of let my familys influence guide me I would have missed out on one helluva friendship. It's hard for me when I go home to visit, because I absolutely cringe ever time I hear the "N" word and I don't talk against my family out of respect but I would slap the teeth out of my daughters mouth if she ever uttered that word and I would do that out of respect for my daughter. I just don't think people know how much they cheapen themselves by hate.