Keep It In Your Pants
So I was hanging out with my friend Gregory earlier this evening and, as is usually the case, we were having a great conversation. We very briefly touched on the subject of racism and, completely out of nowhere, Gregory drops this wonderful bit of conversational gold that's too good not to share.
It started with me making the point that - a lot of the time - prejudice starts off as the result of a negative interaction with another person, and that negative interaction leads to the desire to mentally separate oneself from that person. And most often, we will take the fastest and easiest route to do so. So for example: I'm a white guy driving down the street, listening to the radio, enjoying the day. A black dude comes out of nowhere, doing 90, and cuts me off. What's my first reaction? Is it, "Wow that guy can't drive for shit?" Or is it, "Stupid nigger!?" Now, instead of a black guy cutting me off let's say it's an older Chinese lady. Do I say to myself, "Wow, she can't drive for shit?" or, upon noticing she's Chinese and a woman, do I say something more along the lines of, "Fucking typical. A chink and a woman, I'm lucky she didn't kill me." And, I guess what you'd say in a situation like that depends on what type of person you are.
My point though, was that most of us are guilty of having said something similar to the above at least once in our lives. And others are guilty of doing it a whole lot more than that. So Gregory took that in and responded with the following (I'm paraphrasing):
"Yes, prejudice and racism do start out as xenophobia. It's a common reaction to be scared of the guy that speaks a completely different language, or wears completely different clothes, or looks completely differently from you. Xenophobia is a totally normal and common human reaction. It's also a normal human reaction to have an erection, but that doesn't mean it's okay to walk around with your dick out, and you can't just jump on the first female you run across. We call that rape. Part of living in a civilized society is rising above our common, basic instincts and reactions."
I've had that on my mind all night and I'll be using that line for the rest of my life. Gregory rocks.
It started with me making the point that - a lot of the time - prejudice starts off as the result of a negative interaction with another person, and that negative interaction leads to the desire to mentally separate oneself from that person. And most often, we will take the fastest and easiest route to do so. So for example: I'm a white guy driving down the street, listening to the radio, enjoying the day. A black dude comes out of nowhere, doing 90, and cuts me off. What's my first reaction? Is it, "Wow that guy can't drive for shit?" Or is it, "Stupid nigger!?" Now, instead of a black guy cutting me off let's say it's an older Chinese lady. Do I say to myself, "Wow, she can't drive for shit?" or, upon noticing she's Chinese and a woman, do I say something more along the lines of, "Fucking typical. A chink and a woman, I'm lucky she didn't kill me." And, I guess what you'd say in a situation like that depends on what type of person you are.
My point though, was that most of us are guilty of having said something similar to the above at least once in our lives. And others are guilty of doing it a whole lot more than that. So Gregory took that in and responded with the following (I'm paraphrasing):
"Yes, prejudice and racism do start out as xenophobia. It's a common reaction to be scared of the guy that speaks a completely different language, or wears completely different clothes, or looks completely differently from you. Xenophobia is a totally normal and common human reaction. It's also a normal human reaction to have an erection, but that doesn't mean it's okay to walk around with your dick out, and you can't just jump on the first female you run across. We call that rape. Part of living in a civilized society is rising above our common, basic instincts and reactions."
I've had that on my mind all night and I'll be using that line for the rest of my life. Gregory rocks.
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