How racist!

[Steve]

A compassionate one. If all things being equal, I wouldn't favor the poor. Meaning if the poor had gone to the same high school with the same teachers or similar quality schooling. Just being poor doesn't give you a disadvantage under those circumstances unless there are other factors that the poor generally tends to have (dysfunctional home life, etc.).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Julian2]

Good points, any Farang who decides to live in Thailand gets a good taste of what it's like to be a second class citizen, but we're adults with a relatively high income buffer.

Growing up with racism is different. Children are more sensitive, more easily moulded by racial taunts and discrimination. Immigrant kids from European countries get it until they learn the language then they assimilate, but skin colour and other racial characteristics don't go away so easily.

[Steve]

Discrimination affects you psychologically. It can give you an inferiority complex and makes some hyper sensitive to any perceived slant. The strange thing about Thailand is that by and large the few blacks I know that visit and get the falang double pricing, etc. aren't as upset as non black falangs. The reason is that in America if I'm treated differently its because I'm seen as inferior, or a suspect, etc. In Thailand I'm treated differently because I'm perceived as a rich falang. While I don't like being charged more for some things, in my mind I'm not nearly as upset because they perceive me the same as my white western counterparts which is 'rich falang'. Not many blacks ever get looked at as 'rich' other than the celebs.

 

I will say this though. The best thing about this forum and traveling to LOS and other places is meeting a diversity of people from all over the world. That I can't generalize about any group of people but take people one by one. For instance I've met english guys that have become very dear friends as well as some assholes (coincidentally all Tottenham fans...lol :grin: ) , the same with just about every nation as I'm sure the same with Americans people have met. Other than traveling, the internet I think with the various forums for all kinds of subjects for like minded peoples around the world is the greatest weapon against racism.

 

 

[Weird]

Steve you made a valid argument but you and i know this is a dead topic on here....because as we both know the only ones who know what it is like to be black in the world and have to face the uphill battles we have to face from day in and day out just for being a different color is you and i...on here you wont win this argument because as kool as some white folks might be they'll just never understand what's it's like so they wont see things like we see things the advantages and disadvantages...and probably never will.....but good try

 

This is EXACTLY the type of bullshit that... "blacks" are not the only ones discriminated against. You want equality? What do you think using things like affirmitive action to put yourself above all the other minority groups to the so called levels of "white" people is doing?... It's not a battle of "black" and "white".

 

I don't have to be "black" to feel discrimination and racism. Try being a "mixed breed mut". You don't even have a place in society. The closest I ever felt to fitting in was being in Thailand, and everybody knows an outsider can never truely fit in there; and that feeling is pretty fake and hollow.

 

BTW I truely hate using colors to define people so I'm not sure if I will post here again. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I've never liked racist people and stereotypes always pissed me off.(enless we're talking about canooks.. just kidding )

[Flashermac]

Steve, back in the GIs days in Thailand white GIs were naturally called Farang. But black GIs were called Farang Dahm ... black white guys!

 

The guys who really got upset were the Asian-Americans, since the Thais more or less refused to accept them as Americans. One of my PC colleagues said to me, "They keep asking me questions about Japan. I've never even been to Japan!"

 

 

 

[Steve]

They still use falang dahm if they need to be specific.

 

 

[Flashermac]

When had a Japanese-Hawaiian medic in Vietnam who couldn't have been more than 5' 4". Once we had to rescue him from some Vietnamese villagers who were about to beat the crap out of him because he couldn't speak Vietnamese! He was in an American uniform, but the locals figured he must be our interpreter -- and was refusing to talk to them because he was feeling superior. They simply refused to accept him as an American.

 

 

 

[Steve]

Many foreigners view of America is from movies. Not many asian americans in them (as well as latin, who are a huge percentage of the population).

 

 

[Steve]

This is EXACTLY the type of bullshit that... "blacks" are not the only ones discriminated against.

 

Totally agree that there are different types of discrimination and in my prior post I said I was uncomfortable with some of the solutions like AA but I also said I understand it. I was raised to think I was just as good (or bad) as anyone and hard work would win out. Life has taught me different (I have a plethora of stories) but I remain an optmist maybe even naive (to some) person.

 

That said studies have shown that fat people are treated differently. As well as short men as opposed to tall men, no matter the race. Beauty as well. Pretty women are treated better in society than ugly women. There are studies that back all this.

 

However, if your argument is that all prejudices are treated the same in society then I have to respectfully disagree. I interned at Merrill Lynch a large stock brokerage firm in my last semester of college. I loved it. An exec there who looked on me kindly brought me to the side before I left and told me 'how the real world' was. He said 'Steve, I think you'll do well, but don't think about the retail side of the business. The average investor is a 50 y.o. white male and there is no way he's going to trust a 21 y.o. black guy with his money. I don't care if you have an Harvard MBA after your name.' Broke my heart at the time, but appreciated his being frank to me. In fact, he got me my first job out of school with a former collegue in my home town.

 

Not asking for pity or want any, I've done okay since then but I just want to emphasize that I don't think a fat white woman or short white guy or even a 'mixed' person would face as much. 'Life' has left a lot of guys I grew

up with embittered from seeing promotions or jobs that seemed a sure thing from a phone interview that suddenly dried up after the face to face interview, etc. Or simply just being followed in high end stores (or the corner liquor store). It wears on you over time and it takes a very optmistic person at times.

 

I think there have been massive strides in the U.S. The same Merrill Lynch has a black guy in charge now. Totally inconceivable when I was a lowly intern there. I think there should be a gradual shift to socio-economic factors for a lot of things. Poor is poor, black or white. The son of Colin Powell shouldn't be given preference over the son of a West Virginia white boy who lives in a trailor. However, I think we are deceiving ourselves if we think that prejudice is gone or even close to being eradicated. We're going to live with that a long time.

[Weird]

I'm not saying all discriminations are equal.

 

I'm more or less pointing to the attitude of some that somehow "black" discrimination is the end-all, top of the line, you can't ever pass this point in a discussion of unequality.

 

"I've done okay since then but I just want to emphasize that I don't think a fat white woman or short white guy or even a 'mixed' person would face as much."

 

Just as I can't speak for you and your experiences I don't think it would be right for you to try to speak in terms of what "mixed" people feel in terms of discrimination. If anything it would be way harder to speak for any individual "mixed" person because there are so many different "mixes"(which only makes the arguement stronger when you can't fit into any one group).

 

Just for the sake of discussion, though I really don't like to do this, I'll limit it primarily to black, white, and a mix of the 2.

 

It is mentioned in your post about distrust of a young black guy with an older investors money. I'm sure that the discrimination goes both ways. Now imagine the person who is 50% white and 50% black who gets the downsides of both.

 

Now imagine somebody mixed even further to the point where you can't tell what race they are. Now you have me. There is no "in crowd" so to speak for mixed people. If you want a true minority, look no further.

 

(I'm 22 years old and I have yet to find somebody with the same mix of races as me, not saying there aren't but that is a decent amount of time considering all things equal)