Not trying to cause trouble but ......

[Carrie58]

I can't be the only one to think this way..........and please if this is not appropriate moderators take it down ......... but I don't understand the whole "Racism" thing ........different colors don't make different races .........we are all one RACE ......with many different cultures and religions ,but still only one race the human race .I personally think this insistence on using the word race is wrong .......
I'm not trying to start any controversy ,it's just with the stuff going on and having too much time alone to think about said stuff ,and nobody to talk it out with ......I just don't understand .........

 

[McGyver]

There is really nothing to get and it is a stupid thing that really only humans do.
Children don't inherently react to the visual differences in other children, it is something they learn.
In the animal kingdom this doesn't exist either.
Humans do this because it is easier to fear difference then to take the time to see or learn the similarities.
Others with dubious intent use that fear to divide people and gather followers who are steered by fear and anger, those that are easy to lull into step with ignorant rhetoric.
It is that simple.
We all share the human genome... On the most simplest level this should be a reminder that we are one species.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

“I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.” -Samuel Johnson

 

[Carrie58]

ya know what ......McGyver ,Ken I love you !!!

 

[RAMWolff]

I hate labels and race stuff too Carrie. Being an openly gay man I've often been labeled as "You know, that gay guy over there" .. uh, how about the fabulous creature in the corner sipping coffee with the smart haircut. NOPE, it's "that gay guy over there" We all fall into a race thing... when I'm trying to point out a person in a crowd at that same cafe and he or she is black, I say that handsome black person over there or something like that. Labels are just supposed to be a way of describing someone but in our messed up society SOME folks like to take it a bit further and punish folks for being "not the norm" what ever the hell that is and in today's world there is NO NORMAL, sorry but there just isn't and hasn't been in a long long time but in little parts of the country with very segregated communities it's alive and well. If your not this color, this religion or this sexual orientation your wrong, evil, non human and all the other bs labels they then heap upon that person. It's a sad state of affairs but it's our messed up country.

I'm a Wiccan, Gay, White Dude with so much talent in one little pinky it's not even funny. That's my new label. Love me or leave me!

 

[Miss B]

I couldn't have said it better. Go Rich!!!!

 

[Carrie58]

To me using the word RACE is just a way to emphasize people being different species ....which they are not.Or a way to feel superior over others .......I am 59 years old, female ,overweight, American mutt ,I have put "human " in the RACE space on every employment application I have ever filled out . And I am old enough I shouldn't let this get to me but the whole stupidity(in my opinion) of it does. When are we going to grow up??as a whole ??
RAMWolff I definitely love you ,you are a intelligent ,talented , CARING ,being and that's what's important in my book .......
Mz B loving you too

 

[Miss B]

 

[daywalker03]

This is how I feel on this subject.

 

[Carrie58]

I like that daywalker03 ,the only thing ,the only problem I see is we keep tainting the place we live ........

 

[daywalker03]

I like that daywalker03 ,the only thing ,the only problem I see is we keep tainting the place we live ........

yeah, I know. You've seen the image I posted of the cyborgs, I hope.

 

[Carrie58]

no I haven't but I'd like too ..

 

[daywalker03]

Just wanted to share some renders.

 

[Mythocentric]

You know what amazes me most of all? The recent events in the US proved to me beyond doubt that the extreme right, the extreme left and the current crop of terrorist lunatics all share the same mindset and hate each other because of it. Education can do a lot but sometimes you've got to penetrate a very thick wall of self-delusion before you can begin the lesson! It's probably a good idea to remember that in the great scheme of things those people are a very small part of the whole. They may have loud voices, perhaps loud enough to make you think otherwise but in the end, as history proves, they will fail and fade away. Holding to your own beliefs and turning away from the hate-mongers will sideline them all the sooner to the benefit of the rest of mankind, regardless of where they come from! Respect!

 

[Bonnie2001]

Just wait until all the oil runs out and we have shortages of everything. Then nobody at all will get along because they will be too busy trying to survive. The elites will be fine in their underground bunkers, like the one the Walmart guy built so he can hide from the angry mob.

 

[LisaB]

Great discussion. I have learned so much in the past couple of years about myself while pondering some of these questions and issues. I think solutions begin within each of us taking a long, hard in the mirror to really see the ways we are part of, or contribute to the problem. How what I believe, what I think, what I automatically default to doing, because I was taught to do things that way, might need a bit more perspective, some new information and some adjustments in behavior as I see fit.

It's hard to look in the mirror though. It can feel to me like one small "bad thing" that I've done that has added to or created a problem negates all of the wonderful ways I show up, and the postitve force I am in the world.

I am also resistant to labels. There are confining and limiting. Funny thing is that once I became aware of my resistance to labeling myself, I also became aware of how I automatically label other people. It's hard to retrain where my thoughts automatically go because it's so deeply embedded in me from childhood. Hard, but not impossible. Just once conscious step forward a day makes a big difference over time.

 

[LisaB]

You know what amazes me most of all? The recent events in the US proved to me beyond doubt that the extreme right, the extreme left and the current crop of terrorist lunatics all share the same mindset and hate each other because of it. Education can do a lot but sometimes you've got to penetrate a very thick wall of self-delusion before you can begin the lesson! It's probably a good idea to remember that in the great scheme of things those people are a very small part of the whole. They may have loud voices, perhaps loud enough to make you think otherwise but in the end, as history proves, they will fail and fade away. Holding to your own beliefs and turning away from the hate-mongers will sideline them all the sooner to the benefit of the rest of mankind, regardless of where they come from! Respect!

YES! Focus on Love and while you can acknowledge Hate, turn your back on it.

Also, though. Holding to your own beliefs is perfect, but do those beliefs need adjusting? That's where I do my best to step into the shoes of the other person to truly do my best to hear and understand where they are coming from. When I do, there is nearly always some Fear-based belief at the root of the issue. If I can address that fear intelligently I can not only give the opportunity for the other person to expand/adjust a way of thinking and believing, I also give same that opportunity to myself. Not matter what "side" we might identify with, we have more in common with the "other side" that what we might think.

 

[LisaB]

This discussion is fine to continue with some caveats:

• please do your best to not use labels, meaning refrain from blaming it all on "the Left" or blaming it all on "the Right".
• Please discuss issues, not parties, teams, etc.

 

[Mythocentric]

Well said Lisa. During my life I've been lucky enough to travel widely and have met and made friends from places like Iran, Pakistan, India, Egypt, China, Japan, Latvia, Poland, Roumania, France, Germany, Greece, the USA, Canada and a few other places and there's one thing I've learned and value above all others. Once you look past the cultural variations and dogma I realised that they are just folks like me getting on with their lives in the best way they can.

 

[daywalker03]

Lisa, one thing I'm finding out is that many of those that fear changes know that they are afraid, but they refuse to let go of it and risk getting hurt if they are wrong about what they believe.