Who is to say what is offensive?

[Principessa]

Sorry Vinny. Ask AlteredEgo, I've reached my daddy quota. Wouldn't you say Altered?

I know we have discussed this already but I think that people like you and your wife who consistently create smart, beautiful, well-behaved children should be required to have more to offset all the stupid ugly children running around. :biggrin1:

 

[Principessa]

I remember the Jimmy-The-Greek Debacle it was HUGE in its day! It was bigger than the Don Imus thing and Michael Vick combined. Yeah he was speaking a truth but he never recovered, it destroyed his career; and changed the face of betting in America. No one knew who to trust as the definitive odds maker anymore.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***​

Not that it matters but I wasn't offended by either of Naughty's avatars. I just figured she was owning her heritage and perhaps proving a point to someone.

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I'm 41 and I can remember being annoyed as a little girl at Mc Donald's because they seemed not to be able to just let a black man order a burger. He has to be-bop, moon walk, and practically jitterbug up to the damned counter before he sings his order with the Harlem Boys Choir as backup. :tongue: It's been over 30 years and I'm not seeing much of a change there.

 

[vinny_spiruccino]

it was HUGE

Why thank you!

SO njqt... you have any white in you?

 

[BurningVenus]

You are aware of the fact that the topic title here is WHO IS TO SAY WHAT IS OFFENSIVE? .

Yes, and I say what is offensive to me. No one else.

And Naughty can say what is offensive to her. No one else can. People who gave her a hard time about black memorabilia were patronizing her, probably out of ignorance. If you folks see equal signs between the KKK and collecting black memorabilia, I think you may have missed her point entirely.

 

[AlteredEgo]

I don't see why you can't have whatever damn avatar you want as long as it follows the guidelines here which I believe is no nudity. I don't know if the depiction of violence or an obvious racial slur is admitted but I draw the line there. Personally, I LOVE Shelby's avatar...I wonder does anyone have a photo of Nick Nolte's mug shot? Now that would be funny!

I believe you may not have seen the avatar which was being discussed. You're a bit late.

Sorry Vinny. Ask AlteredEgo, I've reached my daddy quota. Wouldn't you say Altered?

My name's Bennit, an' I ain't innit!

*Rolls eyes*
*Sucks teeth*
*Smacks gum*

What EVVA

*bobs n' weaves on the EVVA*

Aww, I got you, boo!

 

[vinny_spiruccino]

Oooohh... its figna GO DOWN up in here...

 

[Freddie53]

Is that the best you can do?

Hmmmmm. . . let's see. . . ?

Nazis & Hitler? = offensive to most.

Holocaust museum = good to most.
Does that make sense?


Have you seen a Klan rally? Have you seen their crosses burning?

I have.

Have you seen the look on people's faces who've had crosses burned on their lawn because they dared to move into a 'white area?

I have.

Have you had a dignified black duck down in your car as you drove past a redneck bar because of what the drunken fools might do to him if they saw him with a white woman?

I have. And all of these things happened in the last ten years.

I've read this whole thread. I enjoyed reading the humor some wrote.But it is this last post that is most important.

Klan rallys
White crosses burned in lawns of black people in a white neighborhood
Black men having to duck so that the red neck bar patrons can't see them riding in a car.

Listed here are the type of problems that we in America need to face head on and stop if at all possible.

These actions are morally wrong. And for those who consider themselves Christian, it goes against everything that Jesus taught. We can't change what happened 150 years ago. But we can make a difference now in 2007. To not do so, makes us guilty.

I know that there isn't much we can do to change what some people think. But we have a hate crime bill before our Congress that needs to be passed. This is an action we can take to help control the behavior of racists that still live in our country.

I didn't mean to hijack the thread Naughty. But I just couldn't bypass an reply to the poster.

Now back to the topic at hand.

 

[vinny_spiruccino]

Where's y'all home trainin?

Can Mr. Freddie get a amen??

 

[BurningVenus]

Why thank you!

SO njqt... you have any white in you?

I think njqt has some white in her a few times. :tongue: Sorry, could not resist.

 

[Principessa]

Why thank you!

SO njqt... you have any white in you?

Not recently,:redface: or not enough to mention, :tongue: so when you cumming over to visit. I just made some sweet tea and changed the sheets. :flirt: :05:

 

[vinny_spiruccino]

I think njqt has some white in her a few times. :tongue: Sorry, could not resist.

Y'know you totally gave that away right...?

So Venus - you have any Mars in you?

 

[vinny_spiruccino]

Not recently,:redface: or not enough to mention, :tongue: so when you cumming over to visit. I just made some sweet tea and changed the sheets. :flirt: :05:

Awww sookie SOOKIE! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin bout boo boo kitty...

 

[Shelby]

Shelby:

A week or so ago (in the firemen thread) weren't you exposing and provoking those who portray themselves as victims?

Here's quote I was thinking of:



Then today you portray yourself as: a victim.



What gives?

You busted me for being a hypocrite is what.

 

[Osiris]

Yes, and I say what is offensive to me. No one else.

And Naughty can say what is offensive to her. No one else can. People who gave her a hard time about black memorabilia were patronizing her, probably out of ignorance. If you folks see equal signs between the KKK and collecting black memorabilia, I think you may have missed her point entirely.

And we have a winner! Thanks Venus for getting to the heart of this matter.

It is all about POV. Naughty has a POV on the issue that obviously most can't understand a black woman having. BurningVenus draws her POV from her experience that she explained (I feel you Venus).

No two people are going to agree and as such the only way to understand these feelings, emotions and get them out to avoid conflict is to share, discuss, ask, and most of all, LISTEN!


And to Freddie....


AMEN BROTHER!! Tell it! Tellit!

 

[Osiris]

I know we have discussed this already but I think that people like you and your wife who consistently create smart, beautiful, well-behaved children should be required to have more to offset all the stupid ugly children running around. :biggrin1:

GOOD LORD WOMAN!!! Do you have any idea how much sex that would entail?!?! Wait a minute. I'll get back to you on this, I need to find the wife.

:hitit:

 

[wldhoney]

Unfortunately, there are those that HAVE to play the race card and who will use all manner of guilt and arguement. They do not seem to realize that it is THEM that emphasizes race as a separateness rather than a uniqueness.

I have posted before that my father is American Indian and grew up on a reservation. He has had to deal with racism all his life. I myself have dealt with it from people who think I am white and hate American Indians, and American Indians themselves who hate those that look white and live off the res.

I was raised in a home where we were taught to be proud of our heritage but not to wield it. In other words, don't use it as an excuse for our own behaviour, and don't empower prejudism by using it against others.

In Arizona there was a big debate over an area that had been named "Squaw Peak" long ago. The Indians wanted it changed because the word Squaw is actually considered derogatory by many. Nobody really thought anything about it until the Indians emphasized it, therefore empowering those that would make it into something negative.

Look at what we did to the Japanese during World War II. The Holocaust. The civil wars in Africa. The Crusades. The genocide in Iraq. People will invariably fight against that which they consider different, and as long as we emphasize and use the "differences" rather than celebrate them, there will always be those who are angry.

Collecting pieces and pictures of your heritage is a wonderful thing. It's part of your past, a past which cannot be changed, and something to be proud of. Your people survived and prospered out of a tragic series of events, just as the American Indians and many other races and cultures through out the world have done so for centuries. Political correctness has made us feel guilty and we want to hide what was done like children, rather than keeping it alive in a healthy manner so that we don't do it again.

We are all innocent of what was done to and by our own people in the past. Be proud of who you are and where you come from while respecting others and you can't go wrong.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[BurningVenus]

And we have a winner! Thanks Venus for getting to the heart of this matter.

It is all about POV. Naughty has a POV on the issue that obviously most can't understand a black woman having. BurningVenus draws her POV from her experience that she explained (I feel you Venus).

No two people are going to agree and as such the only way to understand these feelings, emotions and get them out to avoid conflict is to share, discuss, ask, and most of all, LISTEN!


And to Freddie....


AMEN BROTHER!! Tell it! Tellit!

I really appreciate the kind words. Thanks to you both. :smile:

 

[Freddie53]

Since this is a totally different post, I didn't want to include it in my other post.

I believe it is good to celebrate the good things of our culture and our past. America is a nation of people who came here for a better life. The exception are the Africans who were brought here by force. Some of the Africans were slaves to Africans in Africa. In those days when a group lost a war to another group, some people were made slaves to the people that won the war. What happened to those Africans is horrible beyond imagination. Some of the Africans died in route to America. Africans were dealt the worst hand of any ethnic group that now makes up present day America.

But African-Americans have much to celebrate just like all other ethnic groups. All ethnic groups here in America enjoy a better standard of living that there distant cousins in the home countries. That is beginning to change in Europe. But back then, Europeans largely came here looking for a better life than what they could have back home..Many of those Europeans had a very rough life settling here in our nation.

The ethnic Chinese here is America were in inhumane situations when they first came to this country some almost 200 years ago.

The lives of many Hispanics here in America is below the poverty line, but still it is better than what they had in Mexico.

Most ethnic groups celebrate the rough conditions that their ancestors went through so that there children, grandchildren etc could have a good life here in America.

The African-Americans are no exception. Listen to the spiritual songs they sang. The words are about hope and eventual freedom. Those African-Americans who suffered so much also had a great hope for freedom some day.

Today African-Americans enjoy a much better standard of living here in America than their distant cousins in parts of Africa do. It is only right that the descendants of those African-American celebrate the sacrifices of those ancestors however they wish to.

The African-American culture has given so much to our American culture. Much of what the world considers as "original" American art and music is heavily influenced by African-Americans. Why not celebrate the good things that come from the past?

Many of our immigrants came from eastern Europe at a time (late 19th century) when that part of Europe was ruled by an empire, Austrian-Hungarian Empire, that they despised. They came to America for a better life for them and their children.

No matter how we all got here, we all share some common components of various cultures that we brought with us when we came.

It is fitting that African culture elements are not being celebrated as equal to the European culture elements.

As far as Naughty's avatar goes, I see it as someone to be referred because she represents the women who held it together for the family and taught the family the culture and desire to someday have a better life and to work toward that goal.

And European-Americans have cause to celebrate because so much our our culture today comes from the African-American culture particularly in music. Much of the music sung in white churches today is directly traced to African culture.

 

[vinny_spiruccino]

Just my humble opinion.

Would you be offended if I told you that you have priddy boobies?

 

[Principessa]

I'm gonna go off topic for a bit. I have changed my avatar back to one I had a few months ago. I took it down because someone here whom I truly like and respect was highly offended by it. He saw it as me hindering rather than helping Black people on the whole in America.

I was blindsided by his passionate response to what I just consider to be me, being a diehard Democrat. It's not my fault the media often portrays her as allegedly being an "Uncle Tom." :redface: :tongue: