omondieu

As difficult and anxiety-inducing as engaging peacefully with a Trump supporter is, it can be done. Bear with me. I inadvertently got into a rather long conversation with a Trumpkin on Twitter last night. I was fuming over accounts of hate crimes and reports of racist graffiti found at schools across the U.S. when a particular image caught my eye, in which something about "n-words not allowed" was written on a poster in the school hallway. It was posted by a black high school student, and I left a supportive comment on it. Beneath it was a comment from a guy saying that Trump was just making "freedom of speech" okay again. Which is an inane comment, but anyway. I assumed the guy was an older gentleman harassing the kid. His profile pic looked a little vague. So I asked him why he was leaving a dismissive comment on a photo posted by a kid who clearly disturbed by it, and why he was following the kid's account. The guy responded with, "Because he goes to my school?" So I realized, "Oh, this is a child..." So I could have just stopped there, but I was in a chatty mood, and rather than saying something snarky, I said that it was unfortunate that he was being dismissive of his peer's feelings. I went on to say that as an adult living in Canada, my heart was breaking to see how scared and worried so many people, especially kids, are in America following the election. I then said I didn't want to attack him, but that I was genuinely curious as to what about the guy appeals to him as a young kid. I was careful not to say black and white statements (i.e. "he's a racist", but rather, "he's said a lot of troubling things about people of different races"). He said his main concerns were illegal immigrants (which I said was indeed a fair point - acknowledging that I was accepting of something that mattered to him) and the loss of trade and labour jobs to immigrants. I directed him to an article about why the narrative about "immigrants taking jobs" isn't true, but he dismissed it as liberal propaganda. So I didn't push it any further. I dropped that, and I said that I was really appreciative that he was being respectful towards me, and that he was engaging me in conversation, and that I really did want to try to understand where he was coming from. Some of his answers were imbued with a little arrogance - not towards me or liberalism, but that brand of teenage arrogance that comes with thinking you know everything, such as when he said "terrorists target the U.S. because we're better than their countries". Again, I let that slide and didn't push it. There were a couple instances when I stumped him, but didn't gloat about it. At the very least I made him aware of a couple things he completely didn't know about, such as that Hillary's bud Byrd, while he was a member of the KKK (when I told him that Trump's endorsement by the KKK was really disturbing, and he said that Hillary has connections to the group as well), left the group in the early '50s, was apologetic about his association with the group until his death, and was acknowledged and awarded for his help in the civil rights movement by the NAACP. All the kid knew was "Hillary was kissing a KKK member in that one photo, so Trump's ties with the group don't matter". We chatted for a good half hour. I tossed in some jokes, some smiley faces. I left saying that if Trump isn't able to unite the country, that at least he (the kid) has a responsibility to stand up for those who can't do it for themselves. I said that even though I don't 100% get his beliefs, I could tell he was a well-meaning young man. And that hopefully my willingness to speak to him gently and to try to understand his viewpoints would encourage him to allow others that right in the future, and see that not all liberals are "eeevil demon feminazis". He replied with "maybe ". I said at the end of the day, everyone just wants to be heard. My closing statements were re-tweeted by another girl. So while I didn't convert him, I would hope that at the very least the respect I showed him (speaking to him like he was an adult) is something he can carry with him as he grows up, and that rather than act defensive should he be engaged in a political conversation someday, he can find a way to listen and try to understand other people's opinions.

*sigh* I'm Canadian, and I'm crying listening to this. Your optimism here is heartbreaking. Most of the world has your backs, don't worry.

I can understand the desire to want everyone to coexist, and to "reach out" to the far right, but man, where would you even begin? These are people who refuse to believe in evolution for chrissakes. How do you encourage them to embrace change when their whole culture is predicated on not changing?

Canadian here. We don't have a huge variety of Kit Kat, but we occasionally get some variety flavour-wise. We currently have mint/chocolate and cookies and cream varieties. We've also got dark, caramel, and white versions. About ten years ago, we had banana, orange, strawberry, vanilla, and peanut butter ones, too. You can also find some Japanese Kit Kats here depending on where you are, and if you know where to look. I live just outside Toronto, and green tea Kit Kat is a constant staple at pretty much any Asian grocery store. Some of the other flavours I've seen/tried here include pumpkin, sweet potato, pancake (so good), red bean, citrus mix, wasabi (also so good), roasted tea, cheesecake, rum raisin, chili, melon, chili/passion fruit, hazelnut, taro, sake, and apple pie. There are regional differences within Canada, though. They aren't as pronounced as they are in the U.S, but they're there. In the Greater Toronto Area, Vancouver, and in Montreal, there are underground subways, as well as light rail transit, buses, and streetcars. The outdoor pool I grew up with wasn't unusual. I've not been to Vancouver, but as far as I know, the atmosphere is sort of a mix of L.A. and Seattle. It's laid back and temperate. Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba are much more toned down versions of middle America. They tend to be more conservative and less diverse culturally. Those are also our prairie provinces. That's "cowboy nation". There's also a very strong Indigenous/First Nations population in the west. Also, there's a big Eastern European influence because a lot of Eastern Europeans went to settle the west at the turn of the last century. I'm of Ukrainian descent on both sides, but I only recently learned that there's actually a "Canadian" dialect of Ukrainian which originated in the prairies. Ontario is the province everyone hates because of Toronto, which is like New York Lite. We Torontonians don't generally have much of a personality of our own, because we just kinda look at other global metropolises and try to do what they do. But I'm generalizing too, because Ontario is huge. The southern tip of Ontario is really the part everyone hates. Quebec, because of its francophone population and French influence, is the most distinct in terms of having its own culture. There are celebrities and TV shows which are huge in Quebec, but totally unknown in other parts of Canada. The Maritimes aren't very cosmopolitan. Their culture is very much connected to being close to the ocean, and being far removed from the big cities. Then you've got the northern territories, which are very characterized by the large Inuit population. There are so many other things I could mention. But Canadians, despite what Americans think, don't really have a distinct culture of their own. We're a multicultural country. The atmosphere up here tends to emphasize recognizing where you came from and preserving your cultural traditions (without being a douche about it), whereas America is very much about "being American" and assimilating.

It may not be my place to speak on this topic since I'm also not Jewish, but from my understanding, the reason many Jewish people are considered/consider themselves a separate race is because, up until pretty recently, they were treated as such. The fact that they look white means nothing when you consider the discrimination they've faced throughout the past century. You can't look a Holocaust survivor in the eye and insist that he/she has enjoyed the same privileges as Anglo-Saxon folks. There are certainly instances of other groups of people with histories of discrimination who now pass as white (Irish, Italians, Eastern Europeans, etc.), but the oppression they faced is nothing considered to what Jewish people have gone through in the past century.

I'm a longtime cat owner/lover. I was partial to both as a kid, but have grown to greatly prefer cats over dogs. I do find that much of my dislike of dogs now comes less from the animals themselves though, and more from owners who are overly indulgent and have bloated senses of entitlement. People who violate rules in public places because heaven forbid they leave their dogs at home for a few hours or leash them outside of a restaurant that doesn't allow animals. I can't respect someone who bends over backwards to accommodate their pets in that way. Cat people are characterized as bizarre people who obsessively dote on their pets, but how many cat people have you seen pushing their cats in strollers like they're babies, or carrying them around in their purses versus dog people who do those? It strikes me as unhealthy to anthropomorphize your pet like that. I love my cats, but I like them because they're CATS who do funny CAT things, and I respect them as CATS.

I was expecting a different kind of question based on the title of the episode. I thought the question would address the idea that lots of racist white people subscribe to, the thought that they're also oppressed because they had a bad day at work or whatever, minimizing the much more serious, institutionalized problems that plague a lot of non-white communities. My mom does this a lot, and I absolutely hate it. I mean, hypertension and insomnia suck, but they don't really compare to hate crimes against blacks and Muslims.

There was/is also a lot of controversy surrounding Mission: Space at Epcot. Prior to the attraction's less intense makeover in 2006, two deaths, and within the span of a year, nearly 200 other cases involving guests needing to seek medical attention. Scary stuff. My cousin went on the ride in 2003 when the family took a trip to FL, and she, a hardcore thrill ride fan, said she thought she was going to die while inside.

I have only a very basic knowledge of linguistics, but maybe the caller is referring to not quite an accent, but more of a lilt? I've always understood lilts to be very subtle accents, as I have friends who have referred to what I have as a lilt. I'm third generation Canadian with a Ukrainian background, but grew up speaking both languages from birth. As a result, each one has influenced how I communicate in the other. I don't speak either language like a true native, but the very faint differences in how I pronounce words aren't strong enough to qualify me as having an accent. But that's to be expected of any child who has grown up in a multilingual household.

I don't think that the caller should be dumped on for considering the facts. She was putting the CHILD's need first, not her own. Being open to adopting a non-white child into a white family and understanding what comes with that does not equate to commodifying the child. Adopting because "Aw, black babies are the cutest!", or "Aw, Asian babies are the cutest!" on the other hand, is tacky (like, "I want a BLACK one, not a white one!" makes the process of adoption sound like buying a couch to go with the stuff in the your living room). Also, adopting a non-white child because you want to make YOURSELF look good is tacky, because you're not focused on the needs of your kid, but rather on how exalted you'll look doing so. Two examples from my family: 1. I have an adopted relative who's black with two white parents. We're all white. Her parents' discussion about adopting put HER needs first, rather than theirs. They adopted her because they were aware of how difficult it is to find black babies adoptive homes, had no preference for race, and knew they could give her a loving home. 2. My sister on the other hand, shortly after giving birth to her (white) son, discussed wanting *specifically* to adopt a "little black child", or a "little Asian girl", but NOT because she had any understanding of what the kids have going against them, but because, in her words, "because we want to show everyone around us that race doesn't matter". She wanted to turn a potential adopted child into a project just to make herself look good. This is also the same person who says that Asian girls are "bitchy", is "repulsed" by Asian men, tells me never to marry a non-white guy "unless he's a nice mulatto", and says that the name "Jose" is Spanish for "small penis".

Eh, to be fair, the brown M&M is also female. She was anthropomorphized in 2012. The fact that it took Mars so long to realize that the *BROWN* M&M was the only one not to have a personality is another discussion for another day, though.

Thank god she has the attention span of a gnat.

Shortly after my sister and her ex (both white) had their son, the two of them talked about adopting a child who wasn't white "to show people that it doesn't matter what colour your skin is". I feel that using interracial adoption as a "teaching moment", to use your child to make yourself look good is really tacky. Like, "Look at what an open-minded white person I am for adopting a non-white child!" But of course any time I've pursued romantic relationships with non-white men, my sister has had PLENTY to say about that. She has talked openly about how Asian men "repulse" her, and that if I "absolutely have to" marry a guy who isn't white, to "go with a nice mulatto".

I feel that the writers' addition of the characters from Frozen is more because the movie made 15 trillion dollars, and they want to capitalize on its success while it's still red hot.

There are a lot of superheroes of colour whose powers are products of comic book writers in the '60s/'70s/early '80s trying to be inclusive while reinforcing racist stereotypes. More than a handful of black superheroes have powers or identities which are very much connected to ancient African tribes, animals, and nature (Black Panther, Storm, Vixen), i.e. not "civilized" western culture. The amount of superheroes of Asian descent is pathetic, but of course a lot of them are experienced martial artists and use samurai swords or katana. And the number of Native American/First Nations superheroes who wear traditional headdresses and buckskin boots would make drunk hipsters cream themselves in delight.

No it is not racist to open up to people you have not been friendly with previously (I don't believe the caller implied that she had never been "friendly" with people of other races, but that she was not "friends" with many non-white people), but I feel it is racist to treat people like they're part of your human safari, and to try way too hard to befriend them solely because they're not white. It's condescending and insincere. As for Kevin's comment about putting yourself in situations where you have a good chance of meeting people of different backgrounds, there is a right way and a wrong way to do that. As long as you're not going somewhere with the INTENT of proving you're "down" with a certain race, to fill your Bingo card as the guys said, then that's fine. Just be friendly and sincere to all.

I dunno, I don't think I'd go so far as to call Lucy "a little bit racist" just because the majority of her friends happen to be white. Based on the fact that she has noticed this and feels bad about it, I don't think that she isn't open to making friends of different backgrounds. I feel that it's way more racist to go out of your way to deliberately make friends of 'x' background in order to fill some sort of multiculturalism quota in your life.

I want Andrew and Javi laughing to be my ringtone.