"You would be sitting somewhere in Africa maybe in South Africa or drinking some monkey blood or hey you could be catching Ebola or Aids."
That, I believe was your quote about Africa?
Not all Africans drink monkey blood and despite the AIDS epidemic, not all Africans have AIDS, nor Ebola. And you don't have to be in Africa to catch either of them.
How is categorizing an entire country of people (South Africa), let alone an entire continent of people (Africa) not stereotyping, especially when you've never met them?
I honestly think that we, as humans, need to stand up every day and apologize for all the crap we put each other through, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or politics. Slavery and the Genocide of the First Nations peoples are huge, HUGE parts of American culture and will continue to be so whether we decide they are or not. They constitute, at a minimum, 90 years of America's 230 years. That's 40% of our existence. If you add in the continuance of the Jim Crow laws, lynching, and the systematic destruction of the Native American's language and culture, then it's more like 75% of our history.
I believe that addressing those parts of the American culture and history beyond "get over it" would benefit our nation a great deal. I believe it is American to love this country and mourn her faults, struggles, and failings and try to redress them and make sure they don't continue.
Again, I apologize if my words hurt, angered or distressed you. I made an error in my assessment of your beliefs and that was what I was addressing, not you as a person, and I'm sorry if you thought otherwise.
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ninetydegrees
Re: Disappointed
That, I believe was your quote about Africa?
Not all Africans drink monkey blood and despite the AIDS epidemic, not all Africans have AIDS, nor Ebola. And you don't have to be in Africa to catch either of them.
How is categorizing an entire country of people (South Africa), let alone an entire continent of people (Africa) not stereotyping, especially when you've never met them?
I honestly think that we, as humans, need to stand up every day and apologize for all the crap we put each other through, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or politics. Slavery and the Genocide of the First Nations peoples are huge, HUGE parts of American culture and will continue to be so whether we decide they are or not. They constitute, at a minimum, 90 years of America's 230 years. That's 40% of our existence. If you add in the continuance of the Jim Crow laws, lynching, and the systematic destruction of the Native American's language and culture, then it's more like 75% of our history.
I believe that addressing those parts of the American culture and history beyond "get over it" would benefit our nation a great deal. I believe it is American to love this country and mourn her faults, struggles, and failings and try to redress them and make sure they don't continue.
Again, I apologize if my words hurt, angered or distressed you. I made an error in my assessment of your beliefs and that was what I was addressing, not you as a person, and I'm sorry if you thought otherwise.