[quote]sasquatch wrote:
I now understand (in the context of this thread)-where Al was coming from. I missed it and I apologize.
I tell ya:
white, 40+, rose colored glasses-----no way to go through life.[/quote]
Sasquatch,
Thank you for acknowledging this and for your apology without any backhandedness about it. It takes a real adult to admit when they made a mistake and it is appreciated.
[quote]lumbernac wrote:
It may be offensive then Al, but not offensive based on racial things. Sorry.[/quote]
Let me explain it to you so you can understand better. Hypothetically, say you walk up to a white guy in the gym who is pretty strong. You might say to him “Wow, you are a strong boy!” Chances are he is going to say thanks and think nothing of it.
Now let’s repeat the scenario with a black guy. All you are doing is complementing him on his strength and you have no racist intentions in mind. However, the fact that you used the word “boy” in describing him will not be lost on him. At the least, he might think that you are an racist asshole. At the most, he might knock your teeth out. This is just an example and I am not saying that it would happen that way. I am using it just to illustrate a point. The audience that you are addressing makes a difference.
So you might thing that I am just “raggin” and that the statement is not racist. But to the audience that is reading the statement, it has racist undertones whether you like it or not. Also, like I mentioned earlier, it was totally unnecessary. You were making good points without it.