Racism

My neighbor hates dogs or POC, maybe both

govinbhai Stream of consciousness , , , , , ,

A few weeks ago I was walking my dog early in the morning. He gets into his squatting position and I pull out a poop back from my pocket. Nothing unusual.

My dog decides not to poop there, so we carry on our way. Some dude down the block is warming up car and yelling (at me, apparently).

“…DID YOU LEAVE YOUR DOGS SHIT ON THE GROUND? WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?”

“My dog didn’t shit. I have an empty poop bag in my hand.”

“I SAW YOUR DOG SHIT IN MY REAR VIEW AND YOU DIDN’T PICK IT UP.”

“My dog didn’t shit. Why would I be carrying this poop bag if I didn’t intend to clean it?”

“I’M GOING DOWN THERE AND IF I SEE SHIT I AM RUBBING IT IN YOUR FACE.” [This is a verbatim quote]

I continue on down the block past my house because my dog still needs to shit. My neighbor gets in his truck (complete with NASCAR bumper sticker) and pulls up alongside me.

“I owe you an apology.”

“Yes you do.”

“I’m sorry. I hate people not picking up their dogs shit.”

“Trust me buddy, I know, I live across the street.” *points at apartment* “I want a clean neighborhood as badly as you do.”

~~2 weeks later, this morning, where it’s steadily raining in Philadelphia~~

My dog and I are coming around the block and he’s sniffing signs, stoops, everything. He happens to sniff at that same asshole’s stoop and he steps out.

“Do you mind?”

My dog had already shit so I waved a full poop bag right at him.

“Don’t let your dog piss on my step.”

“Dude, it’s raining outside.”

“Yeah well I’m the one that has to smell it!”

Shrugged and walked away.

 

There are dozens of dogs on my block. Potentially hundreds in my neighborhood. What makes this dude call me and my 10 pound out?

Screen Shot 2015-12-01 at 7.22.05 AM
Look at this face.

Considering that I live on a block of older, mostly retired, blue collar Irish-Americans who don’t approve of “the blacks” or “fuckin’ muslims” I gotta believe the worst crime I committed is having brown skin tone and a beard.

 

Here comes Rover, sniffin at your ass
But pardon me bitch, as I shit on your grass
That means hoe, you been shit-ted on!
I’m not the first dog that’s shitted on your lawn

Food for thought: Are white Americans the victim of racism?

govinbhai Research , , , , ,

Whites Believe They Are Victims of Racism More Often Than Blacks | Tufts Now.

Unashamedly stole this from Reddit.  I’ll leave it to you to read the popular press version of the article and form your own opinion.  In short, white Americans rate the early 2000’s as the tipping point for the anti-white bias becoming worse than the anti-black bias.  Here’s the academic manuscript for those of you who want the nitty-gritty details about methodology and background for the study.

Here’s a excerpt from the manuscript I find intriguing:  “We suggest that these trends epitomize a more general mindset gaining traction among Whites in contemporary America: the notion that Whites have replaced Blacks as the primary victims of discrimination.  This emerging perspective is particularly notable because by nearly any metric—from employment to police treatment, loan rates to education—statistics continue to indicate drastically poorer outcomes for Black than White Americans.”

As a non-white and non-black minority, I’d like to state my opinion that we do not live in a post-racial America.  The study took a nationwide sample, and though many of my readers are in the generally liberal northeast and we are overall very tolerant of other races and cultures, racism still very much exists in all parts of the country.  Indians are admittedly some of the most racist people I’ve ever met and there are plenty of bigots living in suburbian subdivisions all over Pennsylvania.  I can’t speak for America’s cesspool the south but my hunch tells me they’re the ones who would feel most strongly about this.  This is my non-expert opinion.

To once again summarize my beliefs: to feel that in this past decade you’ve become the victim of racism (after centuries of untouched political and social dominance)  is callously offensive and reeks of entitlement.  I’ll also toot my own horn and say that I’ve met and spoken to Michael Norton (one of the paper’s authors).  Both him and his research are really cool.  And I’ll end with an Arrested Development quote to lighten the mood.  Franklin Delano Bluth knows