This is what we are up against, I suppose.

[ejpoeta]

I love my brother. I spent my childhood trying to emulate him. And to look at him now, I can't imagine how we came from the same house with the same parents. He is a republican. he listens to rush limbaugh and probably watches faux news. he doesn't like obama. he sends me all kinds of crap. but this.... this just makes me want to cry.

I check my email today, and there is a forward from my brother. I weigh whether it is worth my energy to see what baloney he has passed along today. I open it. and its...

Breaking News!


OBAMA LOSES BLACK VOTE !



I can't believe this. I replied to my brother, and I can imagine the shitstorm I am inviting with my response.

I am very disappointed in you, pat. That you would disseminate this kind of racist stuff. Very disappointed. If you want to pass along racist and prejudiced things, I would request that you refrain from sending it to me.

I imagine he will be mad at being called racist or prejudiced. It was just a joke, he'll say. Not funny. And not a joke. It is beneath all of is, this bullshit. And I don't have to be subjected to it. And I am not going to sit by while anyone says this crap. I speak up when i hear this kind of talk, especially around my kids. I will not tolerate anyone influencing my daughters' in this regard in a negative way.

I apologize for venting like this. I have been very disappointed and upset with my family members in general regarding the prejudice and racist stuff that comes out of their mouths. but this goes beyond the pale.

[iamthebandfanman]

1. yeah, its a joke

a racist joke.

thats what id say.


then proceed to say ur not gonna argue about whether it is or isnt... cause to u it is and thats all that matters since ur asking him not to send u that crap anymore...

[rockymountaindem]

2. A lot of people who put out crap like that like to think they're being funny

and that anybody who doesn't laugh just doesn't have a sense of humor. That's how they can disseminate blatantly racist crap and tell themselves they're not racist, 'cause "it's just a joke".

[seabeyond]

10. gays women and blacks, but by gosh say something about a white male and all three

(two brothers and father) literally throw little two year old tantrums. i have had a brother tell me.... gays shouldnt be bothered by it, is a joke. women are just being too sensitive, they should know better. i like the way these guys telling these "jokes" are ready to tell all of us how we are suppose to feel

but both brothers have told me how they are picked on for being white males.

[CitizenPatriot]

3. tell him not to worry

you're not offended.

then send him an email saying

MCCAIN LOST THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE! with a little headliner re Palin talking in tongues-- Extremist Palin makes conservative jump from the sinking Titanic that is the GOP. or just a picture of her and then "there goes the GOP."

hardi har har it's all just funny, dontcha know?

[TooRaLoo]

4. Let that kind of crap stop with you.

I know you're just venting, but why spread that image to many more thousands of people? Freeps lurk around here, you know.

Not trying to bash you in any way. You can't cure this kind of stupidity, so just let the email end in your "deleted" folder.

Although, DO rip him a new one for sending you that bullshit. That IS very racist.

[ejpoeta]

6. i debated whether to put the pic in there.

i wasn't going to, but wanted people to see what we are dealing with. i appreciate your comments though. and i understand what you are saying. normally these things do end up deleted and gone. i was just so mad!! and wanted y'all to see why. LOL!

[TooRaLoo]

11. Totally understand.

:toast:

[Newshues]

5. tough love. Something your brother and

the country both need.


Here, I'll give you some encouragement. You'll like this.

I live in one of the whitest states in the nation. In recent years we've had a huge, for us anyway, influx of Solmali immigrants/refugees. Of course we have the usual racial adjustment issues, outright racists, and religious tolerance issues.

My kids go to school. Bus stop has a dozen or so kids on any given morning. One morning my boy pciks up a 30 - 40 pound rock over his head ( he's only 9 ) and sets it up on the wall it had fallen from. Another kid said "Wow! You're strong!" to my boy.

Now, mind you, my boy is telling me this story after school. I didn't see it myself.

I asked my boy, which of the kids said that to him. My boy did his best to describe who the other kid was and we eventually connected on the other boys backpack and verified by the other boys mom ( who is *always* on her cell ).

Never occurred to my boy to try to describe the other kid as being black. My boy was really struggling to come up with something that would identify which kid it was. There are only 2 black kids at the bus stop and saying it was one of the black kids would have instantly identified the exact kid it was.

Given that my dad is an out and out racist I think my boy gives some good hope for the future.

[ejpoeta]

7. that's what gives me hope. my daughter is the same way.

but she has started saying they are brown. merely as a descriptive tool. not calling them black or anything. these kids have such fresh eyes! it is enough to make a person hope that we can get past this crap. that the next generation will be better than we ever were. and maybe some words will fall to the wayside. the number of people that seem to not be concerned about the color of a person's skin or their gender in considering them for president i have found heartening as well.

there are six of us kids in my family. we are all grown up. my oldest sister is a lawyer who does child advocacy. she is a dem and very outspoken. i have a brother and sister who are republicans, fox watching, and make me shake my head a lot. but there are a couple of us who are not like that. so if half of us stopped the cycle... that's good news. and if the kids can keep us moving in the right direction.... oh, i can't wait for that day to come.

thanks for the story too, btw. lifts my heart. much needed.

[Curtland1015]

8. I've caught my Father and Grandmother saying racist things from time to time...

On one hand, I'd love to have taken them to task on their bull (not that I could with my Grandmother now, as she has since passed away), but how the hell do you dress down your own father? I know people do it, I just don't have it in me!

[seabeyond]

9. i have it in my family too. sexist shit from fil in front of my boys.... told him no

not in my house, not around my boys. he looked at me like i did something wrong. a tease. a tease is all it is. bullshit.

get the emails from one brother. i never send him shit. i get it from him all the time

[Matariki]

12. Please don't spread that by posting it in a public forum

it's ugly.