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a few friends and I were hanging out, as our one friend is going back to college for the summer. Two guys two girls...so we're sitting around talking about what we want to do when we get out of school...
...the one girl says she's heading straight to NYC because she loves it there, and the one guy (who I don't know very well...friend of a friend) says...
"Are you serious? Don't go to New York City! The ****ing towel heads are going to get you"
I was taken back by this, but before I could say anything the girl goes "woah, don't say that" and he says "oops, sorry, right, 'sand ni**ers', not towel heads" at which I jumped in and a rather heated debate occured...
"I'm not racist, it's just, well that's what they're called aren't they?"
"I guarantee you if you approach a Pakistani person and ask if they enjoy being referred to as "towel head" or "Sand Ni**er, chances are...now I won't speak for all Pakistanis...but I'm betting at least 99 out of 100 are going to respond 'no, i don't enjoy being called that"
He kept saying "no, I'm not racist, it's just that every single terrorist attack on the United States has been by a middle eastern guy"
at which point I asked him to examine what he just said...
"well, every major terrorist attack anyway"
"Timothy McVeigh"
"well he doesn't count, he was just mentally ill"
"just becuase a few bad seeds corrupt a religion doesn't make everyone from the middle east a terrorist"
"I'm not a racist! I give everyone an equal chance, but you have to admit that all these arabs are going to nuke us one of these days, and it'll probably be New York City"
Well, the conversation went on...
he eventually said something along the lines of "well, don't blame me for talking like this, it's how my parents are...it's just the environment I was brought up in"
"but you know better, right?"
"yes, I do. My best friend is black for heaven's sake! I'm not racist!"
Deep down, I really don't think he is racist, just a big mouth and not enough sense to examine the meaning of what he's saying before he says it...
but I thought it was a shame anyhow, that people talk like that and act like it's 'normal' to call someone from the middle east by those names.
...the one girl says she's heading straight to NYC because she loves it there, and the one guy (who I don't know very well...friend of a friend) says...
"Are you serious? Don't go to New York City! The ****ing towel heads are going to get you"
I was taken back by this, but before I could say anything the girl goes "woah, don't say that" and he says "oops, sorry, right, 'sand ni**ers', not towel heads" at which I jumped in and a rather heated debate occured...
"I'm not racist, it's just, well that's what they're called aren't they?"
"I guarantee you if you approach a Pakistani person and ask if they enjoy being referred to as "towel head" or "Sand Ni**er, chances are...now I won't speak for all Pakistanis...but I'm betting at least 99 out of 100 are going to respond 'no, i don't enjoy being called that"
He kept saying "no, I'm not racist, it's just that every single terrorist attack on the United States has been by a middle eastern guy"
at which point I asked him to examine what he just said...
"well, every major terrorist attack anyway"
"Timothy McVeigh"
"well he doesn't count, he was just mentally ill"
"just becuase a few bad seeds corrupt a religion doesn't make everyone from the middle east a terrorist"
"I'm not a racist! I give everyone an equal chance, but you have to admit that all these arabs are going to nuke us one of these days, and it'll probably be New York City"
Well, the conversation went on...
he eventually said something along the lines of "well, don't blame me for talking like this, it's how my parents are...it's just the environment I was brought up in"
"but you know better, right?"
"yes, I do. My best friend is black for heaven's sake! I'm not racist!"
Deep down, I really don't think he is racist, just a big mouth and not enough sense to examine the meaning of what he's saying before he says it...
but I thought it was a shame anyhow, that people talk like that and act like it's 'normal' to call someone from the middle east by those names.
). They just need a jolt to think about what they are saying seriously, to be honest with you that kind of talk is more to be pitied. Just hope he starts to think about it seriously. I have had to give a kick to someone who was behaving like that before (and this is an Oxford undergraduate who you would really expect to know better).
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