Hundreds of years ago people in Europe thought the world was flat. In fact, the majority of Europe was farmers and other various peasants. Only royalty went to schools. They didn't want the average peasants to be schooled. It's easier to run an uneducated country than a very educated one. Stupid people are easier to control. It was not much longer after that that some islands off America were discovered and thought to be Indian (thus deeming the Native Americans "Indians").
Can you imagine how weird that must've been for the Native Americans as well as the settlers? First of all, the settlers really didn't know jack crap about jack at the time. They were surprised they hadn't fallen off the edge of the Earth before arriving back in India. Which was really the whole point. They thought they'd gone around the world and landed back on India. (There happened to be a lot of European settlers in India, at the time.) I mean, the Natives must've been freaked out since they'd never seen pale skinned, yellow haired, people before in huge boats and funny clothes and the settlers saw the freaked out Native and figured they were just savages. Of course they figured they were savages, they had no kind of technology, they didn't desire any, and the settlers didn't know anything about cultural protection. They just thought they were animals and treated them like it.
So, the Natives went and gave them corn and stuff so the settlers think that may be they should give the Natives something, so they give them all these blankets. So, alright, when I was in elementary school they told me Christopher Columbus was this really great guy who landed somewhere called Plymouth Rock and had supper with the Native Americans. Then, when I went into high school they told me that Christopher Columbus was an evil bad man who raped the Native women and forced the men to wear blankets infested with Small Pox. Then, I got wise about it and did some research of my own and came to the conclusion that the settlers were uneducated and had no idea the blankets were infested with Small Pox, in fact, they didn't even know what Small Pox was! Germs weren't even discovered until the late 1800's, when this one guy discovered Cholera. Nobody even knew about that kind of stuff back in the days of the settlers. All they knew was a bunch of the crew members got super sick and died. There was no plot to kill the Native Americans with Small Pox. They just weren't educated to know any better than to go trampling through another culture.
Today, people are much more educated. We know better than that now. But, we still have stereotypes. Why? Because it's instinct. It's instinct to be wary of something that's not like you. The conclusion (as far as race goes) is that there is always somebody who fits the stereotype. If there wasn't, there would be a different stereotypes! But, I see niggers every single day. I happen to live in a predominantly African American neighbourhood right now, and they are some niggers here that you couldn't believe. You can't even understand them when they talk! They can't even understand each other when they talk! Also, I've never lived in the South before, until now. I've always lived in the North West, in San Francisco for God sakes! The most liberal place on Earth! I never really saw true trailer trash, like Jerry Springer shit. I mean, I'd seen white trash, sure. Crack whores are everywhere on 19th and Cap Street. But, out here, I have witnessed authentic Jerry Springer trailer trash honkies. You just can't believe them. There are also FOBs who come over here smelling like fish and not knowing English and there are Latino's who wear ponchos and sombreros and hang out on the corner all drunken and not knowing English. These people do exist! They are very real! And they bring the quality of life down. However, they do make us look better, and often give us a few good laughs. I've always said Latino crackheads are not very funny, Black crackheads are kind of funny, but White crackhead are the funniest of them all. They are just some funny fucking people!
Another thing is, whenever I seem to fill something out where they ask me about my race they always write African American for Black people, but they act like Caucasion is too long of a word. They just write White, like they're trying to get back at us for something. Listen to me once and for all: my father is Jewish. My family has been through enslavement, persecution, attempted annihilation, not once, not twice, but over and over again and now they have been fighting a war with Palestine for years just so they can have their skinny little piece of land! And if you would like to know about my mums side, sorry guys, no slaves there either. The funny thing about that is that they've been in this country since the Revoloutionary War! That makes me decendant of one of the original Pilgrims! But, you want to know something? My family is literally famous because they have never owned one slave: white, black, or polka dotted. In fact, if you would like proof, you can pick up the book The Dark Thirty and read about my grandfather Lumus yourself. He was one of the first doctors to treat African American patients and the KKK came to his door one night intending to kill him, but he got his rifle, marched them into town and unmasked them for the police. And yes, the KKK was an illegal organization back then. The men were hanged and somebody wrote a book about it.
So, I may be white. But, as far as I'm concerned I get more shit for being white than any coloured person I know get for being coloured. Racism is a part of being human. You can and always will have stereotypes. The hard part is not letting them rule your reality.
