Dr. Dan's prescription

[...has left the building.]

I think there is a sickness on THR and APS...and that is the complete misunderstanding of people who are not conservative white people. Believe it or not, I get racist vibes all the time on both forums. Everyone just needs to chill out with their preconceived notions of people because they are Mexican, Black, or whatever. I understand that many of you have little or no contact with urban culture, or if you do, you're repulsed by it. So my prescription is to watch the film "Crash". This film really brings out a lot of the cultural frustration we all feel. If you've ever even felt any kind of cultural frustration, I would suggest watching it with an open mind. It doesn't attempt to answer any of these questions, but it shows that people are people, regardless of their background or how they dress. And for when you watch it, Sandra Bullock's lock changing tirade is how I think a lot of people on THR and APS think...

[Lee]

I can understand why you might feel that way....but then that's life.  Pre-conceived notions are bad regardless of one's race or gender.  I'm guilty as hell myself.  I try to be positive about people and give everyone a chance to prove themselves bad...not good.  
I'm a white male in my late 40's.  I graduated from an historically black college, and worked my way through school in a mailroom where I was the only white.  Not a DAY went by that I wasn't subjected to insults and derogatory comments about whites. One young lady simply told me that she hated white people. Several people in my core college group complained to the professors about white people being "allowed" to attend the college.  It is a private school and costs about 10K/ year.
The lesson I learned was that the majority will always EXPRESS it's predjudices, and that everyone has them.

[...has left the building.]

Lee- I completely agree that anti-white sentiment is out there and just as harmful, but it certainly isn't on THR or APS. Did you see the movie?

[TarpleyG]

It's Crash, not Closer BTW...

Greg

[Lee]

I haven't seen it yet...but I'll have to check it out now.  Like I said...the majority tends to express predjudices more openly, and on gun forums white males are the majority.
As hard as it might be, I wouldn't take it too personally....people just tend to vent more on the web.

[...has left the building.]

Greg- Thanks for the catch! My wife was actually listening to a song from the movie "Closer" when I started the thread. Oops!

[Lee]

I just read two reviews of the movie.  It was hard to tell if they were talking about the same movie LOL.  One review was about the racial content, while the other was about the dark sexual perverted storyline.  They both were negative however.  Was it worth seeing?

[K Frame]

With one or two exceptions (Chris P95 and Chris mtnbkr) I don't know the race of anyone here.

Nor do I give a flying three fingered damn.

What I do care about is an individual's stance on the firearms question.

If you're pro-firearms rights, you're my friend.

If you're not, guess what you aren't...

[Standing Wolf]

I think there is a sickness on THR and APS...and that is the complete misunderstanding of people who are not conservative white people. Believe it or not, I get racist vibes all the time on both forums.

Yeah, my kitty gets them, too.

[Justin]

Dan-

Thank you.

[Sindawe]

Me thinks Dr. Dan needs to stop self medicating, he's becoming delusional.

[...has left the building.]

Lee- I'm a film buff and I liked it. The storyline was somewhat convoluted but it was there to make a point and to illustrate the frustration we have when cultures clash.

Mike- I feel the same way.

Justin- Its good to have your backup on this since I trust your opinion on things. Thanks.

Sindawe- I am forced to make the assumption that you have never, ever read any thread about immigration or rap music...

[Iain]

There are (at least) two films called Crash. Dan is talking about the more recent one, not the James Spader one (which was only beaten by 'South Park the movie' to the title of 'most disgusting and morally perverted film' on a religious website I once saw)

Dan - tend to agree.

[...has left the building.]

Iain- Yeah I forgot about the slightly older one about crashing cars as a weird sexual fetish. That movie was just...strange.

[Justin]

Heh.

The David Cronenberg Crash is not for the faint of heart.

[Antibubba]

Not to try to get on-topic or anything...

   Daniel, I understand what vibe you refer to, but I disagree that the tone is racist.  Race, religion, politics-we can try to deny that consideration of them is not a factor, but that is politically correct ideology.  While there certainly are some here who carry deep prejudices, most people here have realized that we don't have to worry about who we might offend, and therefore speak openly.  We talk about race and culture here.  While the tiptoeing masses talk about  the impact of slavery and debate reparation, we talk about self-slavery and lack of respect, for others and self.  The hardcore racists aren't allowed to stay very long.

   Be sure you understand the difference between racism and prejudice: prejudice brings preconceived ideas and stereotypes into play when dealing with someone.  Racism assumes that those differences result in "them" being inherently inferior or threatening, or both.  I have prejudices; I freely admit it.  My experiences have made me wary and even scornful of "Biblethumpers" and the Ultraorthodox Chasidics.  I do not assume any superiority over them, however.  OTOH, I have no problem with homosexuality or abortion or atheism, where others here certainly do.  And to use the Xtian phrasing of it, most seem to "hate the sin and not the sinner".

   I'm very glad that I have a polite forum where I can discuss complex and controversial subjects openly, knowing I will get the same respect from the others that I have for them.

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

The racism thing frustrates the crap out of me.
I am, as my best friend says (he's black, and HATES the term African-hyphen-American), "whitebread and mayonnaise".

I am not Scots-Irish-American; I am an American.  Period.

I have now, and will continue to teach my children based on the philosophies of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--

You judge people based upon the content of their character, not upon the color of their skin.

Sadly, there are an awful lot of idiots on our North American continent, of every hue and shade.

I don't see alot of blatant racism on these sister sites (APS and THR); when it rears its head, it is usually stomped out pretty decisively.

I will say that incidents such as how the leadership in Southern Lousiana handled the Katrina crisis versus how the leadership in South Texas handled the Rita crisis says something about those with a victim mentality vs. those who properly prepare and weather any crisis.  Make your own connections about those realities.

I am Felonious, and I approve this message.

[Paddy]

I've never picked up any 'racist' vibes from either forum.

[Glock Glockler]

Dan,

I haven't noticed any real racist overtones on either forum, and anytime an individual has behaved in a biggoted manner he is quickly brought into line or banned.  It could be that it is simply an issue of perception, either mine or yours, but I'd be grateful if you can open my eyes to anything I am not seeing.  That then brings us to the issue of the perscription, I saw Crash and I was frustrated, not by what it said but by what it didnt say, and it didnt really say much IMO.

It basically had a bunch of people who obviously had ideas about race and ethnicity and then proceeded to make stupid decisions.  It was entertaining but I am not sure what the movie set out to accomplish, it did show a human element to all the characters involved but I didnt think it did anything beyond that.  

I had a difficult time relating to people acting with such a lack of reason, what sense does it make to give a gun back to a guy who just pointed it to you with malicious intent?  Why does Sandra Bullocks character think of the maid as a friend simply because she happened to be in a position to help her out when others werent?  She was accurate in that the maid was not doing her job properly by leaving the dishes in the washer and taking far too long in going out for groceries, she just wasnt nice in the way she conducted herself.  Its not smart to get into an argument with someone who is nice enough to give you a ride, much less reach in your pockets in the heat of it.  

What bothers me about all these actions is that they were not the result of a greater understanding of others, it was just stupidity or at the very least a complete lack of logic resulting from being emotionally overwhelmed.  All is seemed like was incorrect conclusions from a bunch of sound and fury.

Just my 2 cents.

[Gewehr98]

Where does one get the cajones to pull the "racism" card, simply based on the fact that people don't like rap?  That's akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, there.

I'm a WASP, born and raised in a lily-white town.  My first exposure to African Americans (emphasis on Americans) was in the MEPS station, and I was definitely intrigued, probably freaked them out, because I had thought they only existed on TV ("Excuse me, sir, you have the most exquisite and beautiful skin!")  Fast-forward, the great equalizer has done a wonderful job, and I'm retiring after 20 years in the military soon.  I've made some long-lasting friendships over those 20 years, and you wouldn't believe the racial diversity of those friendships, which I'll be proud to keep in my civilian life.  So drop the race card, it sounds like some Jesse Jackson vitriol, in all honesty.    

It's good to be open-minded.

Just don't let your brain fall out in the process.  

[...has left the building.]

Antibubba-

Thank you for your well thought out response. I like your distinction between prejudices and racism. I suppose the reason for watching the movie "Crash" is to challenge people's prejudices (which eventually can lead to racism and a host of other "-isms"). But I would also add that the air of superiority is frequently used when discussing things on both forums. For example, look at any thread about rap music. It NEVER fails that someone has to tell us that rap isn't music. If that's not assuming an air of superiority, I don't know what is. Furthermore, I also completely understand that many people haven't been exposed to other cultures other than through popular media. Thus, I would just like to see that people on the forums don't feel that they need to talk other people down for who they are or how they choose to express themselves. That is the very sickness that infects the anti-gun culture...they don't realize that we're just regular people who aren't crazy backwater hicks. I certainly don't want to be like them at all, and I certainly don't want gunowners at a whole to prove to them that we're crazy backwater hicks.

[Guest]

Hey, buddy, some of us *are* backwater hicks!

[...has left the building.]

Whether or not you guys feel it, I definitely do. After the comment on THR about we should let the Aryan Nation and KKK kill people because that would be a decisive victory against welfare, I don't know how you can not feel a racist vibe. Women of THR have came out before about the sexist comments that are also very prevalent and received the same response: "What sexist comments? I don't see any!" I'm not bringing it up because I give a damn how anyone feels about rap, women, blacks, hispanics, asians or whatever, but I do give a damn how the public percieves pro-RKBA people. Far too long have we been characterized as a bunch of misogynistic white racists.

[...has left the building.]

Barbara- I was raised on a horse ranch in Southwestern PA...I feel ya

Glockler- I thought Crash was a beautiful story even though I would agree about their actions. Their actions were dumb to the point of being contrived...but I believe it was intended to show us how people are just people who make right and wrong decisions in their lives. I think that was the whole point of the movie, to show the humanity in each and every person, no matter their economic, social, racial, etc. status. That could be them making the right decisions, such as the locksmith's choice to earn an honest living or the wrong ones, such as the shopkeeper's rage. If you judge a film on what the character does or does not do, then I think you're missing out on a lot of great films. There are thousands of times I didn't agree with what a character did for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean I want to discount the work as a whole.

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

But I would also add that the air of superiority is frequently used when discussing things on both forums.

Interestingly, the place *I* pick up on this is the "which 9mm?" or "which .45?" threads...

There is inevitably a post that goes something like: " I wouldn't PRESUME to carry ANYTHING other than a P7M9, or a highly engraved Smith & Wesson tuned first at the Smith Performance Center and THEN sent to 'Actions by T' to be chamfered, timed and tweaked..."

And if you PRESUME to say something like "I'm actually pretty happy with my Hi-Point carbine, never a hiccup", or "my new Kel-Tec RAWKS", then it's often met with another " um, when you grow up and join the ranks of the carbon fiber HK ONLY set, then we *might* talk to you.  Until then, why don't you make all our lives better and let us ignore you as persona non grata."

...but I guess since I don't know JACK about rap music, I can't really comment on what constitutes rap snobbery.