CPF and Racism

lightlover

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CPF is a wonderful place that should be inclusive and open to all.
Anyone should be able to visit and register, then expect agreeable treatment.
We are a very mixed and truly world-wide community.

Policy view - think what you like, but don't think about posting it on CPF if it's against
Natural, Reasonable Manners.

Racism is an Evil and Bad thing. Racism has no place on CPF. Even if funny.
Full Stop.

I wouldn't want to be characterised negatively if I was a different colour, or of a different race or religion. Or Female, or, Gay, whatever ......
(Of course, some people might think this an "incorrect" attitude.)

Please post any comments you may have.

lightlover
 

Klaus

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Fully agree Jahn,

except when it comes to something ridiculous like a flashaholic englishmen from a parallel Universe - I would suggest exception for the non-racism rule for that species
grin.gif


Klaus
 
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**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
smile.gif
yup. I see a lot of racist remarks all the time.(not on CPF) All I do is laugh it off, mainly because I don't want to cause any damage and make anyone uncomfortable. Like in the other topic where this started , *something ridiculous ?, I tried to offer another term for those cars... which was fart car instead of ____ ______ . Like Waynerd said, its really hard to get people to stop thinking the way they do, which is why I don't really say anything about it when people make those remarks. Curious, what do you guys do when you confront someone who makes those kinds of derogatory comments? Hopefully not laugh it off like I do, otherwise nothing will get done...
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lightlover

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Jason,
I'd prefer that racists felt uncomfortable on CPF.

I think this is a partial answer to your point about changing people's beliefs:

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by *something ridiculous ?:
... think what you like, but don't think about posting it on CPF if it's against
Natural, Reasonable Manners. ...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is Official CPF Policy:

Racism has no place on CPF.
Flaming is not allowed.


lightlover

Ps - mon cher ami Klaus, du bist eine kleine _____ !!
(Ich schreibe mit grosse freundlich-ness.)
(Btw, that's just personal between me and Klaus. It's also ungrammatical and badly spelt ... )
 
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**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
Whenever I'm in a group and a racist remark is made and everyone laughs I look right at the person that made the comment. I don't scowl or smile I just give them an expressionless face. Usually this gets their attention, because I'm not doing what everyone else is doing. Then when the laughter has gone down the others will look back at the one that made the comment. They will see him or her looking at me. They'll redirect their attention at me and see that I'm not laughing as they all were. I'm just looking with an expressionless face. Then each one of them will say to themselves, "Why isn't Waynerd laughing?" Then they'll realize that what they were laughing at may not have been that funny after all. Without doing anything I've effectively made the entire group rethink what they have done. I'm not trying to make a statement by doing this and I'm also not trying to perpetuate it either. I let each one of them make the choice.

That is much harder to do on a message board where I am limited to text.
 

WaltH

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Oct 30, 2001
Messages
536
Location
Florida, USA
Zero Tolerance! Racists and Flamers need to be shut down instantly in my opinion.

All are welcome on our board and if I don't agree with you we'll type it out rationally...and at the very least agree to disagree.
 

The_LED_Museum

*Retired*
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Aug 12, 2000
Messages
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Federal Way WA. USA
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by *something ridiculous ?:
CPF is a wonderful place that should be inclusive and open to all.
Anyone should be able to visit and register, then expect agreeable treatment.
We are a very mixed and truly world-wide community.

Policy view - think what you like, but don't think about posting it on CPF if it's against
Natural, Reasonable Manners.

Racism is an Evil and Bad thing. Racism has no place on CPF. Even if funny.
Full Stop.

Please post any comments you may have.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

When I first read this topic, I was thinking "who the heck on CPF is racist?!?" because I haven't seen any posts with content I considered "racist, unnatural, or unreasonable" in the last six months or so.

Imagine my surprise when I finished reading the board and found out that I was the one that apparently made such a comment!!!
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I would never use racist slurs on purpose, knowing they were racist slurs. But apparently, there are those that feel a name given to a certain type of car is such a slur, and I'm sorry for being offensive.
frown.gif

I have gone back to the post that started this and censored out the words that caused the problem, and will not use them again. At least, not in tandem. (yes, I'll still enjoy rice with butter & soy sauce at dinnertime and I'd love to see a rocket blast off from Vandenburg or Cape Kennedy some day).
smile.gif



(Edit) As some of you have no doubt already seen, I've used the "F" word on my vector page; but only in reference to myself. In light of this new situation, I've removed that reference and the web page it was linked to so as not to come across as a hippocrite and offend even more.
tongue.gif
 

bwcaw

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 22, 2002
Messages
862
Location
South Dakota
I Agree with *something rediculous* about
racicsm, and and harrassment of people with different "sexual orientation" or beiliefs.
Although i dont think the lifestyle
they lead is right, it is not my place to
judge them, in the Bible it says "judge not
lest you be judged". I am not a racist, i think everybody has the same right for freedom as everyone else. It is very hard
not to be racist against people of mid-eastern origins, just because of what happened in New York and Washington DC, but
i know that majority of them are just trying
to understand it with the rest of us, and
are just as horrified about those terrorists
as we are.
 

Darell

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Messages
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LOCO is more like it.
As a young white man, I feel I have all the qualifications I need to say: Racists suck. Sure, that's being stereotypical, but I'm still standing by it. I consider myself very tolerant, but we all have our limits.

The problem with most of the racists that I've had the displeasure of knowing is that they are not aware of their racism. My maternal unit begins many sentences with "I'm not a racist, but...." Nothing non-racist ever follows that opening line.
frown.gif
 

DonL

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N 42° 29' 48", W 83° 11' 14"
You mean that my being a flashaholic-American doesn't give me special status?
wink.gif


Agreed that there's no place for it. I think that only when people can think beyond these barriers will we be able to really advance as a society.

JMHO, though.
 

Quickbeam

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FlashlightReviews.com
I am finding this discussion very interesting. How do you all feel about racial profiling?

I work with several Indians (East Indians) who feel very strongly that racial profiling is a necessary evil - a requirement to protect your country from terrorists.

They believe that if you're from "so-and-so" background, with "so-and-so" appearance, which matches previous "extremists" that have been encountered, you're open to search and investigation. Period. They don't hate people because of their race or background, but as a precaution, those people are always (or should be) investigated throrougly - especially when traveling.
 

lightlover

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Craig, if I may quote myself from "the other" topic:

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Craig (PHD),
I myself have no doubt whatsoever that you are non-racist. Simply from what I know of you through the board, and our occasional e-mails. I strongly believe that racism would be out of character for you, and beneath your intelligence.

I don't think that anyone on the board would see you as a racist either.

I wanted to say that in my earlier post, make my views clear there. But due to my respect for you, I thought it would be "out of order" for me to speak on your behalf, kind of.

I really don't think that Craig has to defend himself against any charges of racism.
(Besides which, no-one has accused you of being racist.)

lightlover<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The LED Museum:
... Imagine my surprise when I finished reading the board and found out that I was the one that apparently made such a comment!!!
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I would never use racist slurs on purpose, knowing they were racist slurs. ...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
 

Evan

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Messages
296
Location
Maryland, USA
I find the phrase "Zero Tolerance" offensive. It means a person or organization has decided to disconnect their brain and crucify anybody who dissagrees with them on a particular topic. It's the sort of "reasoning" that ruins careers on one mis-statement, and few of us always say what we mean; look at the current U.S. president.

I think a necessary but unappreciated skill in a multicultural society is to hold back and make sure the speaker intended an offense before you jump all over them. If they did not intend offence, let it pass as you would a misspelled word, or, like a gramatical error, correct those you know later in private.

The founding fathers were right to make freedom of speech the protected right, not freedom to never be offended. This PC attitude about destroying people who offend one small, sensitive group or another is at best just a way to avoid the kinds of interraction required for members of various groups to get their signals strait. At worst it is an underhanded weapon used by members of small groups to injure members of larger groups; if I brand you racist, I don't have to deal with the unwelcome issues you want to discuss.

Is there a group left who can enjoy a joke about themselves?
 
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**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
Thank you Evan for expressing my feelings about political correctness run amok.You have saved me the trouble of posting something that would not have been as eloquent.
 
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**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
Yeah-I think it is easy to go around picking through a person's writing to find a reason to be offended.I could do it all the time if I wanted to.Plus-I don't always equate political correctness with anti-racism.Many times the result of overused political correctness is division.That promotes racism more than someone being offended by an obviously innocent reference.
 

Silviron

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Messages
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New Mexico, USA
Ok, would someone make up a list of words or combinations of words that will be allowed here?

No- don't. Please Don't!

I agree that racism has no place on this board. But does that mean that I can't talk about my INDIAN motorcycle if I put a RED led tail light on it?

The first time I heard the term "rice rocket" was back in 1967 or 1968, and applied to the Kawasaki 750 motorcycle, which was at the fastest production motorcycle on the street in those days. It was a term of awe, not disrespect.

I have seen posts here from one or more of our friends from Great Britain and/or Australia referring to Americans as Yanks. What if that offends me?

Must I not talk about "jerry-rigging" a circuit because it might offend a German soldier from WWII?

What if that circuit goes "on the fritz"? Uh oh, Now I have offended German soldiers from WWI.

I could go on- but that's enough stupid examples...

Well, one more....

If someone starts a thread here in THE CAFE talking about after-shave lotions, do I offend Jahn and Alastair when I say I don't like those limey smelling ones? (hey, I just don't like citrus scents. Nothing personal, and nothing racial about it.)

For God's sake, (Gee, hope I didn't offend any atheists there). People come here to share their passion for lights and technical information. Race, sexual orientation, political persuasion shouldn't even enter into it.

If Martin Luther King Jr. himself were to be resurrected and come to CPF wanting to know how long D cell batteries will run a Luxeon Star and how many LUX it put out at one meter***, would he be offended if I asked him if he meant a WHITE one a COLORED one?
After all, the different colors do have different characteristics. {Those lazy WHITES are just less efficient than the COLOREDS. (well, except the ROYALS (blues) which are the least efficient.)}

If the term "rice rocket" applied to a car offends someone, they are in for a really miserable life in the real world.

Ok, if the term has recently come to be derogatory, maybe the owner/builder of said vehicle might have some reason to be be offended.... But I'll bet that same person would make fun of my beat-up 4WD, call it something like a 'redneck rustbucket'; that wouldn't lessen MY value as a human being or hurt my feelings, or make the vehicle less valuable for getting me up and down the hills.

Ok, I agree that we should try not to offend anyone here due to race, creed, sexual orientation, etc. {Unless they themselves are being overtly militant about it themselves, and they attacking someone elses beliefs. THEN, "the gloves come off".}

I'm sure that you folks who are so adamant about not using any language that could offend are well meaning and trying to look out for others, and that IS a GOOD THING.

But I'll be darned if I'll be posting any more if I have to parse every sentence five times to make sure that no one could possibly be offended by something I wrote.
-----------------

***And speaking of using 1 meter as the standard distance for measuring LUX output- Well, that is just an insult to Americans (of all colors), after all, Americans predominately use the yard, and most of us un-educated, backwards hillbillies don't even know what a meter is.

Talk about a meter to one of us KKK members and we think that you are talking about a rendzevous with a female.
 

Darell

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Messages
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LOCO is more like it.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Evan:
Is there a group left who can enjoy a joke about themselves?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I can't speak for all who are like me, but I sure can!

You may be quite surprised at what I find funny, and I feel much the same way you do. I still say that racists suck. And by that, I mean that I have no tolerance for intolerance (there's an ironic concept if I ever heard one). My definition of racism is not quite as rigid as others' may be.
 
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