Discrimination

[theculturewarrior]

I think it would be interesting to share such stories. Tell me about times you have been discriminated againt. I want to listen.

Racism is a particularly virulent form of discrimination, but it is not the only one. They say that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice. I would add to that, prejudice against southern and rural people. That is not to say that simply because racism is unacceptable today, that it is not a problem.

Where I live, I am a minority, though I am white. It hasn't been terribly difficult, like for Indians in S. Africa. But I have heard some rude comments, and I have been treated differently. However, I refuse to blame an entire race for the behavior of a few people.

I have also been treated differently by caucasians, because I have a southern accent.

Of course, I do not present this thread as a forum for self pity. But I think it offers a great opportunity for good ole Catholic unity. These things divide the secular world. But we know that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. I think every body here has probably been discrimated against, in some way or another.

[kdewolf2]

[quote]I think every body here has probably been discrimated against, in some way or another. [/quote]

I've heard some rude comments, but I've never actually been discriminated against in any meaningful sense (i.e. denied employment, housing, etc.). I've heard rude comments my whole life, having to do with the way I dress, the way I talk, the color of my skin, the faith I profess, the car I drive, the neighborhood I live in, etc., etc., etc...What difference does it make? Most people are extremely smug, self-satisfied, and prejudiced. They will mock, criticize, and put down others for the most trivial of differences. But as long as you are not physically assaulted or denied any of your basic needs, what difference does it make? What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

[quote]However, I refuse to blame an entire race for the behavior of a few people.[/quote]

Noble sentiment, no doubt. However, if you find that members of certain groups are, on the whole, inclined to behave in ways that you find offensive or insulting, wouldn't you be inclined to shy away from such people (in effect, discriminating against them)?

[BeenaBobba]

I'm a white Catholic girl. Once, I was in one of the Catholic chat rooms at Yahoo, and I was arguing against this anti-Catholic woman who supported abortion. She said, I think, that she worked at Planned Parenthood. Well, I usually ask pro-"choicers" if they see anything wrong with what Hitler did, as he denied personhood to a whole group of people -- just as pro-"choicers" do to the preborn. She said that she didn't see anything wrong with what Hitler did. I was shocked. That was [i]not[/i] what I expected to hear. Not only that, but she noticed that my last name is Benjamin, since it's part of my Yahoo screen name. I'm not aware of any Jewish roots in my family (although I [i]might[/i] have some that I'm not yet aware of), but Benjamin [i]can[/i] be a Jewish name. She then proceeded to call me a "kyke," which is a derogatory term for Jews. When I told her that I'm not personally Jewish, but that I love Jewish people and wouldn't stand for her spewing such virulently hateful things, she called me a "kyke lover." I then stopped talking to her in the chat room, as it's a waste of time talking to people who act like that.

God bless,

Jennifer

[Phazzan]

Anyone gives you grief you just send em my way beena. :angry:

[theculturewarrior]

[quote]What difference does it make?[/quote]

Well, while thinking that it certainly must make a difference....I don't know! I guess the purpose of this thread is to share, not necessarily to ponder why, unless it please the PMer posting.

I think it does make a difference when you are discriminated against by other Catholics, although what difference I do not hope to answer.

As I have said, people will discriminate against you for anything, but in most cases (perhaps every case) it is because of some unique feature that God has blessed you with. It is because of the way God made you. Allow me to ask a question...

Do you suppose that when someone is discriminated against, they are suffering persecution for the sake of the Kingdom? If God made you a certain way, and somebody despises you for the way God made you, isn't that persecution for God's sake? For the Kingdom's sake?

(As the coffee lady would say, talk amongst yourselves).

[theculturewarrior]

bump.

[MorphRC]

I got teased by Italians with most of my mates since we werent 'Bolt Killa {W-Word} -they use'. Which is kinda stupid since some of them are guest in MY country.

Anyways, i took care of it.

[MorphRC]

guests*

[RandomProddy]

I'm a white english public schoolboy so I'm guilty for most of the sins of my country

[MorphRC]

yep. sad world.

[MichaelFilo]

I am a natural born Iraqi. So lets see. I've been teased most of my life for being from Iraq (esp. post 9-11, although I can't say I'm without blame). Terrorist to camel Jockey and everything inbetween is what I've been called. However, it hasn't been until I found out my calling in life is to become a priest that a new wave of anti-Michaelism(Can I call it that? ) has surged. From Child-rapist to Mary Worshipper and everything in between. Personally, these are just words. The person who I feel really sorry is for my dad who gets mis-treated...

God bless,

Mikey

[MorphRC]

Lol. From one xtreme to another. Geez im glad God loves human beings, coz I despise em

[socalscout]

Announcing that I am Catholic does not meet with applause. I had a girlfriend who asked my religion (Don't ask me why it never came up before because I don't know) and when I told her she said in a very discouraging tone. "Oh you are Catholic". Our relationship did not go much further.

Sorry to hear about the real discrimination experienced by some on this board.

[VeraMaria]

I am used to it, lol.

Every country I've lived in (Chile, Germany, Mexico, here), I've been a foreigner. But, I'm sad to say, it's never been as vicious as here in the US. Kind of ironic, considering how America is basically a nation of foreigners. But yeah. Not saying the Pledge of Allegiance (I mean hello, I'm not going to say it if I'm not American), not having an American flag on our car, preferring to speak Spanish (Especially in Miami it's idiotic to discriminate against someone for that..."they should speak English if they live in the US" Sheesh) is enough for dirty looks, being called "filth", and being told to go back to where I came from.

Although I don't know whether to call it discrimination, I have been treated differently for being Catholic at my school.

*rambles on and on...*

OK, I'm going to stop now. I'll spare you, lol. I am talkative today.

Oh, last but not least, I've been discriminated against for being a blonde

Edited August 14, 2004 by VeraMaria

[picchick]

I was discriminated against when I went to school. I was a heavy set girl so people didn't want to pick me on teams. Everyone hated me. It hurt.

Once I shared a locker with one of the "cooler" kids. She was being quizzed by one of her friends about people who she thought were o.k., cool, or stupid.

Conversation,
"So what about Kristen?"
"Oh, she alright. She's cool."
"What about Jessica."
"Yeah, she's o.k."
I was right behind her at this point. She didn't know I was there.
"What about Margaret?" That girl knew I was there
"Margaret? Well, not reall.... (she turns around) Oh, I like her. She's good."

Yeah, ok. Whatever.

[theculturewarrior]

I sense a little, uh, 'humor' in this thread, but I don't think there's anything funny about it. Below is an essay I wrote:

[quote]The Bigoted Christian

Thoughts on Hypocrisy, Part I

I think I am an authority on this subject. I have not studied it, but have lived it. I have been the publican begging God for mercy, and I have been the pharisee thanking God for not making me like the publican. And I do not presume to be unique in this. Jesus gave us parables and warnings against hypocrisy, because of man’s penchant for pride, and the disastrous effect it has on man and his fellow man.

Is discrimination a sin? Is prejudice? Is racism a heresy? Anti-Semitism? Misogyny? Does it make any difference at all?

I once worked in a local archives, where I learned of past injustices. In a local newspaper dated 1907, the headline was “NEGRO OUTRAGE,” and while historians are not unanimous on what happened in this “outrage,” the newspaper’s treatment of Blacks was a stark reminder of how intensely depersonalized and oppressed Blacks were at this period of history. That’s not to say that discrimination is not still a problem. But this newspaper article publicly mocked them, with Sambo caricatures and ethnic captions.

How many of the people who read that newspaper and enjoyed it, attended church on Sunday? How many of them cried when a white child died, but lynched a black child’s father? Prejudice for a Christian is hypocrisy. It is scandal. It is the hatred of God. But race is not the only factor, nor was it then.

Prejudice consists of a disordered consideration for a creature’s individuality, it consists of disordered consideration for a creature’s blessings, or for a presumed lack thereof, and it consists of a weak or absent belief or love for the mercy of Jesus. The case can be made that victims of discrimination suffer the persecution Jesus spoke of in the beatitudes, and that great is the reward awaiting them in Heaven.

Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews, and in this, he is a king of the persecuted. God loved the world, but He knew that the world hated God, and that in the end, His Son would suffer, die, and be resurrected on the third day. The world hated Jesus because he was God, because he was not of the world. When the world hated the Blacks in the above story, they failed to see creatures of God, created in the image of God. They hated the Blacks because they had a darker color, a different culture, less money, and less power. But all of these things were put in place by God. Was it God they hated? It was God who made them darker, poorer, different, in all things after his image. When they mocked the Blacks, was it Jesus they mocked?

How many of the Blacks were sincere Christians? How many had been baptized into the Body of Christ? And yet, Jesus, who told his disciples that He would be known by the love they had for one another, would scarcely recognize his ministry in the love the local Christian community had for these Blacks.

The local community committed a serious sin. The Holy Father, in his August 26, 2001 audience, has all but anathematized racism, and has charged Christians with the obligation to overcome bigotry by reaching out to those who are different from us. It is not one particular race alone that is guilty of this sin. The Holy Father has said that racism is a serious sin in whomever’s heart it is found.

Prejudice is also often directed at qualities other than race. Though someone may judge me for being white, someone may also judge to me for being Southern, or Catholic, or even for being more or less intelligent than they. But in all these things, they judge the God who made me this way. This is the first prejudice: disordered consideration for a creature’s individuality.

Someone may judge me because I have a good job, or because I do not have as good a job. Or perhaps I have a beautiful wife, or maybe they judge me because I am single. Again, they judge the God who gave me my own blessings in His own way for me. This is the second prejudice: disordered consideration for a creature’s blessings, or a presumed lack thereof.

The third prejudice is the most vile, and yet the most natural. Perhaps I was a prostitute. Maybe I was a notorious sinner. Maybe God has forgiven me. While I do not suggest that Christians condone or encourage sin, Christ will be known by the love we have for the penitent sinner, and love is not love unless it is inclusive. You cannot love somebody and judge them for what God has forgiven. When Christians accuse penitents of sins Christ has forgiven, whether in gossip, or in their dealings with them, they not only judge God, but they are doing the work of Satan, for it is Satan who rejoices in sin.

Prejudice often comes with a tribal mentality. Racism can be discrimination in a positive sense. A good ole boy will seek out other good ole boys, and will show him preference for jobs, for the seats of honor at church. And it follows with compadres, or homeboys, or whatever race seeks to impose its will on others. This often comes with disillusionment for those who are seeking after Christ. Gandhi was once interested in Christianity, but was scandalized by racist Christians in India and South Africa. He said, “If I ever meet a Christian, I will become one.” We as Christians bear the awesome responsibility of bringing the Gospel to the world. For what? So we can revile converts for being Indian, or African, or European? So we can show preference to the rich, and banish the poor to hell? How will God deal with the bigoted Christian, who is charged with that responsibility? We can only pray for mercy, for purification from our own prejudices, and for mercy for our prejudiced friends and enemies.

What then do we do when Christians judge us? What do we do when Christians exclude us, or revile us, or utter all manner of falsehood against us, whether for race, creed, or culture?

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for thus they persecuted the prophets who were before us.  What greater persecution is there, than persecution for Jesus’s sake? And how much more can persecution be for Jesus’s sake, than persecution for the work He has created in us?[/quote]

[picchick]

I find no humor in it. I think that it is sad.

[MichaelFilo]

I choose to not say the pledge anymore. If I pledge my complete loyalty and support to a country who accepts abortion, then I am not Catholic, but indeed a walking oxymoron. It helps having a dad in the army though. However, he has gotten robbed by some people there, he's been told to go home, and obviously other stuff. He's one of the US's best translators in Iraq. I don't get it

God bless,

Mikey

[theculturewarrior]

That sounds horrible, Michael. I have a friend who is Chaldean, and he blends in pretty well down here...but he is afraid to travel, because the Border Patrol has a checkpoint to the north, and Customs checks people at the border to the South. He has experienced plenty of discrimination though...and he is one of Bush's biggest supporters as far as the war is concerned.

I commiserate, Michael

[theculturewarrior]

By the way, I think humor is healthy, and I don't fault anybody for laughing...but if someone thinks prejudice is "phunny," well...