It’s Difficult to Offend Me But…
Last night, someone succeeded in spectacular fashion. How? By being offended by me. I’m sure many of you saw the interchange, or at least parts of it on Twitter, but it all started with this:
I posted that right after I got cut off. Then the person who cut me off proceeded to go 10 miles under the speed limit while weaving. When I passed the car, it was an Asian woman. I didn’t make her drive like an asshole, I just observed it. Just like I observed an elderly Asian man swerve into my lane driving to work Monday morning.* Regardless, it wasn’t meant to be a serious commentary on Asian culture. I mean, shit, it’s twitter. People who take it that seriously need to re-lax.
But apparently someone who follows @brianbolter saw a link to my twitter from his page and that was the first tweet of mine she saw. She tweeted back to him that I’m “blatantly racist against Asians.” Um seriously? There are a lot of things that will make me hate someone (stupidity, overreacting, popped collars) but race isn’t one of those things. So yes, I was offended. How dare someone who doesn’t know me judge my character on 140 characters or less. At that point, I should have just ignored her.** However, in my family racism is a BIG deal and a very serious accusation. I have a really hard time allowing someone to believe something so repugnant about me. So I responded.
What followed was a very long string of tweets of this person taking offense at my original statement, the fact that I didn’t immediately apologize, the fact that I don’t consider my original tweet racist, etc etc. She asked if I would feel differently if someone said “All black people are (stupid, etc).” My question is when was it ever a stereotype that black people are stupid? That would have been the last example I would have thought of but maybe that’s just me. Also, I learned that “Asian people don’t stand up for themselves,” and that Mexicans can’t read. I don’t think I even need to discuss the stupidity of that last sentence.
I could write a book about this issue, but I won’t. So here are some points I’d like to make quickly.
1. Dear tweeter who I’m not linking because I don’t care – Fuck you. Seriously. You don’t know me, and you made assumptions about me based on one tweet. I’m going to guess that if I didn’t have a picture up showing that I was white, you might not have been so offended. What if I WAS Asian? Because I have several Asian friends who’ve made plenty of jokes about their own driving abilities – would you have ripped them a new asshole? Doubt it. I think you have several issues, including zero sense of humor and not recognizing sarcasm. Should I have started making jokes that are deliberately obnoxious? No, but only because it was immature, not because I seriously meant that Pearl Harbor was an example of Asians “standing up for themselves.”
2. I walked out of Christmas dinner several years ago when my uncle made the “joke” that (and honestly, it bothers me to type this) “Black people are great. Everyone should own one.” I haven’t seen that side of my family since, and they used to be some of my favorites. I don’t tolerate genuine hate. I just fucking don’t. I’ve cut people out of my life in a heartbeat, regardless of blood, if they pull that shit. Am I PC? No. Not usually because it’s boring, but I don’t give a crap if someone is a different race, handicapped, a different religion, whatever. Do your thing.
3. While I don’t think that pulling out the “I have ____ friends, that means I’m not prejudiced” thing is kind of lame, um I DO. I have friends of all different races. I have Christian friends, Buddhist friends, Muslim friends, and so on. I look at it as an opportunity to learn, and in one case, eat some bomb Chinese food at her mom’s restaurant. Om nom nom.
Fuck, now we’re running into the same problem as last night. I’m craving egg rolls with none in sight.
4. Last, but not least, tweeter I’m still not linking, submitting my original tweet to what appears to be a bunch of random Asian tweets is really fucking weird and clearly a desperate bid to get someone more important offended. So far, it doesn’t appear to be working. Go away now.
Ok, now that that’s off my chest, I feel slightly better. Sorry for the seriousness. Mandy posted one that’s funnier. Go read that one.
*Maybe because he was old. Old people, amirite?
**Actually, I’m not sure that the person was a her but for the purposes of this blog, I’ll go with it.
Posted: January 12th, 2010 under Rage, Shit I don't like.
Tags: I swear I'm not from Alabama, Some people amaze me, verbal abuse is fun for the whole family!
Comments
Comment from gingermandy
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:14 am
mmm egg rolls.
my family makes un-PC jokes all the time, but if any of us ever said anything that genuinely was serious and offended someone, we’d call their ass out in a heartbeat. there’s a line between having a sense of humor, joking around, and being an asshole.
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Comment from Matt
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:18 am
some people are FAR too sensitive about race.
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Comment from Will Entrekin
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:21 am
Not so much to say except sucks it happened. I know you and your sense of humor, and also that you’re not racist, but then again, we go back.
I do have to comment on “How dare someone who doesn’t know me judge my character on 140 characters or less,” though, because with Twitter and the like, that’s what people do. We get judged on a few words, a handful of pictures on Facebook, a few posts on forums. Brave new world and all that. A lot of people, for example, maintain steadfastly that I’m an arrogant douchebag. Me, I can’t say they’re wrong; they have reasons for thinking it. I just don’t care.
Just keep doin’ what you do. A lot of people, myself included, love ya for it, and that’s got to count for something and outweigh the misunderstandings.
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Comment from KeepingYouAwake
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:24 am
God, this was such a chick post.
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Comment from Pecosa
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:25 am
I think the tweeter was just jealous that Brian Bolter paid attention to you and not them, because like, why even bring it up to him, ya know?
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Comment from admin
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:30 am
@LiLu – It fits 
@Mandy – Yeah I know, I think I might have to get Chinese for lunch. And thank you for having my back, seriously.
@Matt – Um yeah. Which is why I tend to make a lot of jokes because people need to lighten up and realize that different doesn’t mean bad.
@Will- Yeah, I know. It just bothers me because I tend to try to give people the benefit of the doubt (unless they’re advocating violence, etc) before I judge them. I just KNOW that it’s not possible to know someone from one sentence, although I do understand why people think they can. And I kinow you’re not an arrogant douchebag – arrogant, sure, douchebag, nah. 
@keepingyouawake – I’ll shank you. With my platypus claws!
@Pecosa – Yeah. She’s just jealous because he’s totally rad.
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Comment from Mary
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:34 am
I totally agree that people who get their panties in a twist over comments made in jest are definitely more horrible than people who make said comments. And they’re hypocrites. Who are they to judge?
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Comment from admin
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:42 am
@Mary – That was sort of my feeling – the things she was saying to “prove” her “point” were way worse than what I said. I mean, driving ability doesn’t speak to who a person is, for pete’s sake.
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Comment from Jeney
Time January 12, 2010 at 12:06 pm
As I stated before, you are a rock star.
Seriously, some people just like to kick up a fuss because they’re not happy unless they’re pissing other people off.
We all love you and white ass and that’s all that matters.
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Comment from Jay
Time January 12, 2010 at 12:53 pm
When internet trolls are involved, nobody wins.
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Comment from shine
Time January 12, 2010 at 3:01 pm
People are still stupid. Oh crap, am I racist against people now? Oh wait…I kind of am. Report me, please.
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Comment from lemmonex
Time January 13, 2010 at 9:01 am
I hate all people equally.
Well, especially Serbians. They really suck.
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Comment from lbluca77
Time January 13, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Well since you keep talking about egg rolls I demand you bring me some
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Comment from admin
Time January 14, 2010 at 8:01 am
@Wicked – I know. Assholes.
@Jeney – No YOU are. You’re the best babygirl.
@Jay – I know. It’s just too bad that Mandy and I became quite trolly ourselves. We’re douchebags.
@shine – I’m racist against dumbassery so it’s cool.
@Lexa – I don’t know any Serbians so I can’t say for sure. I think white people are really on my shit list though.
@lbluca – Well, I would if you weren’t a 2 hour flight away. They’d be cold and gross and just generally unpleasant.
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Comment from Sarah P
Time February 20, 2010 at 5:15 am
Right!?
I lost a reader this week after tweeting that my husband was so pissed we no longer get the LOGO channel, he said, “That’s soooo gay.”
He’d normally never use that phrase, like ever. Irony, people. Get on board.
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Comment from LiLu
Time January 12, 2010 at 9:10 am
“I swear I’m not from Alabama”?
Best. Tag. EVAR.
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