On Friday I had another radio show call-in experience. This one was less productive that the previous, if that can be believed.
The host, who was filling in for the regular show from noon to 3pm, was talking about the controversial immigration bill that died in the Senate this week.
He kept going on about his grandparents leaving Poland and coming to the United States. Because somehow they were more justified in coming here then than someone coming here now because they had the right papers. But he never described what the process was that his grandparents had to go through, nor did he accurately or fairly compare it to the processes that immigrants to the United States go through now. One would imagine if the process were easier today, then people would keep coming here and/or staying here illegally. He even admitted that the bureaucracy of the Department of Homeland Security and the INS is intractable.
He also kept calling people "illegals," and pretty much confined the source of the problem to people entering the southern border of the United States from Mexico and Central America.
I called in and waited on the phone for about a half-hour. I told him, and the screener a half-hour earlier, "I agree with what most of the host is saying, however I wish he would not say it such a racist way." The host then exploded, screeching, "You're calling me a racist?!" I explained that I did not say that, but that some of the things he was saying were racist. In specific, calling undocumented immigrants "illegals." He laughed derisively at me, said we were talking about the same thing, and asked why I was arguing over semantics. I told him it was not the same thing: different cultures talk about these people in different ways, and the choice of words makes a difference.
I wanted to then respond to some comments the host had made about assimilation, including one about how when his formerly Polish grandparents immigrated to the United States, they adopted American customs. They didn't kneel down and pray facing Poland five times a day. Okay, so much wrong with that analogy. He was inaccurately comparing a national ancestry (Polish) with a religion (Islam). Plus, most Muslim people are not from Mecca. Praying to the city is a practice of their religion, not a practice of patriotism Additionally, there are many Muslims in America who are born in America. Even if they weren't born here, being American and being Muslim are not dichotomous traits; one can do both very well.
I also wanted to point out that "illegals" and "illegal immigrants" are terms used mostly on English-speaking American media outlets. "Indocumentados," or "the undocumented" is the preferred term in the Spanish-speaking American media that I consume. I mostly watch Noticias and Despierta America on Univision, but that's enough for me to make a sweeping generalization of the phrases used in Spanish-language programming shown in the United States. Now about the lack of brown people on Univision...well, that is another post for another time.
But I didn't get to say any of those things. The host ended our conversation, not with an "I appreciate the call" like Ed Schultz does, but by screaming that I was calling him a racist, and then moving onto the next caller without so much as a "Good-bye." Like I expected anything different. Then he asked the next caller if he could believe what I had said, and told the caller that I was "imbecilic." Nice!
This has been at least the second time that a white American male has told me essentially that words don't matter. The first time was in reference to the Michael Richards incident. That first person also didn't fully understand why Dave Chappelle left his show on Comedy Central. I tried to explain it to him, about the protectiveness Dave felt toward his humor, especially over the racial setups. But he really wasn't getting it. He didn't see why a black comedian, or any nonwhite comedian on Comedy Central, should have any issues that are different than those of the white males most often featured on the network.
It's always nice when people who have most likely never experienced repeated acts of racism, sexism or other bigotry think they know more than those people who have. There is a difference between calling someone "an illegal" and calling someone "undocumented." There is a reason cultured people use certain words instead of others. We don't call black people "colored" anymore. Although... Oy. Someone did call me colored last weekend. He was passing by the outdoor event I was volunteering at on Saturday. As I was walking on the street from my car back to the other volunteers, he said to me, "You're the only colored girl I saw in there." I responded with an, "Uh..." and kept moving right along.
Why didn't I give him a lengthier, more poignant reply? Well, one, the man was pushing a shopping cart down the street, and it wasn't full of groceries. Two, he looked about twice my age. Three, he was also black. Four, it was 2007. All of that combined warranted an "Uh" from me.
For more forays into people who need to get a clue, please read Racism as a Lifestyle Choice, by Racialicious Special Correspondent Latoya Peterson:
Listening to people rationalize their racism is both hilarious and infuriating.
This week, Carmen posted a link to a RaceWire posting about an article that explored one white woman’s journey into racism.
Initially I viewed the post with skepticism. My neighbors made me racist? Are you kidding? I perused the article, made a comment, and thought that would be the end of that. However, the rationalization of racist behavior continued with TAN pointing me toward a Washington City Paper article I had skipped last week, once again featuring a white woman spinning the same “woe-is-me, I-turned-into-a-racist completely by accident” spiel.
Okay, so now there are two white women, taking their “Oops, I did it (racism) again” moments to the press. Is this indicative of a trend? I decided to re-examine the two pieces with a more objective eye. ...
...Reading both of their pieces, I was struck by the idea that this may be a new form of privilege - two women who openly proclaimed their racism and benefited from it with exposure, media attention, and a sympathetic ear from other whites. Other whites who have the best of intentions, but damn it, these brown people make it so hard NOT to be racist.
Or maybe I am struggling with my racist thoughts because I am unable to muster up sympathy for white people struggling with their inner racism. Maybe I’m just weary of dealing with people who missed the point of Michael Richards’ rant - it wasn’t about the n-word, it was about the noose and fork reference. Maybe I am tired of listening to white people talk about how much they hate themselves or their past deeds, but ultimately have nothing come from the conversation besides a slight lessening of white guilt.
Or maybe I’m just racist because I generalize white people...
FYI, I don't generalize any of you readers. You are all individuals to me, regardless of your color, gender, location, or sexual orientation. I'm not sure about you furries, though. You're going to have to take that elsewhere.
