First thing's first: KEEP. THIS. SHIT. CIVIL. If you can't talk about race without resorting to childish insults and rude generalizations or getting angry at people who don't see it your way, leave the thread.
With that said, I bring you to what can hopefully be the general thread about race.
First, a few starter questions.
- How, if at all, do you feel your race affects your everyday life?
- Do you believe that white people (or whatever the majority race in your area is) receive privileges simply because of the color of their skin. How much?
- Do you believe minorities are discriminated against for the same reason? How much?
- Do you believe that assimilation of cultures is better than people trying to keep their own?
- Affirmative Action. Yea, Nay? Why or why not?
Also, a personal question from me.
- Why (in my experience, not trying to generalize) do white people often try to insist that they aren't white? I can't count the number of times I've heard "I'm not white, I'm 1/4th English, 1/4th German, 1/4th Scandinavian 1/8th Cherokee, and 1/8th Russian," as though 4 of 5 of those things aren't considered "white" by the masses. Is it because you have pride for your ancestry, or an attempt to try and differentiate yourself from all those "other" white people? Or something else altogether?
edited 30th May '11 9:16:04 PM by Wulf
A nice butterfly
As a brief reminder, yesterday, October 12 was Columbus day (In english speaking countries) and Day of the Race in most Latin American countries.
These days commemorate the first sightings of the lands of the American continent by the Spanish explorers, and have for quite a while been repurposed in many countries as a day to ask and reminisce about fair treatment for men and women of all races.
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
No longer a forum herald
As a brief reminder to the reminder, in the U.S., Columbus Day is the second Monday in October...in other words, today, the 13th. (And no, don't ask me why.)
edited 13th Oct '14 9:10:52 AM by TotemicHero
Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)
Visiting from the Hoag Galaxy
I prefer the Canadian use of the day over the American one. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone!
Not Three Laws compliant.
A nice butterfly
Dangit people! Can't we even agree to a single day to celebrate race diversity? XD
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Aren't some places in the US replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People's day? I hope that becomes a national thing.
Already exists in the town of Berkeley, California...and it's been that way for 20 years and counting. Though I guess that's not a surprise considering well...it's the trope namer.
It's shocking that Seattle only just did that though
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter
Very few people actually do anything about columbus day. It's a nonissue in a lot of places so it's not really on the radar of things that need to be changed.
I don't think it's malicious, just there is other stuff to do besides changing a minor holiday.
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
It's that old? I guess that shows how unimportant most people think it is. I only heard about it recently because of what Seattle did.
That's kind of my point. Columbus Day is such a minor holiday that you can just change it to Indigenous Peoples day pretty easily.
Easy yes, but many places feel like the education budget, repairing roads, stuff like that is more important.
Like I said, it's not a huge deal and I don't think it would be a problem to change it. But it's not really on people's radars because no one really thinks about it.
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
The Mistress
Here in Brazil we comemorate the day of our discovery by the Portuguese in 22 of April.
This has often been criticized as being "Eurocentric", given that it was already habitated since then, and has gone through various name-switches and periods of great changes. I remember one of my old School textbooks showing the idea that Brazil could have been "born" anywhere between the Indigens first came, all the way up until the dowfall of the Military Regime, and several points in-between.
"Please crush me with your heels Esdeath-sama!
I suppose you also have to take into account that a lot of people will probably oppose it because changing it would be unAmerican to them.
A nice butterfly
In the meantime, Spain celebrates with what is basically "National Hispanic Day"!
Nevermind the fact Columbus wasn't Spanish
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
I've been looking and I haven't really heard or read anything about any significant opposition to renaming the holiday.
The fact we even have a Columbus day and not an Amerigo Vespucci day should tell you something. But whatever.
I think most people don't really care either way. Maybe that is a problem in itself, but regardless I rather no opposition instead of fabricated opposition.
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
The Mistress
"The fact we even have a Columbus day and not an Amerigo Vespucci day should tell you something."
"Please crush me with your heels Esdeath-sama!
V
...and I bet the Venetians don't even care.
Keep Rolling On
Amerigo Vespucci was the first European who said that the Americas were a separate and singular continent, not India or a segment of India.
We're named America after him for this fact.
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
A nice butterfly
There are other theories of where the name "America" comes from, but Vespucci is the most widely accepted.
Fun fact: Amerigo vespucci explored South America the most, and the continent named after him has a country that is more known by the name of the continent named after him even though he never ever visited any of the areas of this country. Fun!
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Probably because our country doesn't really have a name. "United States of America" is closer to a description than an actual country. This is due to the fact that we were a loose federation at first, not really a strong central government.
"America" is the only part of our country's name that actually sounds like a place.
The Mistress
You know... I know him more by the spelling of "Americo Vespucio".
What should the fact that you people don't have a holiday for him should say? Because that is the part I did not get.
The US loves being in the spotlight.
Fun fact, did you knew that one of Brazil's old names was "The United States of Brazil"?
edited 13th Oct '14 10:47:09 AM by SaintDeltora
"Please crush me with your heels Esdeath-sama!
A nice butterfly
Still a Fun Fact. Still silly. And I just call everyone up there "yankees" or "gringos" anyways 
Mexico's official name is "United Mexican States".
edited 13th Oct '14 10:48:22 AM by Aszur
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
The Americas: United. 
We have a holiday for a dumb Italian who called us India and was lost as hell, but we don't have a holiday for the one explorer who acknowledged we were a separate and unique continent and contributed to our name.
That's pretty ass-backwards, but that is very much the US of A.
edited 13th Oct '14 11:11:29 AM by Gabrael
"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
HGW XX/7
Also, the fact that Leif Erikson's arrival is not commemorated is obviously anti-Scandinavian racism.
Schild und Schwert der Partei
A nice butterfly
"National Germanic Conqueror Day" 
edited 13th Oct '14 11:19:23 AM by Aszur
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
It's also important to remember that a lot of the rioting is people who came from outside the Ferguson area to take advantage and the protests have made a strong effort to self-police.
Put me in motion, drink the potion, use the lotion, drain the ocean, cause commotion, fake devotion, entertain a notion, be Nova Scotian