"I'm Not a Racist"

     I'm not a racist. Just because I'm white and you're not, doesn't make me a racist. And if you knew my true 'bloodlines' you might be quite surprised. 
     Granted, I look and, for all intents and purposes am, a 'white guy'. Also noted that I am a goateed, shaved headed, heavily tattooed, white guy. You don't like me. That still doesn't mean I'm a racist. And whether you're white and want to lump me in with your own small-minded crowd or, you are from some ethnicity or religious background and assume I am; I am still not a racist. Doesn't mean I like you, it just means I may not like you for the reasons you think I don't like you. Give me a chance. There are a slew of reasons why I may not like you. Don't assume I lack imagination and need to use something as hack as race, religion or creed. I could fill Quest Field with reasons I don't like you.


     Actually, the fact that you assume I am, kinda makes you, a racist. You don't have to be 'white' to be a racist. It helps, but it isn't necessary. If you are white and a racist, well you're right on track aren't you? Your just another slack-jawed cousin fucker, spouting bigoted shit taught to you by your uncle while he cork-screwed yer keester on the north forty. Doesn't mean I am a racist. It's much harder, I assume, to be a racist of color. If you are Black and, hate Asian folks; that doesn't speak well of you. If you are Israeli and, are prejudice of Palestinians; where is your empathy? In California, many in the Black Community were elated (as was I) at the election of Barack Obama. Shortly thereafter some of those same people supported Prop. 8, lacking any sympathy for the Gay Community that had come out (no pun intended) strongly to help elect the first Black President. Any which way you slice it, that shit ain't cool.


     Also, if you are a Black guy and come into my shop, half tanked on booze and all 'crack talkie' asking,
   "How much for da Supadome on ma back real huge?" and you get all indignant when we try and explain that that is a very large and expensive tattoo; it doesn't make me a racist. If some upper-middle-class white woman crocked on Chablis and Xanax, came in inquiring about pricing for a rendering of Nordstrom's, writ large on her backside and became huffy when I explained that it couldn't be done in twenty minutes so that she could still make her mani-pedi appointment; that wouldn't make me a racist would it? No, it would make her an ignorant drunk. Do I lump you in with her? Absolutely. I'm sorry if I offended your bridge and tunnel sensibilities, but that doesn't make me a racist.


     I understand why people judge others through profiling. If I was a fifty year old woman and saw me walking up; I might also grasp my purse a little tighter and cross the street. I get it. It doesn't mean that it has no effect on me, it just means I understand. Korean shop owners aren't losing sleep over the fact that Black teenagers don't like them. They don't like them because Korean shop owners are notoriously prejudice against Black teenagers and, treat them accordingly. The Palestinian Authority isn't crying in their soup at night because the Israelis will never come over and Dreidel with them; they just want them to stop occupying and stealing their land under the guise of Israeli national security. Parenthetically, the Israelis are the ones with the guns and large army by the way; the Palestinians have rocks and have to wait for hours to get through Israeli 'security' checkpoints on their own land inside the West Bank, only to find their fields usurped by armed Jewish 'settlers'.


     Look, our Martian Overlords aren't going to care what color your skin is, or what false God you pray to. They're going to lump us all into one large basket of 'Cheap Earthling Labor'. So before we all get shipped off to work the spice mines on the moons of Jupiter, let's try to be nice to each other, okay?