I’ve told something to this effect to my bro and friends: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, yellow, rich, poor, man, woman, gay, straight, strong, disabled, human, animal or alien. The only people I hate are jerks.”
I know some of my guy friends who are ‘inverse racists’, in the sense that they keep whining and complaining about how they’re being discriminated against because they are the minority and yet they choose to only pursue (how do I put this lightly?) ‘romantic relationships’ with chicks from a certain race ("I only date girls from country ‘X’. Eew… I’d never go out with a girl that’s ‘Y’) or make fun of people from their own race. I mean, come on! I don’t care what race my eventual life partner of the opposite gender is, or where she comes from. As long as she treats me nice, and loves me for who I am, I’m happy with that. To me, self-hating is also a form of racism, as well as giving preference to another group just because it’s the minority or the indigenous people (the latter always been a hot political topic in Malaysia, though I won’t go into all that). I prefer meritocracy, or as those Aussies like to call it “a fair go.”
That doesn’t mean I’m all sensitive when it comes to discussing one’s cultural intricacies. Doesn’t help being all uptight when people make fun of stereotypes, cos’ that’s what they are: stereotypes. As long as it’s not malicious, done in good jest, and does not reflect your true nature, I can accept racial jokes as a form of breaking down cultural barriers and treating everyone the same, in a twisted sort of way. Most racial jokes in Malaysia and Singapore are of all the races in one shot (usually an Ali, Ah Beng, and Apu), so everyone’s fair game. I also make sure to point out my own shortcomings, like how I watch American films, listen to R&B and funk music, speak fluent Malay and French, and suck at using chopsticks. To me, we’re all one and the same, so why so serious?
By the way, L&S, I’m a big fan of your YT channel, and everyone’s not a hater, so it makes me wonder why did you post this thread? If someone made fun of you that made you upset, just ignore him/her, cos’ they probably wouldn’t last in the real world anyway.
I like BDD’s balloon analogy. Makes me think of Up.