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Locker Room Politics
"It’s just as racist as any other city when it comes to who’s dating whose daughter."
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By Anyi Howell
I don’t understand why people seem so shocked over the racial stereotypes in the 49er locker room tape.
While the outrage is politically correct, I don’t think it’s genuine.
When I see television reports that try to downplay racial profiling and police insensitivity towards minorities, I laugh on the outside because they paint a picture that’s not accurate. But as I look at the real picture, thinking about all those times I’ve been targeted without probable cause, it’s depressing.
The young people I talk to are increasingly becoming disenchanted with how America operates because we see the inconsistencies of the country’s messages and practices, both past and present. For instance, the city of Berkeley is all this liberal, tofu, toes out, the love is free, so you love me type of activity – but that’s the attitude on the surface. It’s just as racist as any other city when it comes to who’s dating whose daughter.
It’s hard to tell what’s real. At some point, I think the racism is just as false as the open-mindedness – it’s all learned behavior. I myself have certainly told a racial joke…or twelve. When I’ve made those jokes, it probably wasn’t genuine. But it seemed okay at the time, because of the space I was in, which allowed me to make those comments without feeling guilty.
It’s kind of like when you stink in the locker room. The solution could be as simple as understanding how our American society operates with conflicting ideals, and how we play into that as individuals. That way when we’re getting funky, we’ll know when to hit the showers.
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