Why can't you people admit that this is a great country?

[Brewman_Jax]

how many have had to put up with that? Though not as blatant as "race relations are good so stop complaining!" or "aren't you better off..." (I won't finish that. For me, that's like waving a red flag in front of a mad bull.)

Part of the exchange, edited for content and clarity...


Standard White Guy (SWG): Jesse Owens was a great runner, he stuck it to those Nazi bastards.

Me: True, but he still had to go to the back of the diner to get something to eat in the USA.

SWG: (rolling eyes) Yeah, but those were the times...

Me: and everyone still goes on about that. He made no money for being a great runner. He got squat for it. He was shit on by an ungrateful country.

SWG: Joe Lewis beat Max Schmelling after he lost to him. He made those Nazis look bad.

Me: and when he was down and out and forgotten by an ungrateful country, guess who helped him--Max Schmelling. He was better treated by that "Nazi bastard" than his own countrymen, who had no trouble remembering him--as long as they can feel good about it.

SWG: Man, you're a bummer! Why can't you admit that this is a great country?

Me: When this place starts acting the part. The sports legends you mentioned mattered only because they made the USA look good in front of the world, but no one wants to talk about how badly treated they were here at home. You can't have a "great" country that treats people who look like me like shit because they don't look like you.


Sorry, I'm not gonna give a free pass to ignorance. A country that continues to avoid living up to its highest ideals isn't "great".

[Karenina]

1. Quote from the 70's

No gook ever called me a nigger.