• Aeao@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I’ve read about this kind of thing with racism. I can’t remember where I read it but I’ll try to explain it from what I remember.

    Basically in the bigots mind it always boils down to ‘one of the good ones’ so that they can maintain their views but justify why they don’t hate their friend who falls into the same group. “No it doesn’t mean I’m wrong, my friend is a rare exception”

    Racist: I hate immigrants, they are criminals and murders! Not my friend Juan tho, he’s on of the few good ones.

    Racist: Jews are running the world and trying to force communism on us! Not my friend Paul tho… He’s one of the good ones

    Musk (probably): woke people are trying to make us all trans! Not my friend here tho, she’s one of the good ones. It’s not the person I hate it’s the agenda I assume they all have. All of them except my friend here. That’s why I like them!

      • Aeao@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        If it’s the guy I’ve read about and not the guy I’ve met… The guy I read about was amazing.

        He didn’t just make friends. He made himself available to help the members. I don’t remember specific examples but stuff like “oh bill is moving to a new apartment? Let me gas up my truck and I’ll be right over!” He showed them kindness and support to the point alot of people did change. That goes well beyond what I was saying about “one of the good ones” he actually changed people. That dude is an absolute legend.

        I also a mentioned a guy I’ve met… He was not a legend. I worked at a leather shop for 15 years in the south. The most racist customer I had was a very big black man. He’d yell out to some random tourist family “N***ers don’t need to be in this store! Maybe go back where you came from” the family would immediately look at me first because “It must’ve been the white guy in cowboy boots who shouted racist things. Obviously the redneck white guy is racist like redneck white guys often are”

        Nope. This redneck cowboy is a card carrying member of the ‘woke’ community. I even stand up for furries (they’re my best customers. No one pays $300 for a dog collar and puts it on an actual dog.) I work in a leather shop. I don’t pass judgement on anybody.

        No, unfortunately the man shouting racial slurs at your family is the 6 foot infinity inch tower of a black man over there. I’d stand up for you but… I want to live… his hands are bigger than my torso and I’ve sold him a lot of knives that are so ridiculously large they can’t possibly have a use that isn’t a felony. I’m staying out of this one, sorry.

        Anyway it was always very sad to me. He acted that way because he had “white friends” and he thought he was different than other black people. He thought he was respected and accepted. He was a joke to his racist white friends. A circus bear doing tricks for salmon. It was sad.