Barrack and Hillary

[BoulderDawg]

Sorry for the confusion Bob
I do have one concern with what you say though.
You see, I do see colour, I see black white or Chinese, Japanese, Pakistani....I recognize the differences and enjoy them and realize that there are good and bad, joyous and miserable, thin and fat.....and each person has a story behind that.
I believe we must all see colour, otherwise we fall prey to indifference, and the horror's that that can bring!

Very good. I've always thought that the mantra of the Neo-con "Color Blindness" was just a new call for racism. Of course there are going to be cultural differences. Also let's not forget that within the lifetimes of a lot of people black people today they were not allowed to even eat at the same restaurant as whites. Also the quality of education was very low especially for the black man in the south. Yet today 40 odd years later we are all suppose to be on the same level and forget all of this?

By the way the concept of never looking in the rear view mirror.....Tell that to the jews and many others. Not knowing history and refusing to acknowledge it is madness.

[mkriii]

Very good. I've always thought that the mantra of the Neo-con "Color Blindness" was just a new call for racism. Of course there are going to be cultural differences. Also let's not forget that within the lifetimes of a lot of people black people today they were not allowed to even eat at the same restaurant as whites. Also the quality of education was very low especially for the black man in the south. Yet today 40 odd years later we are all suppose to be on the same level and forget all of this?

By the way the concept of never looking in the rear view mirror.....Tell that to the jews and many others. Not knowing history and refusing to acknowledge it is madness.

wait a minute......I have to jump in on this one......What is the only racial group to bi*** and moan about how they were treated. It not the jews (who were put into concentration camps and killed by the millions). It not the Chinese who were brought over here to build our rail roads. And it's not the Irish Catholics when they were denied job opertunities when they immigrated to the United States. So because black people were not allowed to eat in the same area as white folks we should owe them something, is that what your saying? I hope thats not what your saying. We can ackowledge thier history but that doesn't mean that we owe them anything.

[Black Jack II]

He does. If anything this opens the eyes of many white Americans who thinks black people are like Condi Rice and live like Bill Crosby on TV.

He does not. Your so out of touch it's x-files scary. Are they all like that in Boulder or just a few chosen few?

Trust me, white Americans do not think that many black people are just like Condi Rice and live like Bill Cosby on TV. It would be an amazing thing for black American culture if that was true, but it is often far far from it.

Now go back to your disneyland of a mindscape.

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

Good grief, get a grip.. i celebrate several cultures, including Black culture.. it's one thing to learn from history, quite another to use it as an excuse.. i'm not "color blind", that's silly.. I treat every person i meet as if they have no faults, it's up to them to validate that faith.. i'm very sincere about this, i believe in the decency of humanity.. but, i gotta say, there has been some convincing evidence invalidating significant portions of several culture's intentions, AND.. YES, that includes the "White" culture, too.. The life someone lives is the evidence of their character..

Be well..

[rogue]

I treat every person i meet as if they have no faults, it's up to them to validate that faith.

Given human nature, you must be one very disappointed individual.

Signed,
Imperfect Rogue

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

Given human nature, you must be one very disappointed individual

Less often than you might think.. it's surprising how often people will take the high road.. especially when give the opportunity without strings attached.. too often, our interactions with each other are negotiations of placement within a heirarchy, treat everyone as equal and the negotiations lose velue..

Then again, there's balance.. it seems that when humans "disappoint", they do so with a well disciplined precision.. i.e.: The US gov't; religious conflicts; racism; slavery; genocide; etc... it has been my observation that individuals are generally okay, but.. group mentallity can over-ride common-sense in the strangest ways..

Be well..

[cam]

Well there you have it Bob! How does one maintain individuality while belonging to a group structure?
Any one person can deal with any other person and keep it decent, respectful....dare I say humane!
Put an individual in a group setting and politics come into play....someone always has to be a leader and everyone else is subordinate. It is a necessary for the functioning of the group, though it can be manipulated for more inhumane ends very easily.

[BoulderDawg]

but, i gotta say, there has been some convincing evidence invalidating significant portions of several culture's intentions,

Suppose you enlighten us on that by giving some details and examples. I could care less what "culture" you use(black, white, purple, green...doesn't matter). I just want to hear a few examples of what you are talking about.

As for myself I'm not even sure what that statement means. As far as I know no particular "culture" has a mandate or any "intentions" other than living a happy and productive life.

By the way human beings are suppose to be a social animals. It's our very nature to congregrate into groups...families, work, church, social groups........Dam! It's just too awful bad that we are influenced by all of this!

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

BoulderDawg:

Black Culture: Black Liberation Theology; Gang pervasiveness; development of social codes and language variations contrary to social inclusion..
Latino Culture: Gang Pervasiveness; Dual language standards (i can barely navigate my way through Miami or order dinner) ..
Oriental Culture: Observable exclusion of non-oriental people from most functions..

These are simple observations, there are sub-sets of these cultures that are on record as anti-american extremists.. what i'm saying is that if you want to benefit from the nation you live in, contribute to it as well.. work toward a national identity, not separation..

I'm sure you will mark me as racist, but.. like you said, it's about time "political correctness" took a back-seat to truth.. there is simply too much evidence of people looking to distance themselves from the nation they chose to live in.. getting here is only half the battle, keeping it up to the standards that make it worth coming to is the other half..

[mkriii]

Greetings..

BoulderDawg:

Black Culture: Black Liberation Theology; Gang pervasiveness; development of social codes and language variations contrary to social inclusion..Latino Culture: Gang Pervasiveness; Dual language standards (i can barely navigate my way through Miami or order dinner) ..
Oriental Culture: Observable exclusion of non-oriental people from most functions..

These are simple observations, there are sub-sets of these cultures that are on record as anti-american extremists.. what i'm saying is that if you want to benefit from the nation you live in, contribute to it as well.. work toward a national identity, not separation..

I'm sure you will mark me as racist, but.. like you said, it's about time "political correctness" took a back-seat to truth.. there is simply too much evidence of people looking to distance themselves from the nation they chose to live in.. getting here is only half the battle, keeping it up to the standards that make it worth coming to is the other half..

Good post. I agree. If you want to come to this country thats fine but contribute something positive to it and don't seperate yourself from the rest. I too have trouble ordering dinner out sometimes due to the employees not being able to speak English. I swear to God I went to Burger King and ordered my dinner and some black man spoke to me in some language (probably Eubonic) that I could barely understand and said that the cooks were Mexican and could not understand English when he yells the order back to the kitchen and therefore would I write down my order because this little Mexican can read English but not speak or understand it.

[unkokusai]

Good post. I agree. If you want to come to this country thats fine but contribute something positive to it and don't seperate yourself from the rest. I too have trouble ordering dinner out sometimes due to the employees not being able to speak English. I swear to God I went to Burger King and ordered my dinner and some black man spoke to me in some language (probably Eubonic) that I could barely understand and said that the cooks were Mexican and could not understand English when he yells the order back to the kitchen and therefore would I write down my order because this little Mexican can read English but not speak or understand it.

First of all, if you are eating "dinner" at Burger King you deserve whatever you get. More importantly, if you are unsatisfied with service then don't go there. The market will take care of it without your *****ing.

Although I imagine that in the above case at least half the fault was yours. And did you measure the height of some person you assumed to be Mexican working there as a cook, or are you just trying to belittle?

[Black Jack II]

First of all, if you are eating "dinner" at Burger King you deserve whatever you get

Great job sounding like an elitist tool on that one dude.

The market will take care of it without your *****ing.

Not really. It's all one in the same. His *****ing about bad service is part of the parcel.

Although I imagine that in the above case at least half the fault was yours.

How can you assume that?

And did you measure the height of some person you assumed to be Mexican working there as a cook, or are you just trying to belittle

Trying to set you up as a racist. Don't fall for it.

[shadowlin]

Bottom line on this issue.

If you're a martial artist, you shouldn't support either because they both have the worst records on supporting your right to bear arms and defend yourself, keys to being a martial artist.

Read www.goa.org for their report cards.

Also, McCain isn't so great.

You guys should have supported Dr. Paul when you could. Now we're all fvcked

[BoulderDawg]

Want do you want?

I've never had any problems purchasing any Kung Fu weapons. I keep them in my house and carry them to my school with no problem. As far as I know no one else at my school has had any problems with their rights to bear these arms.

Now, if for some reason, you are looking for the right to walk down main street with your broadsword and daggers then you have a problem.

Also learning weapons is not the main reason I got into MA......not even in the top 5.

Politically I'm glad someone recognizes that the 2nd amendment applies to more than just guns. However your rights to bear arms is not all inclusive. Have all the MA weapons that you desire but last time I checked there was no handgun form.

I believe that if you are a martial artist you should support a ban on handguns. MA doesn't mean squat if someone is ten feet away opening up on you with a handgun.

In any case I don't own any guns.....I don't need them. Anyway, as a politcal isuue, this is a non issue. No candidate has advocated doing away with the second amendmant. The problem I see is people thinks it's thier right to carry around any weapon they can afford. No.

[shadowlin]

Actually, you already have the right to walk down main street with your weapons in the open. I do it all the time. It's not illegal. you may be hassled, but you aren't breaking any laws. that's how fascism rears it's ugly head first: hassle the law abiding and let the criminal substrate roam freely. You make more money when the people fear the police and political elite.

-----
OK, so you support a ban on the item that by in large, by millions to thousands, legal citizens use to defend themselves each year? Essentially, you just disenfranchised - in terms of legal self defense - nearly 2 million (that need it each year) women, senior citizens, and homeowners in America in hopes that a ban (law) will keep criminals (lawbreakers) from having them?

The problem with bans is that you don't understand governments and the people that run them. They are control freaks. 50 years ago, it was conceal carry. 30 it was machine guns. Now they want to ban handguns and rifles. Eventually they'll want a registry, and when they have that they can take them all away just like they did in England, where the crime is out of sight.

Also, the right to bear arms had 3 purposes, not just 1.

1. To give people the right to self-defense
2. To enable a ready militia in case of invasion (ever hear of illegal immigration and what's happening in Europe?)
3. To provide a protection for the 1st amendment from regimes like what we've got installed in the white house right now.

Finally, yes it actually is a political issue, has been huge for years. You can read about it if you like, if you don't well then you might as well vote against the 2nd amendment, because it is an issue every year. And YES, you do have a right to carry around any weapon you can afford. And if you are a threat to the common good, then the other people who ought to be carrying have a right and responsibility to deal with you.

I respect your position (which I too have contemplated how much easier a MA life would be without firearms), but I don't think you're seeing the big picture. You aren't reading up about REAL ID. You don't know about the credit crisis and the Fed, and you don't see how that relates to the "War on Terror" and the need to pass legislation that further limits the Constitution, and how in the end, the submission of more rights every generation leads towards the path of inescapable oppression. You aren't connecting your martial arts to the larger scene. you just see your immediate needs and lack thereof. There's more at stake than that.

I don't ask you research all this. But for your sake, as a martial artist, do yourself a favor and research the history of conceal carry weapon laws and Jim Crow, as well as firearms bans and genocide. If you can start to connect the dots there then I think eventually you see how one thread, seemingly harmless leads to unraveling of the entire fabric of freedom.