"Demanding" vs "asking"...overheard at the mall eatery tonight

[cantstandbush]

Took the nieces and nephews here for spring break to the mall eatery tonight.
Overheard this conversation among a group of seniors eating at a group table near us. These are not the exact words but close.

"...and waving those Mexican flags is outrageous."

"And did you hear their spokespeople on TV DEMANDING that they be allowed to continue to break the law and DEMANDING amnesty?"

"At least the schwartza (sp--meaning) didn't wave African flags during the march on Washington." (by context I guess schwartza is another word for blacks?) At any rate, i almost spit my food out when the next person said: "I think we made a big mistake letting our schwartza go and hiring that Salvadorian, the ungrateful bastards."

In a flash, I the history of this nation passed before the eyes of my brain. I felt like turning over the tables and screaming but the children were with me. So this is how far we have come since the sixties or should I say how far we retreated?

[Warpy]

1. Schwartzes= Yiddish for blacks

pronounced SCHVATZ-as and usually applied to a black maid, but can be used to apply to the people whose ancestors were brought from Africa in chains.

To me, it's just as ugly as the N word, but a lot of elderly Jewish folks still use it.

[Erika]

2. How very sad

We overran the Indians and did a good job of genocide on them. We used the blacks as slaves, and are now using Latinos as slave labor.

Yeah, how dare they not be grateful?

[kurth]

10. Do not compare illegals to plight of our black slaves

Nobody forced the illegal foreigners to come here, and nobody is forcing them to stay.

[niyad]

11. when did your people arrive here?

[Skittles]

21. I would say hope for a better life forces many people here

I ask myself, would I do the same thing? Yes, I would.

[standup]

26. Yeah, illegals are in chains at McDonalds and forced to demonstrate

and skip classes and clash with police.

[Karenina]

27. Nobody but the "corporate per$on"

who dumps cheap U.S. agri-exports, undercutting the indiginous farmers, who then go bankrupt, forcing entire communities off the land cp immediately buys up, forcing the peasants into urban environments where their skills and knowledge are useless... No, nobody's forcing anybody...

[sandnsea]

13. Not comparing them to each other

Some of us, who are white, our comparing our own history of exploiting various ethnic groups and that it is disgraceful that it continues. But yet when Katrina stares us right in the face, oh no no, it's not racism. It just goes on and on, all over the globe. It's all just a horrifying shame.

[slaveplanet]

15. You do know that it's not just people of color

that were force sent as slaves and indentured servants, don't you?
Lots were lily white as well, and it's still going on in the present.

[sandnsea]

16. My first US ancestor was an indentured servant

Yes, I know the history. He also ended up sitting on the House of Burgesses. Maybe I missed slaves being allowed to do that.

Yes white people are and have been exploited. But nothing remotely like people of color.

[slaveplanet]

19. While I agree that it was nothing

on the scale of what happened to people of color, especially when it comes to this country in particular.

But Irish were sent as real slaves to the Carribean, they were'nt only indentured servants.

The Sex slavery occuring in the former Soviet satellites is certainly brutal stuff.

[sandnsea]

20. What's your point?

Everybody should just stop whining because all sorts of people are treated badly? :shrug:

Seriously, I don't get your point.

[BlooInBloo]

17. It's unfortunately all too common....

... for white folks to believe, in essence, that it isn't racism if the word "nigger", or something similar, isn't used.

White folks don't *say* this, of course, but their assessments of what is and is not racism commonly break along that line.

[PVK]

3. I think you need to eat at home.

Or possibly at another restaurant.

[Redstone]

4. That person must have been Jewish. "Schwarzer" is Yiddish for

"black person." (It's German too; this is one of the Yiddish words that hews close to the original German.)

Redstone

[RB TexLa]

5. not much past the 1840's n/t

[opihimoimoi]

6. The Social Engineering by the Pubs for the last 60 years are paying off.

We now see the results...

Ignorant is easily fooled. They want us dumb as a hill of beans. So they can manipulate/dominate/prevaricate

Just look at who demands a lot...never mind ASKING....Bush .....lol

[catmother]

7. schwartza is the yiddish word for african american people. when

they talked about letting the schwartza go they were probably talking about the cleaning woman. i lived in a jewish neighborhood in new york that's how i know these words. and guess what my sister-in-law's married name is Schwartzah. her husband's father was jewish but he is not. and my sister in law is sooooo catholic.

sad to say -- racism is still around.:cry:

[Neil Lisst]

8. Oy vey!

[catmother]

9. Oy vey! my thoughts too.

[countmyvote4real]

12. You have to be carefully taught.

Were your nieces and nephews aware of the conversation your ears were tuning in? While I’m sure you were very careful to “keep it to yourself” you can’t underestimate their attention span and the impression you leave as a “role model” (FTR, I hate that term, but it seemed more fitting than “authority figure” or “idol.”) or cool Auntie/Uncle Mame.

I’m not in anyway suggesting that you might have handled the situation any differently than you described. I’m only saying that you have opportunities to reinforce values and judgment calls by your example. The next time you have them together you could ask if anyone overheard the remarks, etc.

Anyway, we all learn and/or follow by example and experience. The same is true for those old farts. I don’t excuse their worldview, but it really is a tired and myopic view that has lost any current relevance to the world that your nieces and nephews will ultimately inherit. I know that you are very protective of your sibling’s charge and that you are glad to be with them. I’m glad they have you for some influence.

Peace.

[Skittles]

22. kids or no kids, I would have said something

if they are talking loud enough for me to hear, that is enough for me to offer my opinion to the racist little f***s.

[InkAddict]

14. Perhaps the "mishugina" diners thought they were

being bi-lingual.

Off the subject, but in another century I learned it was very difficult for a shiksa to date an orthodox Jew -- school kept scheduling the dances on Friday night! My mom was having a cow because "every date is a potential mate" (at the oh-so mature age of 15???) and his mom thought my name was Friedman. LOL - them were the days! I learned some Yiddish too!

[REP]

18. "Shiksa" Isn't a Polite Term

Yes, very generally it means "Gentile woman," but it literally means something closer to "unclean trash." It's like calling yourself a whore to use that term.

[RebelOne]

23. Yes, I dated a Jewish guy for 5 years and his

mother would call me "that shiksa." She didn't like me because she wanted her son to date a nice Jewish girl.

[LostinVA]

24. Gosh, sounds like quite a few DU posts I've been reading lately

Except for the implication of blacks marching.

[bunkerbuster1]

29. Mexican flags frighten me!

Here, let me repeat this loathesome RW talking point a few times!

what a buncha retards.

[notadmblnd]

25. you should have said something to them

it would have been a great lesson for your kids.

[cantstandbush]

28. They are not my children. They are my nieces and nephews and

I am wary of taking over the role of parents when it involves shaping their political minds. Peace in the family, ya know.