Discussion:
Paris, Prejudice and Terrorism
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William Brownstein
2015-11-14 08:52:12 UTC
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Had a great night seeing "Lord of th Dance" tonight on Broaway. These Irish dancers are incredible! It's also Michael Flatley's final performances as he winds down a wonderful career. We had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant afterwards and talked about Blacks and Muslims unaware about the events that unfolded in Paris earlier in the day.

My friend who is a gay man and 80 years old said some prejudice things about blacks and how none of them should ever be president, in regards to Obama and Carson. He said he had experience with dealing with them when he was a teacher and mentioned how they don't listen to anyone and that they are disrespectful. This isn't the first time I have made comments like this but perhaps his prejudice results from being removed three decades from me, when that thinking was more common unfortunately. As he started to bring these things up I told him stop and don't go there, as I knew where we were going and also not very smart being that our waitress and busboy happened to be black.

His friend was also with us for the show and dinner and is a lady friend of his. They recently took a cruise together and have been friends for a few years. He told me when she figured out he was gay she wasn't very happy about that and probably wanted to be in a relationship with him, but they remain very good friends and do a lot of things together all the time.

I first met her a few years ago when I bumped into my friend in the Clifton Public Library and was surprised to see him being that he is from New York. I met Steve around 1997 when I started going to opera and performances at Lincoln Center. We have been friends since then and have seen shows like The Boy from Oz with Huge Jackman and The Nutcracker together.

Elizabeth asked me why I moved from Clifton and my response was that a certain ethnic group who lived below me on the first floor forced me out. I told her of the hateful comments this man made in my presence out blacks and gays and how he and his wife harassed me which resulted in complaints that led to court appearances and how his wife grabbed me one day and started screaming as though I was sexually attacking her.

This time the conversation led to talk about Muslims where both admitted that they have hatred towards them. I said in response that I like to judge people as individuals rather than their ethnic group but was in agreement how we are continuing to be put at risk everyday by radicals who want to take over our laws and way of life and force sharia law upon our nation. As I mentioned how disgusting it was on September 11th 2001 when the twin towers came down the people a few blocks away in Paterson, New Jerdey which borders Clifton were dancing and celebrating in the streets. I mentioned that despite saying I don't hate all Muslims, more and more has come to hate them in my mind lately and I can't control my inner thoughts and talk change that, but I still don't say those things and try and judge every person individually based on who they are and how they conduct themselves.

The Muslim talk led to Jewish talk and Steve who
Is Jewish like myself mentioned how we are the most hated people in the world. It was some interesting conversations regarding different human beings and not really the most favorite things to discuss, but we also talked about music among other things. The Italian restaurant had a lot of old black and white photos on the wall and we were trying to figure out a few of the people and of course this led them to say it reminded them of mafia figures. Again, not the smartest thing to say in an Italian restaurant.

Despite the comments I endured I like Steve and his friend Elizabeth. I really don't have any friends and enjoy going to shows with him and talking on the phone. He's a nice person but backwards in his views. He was nice to get the tickets. I didn't know Elizabeth was meeting up with him and wanted to thank him by taking him out to get something to eat afterwards. I invited both and we didn't leave the restaurant until midnight.

I got home at 2am and turned on the news station on the radio and heard the horrible news about the series of terrorist attacks. I thought I heard someone make reference to it earlier in the day but didn't really pay mic attention to it as it seems we become immune to these stories frequently in this day of age.

The cowards who did this could have also struck New York City tonight. It's really amazing how NYC has for the most part free from large scale attacks that we see play out around the world. I don't know how they do it, but I do know that New York is always on high alert with a tremendous amount of intelligence, many are undercover. It's still a big city and the amount of time and intelligence that keeps us safe is a true safe haven here.

I tweeted a little while ago that these animals won't get 40 virgins, but rather they should each get 40 pit bulls assigned to each terrorist.

Also the university story has once again turned racial and is a fraud being played up. The guy who was on a hunger strike has a father worth
8.4 million dollars. The swastika probably never existed and was probably a fabrication. No photos were documented and in this day of age where everyone has cameras on their phone, photos depicting the alleged crimes should have been presented. This is more tactics to pit black against white while forcing two officials out of a university. The conduct by these students are shameful and disgusting.

The racial hatred towards others in this world is pitiful and disgraceful in a society and world filled with violence and road rage that goes beyond the driver seat of a car to almost all locations both on and off the roads that affects almost everyone of us.
kevin
2015-11-14 20:28:19 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Brownstein
Had a great night seeing "Lord of th Dance" tonight on Broaway. These Irish dancers are incredible! It's also Michael Flatley's final performances as he winds down a wonderful career. We had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant afterwards and talked about Blacks and Muslims unaware about the events that unfolded in Paris earlier in the day.
My friend who is a gay man and 80 years old said some prejudice things about blacks and how none of them should ever be president, in regards to Obama and Carson. He said he had experience with dealing with them when he was a teacher and mentioned how they don't listen to anyone and that they are disrespectful. This isn't the first time I have made comments like this but perhaps his prejudice results from being removed three decades from me, when that thinking was more common unfortunately. As he started to bring these things up I told him stop and don't go there, as I knew where we were going and also not very smart being that our waitress and busboy happened to be black.
His friend was also with us for the show and dinner and is a lady friend of his. They recently took a cruise together and have been friends for a few years. He told me when she figured out he was gay she wasn't very happy about that and probably wanted to be in a relationship with him, but they remain very good friends and do a lot of things together all the time.
I first met her a few years ago when I bumped into my friend in the Clifton Public Library and was surprised to see him being that he is from New York. I met Steve around 1997 when I started going to opera and performances at Lincoln Center. We have been friends since then and have seen shows like The Boy from Oz with Huge Jackman and The Nutcracker together.
Elizabeth asked me why I moved from Clifton and my response was that a certain ethnic group who lived below me on the first floor forced me out. I told her of the hateful comments this man made in my presence out blacks and gays and how he and his wife harassed me which resulted in complaints that led to court appearances and how his wife grabbed me one day and started screaming as though I was sexually attacking her.
This time the conversation led to talk about Muslims where both admitted that they have hatred towards them. I said in response that I like to judge people as individuals rather than their ethnic group but was in agreement how we are continuing to be put at risk everyday by radicals who want to take over our laws and way of life and force sharia law upon our nation. As I mentioned how disgusting it was on September 11th 2001 when the twin towers came down the people a few blocks away in Paterson, New Jerdey which borders Clifton were dancing and celebrating in the streets. I mentioned that despite saying I don't hate all Muslims, more and more has come to hate them in my mind lately and I can't control my inner thoughts and talk change that, but I still don't say those things and try and judge every person individually based on who they are and how they conduct themselves.
The Muslim talk led to Jewish talk and Steve who
Is Jewish like myself mentioned how we are the most hated people in the world. It was some interesting conversations regarding different human beings and not really the most favorite things to discuss, but we also talked about music among other things. The Italian restaurant had a lot of old black and white photos on the wall and we were trying to figure out a few of the people and of course this led them to say it reminded them of mafia figures. Again, not the smartest thing to say in an Italian restaurant.
Despite the comments I endured I like Steve and his friend Elizabeth. I really don't have any friends and enjoy going to shows with him and talking on the phone. He's a nice person but backwards in his views. He was nice to get the tickets. I didn't know Elizabeth was meeting up with him and wanted to thank him by taking him out to get something to eat afterwards. I invited both and we didn't leave the restaurant until midnight.
I got home at 2am and turned on the news station on the radio and heard the horrible news about the series of terrorist attacks. I thought I heard someone make reference to it earlier in the day but didn't really pay mic attention to it as it seems we become immune to these stories frequently in this day of age.
The cowards who did this could have also struck New York City tonight. It's really amazing how NYC has for the most part free from large scale attacks that we see play out around the world. I don't know how they do it, but I do know that New York is always on high alert with a tremendous amount of intelligence, many are undercover. It's still a big city and the amount of time and intelligence that keeps us safe is a true safe haven here.
I tweeted a little while ago that these animals won't get 40 virgins, but rather they should each get 40 pit bulls assigned to each terrorist.
Also the university story has once again turned racial and is a fraud being played up. The guy who was on a hunger strike has a father worth
8.4 million dollars. The swastika probably never existed and was probably a fabrication. No photos were documented and in this day of age where everyone has cameras on their phone, photos depicting the alleged crimes should have been presented. This is more tactics to pit black against white while forcing two officials out of a university. The conduct by these students are shameful and disgusting.
The racial hatred towards others in this world is pitiful and disgraceful in a society and world filled with violence and road rage that goes beyond the driver seat of a car to almost all locations both on and off the roads that affects almost everyone of us.
A thoughtful post, thank you. A few thoughts -

Gandhi came from a well to do family - compared to the rest of the country. Did that disqualify him from leading protests? George Washington, Jefferson and Revere were filthy rich, what beef did they have with England - shame on them! Martian Luther King Jr was doing okay too - for a black man in the 60's. Should he not have known his place? Just following a thesis to its logical conclusion.

The protests at Missouri are about how minority students are treated on campus. Over the last several years groups of black students have tried to change that by working through the system, being polite and asking for issues to be addressed. This includes engaging the president and chancellor quietly and trying to effect change within the university system. It went no where. Time for more direct approach. This is how democracy works sometimes. Power responds to the vox populi (voice of the people).

If someone disparages people whom he says he respects and likes with slurs on twitter over a sustained period for talking in the library is that a sign of love and respect? Isn't the response a little too large and hurtful than the initial rudeness that provoked it?

Changing times are always hard - for everyone. When someone challenges the status quo other get upset because everything was okayfor so long why does it need to change? Not all protests are true, but merely disparaging the protesters instead of talking to them really does not move things along very
well. Ask President Johnson about that (yes, I know we can't).

On a lighter note - glad you got to see Michael Flatley. He was on Colbert last night and I did think of you enjoying his show. I think what you saw was probably way better than what I saw on Colbert. All in all you had a great evening - which is always nice to hear about. Thanks again for sharing it.
William Brownstein
2015-11-14 23:32:23 UTC
Permalink
I understand the points you made but based on the analysis I've heard by Rush and others,this seems fabricated as some concerns raised as I pointed out, especially no photos for the swastika. I do appreciate your thoughts and I would like to believe the process works in a free democracy, however I truly believe under the current administration we have lost those values over the last few years and continue to go backwards in race relations.

The show was great and I really enjoyed the dancing. Some of the costumes and lighting was like watching robotic figures from Star Wars and a Michael Jackson video with him dancing. It was still unbelievable. I love the many people on stage responding like voices to each other with loud and exciting tap dancing that is beautiful to the ears.

Returning home last night learning of the news in Paris was an emotional downer for me. I didn't get to bed till after 4am and only got like 4 hours sleep.

Besides seeing the show last night, I also worked yesterday for the first time in 12 days. I couldn't bring myself to go into NYC today with news going around about whether it is safe or not by various people. I heard security has been stepped up, which is usually the case after something like this plays out elsewhere. I'm also feeling down over the horrendous and senseless lost of human life. Yesterday was France's version of 9/11. Very sad.
kevin
2015-11-15 19:27:12 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Brownstein
I understand the points you made but based on the analysis I've heard by Rush and others,this seems fabricated as some concerns raised as I pointed out, especially no photos for the swastika. I do appreciate your thoughts and I would like to believe the process works in a free democracy, however I truly believe under the current administration we have lost those values over the last few years and continue to go backwards in race relations.
The show was great and I really enjoyed the dancing. Some of the costumes and lighting was like watching robotic figures from Star Wars and a Michael Jackson video with him dancing. It was still unbelievable. I love the many people on stage responding like voices to each other with loud and exciting tap dancing that is beautiful to the ears.
Returning home last night learning of the news in Paris was an emotional downer for me. I didn't get to bed till after 4am and only got like 4 hours sleep.
Besides seeing the show last night, I also worked yesterday for the first time in 12 days. I couldn't bring myself to go into NYC today with news going around about whether it is safe or not by various people. I heard security has been stepped up, which is usually the case after something like this plays out elsewhere. I'm also feeling down over the horrendous and senseless lost of human life. Yesterday was France's version of 9/11. Very sad.
The news from Paris is crushing, and I would be reluctant to venture out too, as much from a sense of loss and sadness as well as concern for safety. I guess we will see how all of this plays out I the coming weeks. The situation is becoming more and more volatile. Not good at all.

The incidents at U of Missouri have been on going over a period of several years. Rush who is always inclined to deny the existence of racism, unless it is by blacks against whites would no more believe photos as proof than he would take the word of people who witnessed it. This is a man who led the birther movement for quite a while. He has also periodically compared Mrs. Obama to an ape and the Obama daughters as streetwalkers. Yeah, fair and open minded, that Rush.

I am glad the show was everything you hoped / expected it to be. It sounds great - I remember when Riverdance was a big thing and the original Lord of the Dance came out of that tradition. Flately has had an impressive career. I hope things improve soon, it is a lot of things to deal with these days.
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