We've all heard these jokes. We've also heard the obligatory blonde jokes, women jokes, black jokes, gay/lesbian jokes, middle eastern, etc etc. They really drain on me. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm perfect and I never have a racist or bigoted thought, but I try to control those because I know that each person is unique regardless of sex, gender, sexuality, or ethnicity. One thing that is very (dare I say, uber) important to me is that my daughter not be brought up in an environment that is even remotely prejudicial.
My husband makes a lot of these comments. Especially while we are driving, and he changes the insult to match whoever the driver may be, "Oh it's a woman," "They're hispanic," or if the driver is a young, white male (as is my husband), it will be, "he's a tool" or "he's a douchebag." I really love his women jokes, "Why don't women have watches? Because there is a clock on the oven." Or, "Why don't women need cars? Because there are no roads between the kitchen and the laundry room." Hahahahah. Not. They might be seemingly innocuous comments, and don't get the idea that my husband is the ultimate bigot, he is normally very respectful, but they underline the stereotypes that unfortunately, still exist today.
We (as people of all genders, races, religions, sexualities) will always find a reason to hate others who are different. And it's usually based on our own shortcomings, such as, "Oh he got into that [Ivy League] University and I didn't, must be affirmative action at work," when really it could be as simple as he was a better candidate. When we hate each other because of skin color, we're hating each other based on something we have no control over. All that energy that is spent on hatred and dislike could be going to something useful, it could be helping those in need. We hear the word "tolerance" thrown around a lot but there is not a word I dislike more. For it implies that you don't accept, you don't understand, you only begrudgingly allow those others to coexist. But at every turn, you try to make their life difficult (changing the definition of marriage as one man and one woman?).
We should love each other. Embrace our differences, love because of our flaws not in spite of them. Why not teach our children the same thing? Whatever happened to the golden rule, "Do unto others..."?
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