Was my friend a Racist?

[Uly5]

Hi Guys...I'm new to Offtopicz. Hopefully this is the right forum to post this topic in.

I'm trying to understand a former friends reasoning and Attitude to People. I'm leaning towards he core beliefs are racist and based in Hate, but could I be wrong?

I met this guy on a Forum for German Shepherd dogs that have Degenerative Myelopepathy. Both our Dogs passed away from this disease so we both had something in common. He seemed like a great guy...loved dogs and animals, loved his wife, son and friends.He comes from Ohio, America. He seemed caring and concerned about many issues. Over time he seemed to say things that caught me off guard.

He casually mentioned That he hated "Blacks". When I questioned him and told him that some of my Friends are Australian Aboriginal he said I mean "African American Blacks". He tried to justify it by saying the African American have a chip on their shoulders because their great, great, grandfather was a slave and they can't get over it, and the African American blacks are yelling racist comments to whites all the time and that seems to be ok.

He also made comments that Australia should get rid of all the immigrants and that they are ruining Australia as they are in America.

He also hates Muslims and considers all Muslims Terrorists. I have had many friends that are Muslims and I know that comment by him isn't true.

He said he was a proud American. He owned between 7-10 guns. He was a former Army soldier in Korea and Apparently a Christian.

He also seemed to hate Women's Sports calling them "Mentally Challenged"

He constantly sent me hate emails aimed at the groups I mentioned above.Out of 10 emails 7 would be hate emails aimed at various groups and the rest would be nice emails about Dogs / Animals, nature or Funny emails.

Most of his emails were extremely Negative and are worse than what I have written here. He mentioned That when he was in the army he got along with African Americans and some were good friends of his. Then he said he trusted "ONE" once and paid the price for trusting him.

So was this event for him the start of his mistrust of African Americans that slowly over the years became a racist view point? Or was I dealing with a guy with a racist point of view from Childhood or even a guy that was a hardcore Racist?

I am not used to these types of racist/ hate view points and the Amount of Negativity so last week I ended the friendship. I just couldn't take the Negativity any longer. Most of hate he said came as a big shock to me. I thought these Hate view points were dying out but they seem to be very much live and well.

So have I overreacted by ending the friendship due to his beliefs? Is this way of thinking due to the area he was brought up in / family / friends or has he just taking on the general view point of the Country or Media? Or was he a Hardcore Racist or Hater?

Would he fit the profile of a Hardcore Racist?

I am truly trying to understand him at a core level...As he has some truly admirable qualities when it comes to Dogs,Animals and Nature and it's a shame he is filled with so much hate.

I look forward to your comments...

Uly

 

[Peter Parka]

Hi Guys...I'm new to Offtopicz. Hopefully this is the right forum to post this topic in.

I'm trying to understand a former friends reasoning and Attitude to People. I'm leaning towards he core beliefs are racist and based in Hate, but could I be wrong?

I met this guy on a Forum for German Shepherd dogs that have Degenerative Myelopepathy. Both our Dogs passed away from this disease so we both had something in common. He seemed like a great guy...loved dogs and animals, loved his wife, son and friends.He comes from Ohio, America. He seemed caring and concerned about many issues. Over time he seemed to say things that caught me off guard.

He casually mentioned That he hated "Blacks". When I questioned him and told him that some of my Friends are Australian Aboriginal he said I mean "African American Blacks". He tried to justify it by saying the African American have a chip on their shoulders because their great, great, grandfather was a slave and they can't get over it, and the African American blacks are yelling racist comments to whites all the time and that seems to be ok.

He also made comments that Australia should get rid of all the immigrants and that they are ruining Australia as they are in America.

He also hates Muslims and considers all Muslims Terrorists. I have had many friends that are Muslims and I know that comment by him isn't true.

He said he was a proud American. He owned between 7-10 guns. He was a former Army soldier in Korea and Apparently a Christian.

He also seemed to hate Women's Sports calling them "Mentally Challenged"

He constantly sent me hate emails aimed at the groups I mentioned above.Out of 10 emails 7 would be hate emails aimed at various groups and the rest would be nice emails about Dogs / Animals, nature or Funny emails.

Most of his emails were extremely Negative and are worse than what I have written here. He mentioned That when he was in the army he got along with African Americans and some were good friends of his. Then he said he trusted "ONE" once and paid the price for trusting him.

So was this event for him the start of his mistrust of African Americans that slowly over the years became a racist view point? Or was I dealing with a guy with a racist point of view from Childhood or even a guy that was a hardcore Racist?

I am not used to these types of racist/ hate view points and the Amount of Negativity so last week I ended the friendship. I just couldn't take the Negativity any longer. Most of hate he said came as a big shock to me. I thought these Hate view points were dying out but they seem to be very much live and well.

So have I overreacted by ending the friendship due to his beliefs? Is this way of thinking due to the area he was brought up in / family / friends or has he just taking on the general view point of the Country or Media? Or was he a Hardcore Racist or Hater?

Would he fit the profile of a Hardcore Racist?

I am truly trying to understand him at a core level...As he has some truly admirable qualities when it comes to Dogs,Animals and Nature and it's a shame he is filled with so much hate.

I look forward to your comments...

Uly

If you were that stupid that you needed advice as to whether that was racist, you'd have trouble spelling your name, let alone typing all that out. 0/10 for fishing attempt. Must try harder, a LOT harder.lol!

 

[Uly5]

Like I said I'm not used to negativity and I'm truly trying to understand him at his core level.

Thanks for your opinion though.

Uly

 

[HK]

Really? A whole support forum for one disease affecting one specific breed of dog?

That sounds almost as crazy as the racism story.

 

[Uly5]

Really? A whole support forum for one disease affecting one specific breed of dog?

yes that's correct. Why does that sound crazy?

Uly

 

[Panacea]

Probably how he was raised, with some sexist and racist beliefs that he doesn't question. Maybe he's not a bad person deep down, but it sounds a ignorant.

I dunno.
Sorry about your dog.

 

[CityGirl]

I see "asshole" was not an option in the poll. That is my vote.

It is amazing the diversity of forums on the internet. There are many forums that were developed to discuss a particular subject (gaming, animal interests, disease processes etc) that branched out into other topics. I can see Uly's german shepherd forum doing the same. When a new member jumps right in with a post like this, they are subject to more intense scrutiny. So Uly, let us know if your intent is to use your poll for a research project and that is your sole reason for joining OTz or start an introduction thread and tell us a little about yourself. Dogs are great. I'm sorry you lost yours.

 

[Panacea]

I recently watched a documentary about genetic disorders in dog breeds, and given the amount of activism and grief surrounding the topics (inbreeding is rampant in breeder's circles, even among the "reputable" organizations, they turn a blind eye to the destruction it causes to dogs) I think it's nice there are support forums out there for people looking to change things or grieve.

 

[Uly5]

@Panacea Thanks for the kind words about my dog.

Probably how he was raised, with some sexist and racist beliefs that he doesn't question. Maybe he's not a bad person deep down, but it sounds a ignorant.

This is what I am tending to lean towards.

@CityGirl

I see "asshole" was not an option in the poll. That is my vote.

Remind me to add that next time lol

I have no interest in using this info on this forum as some type of a research project. At the risk of making myself sound stupid I’ll say this about myself. I am a nice guy that see's life as a glass half full. I tend to look at the good in people rather than see the bad, which is sometimes blatantly staring me in the face and I ignore. My Intention for the poll is to give people who didn't want to comment a chance to say what they think and for me to try to work out why this guy said the things he said. With the good qualities that he showed up front and then the negative qualities that slowly came out were a shock to me.

I'm trying to workout if he was a hardcore Racist that had an agenda with me from the beginning to send me all this hate mail to try to change me over to his way of thinking or If he is a good guy at heart that slowly got jaded by various groups of people and he is now using this anger he has to justify believing what he does.

When a new member jumps right in with a post like this, they are subject to more intense scrutinySo Uly, let us know if your intent is to use your poll for a research project and that is your sole reason for joining OTz or start an introduction thread and tell us a little about yourself.

Thanks for pointing this out to me. I never thought about it this way. I can now understand the reason for the negativity of the first few post. My sole reason for joining Offtopicz was I had looked at a few other forums and all their posts were filled with hate and Offtopicz was the first forum that I come across that seem like they could answer my questions with out getting into a hate war.

I notice that I jump in with the hard questions first in real life to people too, not just on the net....It's just the way I am. In my mind it didn't pose a big problem asking a question like this.

I have a background in health and Natural therapies for Humans and I'm hoping to do research for dogs with Degenerative Myelopepathy and maybe find a way to help Dogs with this horrible disease. Before my dog "Chief" got this disease I had never heard of it before. Then doing research I found this is a common thing in Mainly German Shepherds. Other Breads get this disease, mainly larger dogs. Cats can also get it aswell. It looks like this happens because of Pedigree Breeding but I'm not 100% sure. Degenerative Myelopepathy is thought to be closely linked to Multiple Sclerosis in Humans.

My Boy Chief was 3 months off his 14th Birthday. So I'm grateful he lived a fairly long life. Some Dogs can get This DM disease as young as 5 years old...which is so I treated Chief like he was my Brother and would do anything for him. I understand some people can't look at animals in this way. I do and have a great empathy for them.

This is why I got such a shock from my Racist mate...He has great empathy for animals especially dogs. Probably even more than me. I have a great respect for any human who cares about animals. My Racist friend was totally destroyed after his dog died of this disease...to the point he won't ever get another Dog.

I am very grateful to my Racist mate and the DM group for getting me though what was an extremely tough time for me after Chief Passed away.

This is what I don't understand is how and why he can such kindness for Animals and dogs and not for Humans?

Anyway that's a bit about me and why I put this post on Offtopicz....If you have anymore questions ask away.

Cheers

Uly

 

[Johnfromokc]

Welcome Uly! It's great to have another international member at OTz.

Your friend in Ohio has been influenced by some negative experiences and has chosen to blame "others" for it. He likely thinks and dwells on those experiences constanly, hence it has developed into a hatred. The United States history of slavery is still fresh in many minds, both white and black. While the vast majority of Americans have moved on, some choose not to. The Civil War ended in 1865, but blacks faced oppression well into the 1960's, and even later in some cases. For this reason, there is still some bitterness in some blacks and some whites resent this bitterness and are hateful in return.

Here is a brief timeline of some significant 20th century events to give you an idea of race relations here:

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html

Your friend suffers from ignorance and hate. It must really suck to be him carrying that self-imposed burden around in his mind constantly.

 

[CityGirl]

 

[Uly5]

Johnfromokc Thanks for the warm welcome mate

Ok thanks for the timeline. I will read it shortly.

For this reason, there is still some bitterness in some blacks and some whites resent this bitterness and are hateful in return.

So I guess it's turned in to some type of vicious circle of hate?

Your friend suffers from ignorance and hate. It must really suck to be him carrying that self-imposed burden around in his mind constantly.

I guess he's put himself into some type of self imposed hell through hate and ignorance. Yeah it must be hard living that way!

I guess he's also formed a hate for Aussies now aswell because of his dealings with me...Oh well, not much I can do about it.

Thanks for your post Johnfromokc.It's helped me to understand things more

CityGirl... That's a very cool pic :cool

Here's a pic of my boy "Chief"

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Uly5/ChiefHead.jpg

Uly

 

[itsmeJonB]

I dunno guy sounds pretty normal to me

 

[Parasite]

I agree with him about the black thing. Some blacks DO seem to hold grudges for what our ancestors did to their ancestors and it just don't make sense to me.

 

[Uly5]

I agree with him about the black thing. Some blacks DO seem to hold grudges for what our ancestors did to their ancestors and it just don't make sense to me.

Both sides have to forgive to have any chance of moving forward in the future. Holding grudges about anything doesn't make any sense to me.

Thanks to all that posted...I have a better understanding of what may be causing him to have such anger toward different groups of people. I have learnt heaps through yours post...including about posting hard questions straight up as the new guy lol

Uly

 

[Alien Allen]

Welcome Uly and thanks for the explanation. I too thought this was a bullshit thread trying to stir people up or a research project.

Given my propensity for being a Prick you should consider yourself honored with the above

As to the guy you reference. Sad to say there are still people like that out there. He might be real or just a shit stirer. I live in one of the most polarized area in the US and I can tell you this issue is not a one way street though. There are plenty of black that despise the whites and that is the legacy that slavery gave our country. Too many on both sides won't let go

 

[Uly5]

Welcome Uly and thanks for the explanation. I too thought this was a bullshit thread trying to stir people up or a research project.

Yeah I guess I am one of a small group of people who are really trying to understand this problem and not stir the pot. Does that happen often...people trying to stir people up or do research projects?

I have to admit I'm a little reluctant to post in other threads on Offtopicz or even travel to America because of my lack of understanding of American culture.I thought I had a good understanding of things. I am now really worried That I could do or say something while in America and get into serious trouble or hurt. I followed Rap music and the culture when I was a teenager, I have watched tons of documentaries on race related issues. I watched the Roots movies with my mum years ago which were about slavery and yet I still don't fully understand it all and why the hatred it still exists.

Is there a solution to this problem or will we still be dealing with it in 500 years time?

Given my propensity for being a Prick you should consider yourself honored with the above

Thanks for not being a prick to me mate lol

He might be real or just a shit stirer

I wonder if he was just like that behind a keyboard or he would actually say these things to peoples faces? When I challenged him on some of his beliefs he backed down to some degree...so I don't know.

He has said the old "don't take my opinions too seriously...Opinions are like Assholes, everyone has them" line. Which now makes me think should I have taken his opinions with a grain of salt and have I over reacted?

Uly

 

[CityGirl]

Gee, Uly, lot's of Aussies jokingly refer to AU as the 51st state. You will be fine when you visit the US. No worries.

 

[Uly5]

Gee, Uly, lot's of Aussies jokingly refer to AU as the 51st state. You will be fine when you visit the US. No worries.

lol yeah It's all good. I think I think too much :eek

Uly

 

[Dana]

this was a no brainer