
Open People Share Their Accidental Racist Moments
[rebelmouse-image 18353408 is_animated_gif=We don't mean it. None of us ever do. However, we live and engage in a cultural zeitgeist that is constantly pouring into our heads at all hours of the day, for years on end. At some point, something none too pleasant regarding race would have slipped in. What's important is understanding it and working to make sure it never happens again. Fortunately, you're not alone, as evidenced by the answers to Reddit user, r/RealG98's question:
What's your "accidentally racist" moment?
2 Hours Later...
[rebelmouse-image 18353409 is_animated_gif=My dad asked a black, female employee at Wal-Mart for some help with picking a good watermelon. "You look like you would probably know what's the best watermelon!".
His intentions were to be "I've seen you in produce many times. You seem to be the person to ask advice on choosing what is best to buy".
He didn't realize his mistake until he was watching tv hours later and refused to go back for 2 months.
When The Menu Leads You Astray
[rebelmouse-image 18353410 is_animated_gif=I wanted Indian food. My friends wanted Italian. After sitting down at an Italian restaurant, I open the menu and joke, "I don't see any Indian food."
I look up at our Indian waiter asking for our orders. Erm.
And There It Was...
[rebelmouse-image 18353411 is_animated_gif=I told my coworker he had gorilla hands. He's black.
As soon as I said it I had a JD moment from Scrubs where I just screamed internally for 10 straight seconds.
Wow, There Has To Be A Better Word For That
[rebelmouse-image 18353412 is_animated_gif=My partner is Cuban, before meeting her I had never eaten a papaya.
I told her parents about how she gave me my first papaya to eat. Apparently papaya is slang for lady parts in some part of Cuba. Really wish I hadn't told her dad how surprisingly juicy the papaya his daughter gave me was.
Not so much racist as a clash of cultures I guess but still mortifying.
Close Call
[rebelmouse-image 18353414 is_animated_gif=I was heading to work and waiting to cross the street at an intersection. As the cross walk sign went from a red hand indicating "wait" to a white man indicating "walk", a jogger runs ahead of us and nearly gets hit by a car who tried to turn on red.
After being stunned from seeing this jogger nearly get hit, the driver has the audacity to loudly honk her horn at him when it was clearly her mistake. Fuming from the adrenaline from seeing this guy nearly get killed I yell out at the driver, "HEY, HE WAS WHITE!!" Referring to the white man sign indicating "walk" - Not the white guy who ran across the street.
Immediately after yelling this I realize how this could be totally misconstrued now seeing the woman driving is black and staring at me. Adding to this, I realize I'm walking in the same direction as many of my colleagues to work.
I walk a different direction to work now.
And On That Note...
[rebelmouse-image 18353415 is_animated_gif=I was in downtown LA camping on the sidewalk with friends for the opening of episode 1. Middle of the night i decide to walk to the convenience store, taking me through a pretty sketchy area. Waited a long time at the cross walk and a homeless looking black man walks up to me and says "whatchu waitin for, no traffic now".
Without thinking i replied "i walk when the white man tells me to".
He replied "you an me both brother".
Calling The Kettle...
[rebelmouse-image 18353416 is_animated_gif=I'm a firefighter paramedic and just the other day we had a medical aid call for a Chinese woman complaining of pain.
She localizes her pain to her upper right abdomen, where the liver is located. One side effect of liver failure, something that could cause that pain, is jaundice, or yellowing of the skin.
So I absent mindedly said, 'hmmm, you look a little yellow...' and my captain immediately walks right up to me, looks at me incredulously and asks 'really?!'
Fortunately the patient and family missed it.
Only Drink Clear Vodka From Now On
[rebelmouse-image 18353417 is_animated_gif=This thing might be a bit hard to translate , but it fits the theme.
Whole thing happened in Poland (I'm polish as well) I was at a party once, and there was this black guy from Africa. He knew polish so he had no trouble getting along with everybody. At one point he brought a strawberry flavored vodka and was running around offering it to everyone. He approached me and said "you want some?" To which I replied - " Thanks, I don't like colored ones" (Dzi?ki, nie lubi? kolorowych).
Took ma a while to realize what I said, but he immediately knew that it was about vodka, not him.
We had a good laugh about it.
I'm Taking It Back
[rebelmouse-image 18353418 is_animated_gif=Growing up I was playing with my neighbors. I'm pretty much the only white kid around. My friends were being goofy and not focusing on the basketball game we were playing, so I playfully call them porch-monkeys and encourage for the game to continue....
Well, their guardian/Aunt heard me and lifted me up by one arm and took me inside. Asked me the who/what/where/why of the word, and I explained it just means goofy kids or rugrats to me and thats what my dad would call us if we were playing around and he couldn't hear the tv....
So we ended up going back to my place for the adults to talk lol.
Seriously, There Has To Be A Better Name For That
[rebelmouse-image 18353419 is_animated_gif=I used to live in a remote town deep in the woods of Northern California with my dad. He had an Australian Shepherd named "Black" who was always getting into trouble. Anyway, I've got Black in the car at a gas station, go in to pay, come back out and he has jumped out of the car and is running across the street. I just start yelling "Black! Black!! No!!! BLAAAACK!!!" at the top of my lungs.
Suddenly comes into focus an African American family at a pump between me and the dog, staring at me.... completely horrified. I'm like... "I'm sorry..... my dog's name is Black..... He just ran across the street". The family looks across the street in unison, Black is nowhere in sight. Time slows down. I make a show of running across the street to look for him. Finally, thank god, as they were leaving I had Black by the collar and was dragging him back to the gas station.
The whole family bursts out laughing. The dad was yelling "BLAAACK" and pointing at me as they pulled away.
When You Make An Assump Out Of Tion
[rebelmouse-image 18353421 is_animated_gif=This was about 5 years ago. Girlfriend and I are throwing a joint birthday party at our house (her and 2 friends share a birthday), we had done a lot of work and cooking to prep for the party.
The doorbell rings, girlfriend and I answer it, open the door to find an Asian man holding a large brown paper bag who immediately asks "Is Tim here?". I was a little offended after all our hard work cooking and turn back to yell across the room and over the entire party:
"Tim, did you order f_*_ing Chinese food?!!".
Asian guy sees Tim and steps past me to give him a hug and pulls the bottle of Scotch out of the brown bag that he had bought as a gift for his birthday...
In my defense who doesn't introduce themselves to the hosts of a party the first time they come to your door! Lol.
Never quite did live that one down, but the Asian guy (Japanese in fact) and I are actually really good friends now to this day! Even the night of we were able to laugh about it after I apologized profusely.
Maybe Next Time Check For Ron Weasely Award
[rebelmouse-image 18353422 is_animated_gif=When I worked as a summer camp counselor, we gave themed awards to our campers at the end of the week. One week, I choose Harry Potter as my theme.
I gave the only black kid in my cabin the Sirius Black award.
What Would That Even Sound Like?
[rebelmouse-image 18353423 is_animated_gif=My brother, picking up a Black Hyundai Accent at the address he was given:
Walks up to front desk of the office building.
"Hey, uh... I'm looking for a guy with an Accent."
Girl at front desk: "oh? What kind of accent?"
Thinks a moment.
"I dunno. A black one?"
Maybe Take A Gander Around The Office
[rebelmouse-image 18353424 is_animated_gif=I'm a lawyer and my paralegal is always trying to leave a little early. It's a game we play; she'll buy me a cookie at lunch and then plead to go home early. Usually I allow it because cookie.
Once we actually had some strict deadlines to meet so when she asked I said "no! I own you and I'm chaining you to your desk!"
There was silence. I totally forgot that she was black.
Her response was to slowly raise her hand and say "I object".
So Close!
[rebelmouse-image 18353425 is_animated_gif=My 'almost' accidentally racist story.
I watched a lot of Looney Tunes as a kid and I used to say How Now Brown Cow? whenever a friend was thinking about something or was in a tough spot in a game.
Well, in college I was playing pool with a very overweight African American girl and I had left her in a terrible position on the table. Her only choice really was to just whack the hell out of it. Just as she lined up to shoot I said, "How now brow......uh, good luck!"
Oh, The Shame
[rebelmouse-image 18348211 is_animated_gif=I was waiting to cross the road with my girlfriend one day when I got a really strong waft of Chinese food. Unsurprisingly it had come from a nearby restaurant.
My automatic response was to exclaim "Oooh! I smell Chinese!".
And as I turned back towards my girlfriend I realised that we were standing next to two little old Chinese ladies who were looking at me in horror and disgust.
The shame.
Stop The First Time
[rebelmouse-image 18353426 is_animated_gif=I was an odd dude in high school and one of my schticks was to endearingly call people in my grade cute animal names. So for example I would go up to someone I knew and be like "hey little puppy."(don't ask why) anyway one day I was going up to say hi to the one black girl in our grade and I say "hey monkey!" It took me a second to realize what I had done but it was too late. So in order to remedy the situation I turned to the Indian girl beside her and said "hey other monkey!" to her in order to prove I wasn't racist.
That didn't over well either....
Dude, Read The Room
[rebelmouse-image 18348642 is_animated_gif=I walked into a room full of Irish people and after a moment laughingly said "you all sound like a bunch of Micks!" They were all relatives of my friend/former roommate MICK get married here in the USA.
I was ignorantly expressing my delight in their accent by stating they sounded like my friend. But NOOOOOO.
Apparently calling an Irishman a Mick is the equivalent to calling a black person the N word. Back to the story. The...room...froze... I knew something was up but no idea what. "You guys all sound like Mick." The room burst out in laughter and they explained my error.
"Accidentally On Purpose"
[rebelmouse-image 18353427 is_animated_gif=Accidentally racist is not the good story for me, it is the accidental/purposeful one that is.
My wife is asian, and one day early in our relationship I was asking what random things were called in her language, and I asked what they call the epicanthic folds of their eyes. She said, and I quote "I don't know, we just call it chinky."
Now, most people may know that is not a good term to use in the US. So, after my laughs, I asked if she knew why the term isn't used here, she didn't, so I explained why we don't say that and we laughed because it was funny.
It becomes an inside joke between us in the house, me calling her chinky and she pretends to be indignant and then laughs.
Roll forward a couple years, we move back to the US, she meets my (all white) family, its all good. After a year or so, at a family gathering I slip and asked her a question and added chinky at the end. I heard the record scratch you hear in movies in my head before my whole family turns on me.
When we got home after that she asked me to never call her that in public again because most of my family, in ones and pairs, took her to the side and asked if she was OK and how what I did was wrong, etc, etc.
I changed to saying Stinky instead and she hates that one.
Just So Much Wrong With That Call...
[rebelmouse-image 18345132 is_animated_gif=I referee soccer and one time a team wearing white was playing against a team wearing red. The ball goes out of play touched by a red player. A black player on the white team goes to throw the ball in, and I point to confirm that the throw-in is for the white team and I say "Black ball", instead of white ball.
Everybody looks at me knowing full well what happened. I tried to play it off as having said "Back there" but I highly doubt anyone bought that.
H/T: Reddit
Scientists Have Developed A New 'Planetary Health Diet' That Could Literally Save Lives And The Planet At The Same Time
In an attempt to help curb worldwide issues such as climate change, and malnutrition in poverty stricken areas, a joint commission by EAT, a non-profit seeking to transform the global food system, and The Lancet, an old and respected medical journal, has released a recommended guideline for dietary and planetary health.
The report recommends cutting back meat consumption to at most, a burger patty or equivalent a week, and supplementing your protein intake with nuts, legumes, and beans. An increase in veggies and fruits would make up the bulk of your meal plate.
The dietary guideline was established by a coalition of over 30 scientists, researchers, and doctors designed not just with human nutrition in mind, but also sustainability. With estimations that the planet will reach 10 billion people by 2050, scientists are working to figure out how to feed them all.
Additionally, the red meat industry has for a long time, been known to be a contributor to greenhouse gasses, while land conversion for food production is the greatest factor in biodiversity loss. The report from the EAT-Lance commission estimates that through nutrition and agricultural changes from this diet, we can save 11 million lives every year.
That sounds pretty great.
The EAT-Lancet commission lists very specific macronutrient ranges for their proposed diet, from 300g of veggies per day, to only 7g for red meats. However, it's this specificity that is drawing criticism.
John Ioannidis, the chair of disease prevention at Stanford university has praised the growing attention to how diets can affect the environment, but states the commission doesn't represent the scientific uncertainty between health and nutrition.
Dr. Georgia Ede, who writes for the site Diagnosis: Diet, took issue with the report's specific recommendations. Dr. Ede's website makes the case for low carb and paleolithic diets.
She points out the commission says,
"We have a high level of scientific certainty about the overall direction and magnitude of associations described in this Commission, although considerable uncertainty exists around detailed quantifications."
And yet, they recommend 0 to 58g per day of poultry, with a 29g midpoint. This seems very specific.
People are not willing to give up meat so easily.
Still, the report is a good starting point for the discussion we need to have about food's connection to not just our health, but the planet's well-being.
As Dr. Howard Frumklin, head of the Wellcome Trust which helped found the EAT foundation says himself,
"The links among diet, health and the environment are well-documented, but, until now, the challenge of attaining healthy diets from a sustainable food system has been hampered by a lack of science-based guidelines.
"While this report does not have all the answers, it provides governments, producers and individuals with an evidence-based starting point to work together to transform our food systems and cultures."
What should be a discussion is turning into an argument.
If we're going to be able to feed everyone, ensure their diet is nutritionally balanced, and try to curb climate change, it's important that people start talking about the positives and negatives of their current diet. The report provides a sense of context to which people can compare and share their ideas and study.
'Captain Marvel' May Have Just Introduced A New Black Female Superhero Right Under Our Noses
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.
Nothing is a coincidence in the complex Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Now that Marvel Studios and Disney finally gave a female superhero her own movie, we realize Captain Marvel may have introduced a young character who takes on a more significant role in the future of the MCU.
The '90s-set origin story is led by the dual personalities of Carol Danvers — a U.S. Air Force pilot; and Vers, a Kree from the planet Hala in another life — and becomes Captain Marvel, expertly played by Brie Larson.
Without sounding too cryptic, Captain Marvel is the sum of Carol and Vers, and the complex narrative revolves around Vers finding out about her past.
Captain Marvel introduces us to a varied ensemble of personalities, including a young Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, with whom she teams to fight off shape-shifting aliens called skrulls.
Instead of relying on a male love interest, Danvers has a best friend in Maria Rambeau, played by Lashana Lynch, giving the genre a refreshing feminist twist on the buddy action flick.
But it's Maria Rambeau's daughter Monica (Akira Akbar) who is making ardent fans giddy with anticipation about the character's future.
the future is beautiful and your name is monica rambeau https://t.co/HtNuXrWaZL— captain carol ︽✵︽ (@captain carol ︽✵︽) 1551819911.0
The precocious 11-year-old is, for all intents and purposes, just an adorable, "normal" kid who has ambitions of flying in the Air Force to emulate "Auntie Carol."
Monica's bravery belies her age as she encourages her mother to flee into space at the risk of never seeing her again for a mission involving the skrulls.
But there is more to her intelligence and inherent altruism, and those familiar with the comics are aware of her exciting destiny.
Refinery 29 revealed that the adult Monica Rambeau is just another iteration of Captain Marvel, and she is expected to come into prominence during the supposed 24-year time gap between Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame.
T'Challa is in the MCU Carol Danvers is in the MCU Monica Rambeau is in the MCU Y'all we are so close! https://t.co/rilnRAoErT— Raymond X (@Raymond X) 1552076618.0
Monica's origin story includes being a lieutenant in the New Orleans harbor patrol who comes into contact with "extra-dimensional energy" while preventing the creation of a powerful weapon.
As a result, she is able to manipulate, absorb and create energy.
Give Monica Rambeau her things!!!!— Ira Madison III (@Ira Madison III) 1552331197.0
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Monica is the second of six characters to take on the name of Captain Marvel and becomes the leader of the Avengers. She eventually adopts the codenames: Photon, Pulsar and in 2013, Spectrum.
✴️ monica rambeau: captain marvel | photon | pulsar | spectrum reading guide ✴️ https://t.co/etPruwZfbA— val saw captain marvel (@val saw captain marvel) 1552160876.0
The multifarious identities are complex for the uninitiated, for sure.
This might help:
In #captainMarvel they introduce the daughter of Monica Rambeau. Her name is also Monica Rambeau. In 2019 she would… https://t.co/MZMR6Cjcqm— Marc Dirix (@Marc Dirix) 1552071449.0
Fans are keeping their fingers crossed in the hopes that we'll be seeing the black female superhero's destiny realized.
Is anyone hoping that little Monica Rambeau is all grown up and busts into Avengers headquarters to show up the Sci… https://t.co/T56AX95nOC— Liz Nicole (@Liz Nicole) 1552015405.0
I know they didn’t give me all those heroic closeups of baby Monica for no reason. @ Marvel GIVE US MONICA RAMBEAU https://t.co/ECp8TlrPpQ— Eartha Snit (@Eartha Snit) 1552011810.0
Monica Rambeau and all of her code names getting ready for the next phase of the MCU https://t.co/o87qOdsoBo— Child of Hazel and Smoke (@Child of Hazel and Smoke) 1552257376.0
fun fact: maria’s daughter monica rambeau actually becomes captain marvel in the future and becomes the leader of t… https://t.co/pzzVyfHMf7— natasha ☾ | SAW CAPTAIN MARVEL !!! (@natasha ☾ | SAW CAPTAIN MARVEL !!!) 1552208712.0
The #CaptainMarvel trailer didn't do a good job. With this piece, I wanted to be clear that this film is for Black… https://t.co/3hckZUDltH— Jaleesa Lashay Diaz (@Jaleesa Lashay Diaz) 1552069934.0
I want a sequel yesterday. I just don’t know where they will have it. Will it take place in the past? (So much more… https://t.co/taq2pR4NyN— RoboFan (@RoboFan) 1552018976.0
@MarvelStudios Monica Rambeau! #CaptainMarvel I can't wait for her to get her powers! https://t.co/CCQ9P3iFFV— Jason (Captain Marvel did THAT) (@Jason (Captain Marvel did THAT)) 1551802986.0
I also freaked when Maria finally called her daughter Monica and I was like THERE SHE IS, MY GIRL, MY STAR MONICA RAMBEAU— Becca 💛 ECCC Q8 (@Becca 💛 ECCC Q8) 1552063569.0
As we've seen in Black Panther, the emergence of more black female superheroes is encouraging, and the seed planted with Monica Rambeau in Captain Marvel augurs a bright and exciting future for the MCU.
People Are Roasting Trump Over His Mind-Numbing Observation About The Wetness Of Water 😂
Donald Trump thanked the first responders who came to the aid of victims of Hurricane Florence. The storm devastated portions of North Carolina, dumping massive amounts of rain and damaging millions of dollars in property. Many natural areas were destroyed, some farmers lost everything and more than a few people have been left homeless. The first responders after this massive storm were literal life savers, and Trump was absolutely right to thank them. Unfortunately, the sentiment of his message was lost for many people because he didn't seem to put any effort or preparation into what he was saying. Then, in the middle of his off-the-cuff message, he confused everyone by talking about the wetness of water.
As Trump described the storm and the importance of first responders he told the world:
This is a tough hurricane, one of the wettest we've ever seen from the standpoint of water. Rarely have we had an experience like it and it certainly is not good.
The Tweet went out in the middle of the day on Tuesday, September 18th. At the time of this article, it hasn't even been up for 24 hours and already has over 13,000 comments. Many of them pointed out how Trump didn't even seem to try...
and how asinine his description was.
We don't know if Trump will continue to address the public by releasing these kinds of videos, or if they will continue to be as unrehearsed as this one is. We assure you, if they are, Twitter will have plenty to say about it.
H/T: Huffington Post, Twitter
The Kids From 'Stranger Things' Wrapped Presents For Superfans—And Did A Delightfully Terrible Job 😂
When it comes to giving gifts, not all celebrities are as crafty as Taylor Swift, but that didn't stop the adorable stars of Netflix's Stranger Things from giving it a try.
In a recently released video from Netflix, actors Millie, Finn, Noah, Caleb, Gaten, and Sadie got together for some holiday cheer and to wrap gifts for fans. But kids will be kids, even if they star in a hit television show. Watch as chaos ensues.
Fans loved every moment, even if the kids weren't the greatest wrappers.
@Stranger_Things I love seeing them mess around with each other.— Abby! (@Abby!) 1545318707.0
@doublejoywilson https://t.co/qgFgkZpTxQ— Stranger Things (@Stranger Things) 1545318849.0
@realrevella https://t.co/G5Er8pydg5— Stranger Things (@Stranger Things) 1545318801.0
@themallratss we do what we can https://t.co/POBMVbXfZS— Stranger Things (@Stranger Things) 1545319099.0
@Stranger_Things They’re a cute mess 😂— Janet ⁷✜🪐 (@Janet ⁷✜🪐) 1545318854.0
@minseokjin94 https://t.co/Dr4Y4xFYyM— Stranger Things (@Stranger Things) 1545318939.0
@Stranger_Things Thanks for the gif...they’re a MESS mess https://t.co/cG5ODdPDf0— Janet ⁷✜🪐 (@Janet ⁷✜🪐) 1545319571.0
@pvladins AH THE SOUND OF HOLIDAY CHEER— Stranger Things (@Stranger Things) 1545318737.0
@Stranger_Things HAPPY HOLYDAYS TO THE DEMOGORGON https://t.co/BpB1ZixUK5— 𝑣𝑎𝑙 ⚯͛ (@𝑣𝑎𝑙 ⚯͛) 1545318680.0
@edwardistheman @netflix ok here https://t.co/UwOLIa1T1C— Stranger Things (@Stranger Things) 1545318880.0
We just can't get enough of these talented kids!