Random Thoughts Thread

[Xeogred]

I've got some friends that recently moved downtown, I'm not sure if it's Missouri side or not though... it's very close to Power & Light if that helps? I know that's party central but I've never been yet, lol.

I'm in Olathe/Lenexa/Overland Park myself so the bigger city/towns right next to Missouri.

Also funny how easy it is to drive over there on a weekend sometimes for a beer run if we're running late, since Missouri keeps stores open a few hours later than Kansas. Stuff like that, can you do it anywhere else? lol

@o.p: Ah yeah, that pair definitely makes sense too.

[casterofdreams]

Random thought of the day...

So anyone who lives in NE Kansas or W Missouri knows we're practically one in the same. Crossing over the states is just like walking across the street, all of my jobs have always had a handful of employee's that live in Missouri. Lately I'm kind of thinking of houses off and on, it's still years away for me but I wonder if I should consider Missouri since I could get something cheaper there. Maybe older and bigger, but that's cool with me. But then there's the double taxes thing. Some people complain about it and others tell me it "balances out" in some weird way I can't remember at all. Considering how much our two states overlap it'd be nice if they could just abolish that rule or something.

Never gonna happen but it just makes me curious, are there other parts in the US that are like this? Other states that are in love with each other like Kansas and Missouri are?

New York and Jersey, although we hate Jersey. Also, it's cheaper over there.

Memphis and Arkansas to some degree, but not nearly as connected as KC or NYC/NJ.

100% like New York and New Jersey. Staten Island has that blending effect. 3 of the 4 bridges go into Jersey while the other goes into Brooklyn and thus the rest of New York.

[Luke]

Not trying to start an argument, just trying to get info...

How do you refer to people of that skin tone then? I assume African American?

No worries.

Nah, I don't even say African American. And I'm trying to be overly politically correct, it's that skin color isn't usually used when I describe someone. I recently described my buddy Elliott (maybe the only "black" Elliott) to my parents by saying "Elliott and I palled around a lot during grad school. Firm handshake, strong jaw, joyful personality and his wit is sharp as a tack. He looks like a young Lawrence Fishburne".

Well, he does look like a young L.F. and that was tertiary when describing his appearance. I guess I'm a bit hypocritical as I will point out the sex of someone, but labeling people as "black" is dumb to me; always will be. Obama isn't "The first Black President", Halle Berry isn't the first "Black" woman to win an Oscar, and people of "color" shouldn't be honored as such nor should they want to be.

Closes can of worms.

[o.pwuaioc]

100% like New York and New Jersey. Staten Island has that blending effect. 3 of the 4 bridges go into Jersey while the other goes into Brooklyn and thus the rest of New York.

Staten Island is the worst part of New Jersey.

OK, that's not technically true, but Staten Island really feels like Jersey, and heck, I'm just over the bridge.

[dsheinem]

Obama isn't "The first Black President", Halle Berry isn't the first "Black" woman to win an Oscar, and people of "color" shouldn't be honored as such nor should they want to be.

Closes can of worms.

More like opens one with that statement...

This is the same kind of "I don't see race" stuff that Colbert wildly lampoons on a daily basis. The fact is that our country has been largely defined based on race: whether that be racial divides, racial coalitions, immigration, etc. To simply negate that or somehow pretend to "remove it" from the equation is an erasure of an important difference that often functions as a key part of one's personal identity and always already functions as a part of one's cultural identity (whether we want it to or not). This "let's ignore it" stance is also a position that only people who are of Caucasian descent (or can pass for such) usually espouse, because it is a way to make them feel less uncomfortable if they don't have to recognize that part of their privileged position (historically and presently) is based on beliefs about race.

tldr: who the hell are you to tell Halle Barry that she shouldn't want to be recognized as the first "black" woman to win Best Actress or to tell people "of color" that they shouldn't celebrate a new achievement for a minority population?

[BoringSupreez]

.

[Luke]

tldr: who the hell are you to tell Halle Barry that she shouldn't want to be recognized as the first "black" woman to win Best Actress or to tell people "of color" that they shouldn't celebrate a new achievement for a minority population?

I'm just a guy who doesn't like labeling human beings by one trait. I'm a director of e-commerce for a fortune 500 company, I'm a philanthropist, I'm a musician, I'm the proud husband of an amazing woman, I'm a gamer and video game collector...but at the end of the day to 99.9% of the people I meet, I'm "The guy with one hand" or "the disabled guy" (that's putting it nicely as possible).

If I won an Oscar I wouldn't want to be known as "The first One-Handed person to win an Oscar!". What's the significance? Should Robin Williams have been credited for being the "Hairiest Man to win an Oscar"? Why point our differences, and why should they matter? If anything pointing out our differences is a societal step backwards.

[CRTGAMER]

tldr: who the hell are you to tell Halle Barry that she shouldn't want to be recognized as the first "black" woman to win Best Actress or to tell people "of color" that they shouldn't celebrate a new achievement for a minority population?

If I won an Oscar I wouldn't want to be known as "The first One-Handed person to win an Oscar!". What's the significance? Should Robin Williams have been credited for being the "Hairiest Man to win an Oscar"?

Why point our differences, and why should they matter? If anything pointing out our differences is a societal step backwards.

THIS. That is a great analogy. That celebration is meaningless if the race or anything else is looked at over just recognizing a person.

I also do not care for the days set aside for recognizing just a race and I am Japanese-Irish-French-Indian-Dutch and maybe some other stuff mixed in. Really? Are we so backwards we have to force ourselves to study or celebrate just one culture at a designated date?

[dsheinem]

If I won an Oscar I wouldn't want to be known as "The first One-Handed person to win an Oscar!". What's the significance? Should Robin Williams have been credited for being the "Hairiest Man to win an Oscar"? Why point our differences, and why should they matter? If anything pointing out our differences is a societal step backwards.

AFAIK, no one's ever been lynched simply for being one-handed or hairy.

Recognizing the accomplishments and achievements of groups that have been/are oppressed within a society is a way to mark progress and change and a shift towards some more equitable future. Why wouldn't you want to do that?

Pretending/ignoring what makes us unique and assuming that those traits don't matter is much more dangerous than grappling with any conflicts that might be caused by difference.

[dsheinem]

I also do not care for the days set aside for recognizing just a race and I am Japanese-Irish-French-Indian-Dutch and maybe some other stuff mixed in. Really? Are we so backwards we have to force ourselves to study or celebrate just one culture at a designated date?

Why begrudge people the right to celebrate their heritage/homeland/racial identity? As long as it isn't associated with an undercurrent of superiority, I don't see the problem.