Food for thought.

---

Oh sorry Cider, I could have sworn you were white. My bad. Quote:but it still gives no base to define all Chinese that way.And I made it clear that that's not what I meant.

but when people discriminate against interracial relationships that pisses me off because I'm a person of mixed race.Reading through this thread, this part bothers me, actually.So if you weren't of a mixed race, it wouldn't bother me? I call that racist.

Maybe you misworded it or something, but you made it look like the only reason you're offended by something like that is because you were of a mixed race.And you need to let go of this "twisting words" fetish you seem to have today. Not every soul in the world is twisting your words tonight.

Originally Posted By: JapanFan14Oh sorry Cider, I could have sworn you were white. My bad.Wait, what?

What LTTA meant was IF you were not of mixed race, would you still be as offended as you are now?

I'm curious about something. How do you or anybody think world population plays into any food shortage/ energy crisis/ general world tension. Is population the elephant in the room that nobody talks about? While some statistically claim the world can support a bunch more people what is the reality. It seems where close to all practical limits of population sustainability. What are we going to do about, anything? What are your thoughts where are we at? How can we do anything to curb the expansion of population? What will happen to world economies if population was to actually be reduced? Any thoughts? Anyone? Anyone?I'm bored and looking for a reason not to work.

Originally Posted By: OldFolks

It seems where close to all practical limits of population sustainability. What are we going to do about, anything?

That's the 64-dollar question. We probably won't do anything because it violates too many folks view of personal freedom. The result, in the long-run, will be millions dying of starvation to support such self-centered views. Until we can, as a populace, step back and see the global effects of demanding we hold to certain self-centered freedoms instead of taking responsibility for doing our part in the grand scheme of things, nature will continue to step in and solve the problem for us...without any regard for what we might think is fair and just.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant.

I think population levels are very relevant here, but no-one knows what can be done about them. The earth could sustain the present population if we all lived very simply, but more and more people are living a Western way of life that has a bigger environmental footprint. If all the world's population lived in Western style, perhaps the earth's population would need to be something like a tenth of what it is now.Western Europe came close to capacity in the Middle Ages, but then the Black Death reduced the population. Later, better methods of farming allowed a higher population, and some countries, such as Britain, were able to have a higher population than their farms would support through manufacturing goods to pay for food imports. However the world as a whole can't do that. There is still some room for more intensive farming, but it's getting limited.Economics has been based for so long on growth, that dealing with a declining population, with a large proportion of the population elderly, will be difficult.

Originally Posted By: Cider Originally Posted By: JapanFan14Oh sorry Cider, I could have sworn you were white. My bad.Wait, what? I told you that ETHNIC people meaning blacks,hispanics etc in my area are treated very badly by most of the Chinese people here and I've heard the same story countless times in different locations, from information on websites, and biographies on the history channel. You said that I was generalizing or something like that because not all of them are like that which I never said they were. And you backed up your point by saying Chinese people have never treated you badly and that they were very kind and so on and so forth. Since I was talking about the treatment towards ethnics not whites you OBVIOUSLY must not be white. Otherwise you make no sense..

I misread your post. But still, I do have ethnic friends who are treated in the exact same way that I am, including when I was in China. Probably misread it because of the studying for my IB History SL test occupying most of my recent time.

It really makes no sense because you are not one yourself so honestly how would you know?

Because I have eyes and ears?

I have no doubt that you are intelligent but seriously you just don't get it. and you never can. it's not your fault. just the way the world works. or rather humans... :sunglasses:

You described the Chinese as calling other ethnic groups derogatory names in public and in school. This is something that can be seen and heard by others. Not once have I ever seen this behavior. I know Chinese people in my school who are friends with other ethnic groups. When I was in China, I was practically living with the other people in my group and traveled with them almost all the time and never were they treated any differently. The only person treated in any way differently was white, and it was mainly because he was about 7 feet tall (they wanted a picture with him). You described experiences that are relatively easy for other people to see, and I have never in my experience seen that where I live or in China. Of course, a lot of this has to do with the society's social stance where I live. In general, it is fairly liberal, especially when it comes to things like this. Chances are that it is different where you live. It is the people in your area that have a problem with themselves, not other ethnic peoples. I'm merely stating that the situations you describe are not the same in all places, which you implied when you said to go to certain cities and see this.

like I said you DON'T get it. don't stress yourself out because it's a loss cause. you're trying to prove your point and honestly it was a failed attempt. you don't know nor will you ever have to know what I mean. so don't worry about it.

Just because one doesn't experience something does not mean that he cannot see other people experiencing it. You are the one trying prove a point and failing, as you do not even try to argue against the facts that I have brought up.

Honestly, Abi, you're being very unfair. Just because Cider isn't of color, doesn't mean you need to exclude him that quickly.

See, that's the problem though. Because other's don't have the same experiences as yourselves doesn't mean you have to give everyone else the cold shoulder. Okay, so he may not know what it means to be judge on the color of his skin (or maybe he does), but it doesn't mean he's completely oblivious to it.But here's the problem I'm seeing. You're telling him he'll never understand because he's white (correct me if I'm wrong!). Don't you think that in itself is a bit judgemental? Caucasian is an ethnicity and is just as vulnerable to prejudices as the next race.There was obviously a bit of a misunderstanding somewhere between Abi and Cider's conversation. But don't make it personal.

The only way that it is personal is that we are referencing personal experiences.

If you really do believe that I am blind to what happens around me, I could even ask the people I know who are of ethnic minorities if they have experienced any of the treatment that you two have described.

What V_S is saying is that she is excluding me by saying that my experiences are invalid and that hers are based on our ethnicities.

The main misunderstanding was that by citing multiple places where her experiences supposedly occur, I was lead to believe that she was saying most Chinese people were like that. I'm merely saying that most are not like that at all.