Northernbelle011 [2:23 PM]:  hey!
minty064 [2:23 PM]:  howdy, what’s up?
Northernbelle011 [2:24 PM]:  nothing really just messing around.
minty064 [2:24 PM]:  cool
minty064 [2:25 PM]:  did anything happen in chapel Friday?
Northernbelle011 [2:25 PM]:  oh some lady came and spoke out against discrimination. You weren’t there?
minty064 [2:25 PM]:  no I was sick
Northernbelle011 [2:26 PM]:  oh. too bad, it was really interesting, you would have liked it.
Northernbelle011 [2:28 PM]:  the woman’s name was Joann Lee
Northernbelle011 [2:28 PM]:  she’s in training to be a director of anytown, a program organized by the national conference for community and justice, here’s the link if you want it http://nccj.org/
minty064 [2:29 PM]: sounds interesting, what did she say?
Northernbelle011 [2:31 PM]:  she said a lot about teaching people not to use labels to cut people down
minty064 [2:32 PM]:  like using "blonde" to mean stupid. i find blondes attractive and most are smart, just a personal preference though
Northernbelle011 [2:33 PM]:  exactly, but she went further than appearances. Joann covered the "n-word", "spic", "gay", words that make fun of a person’s race, sexual orientation, and even words to lash out at people’s own beliefs and values
minty064 [2:34 PM]: "liberal" or "tree hugger"
Northernbelle011 [2:34 PM]:  yeah but also "jew" and "towel head" for muslims
minty064 [2:36 PM]:  I hate when people at school say things like that
Northernbelle011 [2:37 PM]:  me too, I wish people would just get better vocabularies instead of sounding like bigoted trash
minty064 [2:38 PM]:  yeah, even seemingly harmless generalizations make me angry
Northernbelle011 [2:38 PM]:  like?
minty064 [2:38 PM]:  I get the "you must be smart because you’re asian"
Northernbelle011 [2:39 PM]:  that bothers you? That’s not even a negative comment
minty064 [2:40 PM]:  yes, even though my family is from Japan, I’m very much American. My parents aren’t the stereotypical mom and dad who put so much pressure on me that I lock myself up in my room
Northernbelle011 [2:41 PM]:  but people the you are really smart, and you still take offense?
minty064 [2:44 PM]: yes, because generalizations are dangerous and could hurt people not just physically or emotionally, but it could effect their future. In geometry class a few days ago, I was asking Mrs. Truitt* about the Side Side Side theorem. She started talking about proofs that we won’t learn until we are in college, and then said "I’m sorry if that explanation doesn’t solve your problem; that Asian blood in you should figure it out."
Northernbelle011 [2:45 PM]:  oh wow, so did you ever figure it out?
minty064 [2:45 PM]:  no, I ended up with a D on the test covering it
Northernbelle011 [2:46 PM]:  that’s horrible, but why didn’t you tell her that you didn’t understand?
minty064 [2:47 PM]: I tried to, but she would give a similar reply each time I asked. I didn’t feel comfortable addressing the stereotype she made either. Knowing the grade I got now I wish I had though.
Northernbelle011 [2:47 PM]:  geeze I’m sorry. that would make me so mad
minty064 [2:48 PM]:  I was
Northernbelle011 [2:48 PM]:  I feel really bad now, I’ve sort of followed that mind set too
minty064 [2:49 PM]:  well
Northernbelle011 [2:50 PM]:  I’ll have to say something next time I hear any generalizations then
Northernbelle011 [2:50 PM]: you should tell Mrs. Truitt* too
minty064 [2:50 PM]:  I will if it happens again
Northernbelle011 [2:51 PM]:  good!
minty064 [2:51 PM]:  I’m going to go be sexy, ttyl
Northernbelle011 [2:52 PM]:  bye mintaro
minty064 signed off at 4:36 PM