Wow, that ginger is being such a blonde!
This is a rather old piece from 2011. Since I decided to start a blog (again), I figured that I'd post some of my older Facebook notes here to start.
I read a column by Hagen Engler in which he described "micro-racism" among Caucasians; specifically making mention of the "anti-ginger" movement. In it, he wrote about the unfair treatment of people with red hair, citing the demeaning insults and ostracisation which they are now subject to. He went on to say that he wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of red heads, given their notoriously fiery tempers.
Now, I won't deny that I've made the ginger jokes. Done in jest and in no way meant to be hurtful, let alone taken seriously. People that know me well enough are aware that I generally don't try to inflict emotional pain on anyone and that most of the seemingly random things I say are usually said "tongue in cheek". I wouldn't walk up to some random red-haired person on the street and berate them for having "gingervitis"... that sort of treatment is reserved for my friends, at least the ones that can take a joke!
Given that there is such an outcry at present, I have to wonder if everyone isn't being just a tad oversensitive? If any of you have seen the "Gingers have souls!" video on YouTube, you'll understand the kind of reaction I'm referring to. If you missed it, here it is. Sure, that kid has probably been picked on quite badly, but I'm of the opinion that if you post something like that on the internet, you're opening yourself up to any ridicule that follows. But the crux of this commentary is this; how many of these terribly offended gingers have told blonde jokes?
Yes! Blonde jokes! You know, those demeaning, incredibly wide spread jokes that almost always imply sub-normal levels of intelligence? Yes, blonde jokes have been doing the rounds for years and are unlikely to be silenced... ever. How many blondes do you know that have ever thrown tantrums of similar magnitude to the red-haired kid in the link above? I can't say that I've seen many, if any at all! Okay, so the blonde jokes hit at intelligence (or the lack there of) as opposed to implication of someone lacking a soul, but they're still insulting. So maybe the issue is really the fact that no one has found a catchy way of insulting brunettes or raven heads?
Is there a need for this hypersensitivity? Quite frankly, if someone is going to insult you as a person, they're going to find a way of doing it, no matter what the colour of your hair, your skin, your religious conviction or cultural upbringing. So why freak out over someone making a tired, used and, now clichéd, insult? Take it as a joke and move on with your life as opposed to being hypersensitive... and I say that as a person that, naturally, has hair colour that resembles that of a tabby cat (blonde, red and brown all mingled in varying quantities with a brown predominance).
The bottom line is this; there will always be insults and demeaning jokes. The way you react to them is up to you. Don't assume that you're the only one that has ever felt hurt by the comments of people that perceive themselves to be different or "better" than you... everyone has a weakness, some are just better at hiding theirs than others
I read a column by Hagen Engler in which he described "micro-racism" among Caucasians; specifically making mention of the "anti-ginger" movement. In it, he wrote about the unfair treatment of people with red hair, citing the demeaning insults and ostracisation which they are now subject to. He went on to say that he wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of red heads, given their notoriously fiery tempers.
Now, I won't deny that I've made the ginger jokes. Done in jest and in no way meant to be hurtful, let alone taken seriously. People that know me well enough are aware that I generally don't try to inflict emotional pain on anyone and that most of the seemingly random things I say are usually said "tongue in cheek". I wouldn't walk up to some random red-haired person on the street and berate them for having "gingervitis"... that sort of treatment is reserved for my friends, at least the ones that can take a joke!
Given that there is such an outcry at present, I have to wonder if everyone isn't being just a tad oversensitive? If any of you have seen the "Gingers have souls!" video on YouTube, you'll understand the kind of reaction I'm referring to. If you missed it, here it is. Sure, that kid has probably been picked on quite badly, but I'm of the opinion that if you post something like that on the internet, you're opening yourself up to any ridicule that follows. But the crux of this commentary is this; how many of these terribly offended gingers have told blonde jokes?
Yes! Blonde jokes! You know, those demeaning, incredibly wide spread jokes that almost always imply sub-normal levels of intelligence? Yes, blonde jokes have been doing the rounds for years and are unlikely to be silenced... ever. How many blondes do you know that have ever thrown tantrums of similar magnitude to the red-haired kid in the link above? I can't say that I've seen many, if any at all! Okay, so the blonde jokes hit at intelligence (or the lack there of) as opposed to implication of someone lacking a soul, but they're still insulting. So maybe the issue is really the fact that no one has found a catchy way of insulting brunettes or raven heads?
Is there a need for this hypersensitivity? Quite frankly, if someone is going to insult you as a person, they're going to find a way of doing it, no matter what the colour of your hair, your skin, your religious conviction or cultural upbringing. So why freak out over someone making a tired, used and, now clichéd, insult? Take it as a joke and move on with your life as opposed to being hypersensitive... and I say that as a person that, naturally, has hair colour that resembles that of a tabby cat (blonde, red and brown all mingled in varying quantities with a brown predominance).
The bottom line is this; there will always be insults and demeaning jokes. The way you react to them is up to you. Don't assume that you're the only one that has ever felt hurt by the comments of people that perceive themselves to be different or "better" than you... everyone has a weakness, some are just better at hiding theirs than others
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