Thought Pattern

There was once a time when elders would tell stories to teach the young. Often filled with fiction these stories were meant to draw the attention of the youth but to sneak in some facts of life at the same time. It seems as if we have walked away with only the fiction and none of the facts.

Culture, tradition, religion; they have led us down a path of hatred that separates and destroys rather than uniting and uplifting. Take a step away from the dinner table and think of those you are to be giving to. Take a step away from the gift giving and think of those who have nothing to give.
Don't think in terms of what you know, think in terms of what you can learn.

Today's Racism

Two men speaking Cantonese are looking at a table saw. The salesman begins his long pitch to convince them to purchase the machine. During his sales pitch he says to the men, "This machine is simple to assemble. The instructions are written by someone who's first language is english therefor you don't have to translate their chinese." OK so maybe this is just absolute ignorance more than it is racism.

Today's Racism

I once worked with a great man who had a solid work ethic that could not be beat. He never too a day off work except for Martin Luther King Day. He was a man of color who demanded respect not by force, but by his simple demeanor. He was born in New York and raised in New York, Queens to be specific. When he learned I was from North Carolina he said to me, "I have traveled all over this world and found the nicest people in the South. When people say racism is only In the South I have to interject and explain to them the worst racism I have ever experienced has been from Northerners."
With that said I am starting a new entry on this blog that gives a quick look into working in the male dominated world of woodworking.
I work with 4 other males, all from the South but one who is from Long Island. I have yet to hear anything racist from any of the men from the South. This entry will cover the things I have heard from the gentleman from the North.
First act of racism; "I lived in Bay Ridge, till the Puerto Ricans took over and ruined it."
Second act; Speaking to another Northerner he was asked if he knew of any good bagel shops, he said, "There was a good one I knew down the road from me but it was ruined when the monkey bus started to stop there."
Maybe there really is a bus of monkeys like that which traveled from New Mexico to Florida for Save The Chimps! If so I want to ride.

Thought Pattern

Your beliefs do no good when your actions hurt others.

Thought Pattern

I only check the news to find out if the world has ended yet.

Goodbye Brooklyn

I thankfully leave this city of perpetual hatred.

Thought Pattern

If a plane were to hit a building in NYC today, no one would notice because everyone is too busy looking at their phones.

Thought Pattern

Racism, Sexism, Speciesism are all the same. There is so much talk about Donald Sterling and his racist views, but no talk about the fact that he has a wife and a girlfriend.

Fear and Prejudice are the Real Terrorists.

Police: NYC mob attacks Sikh professor, thinking he's Muslim

Rob Quinn, Newser10:28 a.m. EDT September 23, 2013

(Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)

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In what police are investigating as a hate crime, a Columbia University professor was badly beaten on a New York City street Saturday by a mob that apparently believed he was a Muslim.

Police say Prabjot Singh, a 31-year-old Sikh, was attacked just blocks from his home by a group of more than 20 young men on bikes who called him a terrorist and shouted "Get Osama!" Singh, who was saved when passersby intervened, was left with injuries including a fractured jaw, reports the Columbia Spectator.

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Friend Simran Jeet Singh describes the attack in the Huffington Post, noting that the professor had been taking an evening walk after dropping his wife and 1-year-old at home.

"He couldn't speak because many of his teeth had been displaced, but he waved limply to let us know that he was OK," he writes of seeing Singh at the hospital. "It's incredibly sad," Singh himself tells the New York Daily News. "It's not the neighborhood I know. I work in this community. It's just not American."

Gawker points out that Singh himself noted in a New York Times article on anti-Sikh violence last year that the turbans and long beards of Sikh men have often marked them out as targets for discrimination both in India and overseas.

It's not the only alleged hate crimeNYC has suffered in recent weeks, reportsNewser, a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.