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The tree is called Gympie gympie in Australia. As an immigrant in Australia, my white housemates educated me diligently about the dangers of hiking in the Aussi

by jp0d 6y ago

The tree is called Gympie gympie in Australia. As an immigrant in Australia, my white housemates educated me diligently about the dangers of hiking in the Aussie bush. Except for drop bears every bit of education I got is true! :D

jkinudsjknds 6y ago
> my white housemates Is there a reason to specify their race here? Genuinely curious
zpeti 6y ago
How is the fact that your housemates are white relevant? How does race come into this?
- TecoAndJix 6y ago
  If the user would have added sentence flavor to another portion of their post would you still query the relevance of the flavor? For example, if they specified “Perth” in “As an immigrant in Australia” would you ask “How is the fact that you are in Perth, Australia relevant? How does city location come into this?
  - TheAdamAndChe 6y ago
    No, but there's not a growing acceptance of discrimination against people from Perth.
    - K0balt 6y ago
      Speak for yourself.... /s
  - awakeasleep 6y ago
    The question makes sense because, for years, children in the united states were taught that it was noble and right to try and judge people’s ideas based on their sense and merit- without regard to the skin color of the speaker. To people raised under that philosophy, it can be disconcerting to realize that now it has become proper to judge everything only after first assessing the skin color of who said it. This isnt as shocking when someone makes a statement related to race, but the point is really driven home when the issue at hand is a tree.
    - bluntfang 6y ago
      what the fuck
      - whatthesmack 6y ago
        Not sure about other folks, but what they said makes sense to me. Merit used to be a thing, but now we literally have companies that hire people based on their skin color (and in some places, laws that require it). Some of us have a problem with making such decisions with regards to a person's race or skin color or other immutable human attributes.
        bluntfang 6y ago
        >Not sure about other folks, but what they said makes sense to me. Yes, racists dog whistles can make sense to those accustomed to hearing racist dog whistles, like the HN community.
  - cgriswald 6y ago
    What is “sentence flavor?” I’ve never heard the term. You seem to be using it to justify the inclusion of irrelevant details as if that makes a sentence “taste” differently. Well, irrelevant details don’t make for very interesting writing and usually people don’t scatter words over their sentences like bacon bits over a salad unless they’re writing terrible fiction. So maybe the word is relevant. It’s not obvious to me what the relevance is, so asking seems pretty logical. Otherwise a reader is forced to conclude that it somehow has to do with white, presumably Australian stereotypes. Likewise, if Perth is included it clues the reader into a more specific area which might tell us something or not, depending on our pre-existing knowledge of Perth. No reader is going to conclude that the detail Perth was added merely for “flavor” and has no other significance. They might not have asked even if ignorant, because they might’ve made their own assumptions (e.g. this is an area where the trees can be found), but they wouldn’t assume it was a meaningless detail. And yes, I think I might have asked about relevance if the poster had said, “My roommates, while wearing purple t-shirts, told me...” When you add in the baggage that comes with race and racial stereotypes are you really surprised anyone asked? You don’t even have to be offended to not understand why race was included.
    - TecoAndJix 6y ago
      Thanks for your response. I think I tried to be too creative and should have just said descriptive words or adjectives. You make a good point on the baggage that race and racial stereotypes have - that is why I asked the question! I wanted to stimulate conversation on using color as a descriptive term and if the users question came from the sensitivity (from the baggage and stereotypes you mentioned) of mentioning color, the fact it’s the only descriptor, or a combination of both. You also make a good point with the purple shirt example but wonder if that oddity would have really compelled a response. My question came from genuine curiosity and desire for discussion and hoped it would be received us such!
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- K0balt 6y ago
  It could be that he thought it was interesting for them to know about locol biomes because they weren't aboriginal? Idk, but I think it's better to give people the benefit of the doubt when there's room, rather than aggressively pushing a point you feel they may not get. I think a little more assumption of innocence until proven guilty would go a long way to depolarize society.
jp0d 6y ago
I probably should stop commenting on these forums. I meant Aussie housemates when I wrote white housemates. I didn't have any ill-intentions while writing it. My only intention was to share the common name of the plant!
- boredumb 6y ago
  You're fine dude, unfortunately we're coming up on the US election so a lot of folks have put way to many chips on the table in regards to any reference to ethnicity or race being an outrageous thing to say. The list of unspeakable words and topics seems to have been growing rapidly the last few years so you shouldn't sweat it, most people who go out of their way to take offense actually don't care and just want to clutch pearls in public.
  - jp0d 6y ago
    Thanks mate. You've to be too careful these days I reckon. My housemates and I had loads of fun calling each other names. They would call me curry muncher and I called them unseasoned chicken wings and we laughed it off. I don't see any problem there. They've helped me whenever I need anything and I'd do the same for them. I think that matters more than any of these new age safe space thing. But I guess not everyone has thick skin! Cheers, dude.
    - alchemism 6y ago
      Good humor about it is a mark of ‘cosmopolitanism.‘ In a large business building in New York City whenever I’d go down to the mail room there would be couriers and maintainence men hanging around. Each a different ethnicity and shade of color. Most of the conversations I heard there were from them trading insults in friendly fashion. Most of the jokes were ethnic stereotypes. It offered them a chance to connect with each other. Out of this play, tolerance is made over time.
    - cgriswald 6y ago
      The drama here is not from people asking for clarification. It’s from the people who are somehow bothered by people asking for clarification. You’ve now finally offered some clarification, although honestly I still don’t really have any idea what you meant. But your initial response was to act as if the very act of asking the question somehow victimized you. Your original post lamented “PC culture” but no one actually criticized your post and you didn’t provide the asked for clarification.

by jp0d 6y ago

jkinudsjknds 6y ago

> my white housemates Is there a reason to specify their race here? Genuinely curious

zpeti 6y ago

How is the fact that your housemates are white relevant? How does race come into this?

TecoAndJix 6y ago
If the user would have added sentence flavor to another portion of their post would you still query the relevance of the flavor? For example, if they specified “Perth” in “As an immigrant in Australia” would you ask “How is the fact that you are in Perth, Australia relevant? How does city location come into this?
- TheAdamAndChe 6y ago
  No, but there's not a growing acceptance of discrimination against people from Perth.
  - K0balt 6y ago
    Speak for yourself.... /s
- awakeasleep 6y ago
  The question makes sense because, for years, children in the united states were taught that it was noble and right to try and judge people’s ideas based on their sense and merit- without regard to the skin color of the speaker. To people raised under that philosophy, it can be disconcerting to realize that now it has become proper to judge everything only after first assessing the skin color of who said it. This isnt as shocking when someone makes a statement related to race, but the point is really driven home when the issue at hand is a tree.
  - bluntfang 6y ago
    what the fuck
    - whatthesmack 6y ago
      Not sure about other folks, but what they said makes sense to me. Merit used to be a thing, but now we literally have companies that hire people based on their skin color (and in some places, laws that require it). Some of us have a problem with making such decisions with regards to a person's race or skin color or other immutable human attributes.
      - bluntfang 6y ago
        >Not sure about other folks, but what they said makes sense to me. Yes, racists dog whistles can make sense to those accustomed to hearing racist dog whistles, like the HN community.
- cgriswald 6y ago
  What is “sentence flavor?” I’ve never heard the term. You seem to be using it to justify the inclusion of irrelevant details as if that makes a sentence “taste” differently. Well, irrelevant details don’t make for very interesting writing and usually people don’t scatter words over their sentences like bacon bits over a salad unless they’re writing terrible fiction. So maybe the word is relevant. It’s not obvious to me what the relevance is, so asking seems pretty logical. Otherwise a reader is forced to conclude that it somehow has to do with white, presumably Australian stereotypes. Likewise, if Perth is included it clues the reader into a more specific area which might tell us something or not, depending on our pre-existing knowledge of Perth. No reader is going to conclude that the detail Perth was added merely for “flavor” and has no other significance. They might not have asked even if ignorant, because they might’ve made their own assumptions (e.g. this is an area where the trees can be found), but they wouldn’t assume it was a meaningless detail. And yes, I think I might have asked about relevance if the poster had said, “My roommates, while wearing purple t-shirts, told me...” When you add in the baggage that comes with race and racial stereotypes are you really surprised anyone asked? You don’t even have to be offended to not understand why race was included.
  - TecoAndJix 6y ago
    Thanks for your response. I think I tried to be too creative and should have just said descriptive words or adjectives. You make a good point on the baggage that race and racial stereotypes have - that is why I asked the question! I wanted to stimulate conversation on using color as a descriptive term and if the users question came from the sensitivity (from the baggage and stereotypes you mentioned) of mentioning color, the fact it’s the only descriptor, or a combination of both. You also make a good point with the purple shirt example but wonder if that oddity would have really compelled a response. My question came from genuine curiosity and desire for discussion and hoped it would be received us such!
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
K0balt 6y ago
It could be that he thought it was interesting for them to know about locol biomes because they weren't aboriginal? Idk, but I think it's better to give people the benefit of the doubt when there's room, rather than aggressively pushing a point you feel they may not get. I think a little more assumption of innocence until proven guilty would go a long way to depolarize society.

jp0d 6y ago

I probably should stop commenting on these forums. I meant Aussie housemates when I wrote white housemates. I didn't have any ill-intentions while writing it. My only intention was to share the common name of the plant!

boredumb 6y ago
You're fine dude, unfortunately we're coming up on the US election so a lot of folks have put way to many chips on the table in regards to any reference to ethnicity or race being an outrageous thing to say. The list of unspeakable words and topics seems to have been growing rapidly the last few years so you shouldn't sweat it, most people who go out of their way to take offense actually don't care and just want to clutch pearls in public.
- jp0d 6y ago
  Thanks mate. You've to be too careful these days I reckon. My housemates and I had loads of fun calling each other names. They would call me curry muncher and I called them unseasoned chicken wings and we laughed it off. I don't see any problem there. They've helped me whenever I need anything and I'd do the same for them. I think that matters more than any of these new age safe space thing. But I guess not everyone has thick skin! Cheers, dude.
  - alchemism 6y ago
    Good humor about it is a mark of ‘cosmopolitanism.‘ In a large business building in New York City whenever I’d go down to the mail room there would be couriers and maintainence men hanging around. Each a different ethnicity and shade of color. Most of the conversations I heard there were from them trading insults in friendly fashion. Most of the jokes were ethnic stereotypes. It offered them a chance to connect with each other. Out of this play, tolerance is made over time.
  - cgriswald 6y ago
    The drama here is not from people asking for clarification. It’s from the people who are somehow bothered by people asking for clarification. You’ve now finally offered some clarification, although honestly I still don’t really have any idea what you meant. But your initial response was to act as if the very act of asking the question somehow victimized you. Your original post lamented “PC culture” but no one actually criticized your post and you didn’t provide the asked for clarification.