[lbo-talk] counter-stereotypes [was: Beaten Black Man's Death a Homicide (Cincinnati)]

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

John A:
> One of the primary reasons I cut off my dreads back in '86 was that I
> just didn't like the company it put me in. The majority of other white
> people in dreadlocks that I'd met up to that time were rude assholes
> who smelled bad, aggressively bad. God knows, I can be rude, but I do
> bathe.
> 

That was also a reason why I cut and shave my hair in the1980s, and why
I am wearing a suit jacket when I visit central PA.  Or why I am keeping
my mouth shut when I hear someone speaking Polish.  I do not want to be
associated with those obnoxious crowds.  By the same token, I do not
shave my facial hair completely (always keeping that "shaved 5 days ago"
look) do not wear a tie unless I absolutely have (or to confuse my
co-workers) and make a big production of riding buses instead of driving
- for the purpose of not to be confused with the yuppie crowd.  Because
of my thick accent, I do not have the problem of someone taking me for a
"white US male," but just in case, I wear an EU flag pin in my lapel.

Identity politics is truly ubiquitous, and it takes a lot of effort to
avoid being classified into one of the identity groups.

Wojtek