Ask an "Ambivalent White Man" thread.

torontojohn

<*{{{{><
Feb 9, 2002
560
0
16
Maybe the thread title is a one-line joke, but I'll run with it if you do.

Ask and I shall answer.

If I do half the job that our resident "Angry Black Man" did with his thread, I want a cookie.
 
roadhog said:
I'm pretty bright for a trucker, but wtf does ambivalent mean?? :confused:

It's vacillation of one's attitude. :P

It is generally used to mean "doesn't care", but the dictionary definition is something along the lines of "holding contradictory attitudes simultaneously".

You could take it to mean I'm hypocritical, an unfeeling bastard, or merely bored. It's moderately contextually sensitive unless you're strict about sticking to the dictionary definition.
 
Do you agree with Rush's lyric "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice"?


(I shouldn't post while listening to music)
 
StClairAvenue said:
Do you agree with Rush's lyric "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice"?

Yes. However, that's not the same thing as indecision. Refusing to choose between options is a choice, being unable to choose isn't.
 
Christine McVie sings lead vocals on a bit over 80% of Fleetwood Mac songs, including most of their mega hits. Yet everyone associates Fleetwood Mac with Stevie Nicks. Why is that?
 
CapitalGuy said:
Christine McVie sings lead vocals on a bit over 80% of Fleetwood Mac songs, including most of their mega hits. Yet everyone associates Fleetwood Mac with Stevie Nicks. Why is that?

People are often stupid. However, in this case it may be because Ms. Nicks is hotter than Ms. McVie.
 
torontojohn said:
OK, I'm outta here for a few hours. Stack the questions up and I'll answer when I return.

You know, I was hoping for a few more racially-based questions... like more than none.
 
do u think white ppl are racist towards black/brown people because they have bigger members?
 
torontojohn said:
You know, I was hoping for a few more racially-based questions... like more than none.

I think a Fleetwood Mac question was racially-based...
 
ebhobbs said:
do u think white ppl are racist towards black/brown people because they have bigger members?

No. I think some white people are racist towards non-white people because it makes them feel better to have someone to look down on... and because they were raised with those attitudes. I also think it's based on tribalism which is very much encoded in our genes. Appearance, mode of speech, and body language are easy ways to divide up groups into Us and Them.

Finally, there is a saying... "You're either white or you're not". Don't assume white racism is limited to brown skin tones when there are plenty of red, yellow, and off-white people out there.
 
torontojohn said:
Maybe the thread title is a one-line joke, but I'll run with it if you do.

Ask and I shall answer.

If I do half the job that our resident "Angry Black Man" did with his thread, I want a cookie.

Hey TJ, another AWM here. I can be on the panel if you want. Don't know if I'll answer any questions though, 'cuz I don't really care one way or the other.
 
iprint said:
Why can't asians drive well?

The traditional answers would be:
"Because they're too short to see over the steering wheel"
"Because they can't see well through their slanty eyes"
"Because they've never driven anything but a rickshaw before"

I don't know the real reason that the group of bad drivers who appear to be Asian stands out against the bad drivers from other racial backgrounds. White people aren't allowed to ask these kinds of questions.

I do know that if I see someone in the middle lane on the highway going under the speed limit, they'll generally fall into one of two groups: some shrunken old person wearing a fedora, or a young Asiatic individual. The latter can be sometimes be seen driving with the four-way flashers on - a violation of the Highway Traffic Act, by the way.

My first instinct is to suspect a cultural issue - maybe they really have zero experience with driving culture. Then, of course, it occurs to me that rural Asians aren't very likely to immigrate to Canada. However, bad Asian drivers seem to be reducing in number to the point where they don't stand out anymore. I'm guessing that's because there are a lot of 2nd-generation drivers now, which would point right back to cultural differences.

It could also be selection bias... we're simply selecting bad drivers from our memories who stand out, and people who look different are more likely to stand out than those who don't. That white guy who cuts you off is a jerk, but the yellow guy is an Asian jerk.
 
Lou Siffer said:
Hey TJ, another AWM here. I can be on the panel if you want. Don't know if I'll answer any questions though, 'cuz I don't really care one way or the other.

No thanks, your title indicates you're evil, not ambivalent. You need to go to the Ask an "Evil White Man" thread.
 
iprint said:
what does "vacillation" mean?

To be indecisive, but not in a simple "I can't decide" way. It's more of a flopping around between all the alternative choices without ever actually settling on one of them.