Misconceptions

[Vanessa]

Firstly, Jazzieal, what exactly is a possum? I assumed they were like a squirrel, but they sound much bigger, more like a racoon.

Actually I would just like to give you an example of how people get it so wrong and cannot live and let live.

When my ex-husband and I first came back to the UK, we had two kiddies. My eldest, was school age and the youngest had a couple of years to go before starting school. Anyway when I first took Danielle to school here, she was so unhappy there, because all the kids were calling her a "Paki". The teachers had introduced Danielle as the new kid who came from Africa, and because the other children didn't know better and had heard their parents speaking about people in a decidedly racist way, they started to call her a "Paki". The parents of course denied ever using such terms and could not understand where their kids had heard the term.

"Paki" is a very derogatory way of referring to Indian people from India and the Indian sub-continent. These kids were only about 7 or 8 and didn't know better, and could not have got it more wrong if they tried. Danielle is very light skinned, blonde and blue eyed, (definitely caucasian).

This is the way that racial tensions and hatred is passed on from one generation to another. Something else I could not believe when I came back here was just how racist the people of this country are. I was never brought up with the kind of racism that I have seen in the UK and I find it quite shocking and disgusting how hurtful people can be because they don't understand other races and don't want to make the effort to get to know them either. I wish they would try, because I think everyone's lives would be a little richer if they did.

[angelwithin]

I hear you on the racisim Vanessa, I'm not racist in any way what so ever, colour, creed, dress style, ideals don't matter to me and never have (but i'm lucky i guess being pyschic and able see peoples auras mean i see the 'inner' angel in everyone first...hence my screen name ) but i live in a quite racist area, my sister in law is afro carribean, my cousin's wife is chinese, one of my closest school friends had arab parents, and another friend was from pakistan and the rest of my family are scottish, irish, french welsh and romany (yup i was called gypsy, pikie, trash etc at school) so i was brought up in a very multicultral extended family

if people only took the time to talk and get to know each other without pre-conceptions first they would realise that colour, creed, cultural differences etc are nothing to fear, people are afterall just ONE race....humans and in the eyes of the powers above we are all just little glowing lights of rainbow colours

this is where the internet is fabulous....you see on my screen settings you are all BLUE to me

oh on another note....you forgot to mention the revolting english dish of jellied eels *pukes*

[mint]

Grate . We got a lot of convicts here also. were sold as indentured servant's. can you Imagen stealing bread because your family were starving and finding your whole family sold as slaves in America. not all slaves were black.
Way back when I was a kid we still did not have electric we had lamps. and an out house. Yes lades even in winter.
We had a spring house where spring water flowed and had a walk around in side kelp milk butter all things that needed to be cold in it was so cold there even in summer. now Ozarka gets bottled watter from those same springs in east Texas today.
possum is a meat just like any other best when bar-b-que ed
if you try one catch in a live trap put in cage for a couple of weeks feed veg scraps and corn.
does not tast like chicken tast like pork.

[*eng*]

I ive in a very multi cultural town and have quite a diverse family.The furthest I have been is Scotland because I have family there. Vanessa you should be a teacher, so well expressed and so knowledgeable.

[Vanessa]

I don't know about being a teacher Eng - maybe if it was little kids. Love em and would have a half a dozen if I could give them away again at 12.

Back to racism. You girls will not believe this. When I left Rhodesia, I moved to South Africa. I hadn't lived there long when I witnessed an accident. A car hit a black man who was riding his bicycle and he was lying in the road, unconscious and bleeding. I rang for an ambulance, an was asked "A white or a black ambulance miss?" Stupid me, I did not know what they were on about and said "Pardon". The guy on the other end of the phone said again "A white or a black ambulance miss?". I told him to stop mucking about, all ambulances were white with red crosses on the side", whereupon he said "Is it for a white man or a black man?" I could not believe what I was hearing and said to him, "What bloody difference does it make what colour he is, he is lying in the road, bleeding and in pain, just like you would be if a car ran you over". He said, well "I take it he is a black man, well he can't ride in a white ambulance, he might contaminate it". Do you know they sent a clapped out old landrover to fetch him that only had a stretcher in the back. If the guy lived he was a very lucky man. Needless to say I did not stop there for long. What an attitude.

[O2BNGdHope]

Firstly, Jazzieal, what exactly is a possum? I assumed they were like a squirrel, but they sound much bigger, more like a racoon.

Ok, remember you asked. They are roughly the size of a raccoon, a bit smaller actually. This is how they carry their young and they hang upside down by wrapping their tales around tree limbs.

[Vanessa]

Don't like the look of those teeth. I bet it gives a nasty bite when it wants to. Ta very much

[grannywin]

After seeing the picture, I think I will pass on catching that possom for a stew. Anyone have a recipe for groundhog? I keep finding them in my live trap.

I have a solution to getting people to accept diversity. I think we should introduce our heads of government to scrapping. If they wanted to communicate, they have to do a layout and share it. It would be difficult to fight a war since since they could only use pretty embellishments. How do you like that line of thinking?