i got assaulted and robbed tonight

[Phil Redmond]

Holy crap man. I know you're trying to show how socially adept you are with your bantering; but seriously, the only reason we're debating this is because Phil mentioned something about it (ever so subtly). . . . .

Thank you. I'm glad somebody got it. I only asked because I wanted to know if the guy attacked was Asian or white, or Filipino beacuse he mentioned that the guys were black. I in no way even thought that because he said they were black that he was being racist. Some one here jumped the gun so I decided to let it go. Maron, I even have an Italian friend name Victor Parlati so I can't be racist. . . . .
Get a grip, (and a sense of humor), guys. . . . lol

[Phil Redmond]

Actually, no. He would be a Nigerian living in America, or a South African living in America, or an Ethopian living in America. He would only be an African American if he was ethnically African.

You're confusing nationality with ethnicity--a common mistake. For instance--persons like myself are Asian. We are from the continent of Asia. However, I'm Japanese-American in terms of my nationality. You could call me Asian-American for my ethnicity. But in ethnic terms, I'm Asian. It's a very broad category.

Africa is not a country, it's a continent. When describing ethnicity, we make use of continents because that's the most accurate way to describe racial distribution throughout the earth. "Whites"=Caucasian/European. "Blacks"=African-....... "Yellows"=Asians. "Reds"=Amer-Indians. "....."=Arab/Indian.

This isn't being "PC". It's about accuracy. If I say I'm a Japanese-American, it's because I see that I don't identify with the whole *friggin' continent of Asia.

*Hey, did you know that in the seventeenth century "Frigging" was the word they used for "masturbation"?

I bet you didn't. I think this demonstrates how learned I am.

You used the term African-American. I've had South and Central Americans call me North American.
And yes I know that Africa is a continent. I speak a few other languages other than English unlike most of my countrymen and I'm very aware of geography. Based on what you wrote the term African-American is invalid as well since Africa is a continent. I guess we should use Chad-American, Liberian-American, or maybe Yoruban-American . . .

[bakxierboxer]

.... I even have an Italian friend name Victor Parlati so I can't be racist. . . . .

OTOH, the ability to "discriminate" http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?...iminate&gwp=16
is not all bad.
(what DOES this have to do with having an "Italian friend"?)

Get a gripe, (and a sense of humor), guys. . . . lol

Gripes they've got.....
Whether or not they've "got a grip" may depend on the MA they train or their (sometimes tenuous) relationship with what constitutes "reality".

[Phil Redmond]

OTOH, the ability to "discriminate" http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?...iminate&gwp=16
is not all bad.
(what DOES this have to do with having an "Italian friend"?)

Uh, that was also a joke. Victor got it. btw, I even have some black friends

Gripes they've got.....
Whether or not they've "got a grip" may depend on the MA they train or their (sometimes tenuous) relationship with what constitutes "reality".

I made a typo. You got me.

[bakxierboxer]

Uh, that was also a joke. Victor got it. btw, I even have some black friends

????
I was joking, too.....
I can safely say that I've got a number of friends whose ethnicity I don't know (or care) about.
People are..... people?
Give'em a chance and they'll show you what they are.

I made a typo. You got me.

Nope, that was supposedly another "joke"/"play on words"
(I even turned into a "two-fer")....

I don't play "gotcha" with guys that seem to be habitual straight-shooters.

[tjwingchun]

My girlfriend dropped me off 1 block away from my apartment. We had just gotten back from dinner. It was about 7:30 and dark out. I get out of her car and kiss her goodbye. Drives away. I start walking towards my apartment when all of a sudden 7 black kids (juveniles, all under 18) jump me (came out of the alley) and just start beating me up. I told them I didn't have any money. I didn't have my wallet or cellphone, just my keys. I start screaming for help while they are pounding me. Mostly my face. I couldn't see ****. Everything is just a blur. I just remember feeling punches from all directions. I'm screaming "help help" and then they finally run off. I get up and run and into this guy and he calls 911. Cops show up. I tell them what happened. They catch them all and I had to id them. I am a ****ing *******. I could only recognize 2 of them. So they only arrested 2 and let the rest go. All under 18. My face looks like ****. Mostly just bruising, no cuts.

I am not in pain. I am just ****ing ****ed off. I felt so helpless and couldn't do anything. My body didn't react. More than 5 years of martial art training just a waist. My legs wouldn't move. My girlfriend was driving so I wore these ****ing sandals because it was nice out. I froze. I curled up on the ****ing ground as 7 people just pounded on my face.

I am just so ****ed off. It caught me completely off guard. I never thought this could happen to me. I wish I had ran after them and just beaten the **** out of them. But I couldn't. My body froze and my mind went blank.

Unsuccessful night for them I guess. I didn't have my wallet or any other things.

Have you ever been assaulted? Robbed? How do I get over this. My heart is still racing and I can't seem to fall asleep. This was just on the side street on my apartment.

Thanks.

God I cannot fall asleep...

Just to get back to the point

The old adage that "time heals" comes to mind and knowing that to be best prepared is the only answer to the questions that reality throws at us, which is one of the reasons I have continued to train and develop over 30 years teaching professionally.

Wing Chun is all about the "if´s, but´s and maybe´s" that we can face in violent confrontations, how we survive a fight depends as much on luck as our expertise, how we grow from defeat depends upon our honesty, acceptance that we are not invincible and willingness to learn.

[Seppukku]

You used the term African-American. I've had South and Central Americans call me North American.
And yes I know that Africa is a continent. I speak a few other languages other than English unlike most of my countrymen and I'm very aware of geography. Based on what you wrote the term African-American is invalid as well since Africa is a continent. I guess we should use Chad-American, Liberian-American, or maybe Yoruban-American . . .

We're talking about origins, Philip. Ethnic Africans were indigenous to the continent of Africa. Amer-Indians were indigenous to the American continents. Caucasians were indigenous to the region of the Cacasus (including northern Africa, West Asia, and parts of western India), although they were most prominent in Europe. As for Hispanics, they're tied to Central/South America by history, even though their ethnicity is a largely diverse one. Asians were indigenous to, you've guessed it....Asia!

This is a broad analysis, not taking into consideration the "migrations" that preceded these particular categories. (The reason they don't take these "migrations" into account is they have no relevance to modernity....and that everyone comes from either Africa or Japan anyways [More people swing for the former, but if you ask me, we're all Japanese]. But making some stupid statement like: what's the point? We all come from Africa....that's a stupid statement. We've all evolved according to our relationship "with the land"). From an anthropological standpoint, these categories do describe where these particular ethnicities established themselves "with the land", created their cultures, adapted their cultures to the climates, and took root "with the land". And more, evolved "with the land".

It's why Africans don't have melanin (warm climates); why Anglo-Saxons were hairy thugs (cold climates); and why Koreans eat baby children (Communist climates).

[Phil Redmond]

. . . .It's why Africans don't have melanin (warm climates); . . . . .

Maybe you were joking when you wrote this. But in case you weren't:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/341565