Racism at a launch

"Yes, but we also require an IQ of 60 or better. I'm not sure you qualify."

How about - "No! Go home!"

Or if you're feeling a little more confrontational, relay their question (loudly) to the crowd. "Hey! These two wanna know if we allow n*****s at our launch? Anybody know?"

"Yeah, all races are allowed here. But, we don't allow a**holes... Bye-bye!"

David Erbas-White

You're right.

Making a scene at the launch wouldn't do any good, and might have done quite a bit of harm.

Had I said something and the two people attacked me or started causing trouble at the launch, the launch site would almost certainly have been lost.

It's still hard to stand by and say nothing. I keep thinking about the man they were talking about. What if he saw me walking by these two men, and saying nothing?

On the other hand, am I assuming he needs some white dude to defend him? He doesn't need me to defend him. Every time one of his rockets flew, he defended himself far better than anything anyone might have said.

Maybe if I asked the two gentlemen to come over and meet him, they might have changed their minds. Maybe if they'd stuck around for the launch, they'd have learned something - and I screwed it up by my glare.

It's gotta suck being the one obvious black guy at a launch and having everyone who needs a lesson in racial sensitivity brought over for you to show them the errors of their ways. We're talking major annoyance.

Zooty

What harm?

Violence happens at Tripoli launches and the sites are not lost.

Zooty, Just curious. Can you give a general idea where this took place at? DR

How about "Click, Click, Boom!".....just kidding. :-) Unfortunately, knuckle draggers still exist, even in rocketry, it seems. You probably did the right thing by not dignifying the comment with a reply. Remember, never argue with a moron, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you on experience. Come launch with us in Michigan. The only folks WE don't like are Buckeye fans. >;-)

Mark Simpson NAR 71503 Level II God Bless our peacekeepers

And what's even more sad is how many adults are still passing on the "family tradition" of hate to their children.

John Stein

Shut up, you durn yankee.

;-)

ROFL

I can get up, I can throw up, I can sit up...but I can't be shut up. I get chlostr....er, closet....um, I'm scared of small places. :-)

John Stein

Thought that might get a chuckle. So what are you launching these days? Haven't seen you in a coon's age.

(and for those who think that phrase to be racist, refer to:

And more southern colloquialisms for your enjoyment (even though some of these are sort of wrong and others are just plain wrong)

Say nothing. They are asses, and if it were my launch, I would have asked them to leave.

Dude, you missed out on last Saturday. Check the flight pictures on our site (look under launch reports). The sky was so clear and so blue we had no trouble watching all flights. The EZI-65 made it's 22nd flight, this time on an Aerotech I366-M Redline. The winds were less than 5 MPH so no altimeter...just let her rip. I'm running out of high power motors so I'm doing lots of G's and below. Even my Big Daddy on a G35-7 was a blast. I want to get to O'Burg one day...I have got to see some real rockets again :-)

How about you?

John Stein

Saying anything to them is pointless -- they've already made their decisions, based on their own insecurity and lack of intellect.

All we can do his hope they haven't procreated, and if they have, we can hope and pray that their children are more intelligent than they.

-Kevin

Go Blue! What a game last Saturday! Unfortunately racism is still alive and well. But at least rocket flyers (I hope) appreciate skill and not ethnicity. Larry Lobdell Jr.

Depend on how much you wish to defend the freedom of others and stand up for anothers rights.

I have a reply for this, but I do not deem it proper for the president of a model rocket club to announce it in an open forum. todays society is a bit too i'll for the hard handed morals that I might have.

I left that hardware at home. Had I had said hardware on my person, I would not have even dared the dirty look.

Said hardware (and accompanying govt.-issued paperwork, complete with photograph that makes my Driver's License photo look like something by Ansel Adams) would require that I take every possible step to avoid using said hardware.

What was the old saying? An armed society is a polite society.

Zooty

I think you did the right thing. A big scene would have made many people uncomfortable.

We had someone make an equally offensive remark about Jews. Our launch rules now say that any racial or ethnic slurs are reason for ejection. I hope it never has to be excersized.

The peoson that did it pops up here once in a while. I hope he doesn't get eaten by a bear when he goes into the woods. If you want to know who it is, watch for my seemingly unprovoked insults to him (or ask me offline)

Phil Stein

Phil Stein

Hey Kevin, my kid is smarter than I am so there is hope :)