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When Obama was born, his birth certificate in any other state than Hawaii would have said "Colored" or "Negro."
If he were just another guy on the street and involved in an arrest, would the police officer report "black" or "white?"
It's disingenuous to pretend that he has any control over how American society pigeonholes him racially, and it's disingenuous to pretend that only black people would look at him and consider him black.
Thank you! If anyone thinks this 'switch' is going unnoticed, they are sadly mistaken.
The above is the latest report about another shooting of innocent "white" people by someone identified as a "light skinned black male".
Why is it that people who are partly "black" and partly "white" are almost always identified, when race or color of skin is specified, as "black"? (Or at least this has been my observation.) It seems to me that this goes back to the 1800's when in some sections of the U.S., anyone with ANY black ancestry was considered black, period, and therefore often discriminated against.
And now, with so much racism still in existence, it seems that identifying someone who has done something wrong as black just fuels the hatred displayed by racists. This is highly evident on many current threads on City Data.
I think we should stop identifying people by skin color unless it is absolutely necessary -- such as when a description of a missing person is issued -- and then the person should only be described as "light skinned", "darker (or perhaps medium?) skinned", or "dark skinned", with the gender, color of hair and eyes, approximate height and weight, and description of clothing also given.
Of course, if someone wants to self-identify as "black", "white", "Latino", "Vietnamese", or whatever, that is fine -- but I just think that news agencies and law enforcement agencies should not arbitrarily assign any ancestry labels to people.
That is just my opinion, of course. What is yours?
Well, the media will always spin the story in such a way as to maximize controversy and therefore ratings. So I wouldn't take their examples as "the state of race relations and perception" for ALL people. Black on white or white on black crime and violence will ALWAYS trump b on b or w on w stories. Every time. This is old news and it has been this way for decades.
Also sometimes its just common perception: a person of white/Black ancestry looks more Black. Look at your current POTUS! He looks more black than white, was raised more white than Black, however, but although is a 50/50 mix has always been referred to as America's first Black President. I don't have a problem with that, since for all intents and purposes it's true.
There ARE exceptions to the "first appearances" rule that I claimed in my second paragraph. A good and sort of funny example is, for me, Derek Jeter. LOL--I'm a huge baseball fan and follow the MLB pretty close. (although I admit I've always been a Yankee hater and never went out of my way to watch them on TV unless they were playing a team I liked.) Anyway, for years, like, up until maybe three years ago, I didnt even know Jeter was Bi-racial! Same deal with actor Vin Diesel. And so I don't recall the media ever playing that up. Maybe they did and I missed it but I don't believe so.
Race IS a myth, BTW, as any Anthropolgist will tell you. But this is not a misconception that I see going away any time soon, although some inroads have ben made over the past decade or so. (I'ts a very Thread-worthy topic as well! LOL)
The only one that looks a bit mixed is the little one and that's stretching it. They would all be looked at as black in this country. In fact most blacks in USA have around 25% European ancestry and they are considered black not mixed. Same with these kids. Again they look nothing like their mother except for the little white daughter.
Like I said in my post, if those kids look "Black" then "Black" cannot be narrowly defined as persons who are of mostly or purely African descent. Their features do not mirror those from the African continent. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that. And if we want to be literal here, the younger one DOES look her mother, albeit with a darker skin tone.
If you mix red and blue paint, since when did it come out as either red or blue? Last I checked it was purple.
No, they look MIXED. If people are going to say that they look "Black", then "Black" (as classified in America) can no longer be narrowly defined as people of mostly or pure African descent.
Where the heck have you been in America? Are you claiming you've never heard of the "one percent rule?" "Black" in America has never, ever, ever been "narrowly defined as people of mostly or pure African descent."
Where the heck have you been in America? Are you claiming you've never heard of the "one percent rule?" "Black" in America has never, ever, ever been "narrowly defined as people of mostly or pure African descent."
Exactly. She is acting as if black mixed people have never been seen as black in the U.S. They have been black since day one and will be continue to be for the foreseeable future.
Where the heck have you been in America? Are you claiming you've never heard of the "one percent rule?" "Black" in America has never, ever, ever been "narrowly defined as people of mostly or pure African descent."
Oh yeah? Check the census categories. And I know fully well about the one-drop/one percent rule, who doesn't? It's a rather antiquated rule at that. In addition, the term "African American" is rather exclusionary since the Black American race is mixed, no?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyDays123
Exactly. She is acting as if black mixed people have never been seen as black in the U.S. They have been black since day one and will be continue to be for the foreseeable future.
It doesn't matter what people "see", because in those people's eyes, every person who has curly hair and a skin tone darker than cream of wheat means that they are black. Like I said before, you mix red and blue and you get purple. Pretty simple. A person who is clearly half Black and half Asian is totally black because they have curly hair or a darker hue? You're basically negating one half of the equation because the child doesn't share the same skin tone or hair texture?
And for the record, people can call themselves whatever they want. I wouldn't care if Obama called himself a Biracial man or a Black man.
Yes but these days it's blacks who have perpetuated the whole "if you're partly black then you are black" thing. Case in point, if a biracial Puerto Rican goes around claiming to be white, blacks will call that person out as black.
But realistically, most black people who are partly white look black, and therefore that's why they are typically referred to as black. It's rare to see a biracial person who looks unmistakably white. It exists, but it's rare. Black genes leave a strong imprint.
Really? Because i have mixed cousins who look all kinds of ways. Like italians, like tan asian people, like persians/middle eastern people....
This is really just a biproduct of the 1 drop rule. And for many mixed people,i have met, they have found it easier to be accepted by their "black side" than the non-black side. There is variance based on the mix, but it generally holds true.
And Asian features, particularly eye shape, are dominant. Blasians clearly look half Black and half Asian. Kimora Lee being a good example.
Not exactly. Almond shaped eyes are also native to black people, making loads of black people "look asian" to some people. My sister and i used to joke we were part asian due to eye shape, then we saw pics of distant relatives with the same eyes.
But blasians can look all kinds ways. My cousin is blasian and looks like a tan asian person. Her hair is barely wavy.
There are basically only two really different human races currently living on our planet: Asians and Africans. Everything else is a blend of some sort. Whites are 2/3 African and 1/3 Asian. Inbreeding made them look the way they are. Biggest genetic diversity is happening in Africa.
We all know he was elected as a feel good story. I mean come on the guy was a communty organizer with no business experience. His only claim to fame was a speech about Iraq lol. The media pushed the let's get a "black" man in office 24/7 and that is why he won because people wanted to feel good about themselves that they voted for a "black" man.
The second time he was elected because Mitch Romney is an idiot and most whites stayed home and did not vote.
You've got a lot of excuses. But you know what they say about excuses...
And I can't say it here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tangelag
If he had chosen 'white' even more hides would be chapped! In fact, I suspect a huge majority of the population would explode.
You ain't never lied.
Let Obama commit a heinous crime. He'll be blacker than a car tire.... quick, fast and in a hurry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tangelag
I received financial assistance when I was going to college, but I never assumed it was because I was black, but because I was poor with excellent grades. I repaid all my student loans in a timely manner after I got my first job. Once, I was even given a bonus for having such good grades. I gave it away to a single mother who was a student. I was still poor, but I couldn't accept it, was actually embarrassed about it. I never told my mother. I don't think she would have agreed as we were a large family and, as I said, poor. I guess I never thought it out. I was in my own little world of studying. I just knew I didn't need the money for my studies as I had sufficient loans and I worked part-time.
My father paid every dime of my college. I paid every dime of my son's college (for the most part) and grad school.
There were no thousands of dollars dropping out of the sky for me OR my son just because we're black. That's s myth.
My son did secure a little scholarship money on a couple of occasions, but he had to write essays and apply for the money just like any other student...white, black or otherwise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyDays123
Barack Hussein Obama the country's first affirmative action POTUS. In other words a TOKEN president lol.
Meh...you're not hurting anyone's feelings.
He won. And he obviously clobbered your candidates.
Maybe you should nominate a token.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jade408
Not exactly. Almond shaped eyes are also native to black people, making loads of black people "look asian" to some people. My sister and i used to joke we were part asian due to eye shape, then we saw pics of distant relatives with the same eyes.
But blasians can look all kinds ways. My cousin is blasian and looks like a tan asian person. Her hair is barely wavy.
Look at the eyes on a pic of Nelson Mandela. Very narrow and emblematic of an East Asian.
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