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Actually, many of us do. Bill Cosby speaks on it; Roland S Martin speaks on it; Dr. Michael Eric Dyson speaks on it; Shelby Steele speaks on it. Black people I know and associate with speak on it;. We readily acknowledge the problems in the Black Community and acknowledge those behaviors that contribute to the problem.
My question to you is, why is it that you go into attack mode any time a black person points up a discriminatory act perpetrated by a white individual or organization. Instead of examining the situation, your immediately yell "Race Card", as though the situation was not a bona fide race-based offense. A lot of bad that is done to black people is not necessarily racially motivated. A lot of it is. You seem to have a problem accepting that there actually are racially motivated acts of wrong doing perpetrated by whites. Yes, I know that black people are also guilty of perpetrating racially based wrongs against whites, but that's not the issue here. And please don't try to dodge the question placed at your feet by trying to hide behind the wrondoings that black people do. I already know about that and that's not what I'm asking you about.
Further, I invite you to go back to Post #155 in this thread, examine the posted links, and then come back and explain why it is that you maintain that the legacy of slavery in these United States has no impact on society today. You seem to have not been able to respond to that post, but I noticed that you did attempt to discredit a link on the same subject posted subsequent to my post. Let's not cherry pick.
Good evening,
Let's be honest, people like Bill Cosby catch hell from the "Black community" for publicly speaking out about any personal accountability for Black Americans. Phrases like Uncle Tom, etc are thrown out as well, and the phrase "he shouldn't be airing our dirty laundry in public" is usually brought up as well.
Honestly, there is no real safe haven for a Black American public figure to criticise Blacks as a group without receiving HEAVY criticism. Personally, I believe the personal accountability issues are class issues more than race issues, anyway, and need to be handled as such. But since most people group these issues as a "Black" issue, and will accept positive Black stereotypes as a group, they should be thick skinned enough to accept criticism as a group, especially for a Black public figure.
I didn't say you should. I just said many white people do. They obviously don't feel guilty for having enslaved black people themselves, but they feel guilty for benefiting from white privilege, which stems from slavery times.
I would tell them to stop feeling guilty about something that has nothing to do with them and that they have no control over.
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People accuse my wife of stealing today. People assume she's my caretaker or working for me instead of my friend or my wife or my cousin today. Two guys almost got arrested for sexual harassment for having a conversation with me in 2009. Racism still happens today. It's relevant because even though we have been progressing, it still happens from both sides.
What does sexual harassment have to do with anything? Yes, I said racism still happens today, it shouldn't, but you can't hold an entire race accountable for the actions of a select few. That's like saying all liberals suck b/c Obama sucks. Makes no sense, does it?
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You know how I know it's at least partially racial in nature? They do it with my black grandma too. They never do it with my white roommate. People assume he's my boyfriend. And in terms of looking strange or helping me, my roommate helps me a lot more in public. He's much quicker to guide me or help me to a seat whereas my wife will just let me find it on my own. Both my wife and roommate tend to wear old worn out clothing.
So maybe the old worn out clothing makes them think she's your helper? I don't know. Maybe they think he's gay for helping you. Another false assumption. Same as the one that the black lady is your helper. Your roommate is white but yet there are people making false assumptions about him. Obviously race has nothing to do with it! People tend to call it like they see it, whether they are perceiving things correctly or not. But again, who cares what they think?
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People constantly assume my black family and friends are working for me. In fact, once I was with two friends of mine. One is deaf-blind and white like me, aged 68. The other is black, hearing-sighted and aged 65. Someone assumed my 68-year-old deaf-blind male friend and I were married, and didn't even consider the idea that he might be married to the 65-year-old woman standing right next to him. Why, because we're both white and deaf-blind? He and I are 48 years apart. She and him are 3 years apart. Honestly, who do you think is more likely to be married? He's old enough to be my grandfather. And yet they assumed that he and I were married and thought she was just our social worker.
That's just weird that someone would think that of a group of people. I honestly cannot offer any insight into that scenario, aside from that maybe these people are just morons?
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I'm not saying it's the end of the world or that I even care what people think. I'm just pointing out those instances to show that even in 2011, people are racist. It's more subtle than it used to be but it's still there. Why do we we have to talk about the past? Because the past informs the present, and the past explains a lot of the racism that still happens today. People wonder why assumptions like the ones I mentioned are made and the answer is in our history. In order to not repeat the past, we have to learn from it.
Yes, people are racist, I have said this. But it's not widespread. People will always judge on first appearances, that's a fact of life. Unless someone is discriminating against a black person or gay person or a deaf-blind person or whatever the case may be, who cares? I have never seen you pull the "deaf-blind card" as you can own up to your faults, from what I've seen. You very well could pull that card, just like a black person could pull the race card, but neither has any more merit than the other. It's all about feeling sorry for yourself instead of feeling empowered and motivated when someone criticizes you.
Also, I don't know if you know, notice or even care but another effect is the dark skinned light skinned issue in the black community which is a big problem. It is mentioned in the article I gave like I said it may not be a credible source to you but it is happening and it's an ongoing situation in the African-American community
Okay, so if blacks are making fun of their own race, then obviously there is a problem within the race! Not with whites.
Yes you do, you just don't know this unless the poster announces their race in their postings. Black posters who throw out the race card by default will announce their race.
Fair enough. However, I generally know who is which race, just by being on here for long enough. And now that I think about it, there are some black CDers who take my side on this issue. But there are more who would rather just play the race card, unfortunately.
YOU need to deal with the fact that not everybody is a racist. Stop accusing and give people the benefit of the doubt. Like I said before, if you look for something hard enough, you will find it. How about you stop looking?
The generalizing is b/c people who play the race card are doing so because they cannot admit to their own problems. Why would one do that if they could not just say to themselves "Yeah, they're right, maybe I didn't get that job b/c someone else was more qualified, it probably has nothing to do with my race"?
When did I accuse anyone of being racist? Are you getting me confused with another poster or something? What the hell are you reading? I'm at lost...
So it's okay for you to generalize and accuse people of playing the race card when most of the time they're basing it off of experience with another race. I have only came into contact with a racist one time in the twenty-two years of my life. I'm so sorry if you may think I feel the need for self-entitlement but I do not, I'm grown and I think for myself I don't need Jesse Jackson, the NAACP or anyone you think who speaks for all BLACKS speaking for me. So are you saying ALL blacks think like that? The more you know I guess.
When did I accuse anyone of being racist? Are you getting me confused with another poster or something? What the hell are you reading? I'm at lost...
That's what playing the race card is, it's calling someone racist. Since you are in support of people doing this, I assume you are calling me and anyone who disagrees a racist. If not, please explain what exactly you are saying.
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So it's okay for you to generalize and accuse people of playing the race card when most of the time they're basing it off of experience with another race. I have only came into contact with a racist one time in the twenty-two years of my life. I'm so sorry if you may think I feel the need for self-entitlement but I do not, I'm grown and I think for myself I don't need Jesse Jackson, the NAACP or anyone you think who speaks for all BLACKS speaking for me. So are you saying ALL blacks think like that? The more you know I guess.
If someone calls racism on someone who is not saying something racist, that in and of itself is racist, and has no basis in reality. Therefore, they are not basing it off of personal experience, they are basing it on their own racism.
I don't know where you're heading with the second half of this paragraph so I have no response.
Let's be honest, people like Bill Cosby catch hell from the "Black community" for publicly speaking out about any personal accountability for Black Americans. Phrases like Uncle Tom, etc are thrown out as well, and the phrase "he shouldn't be airing our dirty laundry in public" is usually brought up as well.
Honestly, there is no real safe haven for a Black American public figure to criticise Blacks as a group without receiving HEAVY criticism. Personally, I believe the personal accountability issues are class issues more than race issues, anyway, and need to be handled as such. But since most people group these issues as a "Black" issue, and will accept positive Black stereotypes as a group, they should be thick skinned enough to accept criticism as a group, especially for a Black public figure.
How about…enslaving black people for hundreds of years? Denying black people rights? A lot of white people feel guilty about the history of slavery and racial segregation.
What's to feel guilty about? Being or feeling guilty for something you did not do or were not involved in is idiotic.
That's what playing the race card is, it's calling someone racist. Since you are in support of people doing this, I assume you are calling me and anyone who disagrees a racist. If not, please explain what exactly you are saying.
Because race does not even play a factor, and it's tiring to have to discuss it all the time when it's a moot point to begin with. I'm aware racism exists but it's not on the scale you would believe it to be. Seriously. It's so annoying to have to deal with people who just want to play the blame game when it comes to race, when it really 99% of the time has nothing to do with anything.
I haven't dodged any question you have put forth.
I discredited the other poster b/c his link was to something that is not credible. I did not really read your links b/c there are too many and I have ADHD and I find it hard to concentrate, to be totally honest with you. If you pick the one that best describes your point, I will read through it. No videos, please, as it's not possible to skim through and find the real points in it.
You don't have a clue of the extent of racism in this country. What's really annoying is that every effort to educate people like you of the reality of the breadth and depth of racism is met with denial based on some nebulous idea in your own mind that "it just ain't that bad".
I'm going to go out on a limb and presume, based on your posts, that you're white. As a white person, really, how the hell would youhave any idea what black people deal with on a day to day basis?? You are limited to what black-white interaction you observe. You can only look at these interactions from a white paradigm. You may work with a few black people, or you may not. Based on your posts, it is easily inferred that your interaction with blacks is somewhat superficial (work acquaintances, neighbors in passing), and / or limited (live or work around a few black people, perhaps a closer acquaintence with one or two). As a white person, it is highly unlikely that you would even be aware of a lot of the things that black people have to deal with in white society on a daily basis, performing routine activities like going to the store, buying gasoline, interfacing with businesses and representatives of institutions. Your paradigm blinds you to that. Unless you have actually been educated (trained) to recognize that life in this country is based on a white paradigm and what the really means, you are unable to analyze a situation from any other perspective. As a black person living in a white America for the last 53 years, I, and others like me, have learned to see things from a white paradigm because that's the world we live in, and from a black paradigm because that's the skin we live in. You don't have the task of having to look at things from a dual perspective and then trying to analyze whether that last slight was accidental, incidental, or racially motivated.
The skin we're in plays a significant role in how we are treated. Why?....because that is the first thing that people see when they see us. Don't give me that crap about "I don't see color". One has to deny the existence of my color to treat me like any one else?? Seeing my color is an obstacle to that?? There are those who would call this victimology. It's only victimology if you allow it to get in the way of what you are doing or trying to accomplish. Otherwise, it's regarded as something that most white people who do this don't want to acknowledge about themselves. There are studies that prove this out. It is an insult to one's common sense to say that one can see a black person and not at least inwardly acknowledge that they are black. Consciously or unconsciously there are assumptions made solely on that fact.
We are judged before we exhibit any type of behavior. Nimchimpski provided several examples of exactly that happening. Being married to a black woman has given him a window into seeing the world from a black perspective. He is a part of her day to day existence, and therefore has had a significant exposure to ...participation in...a black paradigm of life in this country.
These links will connect you to some short reads. One is only a couple of paragraphs, the others are no more than a page or three.
Read them at your leisure, but read them. I'm curious as to the true basis for your denial of the reality of the situation. Do you have any links that substantiate your position?
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but another effect is the dark skinned light skinned issue in the black community which is a big problem. It is mentioned in the article I gave like I said it may not be a credible source to you but it is happening and it's an ongoing situation in the African-American community
