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I'm specifically talking about biracial or triracial people - not just skin color.
I think that you fail to recognize or acknowledge that the majority of Black Americans have some measure of non-African ancestry which therefore also makes the majority of Black Americans biracial or multiracial by your definition.
IMO you look at your own family and see the direct mixture, White mother/Black father = biracial children. The children are both Black and White. We get it. We understand.
However for the majority of Black Americans there was crossing back and forth over the interracial line for generation upon generation. Most of the time it was not by choice and while other times (much more rare) there did exist a relationship to some degree between master and slave. But no matter how the interracial mixture came about the child ALWAYS took the status of the mother and was a slave.
Also, the concept of the One Drop Rule is deeply etched into the American mind. And while I understand that some people want to separate out biracials from the "Black" or "White" categories it just isn't that simple.
And biracials who don't want to be placed into a category need to understand that...
1) all other biracials/multiracials do not hold the same views as they do (ie have no problem being identifed as Black, Asian, etc)
2) people can not necessarily always tell that one is biracial based on their physical attributes. Remember that MANY Black people with two Black parents have light skin, straight/wavy hair, light eyes, light colored hair, non-African features, etc
3) it sounds silly for biracials/multiracials to say that they are neither "this" nor "that"....embrace that you are both/all and don't become angry when people simply use the eyeball test to determine what you are because people mean no harm when they do this
So are we just supposed to forget that once upon a time (for a period of over 300 years) that having African ancestry did not avail a person to the same freedoms in this nation as it did those with European ancestry?
My case in point, older generations will teach it to the new generations, history books etc...I'm just stating a FACT that race wars will never come to an end.
My case in point, older generations will teach it to the new generations, history books etc...I'm just stating a FACT that race wars will never come to an end.
First, I wasn't aware that there was a "race war" raging.
Second, there is nothing to be gained from ignorance. Learning and understand our history is not about scorekeeping and fingerpointing. We would do ourselves a great injustice to brush the more unpleasant chapters under the rug.
Third, you need to recognize that ALL Black people (or not even most Black people) take their marching orders from Al, Jesse or anyone else for that matter.
So are we just supposed to forget that once upon a time (for a period of over 300 years) that having African ancestry did not avail a person to the same freedoms in this nation as it did those with European ancestry?
I can assure you that if it was forgotten (and never brought up) the black race would be far better off for doing it. But since a large percentage of blacks (such as you) continue to constantly bring it up - it damages the entire black race, and blacks in general will continue to struggle at most every single level. Many blacks (such as you) just don't get it. Blacks should be irate at people like you...
I can assure you that if it was forgotten (and never brought up) the black race would be far better off for doing it. But since a large percentage of blacks (such as you) continue to constantly bring it up - it damages the entire black race, and blacks in general will continue to struggle at most every single level. Many blacks (such as you) just don't get it. Blacks should be irate at people like you...
What blacks do you know of who constantly brings up slavery? If it similar to some white people who like to talk about the American Revolution or Jewish people who talk about the Holocaust?
It is not the fault of a black person if the history of black people in the US has a shameful beginning. Just because it makes you uncomfortable, doesn't make it something that needs to be silenced.
You say that blacks "continue to struggle at most every single level". Do you think our history in the US has something to do with this phenomenon?
I have a friend from Nigeria who told me explicitly that black people in America are not African in any way. I agreed, pointing out that Africa has a different mother. Africans deserved much better lives than what they have been forced to live.
I am not interested in what a Nigerian, who has benefited from the blood, sweat and tears of African Americans, has to say about me. Those who are insulted/offended about the use of African-American, prove that they don't even know what the term means.
I can assure you that if it was forgotten (and never brought up) the black race would be far better off for doing it. But since a large percentage of blacks (such as you) continue to constantly bring it up - it damages the entire black race, and blacks in general will continue to struggle at most every single level. Many blacks (such as you) just don't get it. Blacks should be irate at people like you...
I agree with this. It's hard to explain without going on and on. It's one thing to know about the past, and another to dwell on it. I think a majority dwell on the past and think all white people are responsible for it, which turns into distaste for whites, etc.
The educated blacks don't dwell on the past, imo and from what I've seen. And they behave completely different.
And biracials who don't want to be placed into a category need to understand that...
1) all other biracials/multiracials do not hold the same views as they do (ie have no problem being identifed as Black, Asian, etc)
2) people can not necessarily always tell that one is biracial based on their physical attributes. Remember that MANY Black people with two Black parents have light skin, straight/wavy hair, light eyes, light colored hair, non-African features, etc
3) it sounds silly for biracials/multiracials to say that they are neither "this" nor "that"....embrace that you are both/all and don't become angry when people simply use the eyeball test to determine what you are because people mean no harm when they do this
As a parent of a biracial child, I have to agree. Particularly with saying "I'm both white and Hispanic" rather than saying "I'm not white", "I'm not Hispanic", and even "I'm neither".
Of course, I don't plan to raise my son to waste too much time or concern on this subject. Everyone's going to be categorized, whether by race or something entirely different. There's really no way to escape it; might as well embrace it and realize that it doesn't matter what you call yourself or what others mistake you to be. Who cares? Or more on point, who SHOULD care?
Had a friend tell me he used to work retail and he'd constantly have people walking up to him speaking Spanish (He's Native American). He had a great attitude about it though. Said it was no big deal. Why can't more people be like this!? Especially those who aren't personally inconvenienced by it as he was?
I agree with this. It's hard to explain without going on and on. It's one thing to know about the past, and another to dwell on it. I think a majority dwell on the past and think all white people are responsible for it, which turns into distaste for whites, etc.
The educated blacks don't dwell on the past, imo and from what I've seen. And they behave completely different.
You are generalizing. First thing, you don't know "the majority" of black people to say we dwell on anything. I've been black for all of the almost 32 years I've been on this earth and outside of some radical guys (usually ex-cons shouting on a street corner and/or the subway), I don't know of any black person who even discusses slavery as a daily conversation point. What black people do you know who do this for you to come to your conclusion that the "majority" of us dwell on it?
The educated whites that I see behave differently from the uneducated whites. Why do you suppose this is?
I agree with this. It's hard to explain without going on and on. It's one thing to know about the past, and another to dwell on it. I think a majority dwell on the past and think all white people are responsible for it, which turns into distaste for whites, etc.
The educated blacks don't dwell on the past, imo and from what I've seen. And they behave completely different.
I am an "educated Black" who understands the importance of knowing my history. That scares people like you, doesn't it?
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