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I don't see white people as any different than black people.. it is just pigment in the skin. We are to judge each person by their character, not their skin color.. I have seen the best people in all races and also the worst.
One race, the human race.
Again the labels white people and black people suggests that you do.
Again the only reason racial categories exist is based on the foundational idea that to be black is to act like a black which is different from those who aren't black.
We have endowed race and racial identities with explanatory power about human nature, a groups collective behavior, an individual person's behavior, thinking, who they are.
And we still do that till this day.
Without that understanding, racial identities can not exist because they'd be completely meaningless.
It would be like saying the shoe size 12 people. We don't categorize human beings using shoe size or a million other possible physical descriptors because it is meaningless to us.
We don't believe it tells us anything to physically describe a person's shoe size, but the idea of race we continue to believe in it.
I'm very troubled by the phrase, "acting black." I find that people who use the term, often have a narrowly defined one-dimensional perception of blacks. In their limited mind, black people do not ski, hike, go camping, listen to various types of music, vacation, speak grammatically correct English, or partake in any other activities outside of what they narrowly define as "black actions and behaviors..."
I really like Aisha Tyler, because she always discusses this topic quite effectively.
I hope that more people will challenge the notion that blacks can only occupy a certain space. I'm tired of being defined by my skin color.
When people are defined by skin color because of stereotype it is always a false perception about an individual. People should not be judged by stereotype, but as an individual.
Stereotypes (negative and positive) are reinforced by what is promoted in the media and society.
Behaviorally, humans tend not to see grey areas and deal with what is face value and make judgments based on the superficial. Therefore, some people may make a judgment based on superficial characteristics and assume you (or anybody) embodies the racial/cultural stereotype.
I prefer to accept people as individuals and refuse to acknowledge stereotypes with regard to "race"/ethnicity.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska (South Central Region)
267 posts, read 311,239 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicole_inCA
I'm very troubled by the phrase, "acting black." I find that people who use the term, often have a narrowly defined one-dimensional perception of blacks. In their limited mind, black people do not ski, hike, go camping, listen to various types of music, vacation, speak grammatically correct English, or partake in any other activities outside of what they narrowly define as "black actions and behaviors..."
I really like Aisha Tyler, because she always discusses this topic quite effectively.
I hope that more people will challenge the notion that blacks can only occupy a certain space. I'm tired of being defined by my skin color.
"Acting Black" means acting like the James Evans Sr. family from the sitcom, Good Times.
I say this because people like the Obamas were often accused of "Trying To Be White" or "Acting White" by other black folk who couldn't make a difference, simply because they put EDUCATION first. They were also called SELLOUTS and accused of not being BLACK ENOUGH by the likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
The only time I have heard someone told to "act black" was when little boys were bullying another black boy for trying to do his homework and be successful in school. I view this in the same way as how I view fellow Appalachians scorning their peers for adopting what they consider to be "outsider" culture or "acting above their raising." Many times this also has to do with being successful and/or intellectual in a way they perceive as rejecting an Appalachian cultural identity. I suppose when your people have been told for generations that they're "uncivilized" and need to adopt "mainstream/proper white" values or less "ignorant" accents to be successful or acceptable by others, you internalize that on some level. For black people and other POC I imagine it's more far complicated, but I can only interpret it based on my experiences, and I don't want to presume I can speak for anyone else. Even so, I assume that being told success and intelligence isn't for "your kind" by a larger society which controls the ebb and flow of power/resources does things to people regardless of the reason.
So, when I hear people say you need to "act black" or anything similar, I frequently feel as though they are saying "you're betraying/rejecting us by acting like them to get ahead" and/or "education/success isn't meant for people like us so you must be doing something sketchy." When it's said by outsiders, it comes across as even more hostile. It's like they're saying "if you don't fit my stereotype then you must not really be like one of them" instead of rethinking their prejudices.
Here is one post that's shows the illogic of prejudice. This poster claims to never gave heard the term acting black, but then goes on to say that he has a question the black community has to answer about behavior from black people. Seems like he believes in the concept of acting black even though he never heard of it.
The idea that black people have to explain the behavior of other black people is the definition of believing in acting black and of course it us completely racist as well.
But the basic message in his post the black race are crabs in a bucket is the text book definition of believing in the idea of acting black. So once again for a man who claims yo have never geared of the term he seems to get it very well.
Take a deep breath. Exhale. Now, what is it you're trying to say?
I don't run with black folks that talk like that. I can't and won't tolerate it. If you're gonna tear down black folks while being black, then stay the hell away from me.
Now jokes are jokes....and no one can cut down black folks like black folks can when we're joking around. Black comedians have made a cottage industry talking about the stuff we do. That's one thing.
But blacks that put down other blacks for the purpose of showing out in front of white folks? Nah..that's Tomming. I'm not down with that at all.
When I see a black person, they are acting black. When I see a white person they are acting white. When I see an Asian they are acting Asian. When I see an Irishman they're drunk.
NOT GOOD THERE! I need to start hoisting a few to live "up" to my drunken Paddy pals. LOL!
I hope that more people will challenge the notion that blacks can only occupy a certain space. I'm tired of being defined by my skin color.
Then maybe you should become a leader in the black community and find a way to curb children born out of wedlock, as that is one of the biggest plagues upon black culture. You can also be a voice to counter rap/hip hop lyrics where women are objectified, drug are glorified, the word n igger is used every 5 seconds, and violent anti-white, anti-police themes are prevalent.
Lastly, someone needs to step up and tell their community that trying to look and act like a thug is not only damaging to the individuals who do it, but also to the black community overall. Granted people should not make sweeping generalizations about blacks based on the ones that do the aforementioned, but these issues dictate that some rotten apples tend to taint the entire barrel.
The sooner the race merchants (aka racial shakedown artists like Sharpton & Jackson) are replaced with younger, articulate black leaders without racial chips on their shoulders, the better for the whole of the black community.
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Last edited by Vector1; 07-07-2014 at 06:35 PM..
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