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I said "n-word" for two reasons.
1.) The board profanity filter software removes it.
2.) I don't like using the real thing.
Also, the only people I saw making a fuss over Obama using it were right-wing loonies who probably wish they could get away with saying it in public themselves.
I see, but I'd bet dollars to donuts many people would find that word more repulsive than just about anything else, whether it be something vulgar to women or using the Lord's name in vain.
The reason is because we have unwittingly been exposed to a form of aversion therapy, where any use of that word by a white person results in painful consequences. But I'd bet that is just fine with many liberals who supposedly cherished freedom of speech or thought.
I am no "right wing loon", but I do feel as if either everyone should be able to say it, or no one should. None of this special privilege garbage based on the race of the person having the choice.
So while I do not think it should be used to insult anyone, it certainly can be used within the context that Obama did. The same when Bill Clinton used it.
Simple, the historical definition of the word in dictionary's.
Presumably it points out real racism, not something that is carelessly thrown about to where the meaning loses all value.
Kind of like how this Seinfeld clip jokes about his uncle sees anti-Semitism around every corner;
It is not to be left up to the individual interpretations of people with an axe to grind, or a chip on their shoulders. That is true from either side of the divide.
Well... back in my militant days I used to get frustrated by my grandfathers utter amazement that a "Colored girl" had a some minimum wage job as a cashier at the Piggly Wiggly supermarket. Some achievement I thought! Well at least until I had a series of very long conversations with my grandfather (he was born in 1899) about organizing one of the first black railroad unions in the south, about how they would gun down black firemen off of locomotives in the 20's.
Now I think back on when I had to walk past one school (white) and walk another 8 blocks to the "Colored" school and my daughter just went to the school closest to our home. So I think that what is happening in Baltimore and South Carolina is a relative thing.
Think about this for a moment, despite the outrage of even fine upstanding white folks, Thomas Blanton, Herman Frank Cash, Robert Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry all known Klansmen were charged with bombing the 16th St. Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama killing Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair (I was ten at the time). It wouldn't be until 1965 that the men were tried in court and found guilty of... illegal possession and transportation of dynamite, each receiving a fine of $100.00. That's $50 per life.
So while we are a long ways away from Dylann Roof's trial, I have serious doubts that he will get off with a $100 fine and remember this as well. In 1977 all the Klansmen identified with the 16th St bombing were retried and all but Chambliss who died of old age, were sentenced to life without parole for the murders.
Times do change.
Now if you would like to point to a better time for African Americans in the 400+ year history of this country please be my guest. Now I have to get back to my chemo.
So for all your bleating and pouting about racism, you just don't like the President's politics? Got it.
Wouldn't it have been simpler - and, you know, less dishonest - to just admit that in the first place, rather than issue your tortured "I'm so upset that victims of racism don't pretend that racism doesn't exist just because it makes me feel bad when its existence is acknowledged!" whine-fest?
PS - What 'lost causes' would those be? A trillion-dollar war to ferret out non-existent 'vast stockpiles' of WMD, that has had the side-effects of massively destabilizing the Middle East and making Iran all the more powerful by removing the one main local check on their power? It's called democracy, genius. You got your way in 2000 and 2004, and we threw massive amounts of $ (not to mention thousands of American lives) down the rabbit hole of your guy's Iraq fiasco. Then when the economy went completely and utterly down the toilet on your guy's watch, you lost a pair of elections.
Why do you assume that Bush is the OP's "guy" and that the OP approved of everything Bush did ("You got your way in 2000 and 2004"), just because he said he (sorry if you're a she OP) dislikes Obama? Do you realize there's more to politics than strictly liberal/conservative, Republican/Democrat polarization? Do you realize the majority of Americans are actually moderate, with opinions falling on all sides of the spectrum, with complicated, rather moderate viewpoints even on controversial issues like abortion and gay marriage? Most Americans are not staunchly one side or the other. In fact, very few are. It's possible to be a Democrat but dislike Obama in particular and what he has done. It's possible to be a Republican and dislike Bush and what he'd done.
This is the problem with American politics today. "Your guy," "our guy." They're all "our guys." They're all the presidents of this country, and they were all elected. They all had to be more popular than members of the other political party at the time or they wouldn't have been voted in. That's how it works. Instead of picking sides for the rest of our lives, let's just be adults and acknowledge that we all have differing opinions, but more often than not very moderate ones if we sat down and actually had in-depth conversations with one another, and not be so petty over political parties, candidates, and situations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unsettomati
Suck it up. And for God's sake, quit your crying.
I hate when people resort to this. "Suck it up." Suck what up? The fact that someone has a different opinion than you and the best you can come up with to deal with it is "suck it up"? And "quit your crying"? So now it's "crying" when someone posts their opinions on current race relations in the US, in light of many controversies sparking misguided and sometimes very violent nationwide protests and movements, between police and criminals of a certain race lately? I haven't seen the OP use foul language, resort to name-calling, post in all-caps which suggests anger or frustration, or personally attack anyone. Yet this is "crying"?
It seems like ever since Obama came on the scene I have been drowning in the topic of racism. It really feels like race relations are much WORSE in this country now than ever before! People want to turn anything that happens into racism. A lot of it has stemmed from police shooting black men for breaking the law but so much more has transpired as well. Slavery is talked about a lot now as well, far more than it was before. I think it's good to bring things into light, but once again it seems like slavery and racism are brought up to shove in people's face and say, SEE, look what white people did in the 1800's. I am white and slavery had nothing to do with me. I feel bad that it happened...but humans were just kind of crazy back then. White people were tortured and treated inhumanly since the beginning of time as well. I'd say we have evolved as a species and i'm not sure why slavery is brought up so much again? Why not just focus on present day issues? No one can do anything about slavery anymore, it's over it happened just like any other tragic event in history. WHy should white people of today pay for slavery?
Everyone in this country has equal rights. Someone is always going to be ahead of someone else regardless of the color of their skin. I really fear for this country and I cant wait for Obama to be out of office. I am fearful as to what he will do next. I'm glad gay people can get married, but what he's doing with illegals and affordable healthcare is very scary. He is not changing this country for the better. He's encouraging poor people to not better themselves and in the process he's bringing down the middle class which is pretty much everyone. I dont understand how people love this man. What is to love? he is focused mainly on poor black people and bringing them up but in the process he is making life more difficult for the majority of Americans. So much is already taken out of our paychecks to give to the poor and undocumented aliens.
In order for America to be a great country we have to be somewhat exclusive. Harvard doesnt let everyone in so why should we? And why on earth should we just give anyone free healthcare who shows up? I am baffled. I was brought up to work hard and pay your own way. What has happened to that motto? Now the motto seems to be, hey even if you're poor you're still get everything you need. It's just sad. I have a 1 year old and I feel like his life is going to not be what i thought it would be here.
Race is nothing more than a societal construct designed to keep fellow Americans apart. If we are divided as a nation, it is easy to conquer us. If we are further divided by minuscule things such as race, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc., then it becomes even easier. None of these things should matter to anyone in 2015. My best friend, who I consider to be my sister, is white. She's from rural Northeast PA and I am from the urban Philadelphia area. We don't see color in one another (unless we make jokes about it). That's one reason why college has been so amazing: hardly anyone in college notices or cares about the differences in people; we just treat one another like fellow human beings.
Though I'm black, I am American before anything else. The title of American is so great that nothing else deserves to come before it, which is one reason why I refrain from calling myself an "African-American" among other reasons (like the fact that I wasn't born in Africa). Another major reason is because it shows solidarity with my fellow countrymen and countrywomen. I don't feel like a black man; I feel like an American man.
Race is nothing more than a societal construct designed to keep fellow Americans apart. If we are divided as a nation, it is easy to conquer us. If we are further divided by minuscule things such as race, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc., then it becomes even easier. None of these things should matter to anyone in 2015. My best friend, who I consider to be my sister, is white. She's from rural Northeast PA and I am from the urban Philadelphia area. We don't see color in one another (unless we make jokes about it). That's one reason why college has been so amazing: hardly anyone in college notices or cares about the differences in people; we just treat one another like fellow human beings.
Though I'm black, I am American before anything else. The title of American is so great that nothing else deserves to come before it, which is one reason why I refrain from calling myself an "African-American" among other reasons (like the fact that I wasn't born in Africa). Another major reason is because it shows solidarity with my fellow countrymen and countrywomen. I don't feel like a black man; I feel like an American man.
Good post.
Calling blacks in America "African-Americans" isn't necessarily wrong because the African continent is where black people originate. It would be the same as calling all whites "European-Americans" because Europe is the continent where all whites originate - except we don't do that here. We're just known as whites. I'm not black, but I see no issue in calling black people "blacks" or "black people" just as whites are called "whites" or "white people," and ditching the whole "African-American" thing because it is unfair to refer to one group as "*blank*-American" and the other as just white, aka American. "Black" though seems at the moment to be too un-PC but I appreciate blacks who speak out against the term, either citing they're ancestors weren't even from Africa, but the Caribbean for example, or that they identify as American first and foremost because they are Americans regardless of color.
I see nothing wrong with identifying people by race (it is necessary when describing someone, for any reason, without any malice intended) but when we call one group "white" and another "African-American" to me that is a problem because they're not equal terms. We're all Americans, they is no hyphen involved or ever needed. I believe changing this would be a step in the right direction for this country.
Calling blacks in America "African-Americans" isn't necessarily wrong because the African continent is where black people originate. It would be the same as calling all whites "European-Americans" because Europe is the continent where all whites originate - except we don't do that here. We're just known as whites. I'm not black, but I see no issue in calling black people "blacks" or "black people" just as whites are called "whites" or "white people," and ditching the whole "African-American" thing because it is unfair to refer to one group as "*blank*-American" and the other as just white, aka American. "Black" though seems at the moment to be too un-PC but I appreciate blacks who speak out against the term, either citing they're ancestors weren't even from Africa, but the Caribbean for example, or that they identify as American first and foremost because they are Americans regardless of color.
I see nothing wrong with identifying people by race (it is necessary when describing someone, for any reason, without any malice intended) but when we call one group "white" and another "African-American" to me that is a problem because they're not equal terms. We're all Americans, they is no hyphen involved or ever needed. I believe changing this would be a step in the right direction for this country.
The more un-PC, the better! I am so tired of people sugar-coating things out of fear of offending someone (not saying this describes you, but I have heard other people say this). The First Amendment should trump any offense taken towards a statement or view. Nevertheless, I don't mind people calling me "black" or "the black guy". While I wish we could all just call each other Americans, that day is far away. Until then, black is fine with me. African-American is too long and too annoying. Plus, some of my ancestors hail from Europe (Ireland and Germany) and America (I forgot which tribe my grandmother told me, but I apparently have Native American blood in my lineage).
Race is nothing more than a societal construct designed to keep fellow Americans apart. If we are divided as a nation, it is easy to conquer us. If we are further divided by minuscule things such as race, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc., then it becomes even easier. None of these things should matter to anyone in 2015. My best friend, who I consider to be my sister, is white. She's from rural Northeast PA and I am from the urban Philadelphia area. We don't see color in one another (unless we make jokes about it). That's one reason why college has been so amazing: hardly anyone in college notices or cares about the differences in people; we just treat one another like fellow human beings.
Though I'm black, I am American before anything else. The title of American is so great that nothing else deserves to come before it, which is one reason why I refrain from calling myself an "African-American" among other reasons (like the fact that I wasn't born in Africa). Another major reason is because it shows solidarity with my fellow countrymen and countrywomen. I don't feel like a black man; I feel like an American man.
Do you really think that Americans are the ones who originated and designated all the racial differences that divide us today?
The more un-PC, the better! I am so tired of people sugar-coating things out of fear of offending someone (not saying this describes you, but I have heard other people say this). The First Amendment should trump any offense taken towards a statement or view. Nevertheless, I don't mind people calling me "black" or "the black guy". While I wish we could all just call each other Americans, that day is far away. Until then, black is fine with me. African-American is too long and too annoying. Plus, some of my ancestors hail from Europe (Ireland and Germany) and America (I forgot which tribe my grandmother told me, but I apparently have Native American blood in my lineage).
Oh believe me - I am one of the most un-PC people I know. I am far from someone who sugarcoats things.
Many blacks in America who are descendants of slaves have at least one white ancestor. It was common for slave women to become concubines for their masters (it was pretty much always rape, as we would call it today, simply because of the master/slave relationship even though some of these couples were genuinely in love, or sometimes one-sided love), and mixed-race babies were common. In some cases, masters even treated their half-white slave children as well as they treated their full-white children they had with their wives, considering. It was a very interesting time, and very interesting to study. So yes - many "African-Americans" aren't even entirely "African."
Another problem we have in this country, unfortunately, is the tendency to refer to mixed-race people as one or the other (or one of multiple) based on what they look like the most. Most people who are black and white will look black, or some degree of black, more than white, because of simple genetics and trait dominance. People are inclined to say, "Oh she's black" regardless of the white ancestry or the one white parent. Look at Obama, for example. I mean no offense, but he was raised by his white mother and her family yet we call him black. He's "the first black president." No, he's actually the first mixed-race president - which is a huge accomplishment, clearly! But in this country today, mixed-race people, from what I understand, have a hard time picking an identity because of societal views and pressures and internal views on race. I have a few friends who are mixed-race and they often describe these identity struggles. This shouldn't even be a thing. This identity thing shouldn't even exist. But it does. We have a ways to go, for sure.
I try not to criticize Americans too much, though, given our history. How many other countries literally started with slavery and had to deal with that through their earliest history, then deal with the change from all they knew, the systematic racist system, to equality? Our many colonizers brought slaves here long before people yearned for independence from Britain, long before there was even a cohesive "America" controlled by one or two empires. We were a conglomerate of empires owning territory solely for economic gain with slave labor and racism from the start, and people wonder why things are how they are. We had no shot, from the beginning, of having "normal" race relations. It's a shame a few European kingdoms seeking wealth and competition sealed our fate so early on.
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