This is why people think Atlanta is trashy/hood/ghetto......... (White: live, vs)

[mjtinmemphis]

The reason I think Atlanta is guetto has to do with the underground, my last 10 experiences riding marta from the airport to Dorraville, the way people conduct themselves in key areas of the city. On the other hand, I know it's not a black thing. I know many blacks that live otp that are classy people that have things going for themselves.

[BeyondInfinity]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Why does "culture" have to black / white????????????

You are exactly right!

FYI, I was just giving an example because believe it or not, many people still believe that all/most African-Americans are loud, over-the-top, ghetto and so forth. So just to clear that up before it started happening, I mentioned what I said before it went there.

[EastSideWunda]

Originally Posted by mdiggs1

Warning: Long Post (I can't help it)

Let's get to the real problem/issue original poster. You like to judge yourself through the eyes of white folks. You fear that white people are going to watch CBS news and judge every black person to be like Cadillac Kimberly. As a black person you feel that you won't be in the good image/favor of the white man anymore (like there was already a good image in the first place). Thus, you dump on any black person who you feel is not in the correct image the white man would like.

You probably work somewhere in an office with white folks, where they regularly talk about what they saw on tv last night. You fear that they gon bring up the topic of the uncouth, unsophisticated, inferior, trashy, HIV-infected, single-mother screaming "where's my baby daddy", making six figures a year but still gettin a welfare check, hamhock eating, watermelon contest winning, no subject-verb agreement, cursing and praising the lord at the same time, black woman. Then you gon feel really ashamed and embarrassed, because unconsciously you look in the mirror and say, "Hey, that's me. I am Cadillac Kimberly!!"

This is a big problem with black people in general. Black people always judging themselves through the eyes of others, and not through the eyes of themselves. You know how much power that gives another man over your life, when he knows that your life is partially based on you proving to him how worthy of a human you are. When the white man knows that his simple judgment of you is enough to make you change your behavior in his favor, then he's not going to have respect for you.

It's like a man who succumbs to every want that a woman has in order to be next to her; she doesn't respect that man. She sees him as having no backbone, being weak, he's not a real man, he's what women call "the nice guy." A woman with a nice guy knows she has all the power in the relationship, and that's why she has the tendency to exploit his weakness to her own advantage. She'll have the man doing all these miscellaneous favors for her, like fixing her bathroom sink, mowing her lawn, taking her out to a free dinner three nights out the week, driving her to the mall to go shopping, massaging her feet, etc. She having the man doing all these things for her, knowing that she ain't giving up no booty at the end of the day.

End

Wow I would double you rep if I could. Sadly as a young black guy I feel the same way you do. Nowadays I'm starting to see alot of what your talking about amongst us . I can see why people are acting like this but seriously.............People have to stop worrying about what others think about them and just be a decent human being and get on with their lives!!!! Cadillac Kim won't affect an individuals life, Only the individual can affect their own life.

[BeyondInfinity]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

The reason I think Atlanta is guetto has to do with the underground, my last 10 experiences riding marta from the airport to Dorraville, the way people conduct themselves in key areas of the city. On the other hand, I know it's not a black thing. I know many blacks that live otp that are classy people that have things going for themselves.

I am glad you were able to open your mind and realize that. Some people still think that all African-Americans are ghetto and that is not the case. If more people were as well-rounded, such as yourself, they would realize that ghetto/thuggish behavior does not come in one color or culture. Ghetto behavior comes in all shapes, colors, and forms!

It's the same as people from other areas of the country believing that all southerners are slow, uneducated and/or poverty stricken. We southerners know this is not true.......correct?

[RocNY]

She sounds like a typical African American Female in any inner-city. Whats so outrageous about this video?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by ocsanders

Que? How is using "coarse language" remotely a cultural thing? That's one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.

Personal? Yes. Cultural?

When I worked for 3 1/2 summers in a granite quarry, I heard more swearing than I had ever heard in 19 years growing up in a middle-class suburban environment.

You don't think one's chosen vocabulary is influenced by culture? Or that different groups can develop their own terms? Kan U grok my wrdz?

[EastSideWunda]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

When I worked for 3 1/2 summers in a granite quarry, I heard more swearing than I had ever heard in 19 years growing up in a middle-class suburban environment.

You don't think one's chosen vocabulary is influenced by culture? Or that
different groups can develop their own terms? Kan U grok my wrdz?

Lol thats true. I live in the burbs now and so man people regardless of race/background do stuff like that

[ocsanders]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

When I worked for 3 1/2 summers in a granite quarry, I heard more swearing than I had ever heard in 19 years growing up in a middle-class suburban environment.

You don't think one's chosen vocabulary is influenced by culture? Or that different groups can develop their own terms? Kan U grok my wrdz?

I've always thought that swearing was a personal choice. Because people "turn it on and off". Do you think those same workers in the quarry swore around their families (I am assuming these were male workers). Did you give in to swearing while you were around them? How do you know many of the adults in your middle class, suburban upbringing didn't swear when you weren't around.

Ok, I'm being a little facetious, particularly with the last one. But I still believe swearing is a personal choice.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by ocsanders

Que? How is using "coarse language" remotely a cultural thing? That's one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.

Personal? Yes. Cultural?

Oh, the way we talk is enormously influenced by culture. That's why we have accents, dialects, localisms, idiom, patois, etc. I can listen to people from various parts of the country (including my own town sometimes) and barely understand what they're saying.

Those cultural practices also affect how much swearing we do. I've been on job sites and hunting trips where men will be cussing up a storm and using all kinds of crude language. But as soon as they get back home or walk into the office their language is suddenly cleaned up.

Of course we're not slaves to our cultural influences. Not every man on the hunting trip or the golf course uses coarse language. And occasionally someone will use it somewhere where it's inappropriate.

That's why I said personal choice also plays a part. We can decide how much profanity we want to use and when we think it's okay to drop the F-bomb. If I shank a ball off a tree I may have a choice word or two if it's just me and my golfing buddies, but I'm not going to describe it that way at dinner on Sunday.

I have no doubt that Cadillac Kimberly knows what she's doing. She's obviously smart and articulate, and is playing for the audience she knows will find her comments funny and culturally acceptable.

That's why I said I don't see much difference between her and Boortz and O'Reilly. They're also pitching their comments to the audience which they know will consider them culturally approved.

And as others have said, this stuff isn't always about black people and white people. I'm sure there are plenty of whites who think Kimberly is great, just like there are plenty of blacks who are fans of Neil.

[CaliDude1]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I have no doubt that Cadillac Kimberly knows what she's doing. She's obviously smart and articulate, and is playing for the audience she knows will find her comments funny and culturally acceptable.

That's why I said I don't see much difference between her and Boortz and O'Reilly. They're also pitching their comments to the audience which they know will consider them culturally approved.

This is very good insight. The other night my wife and I were watching one Katt Williams' dvd's. It was a mix of one of his onstage performances and a documentary with him explaining his style of comedy and many other things in between clips. The first thing that jumped out at us was how different his speech was in the documentary portions. There was no high pitched voice like the one he used on stage. His Midwestern "twang" was even gone. There was no 'pimp' persona. And he rarely used any slang. This didn't come off as him making a conscious decision to talk proper. Instead he was effortless in how he articulated and explained the strategy and approach he took to comedy.

Anyone who has heard Katt's comedy knows he is a smart guy. However, away from the stage he is very articulate and introspective and comes off nothing like the pimp persona he creates on stage. There are several "hood" rappers that are the same way. Nowadays coming off loud and ignorant in the media is more of act than ever before. That goes for comedians, rappers, and especially cable TV hosts and AM radio hosts. Sometimes the smartest people are the ones who make themselves appear otherwise. Look at the lady referred to by the OP. She got herself a spot on local TV news. They gave her free airtime and mention the name of her website. I think she is smarter than people are giving her credit for.