Do you see Michael Jordan as a black man or as Michael Jordan? (Brown, Barack Obama)

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

Our physics teacher asked me once if I had been surprised to see a black physics teacher when I walked into the class the first time. I told him I would have been surprised by anyone who wasn't old, white, or male.

But I understood the question he was asking and my answer to him was, "First, I saw you as the black physics teacher when I came to class. But after a week or two, you were just Tim, our physics teacher." And it's true. I didn't see him as black, but I just recognized him as Tim. He thanked me and it took me years to understand why.

I love those situations, because again, I think differently
Would I be surprised?
Why should I be surprised that somebody is good in physics and worked hard to become a professor?

Now, it's true,
I would be a little surprised that the professor is black, because it's not common,
same as being on a wheelchair, being a short person, being a bold woman, etc, etc, etc.
They are rare, but none of those things has anything to do with a person's ability to become a physics professor.

[Mrs.JT]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I love those situations, because again, I think differently
Would I be surprised?
Why should I be surprised that somebody is good in physics and worked hard to become a professor?

Now, it's true,
I would be a little surprised that the professor is black, because it's not common,
same as being on a wheelchair, being a short person, being a bold woman, etc, etc, etc.
They are rare, but none of those things has anything to do with a person's ability to become a physics professor.

[NoClueWho]

This is a strange to question to ask.

Do you see Bill Gates as a WHITE man?

How about Donald Trump? Do you see him as a WHITE man?

See how silly that sounds?

I guess if you are a BLACK man, you have to be MORE THAN JUST A BLACK MAN and practically transcend your race, in order to be accepted and considered successful or admirable like white men, huh?

[Pilot1]

I see Michael Jordan as a pretty nasty guy, and addicted gambler.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Mrs.JT

Ok, I'll explain it better

I'm not surprised that anybody is a physics professor
but it's true, that it's rare for a physics professor to be black, on a wheel chair or short person.

I shouldn't have said "I would be a little surprised that the professor is black, because it's not common"

[Mrs.JT]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

This is a strange to question to ask.

Do you see Bill Gates as a WHITE man?

How about Donald Trump? Do you see him as a WHITE man?

So how silly that sounds?

I guess if you are a BLACK man, you have to be MORE THAN JUST A BLACK MAN and practically transcend your race, in order to be accepted and considered successful or admirable like white men, huh?

This was my point, exactly, when I posed the question about Larry Byrd.


The mere QUESTION about Michael Jordan's skin color speaks volumes.

[Mathguy]

I just don't see people like that.

I don't go home and exclaim to my neighbor that my new doctor is of X nationality or skin color because it's just not noteworthy or interesting.

Now if they happened to have a purple Mohawk or were 7'0 tall I'd be like, "wow I have this new doctor and they're super tall".

Now if I happen to run into Michael Jordan on the street or Trump or some other globally famous person, I don't call up my dad and say "Hey, I ran into black Michael Jordan or white Trump" it's just silly.

The whole discussion makes me think of the "Black Sheriff" storyline from Blazing Saddles which I think points out at least some of what the OP is getting at.

[Mrs.JT]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I'm not surprised that anybody is a physics professor
but it's true, that it's rare for a physics professor to be black, on a wheel chair or short person.

So again, you're not surprised that anybody is a physics professor UNLESS he or she is BLACK.


And you're comparing being black to a disability? Further, in other parts of the world, there are schools where physics teachers are NOTHING but black.


The original question was unnecessary and just plain peculiar.

[1973PINTO]

i do not see Michael Jordan as a black man .. there was a time when i did not see Bill Cosby as a black man but i do now ..i will use the N word from time to time but not necessarily aimed at black people .. there are just as many white N`s today as black .. maybe even more ..to me the N word describes who and what you are and how you act much more that what color you are ..

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I love those situations, because again, I think differently
Would I be surprised?
Why should I be surprised that somebody is good in physics and worked hard to become a professor?

Now, it's true,
I would be a little surprised that the professor is black, because it's not common,
same as being on a wheelchair, being a short person, being a bold woman, etc, etc, etc.
They are rare, but none of those things has anything to do with a person's ability to become a physics professor.

Exactly. I have a B.S. and an M.S. in Geology. That's a lot of geology courses. Number of Black students in any of my geology courses (other than the initial 2 survey courses; all students were required to science survey courses) = 0. Females...maybe 12%. Latino = 0. Asian = 0. In other words, at my college back in the 1970s, geology was a field clearly way dominated by White males. I found one article that took a modern look at who graduating geologists are today, and the male/female ratio had averaged out quite a bit -- 52%/43% (remaining 5% no data). Racially, 78% White, 7% Latino, 2% Asian, and Blacks not even listed as a separate category, but within "other" groups, including unknown.

It would be interesting to have a better understanding of why different races are more or less attracted to various fields.