Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think that all actions produce reactions (the butterfly effect no less) and that EVERY thing that exist EVOLVED (through actions and reactions) into its current state of existance. If you throw a rock into the pond, the reverberations (reactions) will transcend time and space. In other words, the reactions will go far beyond the actual impact space and time of the rock entering the water. Hence, something being in the past does not mean that a present condition or phenomenon is not part of the reverberations from that past.
I'm not sure how black family disintegration of the past can be tranferred over to a culture that embraces single-parent homes and the prevalence of black men/women to 1) not marry their baby's mama/daddy, or 2)not have multiple children with multiple women/men.
In the grand scheme, it seems that personal responsibility is all to often scapegoated by the horrors of the past. Any self-loving person these days should be able to decipher the difference between success and failure in today's society. Plenty of studies have shown that a solid familial unit is a major contributor to success (or failure if none). To me, that's not hard to understand at all. Why is it that the past is more prevalent than the future in the black community? The revolving door doesn't seem to quit spinning.
I can almost guarantee you that the one on the viewers left had a harder life. Why? He looked “Angry” which means that he still had fight in him. The other child just looked broken and resigned to his condition. In other words, he was a “good Negro” the type that the masters liked, ones who did not complain and learned to be content in their condition. Hence, the child on the left probably got a lot of beatings, but was a greater threat to the institution of slavery than the defeated child on the right.
In any era there are fighters and resisters and those that simply acquiesce. I would have definitely been the brother on the left. I am not one for being passive and silent just so that white folks can feel comfortable....while our condition remains much worse than theirs.
You may be reading your own feelings and experiences into that picture. You may be right. You may not.
I have pictures of my family from the same time period. White folks. Dressed the same. Pretty much the same expressions. I guess my ancestors were broken by their situation and were being good poor whites by not complaining. Some still angry looking still had fight in them. I guess he was a bad white.
One pic shows my great-grandfather looking mad as hell about in a picture when he was about 6. The family story is that he was mad about having his picture taken when he wanted to go fishing.
The point is, it's tough to assign accurate feelings or emotions to old pics.
I'm not sure how black family disintegration of the past can be tranferred over to a culture that embraces single-parent homes and the prevalence of black men/women to 1) not marry their baby's mama/daddy, or 2)not have multiple children with multiple women/men.
In the grand scheme, it seems that personal responsibility is all to often scapegoated by the horrors of the past. Any self-loving person these days should be able to decipher the difference between success and failure in today's society. Plenty of studies have shown that a solid familial unit is a major contributor to success (or failure if none). To me, that's not hard to understand at all. Why is it that the past is more prevalent than the future in the black community? The revolving door doesn't seem to quit spinning.
Saying that Black Americans "embrace" single parent households is like saying that White Americans "embrace" lynchings. Overreaching does not make your point valid.
You may be reading your own feelings and experiences into that picture. You may be right. You may not.
I have pictures of my family from the same time period. White folks. Dressed the same. Pretty much the same expressions. I guess my ancestors were broken by their situation and were being good poor whites by not complaining. Some still angry looking still had fight in them. I guess he was a bad white.
One pic shows my great-grandfather looking mad as hell about in a picture when he was about 6. The family story is that he was mad about having his picture taken when he wanted to go fishing.
The point is, it's tough to assign accurate feelings or emotions to old pics.
Of course I am. I have no way of knowing. However, I do know that there are fighters and those who simply acquiesce, as part of the variability of human nature. I know that people don’t like being enslaved and treated like animals which made a percentage in that condition angry and seeking to rebel and or escape. I know that others in the same condition, due to the variability of personality in humans as well, acquiesced to their condition out of fear of the consequence of rebelling or trying to escape. They had to learn to be content or go crazy from the dissonance. That is how the variability of human nature manifests.
Whether or not those reasons are reflected in the emotions of these two individuals is really a moot point because the symbolism is accurate for the time and conditions.
I'm not sure how black family disintegration of the past can be tranferred over to a culture that embraces single-parent homes and the prevalence of black men/women to 1) not marry their baby's mama/daddy, or 2)not have multiple children with multiple women/men.
In the grand scheme, it seems that personal responsibility is all to often scapegoated by the horrors of the past. Any self-loving person these days should be able to decipher the difference between success and failure in today's society. Plenty of studies have shown that a solid familial unit is a major contributor to success (or failure if none). To me, that's not hard to understand at all. Why is it that the past is more prevalent than the future in the black community? The revolving door doesn't seem to quit spinning.
The thing is this. In the Western Hemisphere, including America, all nations have been seeing an increase in single parent families and out of wedlock births from 50 years ago. The rate or percentage of black single parent households and out of wedlock births has been multiple times higher than whites historically. What I mean by historically is every since such records were kept. The historical reason why the rates for blacks were higher is the treatment of black men in slavery and post slavery apartheid. That’s important to note, very important. Why? Let’s say that in 1950 that the rate of out of wedlock births was 10% for blacks and 2% for whites. Today, however, the rates have risen in both groups. Today, the rate is 70% for blacks and about 27% for whites. That would mean that the phenomenon has gotten 7 times worse for blacks, but it’s gotten over 13 times worse for whites. Hence, this is obviously not a trend endemic to black people. Rather, it’s a trend that impacts black people more because we started out, as a condition from oppression, have a larger percentage of homes broken and an already larger percentage of homes in poverty (the greatest group that manifest this phenomenon) as a consequence of slavery and apartheid.
You may be reading your own feelings and experiences into that picture. You may be right. You may not.
I have pictures of my family from the same time period. White folks. Dressed the same. Pretty much the same expressions. I guess my ancestors were broken by their situation and were being good poor whites by not complaining. Some still angry looking still had fight in them. I guess he was a bad white.
One pic shows my great-grandfather looking mad as hell about in a picture when he was about 6. The family story is that he was mad about having his picture taken when he wanted to go fishing.
The point is, it's tough to assign accurate feelings or emotions to old pics.
I've got pictures of my ancestors that look just plain creepy. In fact, almost all of them are strange-looking whether they are posing in Sunday clothing, or in beat-up work clothing. No one ever smiles, and there's this blank glare on their faces. Even the kids (some of which could be my great grandparents) are just staring into space. Can't they say "cheese"? I've been told that a lot of people's teeth weren't very good back in those days and they looked better without grinning. But a person can still smile without displaying a flawed set of choppers. Maybe the 19th Century had a severe lack of comedians.
I've got pictures of my ancestors that look just plain creepy. In fact, almost all of them are strange-looking whether they are posing in Sunday clothing, or in beat-up work clothing. No one ever smiles, and there's this blank glare on their faces. Even the kids (some of which could be my great grandparents) are just staring into space. Can't they say "cheese"? I've been told that a lot of people's teeth weren't very good back in those days and they looked better without grinning. But a person can still smile without displaying a flawed set of choppers. Maybe the 19th Century had a severe lack of comedians.
Oh...let me apologize. Since other people who were free and had not been sold away from their families in childhood also looked sad......these childrens expression should not be assumed related to their condition of enslavement and degradation in any way. Talk about logical fallacies.....geeez. its the same old....."Oh yeah....well my ancestors were Irish and they were discriminated too...there is nothing unique or differnt about the black experience" White folks kill me with your means of denial. These kids just looked that way because they wanted to go fishing....or skinning dipping....or any other thing that free people could enjoy. Ooppps...they were not FREE PEOPLE.
Last edited by Indentured Servant; 06-14-2010 at 12:36 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
White folks kill me with your means of denial. These kids just looked that way because they wanted to go fishing....or skinning dipping....or any other thing that free people could enjoy. Ooppps...they were not FREE PEOPLE.
