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She feels that most blacks are lazy and are always expecting a handout. She also has a huge problem with black men not sticking around for their kids and abusing women. Everything from Ebonics to hip hop music bothers her. My mom is the whitest black woman you will ever meet.
Obviously her beliefs are huge stereotypes, but you need to remember that my mom grew up in a mostly black part of Houston that was not a very safe place. My mom met my dad in the army while stationed in Germany in 1980 and followed him back to Olympia WA where there was virtually no black people or real crime. I've always felt that a lot of my mom's bigotry stems from the fact that she grew up in one of the roughest areas in the country. She used to tell me and my sister how good we had it on a daily basis when we were kids.
My father grew up in a Black neighborhood. He doesn't believe that most Blacks are lazy. I don't allow that kind of excuse. I make differences between regular Black people and hood rats, and I specify it as such. If I want to take about hood rat culture, I specify hood rat culture. I don't go on a "Black culture" rant. George Benson is part of Black culture. So is Richard Wright. Cornel West, Dr. Ben Carson. Techno was originally Black music. Instead of saying "Black culture", why not say "hood rat culture"? How hard is that?
I've lived in the Pacific Northwest, and I did like it alot. I live in the South now. I moved into a predominantly White area in Georgia. There were very few Blacks in that part of metro Atlanta when I moved there. Didn't stop me from getting my house vandalized, twice. Didn't stop me from getting shot with a paintball gun. Didn't stop one of my neighbors from committing burglary.
I don't care where ANYONE's bigotry comes from. I don't allow any excuses for it, period. I look at things in terms of right and wrong.
I will bring this up. I'm Black, and I've dealt with alot of bullying at the hands of many Whites. I've been around Confederate flag flying types. I've been called the "n" word to my face and one kid even made a racially motivated death threat towards me. Do I disparage the entire White population? No I don't. I understand the difference between decent White people, and the trash, and I call it out as such.
Neither do I. I've cut off contact with some people because of the "I don't like Blacks, but I don't have a problem with you" crap.
I recently had to dump a longtime white friend (or so i thought) because he implied something that let the cat out of the bag.
He came up with the same line when i confronted him about what he'd said...and he went to the "i'd never say that about my black friends" nonsense too. When i told him that he'd gotten a little too comfortable in our relationship to think that he could let such sentiments slip out and NOT get a negative reaction to it, he got angry and defensive.
But it's all good. You live and you learn. We can be all kinds of cool...even like a brother. But there are lines that just can't be crossed.
I recently had to dump a longtime white friend (or so i thought) because he implied something that let the cat out of the bag.
He came up with the same line when i confronted him about what he'd said...and he went to the "i'd never say that about my black friends" nonsense too. When i told him that he'd gotten a little too comfortable in our relationship to think that he could let such sentiments slip out and NOT get a negative reaction to it, he got angry and defensive.
But it's all good. You live and you learn. We can be all kinds of cool...even like a brother. But there are lines that just can't be crossed.
If I know a Black person and that dude makes a racist comment about at least hardcore PWT; I ain't offended since the man's speaking the truth.
If I know a Black person and that dude makes a racist comment about at least hardcore PWT; I ain't offended since the man's speaking the truth.
That goes to post #171.
If a white guy said, "I don't like rap, but I love George Benson," I could take that without any problems. Personally, I'd rather listen to country music any day than rap music myself.
If a white guy said, "I don't like rap, but I love George Benson," I could take that without any problems. Personally, I'd rather listen to country music any day than rap music myself.
Agreed tho some C&W music is also "rap" like Toby Keith's "I wanna talk about me".
If I know a Black person and that dude makes a racist comment about at least hardcore PWT; I ain't offended since the man's speaking the truth.
First of all, my so called friend wasn't speaking the truth. He said that Kim Kardashian was a "n***** lover" to one of our common friends and didn't realize that the comment would get back to me.
Then when I approached him about it, he said that he'd never make that reference about his black friends and their wives or girlfriends. He knows my wife isn't black, so of course I HAD to confront him about it. I couldn't possibly let that slide. Of course, he said that it's different because Kanye West is someone that he doesn't like.
That's just not gonna cut it with me.
So I just told him that we'll be cordial should we see each other, but we ain't cool anymore and we won't chop it up together from here on out. No muss, no fuss. Just a clean break. I'm sure he's not losing sleep.
If he'd said something truthful, that'd be different.
First of all, my so called friend wasn't speaking the truth. He said that Kim Kardashian was a "n***** lover" to one of our common friends and didn't realize that the comment would get back to me.
Then when I approached him about it, he said that he'd never make that reference about his black friends and their wives or girlfriends. He knows my wife isn't black, so of course I HAD to confront him about it. I couldn't possibly let that slide. Of course, he said that it's different because Kanye West is someone that he doesn't like.
That's just not gonna cut it with me.
So I just told him that we'll be cordial should we see each other, but we ain't cool anymore and we won't chop it up together from here on out. No muss, no fuss. Just a clean break. I'm sure he's not losing sleep.
If he'd said something truthful, that'd be different.
That what you said doesn't set well with me either. Tho Kim and Kanye are made for each other IMHO. Both could be the SAME race and I'd still say that.
That what you said doesn't set well with me either. Tho Kim and Kanye are made for each other IMHO. Both could be the SAME race and I'd still say that.
I don't know Kim Kardashian, and all i know of Kanye West is that he's a very talented music producer.
I can't vouch for anything else said about them. I don't know them well enough.
Most Blacks work. We do what we can. I work where I work. I went to college, got my degree. I got a job when an opportunity presented itself, after a prolonged time of unemployment. My pay is decent. I say many of us are "assimilating" into the work culture.
On the bold, sorry but I must say that those words are pretty....I'll say silly.
Black people have ALWAYS worked. How in the _____ could we "assimilate" into "work culture" lol when we have ALWAYS worked.
Sorry about that as you seem like a cool poster but some of the things you say reek of an inferiority complex and exude the idea that you feel being black is burdensome.
I feel sorry for you for that. If that's not what you mean, then I may have misunderstood but that comment and others even in this thread are rather odd IMO in regards to being black and thinking we in any way are seperate from mainstream America when our ancestors have been here longer than most white American's European ancestors. We are reared in "American culture" therefore there is no reason for us to "assimilate."
We are not different from whites or hispanics or Asians in regards to working or American "work culture." And honestly if I were one of those whiny sensitive folks, I would see that as an insult. As it stands, the bold did make me roll my eyes, as did a lot of the conversation in this thread in regards to integration and black people. So many people are so ignorant. It is rather scary how ignorance is so pervasive in our society today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emphatic
IMO, integration was not a major contributor to the issues we are seeing in the black community; though, I suppose during segregation there was more stigma attached to divorce then there is now as there was with whites (I believe this to be mere coincidence).
What really broke hit black families was a combination of job loss in the manufacturing sector, the crack epidemic in the 80s, and the ill-conceived War on Drugs. Ironically, when institutional segregation was loosing ground in the 60s, so was the country's manufacturing base. Whites had an easier, albeit not easy, time transitioning from manufacturing to services due to already higher household wealth (which somewhat isolated white community from the devastation that black communities were undergoing), an earlier start in emphasizing college to their children, and more profound political and family connections.
Being a black male from one of Chicago's rougher neighborhoods, I feel that many black youths lack adequate role models and community programs that enable them to strive to build and critically think about their futures. For example, a lot of my friends, most of whom were lacking father-figures at home and had mothers working nearly all day, ended up dealing drugs instead of focusing on school because they saw older guys making more money in a month than their moms were making in a year, along with perceived respect.
My solution is to invest in more community facilities (e.g., YMCA gyms) and outreach programs (akin to college mentor initiatives) for our boys to give them something to do and look up to. For our girls, we need to educate them more about contraception and safer sex practices while also providing mentoring.
On a positive note, I think all-to-often blacks get painted with a very negative brush, for we're definitely making strides in upward mobility and education. Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic about our future.
This was a good post. I agree that first the heroine epidemic of the 1960s and 1970s which was quickly followed by the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s were a huge barrier to the statistical gains of black Americans in our country.
Also, a lack of economic opportunities for all Americans during the 1960s forward in regards to manufacturing and working class communities had a sour effect on all Americans of various backgrounds.
But like the poster above, I agree that too many people paint blacks in general as negative. Even during the darker eras in recent history, black people have slowly and steadily climbed higher and higher in regards to education and economic opportunities and decreasing crime.
In regards to my first comments about a "work culture" (I am sill rolling my eyes and giggling under my breath on that one), like the poster above, I also knew a LOT of black children in my generation (Gen X) who grew up with mothers who worked 2-3 jobs (aka "work culture") in order to provide financially for their children and when children lack a strong parent in the house, I do feel that they are much more likely to be pulled in less positive directions. Unfortunately, I still see too many millenial black mothers today who work too much (still have that "work culture" lol) and pride themselves on have 2-3 jobs and when I see these brags on facebook and other social sites, I wonder who is watching their children. Fortunately, drugs are not as huge of an issue today as they used to be for black people (unfortunately they seem MUCH worse for whites in regards to meth and heroine especially). There are also WAY more involved fathers today, especially those of my own generation who are very much a part of their children's lives and so the kids have their dads more often and less likely to have a strung out parent but their parents today just work way too much, which is why I roll my eyes about the work culture thing. My own mom worked too much, as did my grandmother and my great grandmother even so that is a ridiculous thing to say in regards to black people in this country.
I agree with Emphatic though above as there are a lot of issues facing all Americans, including black Americans and none of them can be blamed singularly on integration. I think the young woman in the video is representative of many millenials today who read too much Ta-Nahesi Coates and Dr. Umar and who spout stuff they hear from these figures without really thinking about what those figures are saying. They get on youtube and think they are saying something transformative when they really aren't. Most of them really don't have much of a knowledge about BLACK AMERICAN (capitalized for emphasis) history in regards to our true culture and experience in this land since the 1500s. So I don't take them seriously and don't really listen to them all that much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by desertdetroiter
No, it isn't.
I don't even know what "jive talk" is. That's some nonsense that white folks made up. Black folks have never called our colloquialisms any specific name. It's just something we often revert to when we're around each other. Nothing more, nothing less. Even "Ebonics" is a term that white folks ran with. The original controversy was something that came out of a single school board meeting in California. No black person outside of that district had ever heard the term before.
Black slang has squat to do with being low class. Speak for your people. You can't speak for ours.
Different strokes.
When i'm with real down home black folks, we don't talk like we're conducting a job interview. Forget that. That's for when we're in the outside world.
On this, I agree with desertdetroiter. Like I said about the young lady in the video, too many people want to speak about "Ebonics" actually known as "Black Vernacular English" or "African American Vernacular English."
It has been well studied for decades and is nothing new in regards to sociological research of blacks in America. It is not "slang" or "jive talk" or "Ebonics" as mentioned above. Slang and BVE is not the same thing. BVE is actually a dialect within American English that is unique to black Americans and it is not something associated with "low class." It is one of the only cultural connections that black people in this country have with African languages as the word placement patterns of BVE are similar to some West African languages.
It is also nothing to be ashamed of and IMO those who go out of their way to distance themselves from it, are exhibiting an inferiority complex in regards to being black and exuding any sort of "blackness."
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