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.
Between you and ResidingHere2007, I'm actually scared by your blind authoritarianism. Marines are human, and can be racist, sexist and any other "ist" like anyone else. They don't have moral superiority by virtue of passing their basic training.
Not sure where you think I have a "blind authoritarianism either."
I agree with the bold of what you said and feel all people are flawed and a combination of good and bad and anyone can be racist or sexist or any other "ist" as well.
Personally I think you just get upset that I don't agree with your anarchist minded ideas.
FWIW I respect you as a poster as IMO you seem very intelligent and level headed and passionate about your ideas. And just because I challenge your view doesn't mean I see you poorly. You are actually one of my favorite posters. However, I just feel all anarchist and Libertarians are somewhat naive about the human experience. IMO many of you may come from sheltered lives. I've shared that I've lived a majority of my life in the "inner city." I have been poor. I have had dealings with police as a poor and middle class black individual. I have lived in exclusive suburbs as well and have worked with a large variety of people of various ethnic and social classes and so I have do not have an insulated experience like it seems many of the black posters (including yourself IMO on many issues) have. I can recognize that humanity in all of us are the same and I frequently state this and focus on the fact that race is a social construct and that we are all humans and all basically have the same needs and wants and flaws.
Not sure how anything I've said in this thread especially is in regards to "blind authoritariansim." I also never said anything about the Marines and don't know much about them at all. My family has mostly been in the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Often, blacks can get caught in that situation. You at times feel like you are babysitting and you have to be the voice of reason for you own people to show that you are not an exception but then you have the white supremacist who want to make you an exception to say what they want to say but are too cowardly to say. You have FOX news using Stacey Dash to do their dirty work for example. I don't know about you, but I sometimes find that I have to be careful about WHO I'm venting my frustration on hood rat behavior to because that person may not have my best interest.
I do feel that there are those who feel that as one of the "good Blacks", that I should babysit hood rats. I won't babysit. If said hood rat hasn't learned by now, said persons are lost. I'm glad that you get it. Having to be that voice of reason is exhausting.
Something I want to mention. Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, who is Black, called out hood rats who were attacking people.
I agreed with most of what he said. None of the Black people in that church had any complaints about what he said. Like you mentioned, one concern is having White supremacists using the likes of Nutter to say things they themselves are too cowardly to say. Don't get me started on Stacy Dash.
I do have to be careful about who I discuss my frustration with hood rats with. I don't like hood rats. No difference between them and the rednecks that bullied me in high school. Actually, I've rarely had to deal with the "Uncle Tom" comments when discussing hood rats. I was talking about Black on Black murders with a friend. There was a Hispanic person in the room. As soon as that person left, my friend pulled me aside. I was told, in short "I agree with you, but be careful who you discuss it around". I understood the concern. On the other hand, there have been some non-Blacks I've talked about it with. With said individuals, I wasn't been used as "a Black mouthpiece for White supremacy". Rather, I could express my own concern. It is about trust. This is one reason having a dialogue about race relations turns into a firestorm. Lack of trust, lack of respect, and many have ill intentions.
I do feel that there are those who feel that as one of the "good Blacks", that I should babysit hood rats. I won't babysit. If said hood rat hasn't learned by now, said persons are lost. I'm glad that you get it. Having to be that voice of reason is exhausting.
Something I want to mention. Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, who is Black, called out hood rats who were attacking people.
I agreed with most of what he said. None of the Black people in that church had any complaints about what he said. Like you mentioned, one concern is having White supremacists using the likes of Nutter to say things they themselves are too cowardly to say. Don't get me started on Stacy Dash. You know something? I think Stacey Dash just needs a paycheck. If you look closely at her when she's speaking, she doesn't even look comfortable. She has that "I'm not getting any acting gigs right now and I got bills to pay" kind of look on her face.
I do have to be careful about who I discuss my frustration with hood rats with. I don't like hood rats. No difference between them and the rednecks that bullied me in high school. Actually, I've rarely had to deal with the "Uncle Tom" comments when discussing hood rats. I was talking about Black on Black murders with a friend. There was a Hispanic person in the room. As soon as that person left, my friend pulled me aside. I was told, in short "I agree with you, but be careful who you discuss it around". I understood the concern. On the other hand, there have been some non-Blacks I've talked about it with. With said individuals, I wasn't been used as "a Black mouthpiece for White supremacy". Rather, I could express my own concern. It is about trust. This is one reason having a dialogue about race relations turns into a firestorm. Lack of trust, lack of respect, and many have ill intentions.
I find many blacks don't speak up for the same reasons many whites don't either. They don't want to seem like "race traitors".
I wished they'd wash it or keep their dirty laundry in the family and leave everyone else alone. I wished whites had unity again and told everyone else to butt out. Either big obtrusive liberal identity group government has to go or the identity groups.
I don't mind non-blacks commenting, but PLEASE lets not turn this into another bash fest.
I hope it doesn't turn into another bash fest. There are those whom all they want to do is complain about Blacks. One reason I'm careful about who is discuss what with.
This thread, I wanted to start mainly to get input from other blacks life myself regarding where they stand regarding the racial climate that we are facing right now. Do you feel discriminated against on a regular basis?
No.
However, I'm aware that it's not always consciously "felt" and certainly not always specifiable. For instance, it was noted in my Air Force management circles that some managers had a tendency to remember the faults of certain groups (such as Janice, who calls in sick every 28th day) when it came time to write performance reports, but didn't notice faults of other groups (like Brad, who is hungover and unproductive every Monday morning after pay Friday).
That kind of thing is hard to pinpoint, because Janice will admit to the "unreliability" factor in her case without knowing that it was not noted for Brad.
Quote:
Do you feel you do relatively well for the most part in life?
Yes. As a kid I had to check to make sure I was entering the door that said "Colored."
Quote:
I also want to know, how do you as a black person feel about these black conscious movements, SJWs, and black nationalists/separatists movements?
These days there is a motivation to "act out" at every opportunity without any kind of rationality. Did you ever notice in the old Civil Rights protest photos that most people are wearing their church clothes? The point was to protest with clear rationality, control, and as a good citizen against whom the opposition is irrational and out of control.
Even the original Black Panther Party made sure to display order and control, even when armed. The uniforms--black jackets, berets, shades-- were part of that intended impression. "We're not the ones out of control...you are."
"Consciousness" implies "control." Without control, "consciousness" is a bad joke.
But everyone these days feels a need to "act out." I'm not sure where that sprung from, but in general it does nobody any real good, at least not for any cause less than life and death.
Quote:
How do you feel about the cultural appropriation issue? BLM?
The first time I heard of "cultural appropriation," it was from Navajo Indians who were complaining about white companies mass producing "Navajo Turquoise Jewelry" at far lower prices and at far greater quantities than the Navajo could hand-make it.
The second application I ever heard of related to the music industry of the 30s, 40s, and 50s that wholesale appropriated black music under the cover of white musicians with the black musicians receiving little or no compensation...not even as the original creators of the music.
That kind of thing is what I'd call cultural appropriation: Saying, in effect, "We did this. It's ours. And so is all the profit."
If a white hair stylist said, "I saw some Zulu coils and thought they looked awesome, so I've introduced them into some of my styles," I would not be upset over that.
Back in the 70s, Air Force regulations explicitly forbade black women from wearing cornrows, and the primary reason was because it was an "extreme fashion." When people like Bo Derek brought cornrows and braids to the mainstream, the Air Force prohibition disappeared. That wasn't a bad thing.
Quote:
The reason, I'm asking is because it seems like a lot of people are showing their true colors and in response to that, it seems we have many blacks counteracting to the racism being received.
It's true that a lot of people are showing their "true colors." I think that's part of the general "it's okay to 'act out'" phase that US society is in. Even in the early days of integration, when we integration pioneers knew the whites around us were on edge, everyone still understood a need to be civil.
Maybe it was because we knew back then that once crap got started, it was going to get truly ugly...whereas SJWs in these namby-pamby days expect to "act out" without serious consequences.
Quote:
I do feel that the issue needs to be discussed but there are so many online black groups and forms that I just don't relate to.
I personally just don't understand the language. I literally (and I literally mean "literally") don't understand what they're saying.
Quote:
As a black person, I find that many of them are only cool with you when you are agreeing with them full stop. The minute you express a thought that deviates from the mindset of that particular form, blogger, or movement, the name calling (i.e. coon, uncle tom, jigaboo, boot licker) starts.
This is not limited, of course, to black groups. I do have a feeling, however, that it's largely limited to people who don't live a real world of making a living in an integrated society.
The difficulty comes in being unable to discuss what we need to do--to point out the things we do that are self-harming, such as colorism and Third-wave feminism.
Quote:
Now my question to other blacks-Where do you fit in at? Do you discuss racial issues with your friends? Are you met with any disagreements? When you find that one disagrees with you, do you educate them? Refer them to Google? Does the conversation go anywhere at all?
Depends highly on the groups.
First, I'm conflicted to some extent as a black person trying to explain why "black people do what they do." I remember a number of years ago my daughter and I watched a BET program on "African-American culture." At the end of the program, my daughter said, "If that is African-American culture, I don't think I'm African-American."
It's definitely nothing like the culture I was raised in--sharing almost none of the moral and ethical character I was taught to have. Even the moral character of the music is different. I have no rationale for the misogyny of much black music these days. That's not what the original Last Poets rapped about.
I have no way to rationalize black teenagers in Philadelphia having a flash riot a couple of days ago. I have no way to rationalize black women "going off" on people (whites, cops, black men)...I just can't rationalize "going off" at all. I want to ask a black woman, "Just what result did you expect from that?" Unfortunately (well, actually fortunately), the black women I'm close to don't "go off," so they can't answer the question either.
The black society I was raised in was oppressed--overtly so--but yet "well-ordered." We also understood, "Nobody is free until everybody is free." Poor people can be genteel...Rosa Parks did not "go off" on that white bus driver.
First, I'm conflicted to some extent as a black person trying to explain why "black people do what they do." I remember a number of years ago my daughter and I watched a BET program on "African-American culture." At the end of the program, my daughter said, "If that is African-American culture, I don't think I'm African-American."
It's definitely nothing like the culture I was raised in--sharing almost none of the moral and ethical character I was taught to have. Even the moral character of the music is different. I have no rationale for the misogyny of much black music these days. That's not what the original Last Poets rapped about.
I have no way to rationalize black teenagers in Philadelphia having a flash riot a couple of days ago. I have no way to rationalize black women "going off" on people (whites, cops, black men)...I just can't rationalize "going off" at all. I want to ask a black woman, "Just what result did you expect from that?" Unfortunately (well, actually fortunately), the black women I'm close to don't "go off," so they can't answer the question either.
The black society I was raised in was oppressed--overtly so--but yet "well-ordered." We also understood, "Nobody is free until everybody is free." Poor people can be genteel...Rosa Parks did not "go off" on that white bus driver.
What you mentioned about your daughter watching BET reminded me of my own childhood. When I was in elementary school, I remember asking myself once, "why do I talk differently from the other Black kids?". I was bookish, nerdy, and what some might call a "square". Actually, growing up, I hardly watched BET. I knew I was Black. I didn't know what being Black meant as a child.
I think the time we both grew up in plays a big role.
We both grew up in different times and different environments. I'm 30 years old. I was a teenager in the early 2000s. I did see Black females go off on other people their own age. Seldom adults. Maybe it was because I lived in the suburbs/exurbs outside of Atlanta, but I never saw a mob of 200 teenagers attacking people on the streets. Now, I have some horror stories of things that were done to me, but I'll save it for later.
My formative years (11-17) were spent in a predominantly White area (albeit with an increasing Black population). I lived in predominantly White areas before then, as well as areas with a large Black population. However, my perspective growing up in the era of Tupac, Biggie Smalls, etc, I got a different side of things. Truth be told, I had no idea who Tupac was until long after he died. When your parents control the radio and they don't listen to rap music, you likely won't either. I wasn't raised in a "Black community". I grew up with a different dynamic around me. I grew up seeing alot of dysfunction from underclass Whites as well as some underclass Blacks.
To understand where I'm coming from, you should understand this. I had a slight loner streak. There were kids I associated with in school, and I did play on some baseball teams. However, I did alot of stuff alone. Certain behaviors that I saw, I didn't understand them. Because I had a bookish "loner streak", certain behaviors I didn't pay attention to, unless it affected me personally. There were also times when I tried to fit in, to be accepted, and it didn't work for me. Some behaviors I didn't try to understand.
If a flash mob like that in Philadelphia ever happened in my high school, I wouldn't have known what would happen to me next. We had alot of rednecks in my high school. There were racial tensions in my school.
Growing up, I kind of had the best of both words. My daycare was mainly white, but my elementary years were spent in majority black schools (the neighborhood that I lived in at the time was relatively mixed, nice mix of black and white, but my neighbors were all white, and most of them sent their kids to the magnet elementary school nearby or the elementary school just outside my neighborhood. The school in my subdivision was predominantly black) until I got to the fifth grade and we moved to the south side of the city. I got to know kids from the hood as well as kids from more affluent areas.
From fifth grade until high school graduation the schools that I attended were predominantly white. I had my 10 year high school reunion last year and I was one of the very few black people there! My time in these predominantly white schools were not terrible times, but there were times that I felt that I got discriminated against by the administration when it came to harassment from other students. I noticed this ESPECIALLY when I'd try to defend myself and when it was clear that I was doing such, I was the one that was reprimanded. When I'd try to explain what happened, I was always cut off/talked over. That kind of pissed me off.
Music wise, I grew up on R&B a little rap (biggie, tupac, heavy D) and a large amount of Gospel (that's pretty much all mom played in the car). We didn't really watch BET, I begin to explore that during my adolescent years. Even at that, if we were out in public somewhere, I'd hear music from white singers and I'd be like "that don't sound so bad" but it wasn't really music that my parents played when we were riding.
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.
