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Why should any person be grateful their ancestors were slaves? The reason blacks have it better now than they did years ago is because they fought for their rights. Blacks were brought to America specifically as slaves and nothing more. After slavery ended, restrictions were put on the newly freed blacks for a long time. In short, they were the underclass. They had to fight for their rights and the right be on the level playing field. There is a difference between making the choice to come to the USA and being forced on a shipped against your will and being brought to a place as free labor. Black people are richer now because they had to fight for certain things. Sure, the USA beame a major industrial power, but blacks had to fight against job discrimination and other issues. Now anyone can start a business and compete in the market if they have the skill, but it wasn't always like that.
"Blacks benefitted by being brought to America" is a sentiment that does come up at intervals, and is GUARANTEED to cause controversy...you can bet on it.
It's a form of "going against the prevailing wisdom" that's often used in tense, sensitive debates..sort of a 'devil's advocate' position.
A good example was our outrageous "Senator Sam". S.I. Hayakawa, born of Japanese immigrant parents in Vancouver, BC in 1906, went on to an ilustrious career in education, became an American citizen, the President of San Francisco City College, and eventually a Republican Senator from California in the US Congress..(and LATER went on to found the group 'US English', decrying bilingual education).
The Senator was well-known for 'rocking the boat' and causing 'uproars' with his OUTRAGEOUS views on life, and one time wrote that "the interment of Japanese-Americans during WWII on the West Coast was a GOOD thing, because it "forced" them out into mainstream American culture decades before they might otherwise have been 'assimilated'".
Needless to say, the Senator's words were NOT appreciated by everyone. Whether his observation was 'true' or not, is of course debatable...but he wasn't in a 'popularity contest', as he himself often mentione....just speaking candidly..
"Blacks benefitted by being brought to America" is a sentiment that does come up at intervals, and is GUARANTEED to cause controversy...you can bet on it.
It's a form of "going against the prevailing wisdom" that's often used in tense, sensitive debates..sort of a 'devil's advocate' position.
A good example was our outrageous "Senator Sam". S.I. Hayakawa, born of Japanese immigrant parents in Vancouver, BC in 1906, went on to an ilustrious career in education, became an American citizen, the President of San Francisco City College, and eventually a Republican Senator from California in the US Congress..(and LATER went on to found the group 'US English', decrying bilingual education).
The Senator was well-known for 'rocking the boat' and causing 'uproars' with his OUTRAGEOUS views on life, and one time wrote that "the interment of Japanese-Americans during WWII on the West Coast was a GOOD thing, because it "forced" them out into mainstream American culture decades before they might otherwise have been 'assimilated'".
Needless to say, the Senator's words were NOT appreciated by everyone. Whether his observation was 'true' or not, is of course debatable...but he wasn't in a 'popularity contest', as he himself often mentione....just speaking candidly..
You give a true statement. I made my statement because I read alot of books and decided to go with what I find in history books. Alot of things are considered controversial. As humans we have an idea of what is right and what is wrong. Most humans don't want top be associated with what is morally wrong, so many things are considered "taboo". As for Sam Hakayama, I do't appreciate what he said. The internment camps were established because Japanese-Americans were perceived as a security risk, despite there being no proof of it in fact. Saying that slavery was a good thing is the same thing. Many of the reasons racial issues still happen today is because it harkens back to the old days. It is just manifested differently. Those who dared to break the generational curses had issues. The curse of racial hatred against blacks is a holdover from when slaves were viewed as little more than chattel. They were considered the "beasts of the wild" brought to do the bull labor. When slavery ended, alot of people sought to "keep blacks in their places". This was manifested trhough "black codes" racial segregation mandated by law. This was because blacks were not seen as equals and many people felt they were not to be treated as such. It wasn't until people got sick of it and started to break that generational curse that African-Americans gained their rights as American citizens. It was also through breaking the generational curse that many people began to end their prejudice ways and start seeing everyone no matter what race they were as human being and nothing less. Bad things have been passed down and manifested in different ways. This is the generation when we break these curses.
Alot of Blacks don't realize how fortunate they are today because of slavery, if slavery didn't happen in America then the blacks would still be poor in Africa instead of being the richest black people in the world today.
I find this funny for many reasons,
(1) It implies that that Blacks are guests in the US and had nothing to do with making the US a super power
(2) This is the same reasoning as saying: "Why are you mad that I raped your sister (sister-in-law), she should be thanking me that I let her live in our house instead of complaining about that"
I find this funny for many reasons,
(1) It implies that that Blacks are guests in the US and had nothing to do with making the US a super power
(2) This is the same reasoning as saying: "Why are you mad that I raped your sister (sister-in-law), she should be thanking me that I let her live in our house instead of complaining about that"
And I find it equally funny that you actually think that blacks made the US a super power. But anyway, go ahead and keep playing that victim card and thinking the worst of your black lives in America. Maybe you and the Native Americans can all get together to divide up those reparation checks you think you are owed.
The Chinese could have the same attitude about being brought over to build the railroad, but we don't. We think in the present and future and not the past. We really appreciate currently living in the US and not in China no matter how we got here.
Me too. I've never really had anybody walk up and yell racist slurs in my face but I hear them all the time - from both black and white people. I grew up in Alb. NM and the only black people I saw was my immediate family so when we moved to FL; the black kids said I "acted" and "talked" white. That annoys me to no end.
Now as an adult, my coworkers (most often the white ones) will compliment me on how well I speak. Not after I've made a presentation or given some grand lecture but after I describe a movie I watched on HBO last night. We have some telecommuters in our company and at the Christmas party, one lady actually told me she would have never guessed I was black by my voice.
What am I supposed to sound like at work "Heyyyyy ya'll! I know I'm late but I had to run by McDonalds right quick and get sumpin to eat cause u know we finna be up in meetings all day and I ain't bouts to be hungry up in dis piece."
LOL one of my black coworkers used to come to work every day trying to spark up conversations about Baldwin Hills and 106 & Park. At first I just politely listened but then we she expected me to cosign on all of her observations I had to break it to her that not all black people watch BET and just because I look like I'm the target demographic - I'm not a fan.
My wife, who is white, has had experience with racism. She was a teacher and moved to a midsized city to get a job. She was highly accomplished, had a masters degree in the content area, got great reviews at her previous job, was young enough as to be hireable, and couldn't even get an interview. Meanwhile, this same school district PAID for black students to go to the nearby university if they agreed to teach in the district when they graduated. One of those 22-year old blacks was hired for the job my highly qualified wife couldn't get an interview for.
That's pure unadulterated racism. It violates MLK's professed dream, and is just plain wrong.
Me too. I've never really had anybody walk up and yell racist slurs in my face but I hear them all the time - from both black and white people. I grew up in Alb. NM and the only black people I saw was my immediate family so when we moved to FL; the black kids said I "acted" and "talked" white. That annoys me to no end.
Now as an adult, my coworkers (most often the white ones) will compliment me on how well I speak. Not after I've made a presentation or given some grand lecture but after I describe a movie I watched on HBO last night. We have some telecommuters in our company and at the Christmas party, one lady actually told me she would have never guessed I was black by my voice.
What am I supposed to sound like at work "Heyyyyy ya'll! I know I'm late but I had to run by McDonalds right quick and get sumpin to eat cause u know we finna be up in meetings all day and I ain't bouts to be hungry up in dis piece."
LOL one of my black coworkers used to come to work every day trying to spark up conversations about Baldwin Hills and 106 & Park. At first I just politely listened but then we she expected me to cosign on all of her observations I had to break it to her that not all black people watch BET and just because I look like I'm the target demographic - I'm not a fan.
Many years ago my wife worked with a black lady here in Southern Cal. The lady had been born and raised in Louisiana, married and moved to South Central LA, and had eventually moved out to the 'suburbs'.
She and my wife worked all alone on a switchboard..got to be good friends. One night, the lady got a call from a little girl....whispered to my wife that "some little white girl is on the line...looking for her Momma". After a few more questions, she determined the 'little white girl' was in fact her little black DAUGHTER....and she'd already LOCATED her 'momma'. Good laughs all around.
Apparently, the girl (about 6 years old) had picked up that 'suburban accent', and Mom didn't recognize her at first on the phone.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by macmeal
Many years ago my wife worked with a black lady here in Southern Cal. The lady had been born and raised in Louisiana, married and moved to South Central LA, and had eventually moved out to the 'suburbs'.
She and my wife worked all alone on a switchboard..got to be good friends. One night, the lady got a call from a little girl....whispered to my wife that "some little white girl is on the line...looking for her Momma". After a few more questions, she determined the 'little white girl' was in fact her little black DAUGHTER....and she'd already LOCATED her 'momma'. Good laughs all around.
Apparently, the girl (about 6 years old) had picked up that 'suburban accent', and Mom didn't recognize her at first on the phone.
LOL! That's funny!
Which reminds me of an interesting (but unfortunate) experience that I faced during my brief time in civil service. I used to worked in a call center-type environment and would constantly receive calls from this other department. A certain operator would always speak rudely towards me when I answered her call. After a year or so, we finally got the opportunity to meet face to face. Guess what she said to me? "Oh ... For some reason, I thought you were black" I don't know what her ethnicity was (maybe hispanic?) but she did not speak rudely towards me from that point onwards. Some people can be so ignorant, it's shocking!
And I find it equally funny that you actually think that blacks made the US a super power. But anyway, go ahead and keep playing that victim card and thinking the worst of your black lives in America. Maybe you and the Native Americans can all get together to divide up those reparation checks you think you are owed.
The Chinese could have the same attitude about being brought over to build the railroad, but we don't. We think in the present and future and not the past. We really appreciate currently living in the US and not in China no matter how we got here.
True. And I won't deny it. The Chinese were subject to racial discrimination and other problems. The Chinese have a different narrative than Black Americans. The Chinese came to the USA looking for a better life. Many wanted to be citizens of the USA but were denied it. Blacks were only in the USA because their forbears were basically kidnapped and forced over to this nation for the sole purpose of free labor.
As for the superpower status, I will say this, blacks were the ones in the fields picking the cotton for nothing. The cotton went to the mills in places like Massachusetts. Natchez,MS became the richest city in the USA before the Civil War. There was alot of wealth in the South and alot of textile industry in the North. Slaves picked the cotton, and not by choice either.
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