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""They have raised us to be ashamed of our blackness. It’s in the language too. Take the word denigrate - denigrar - which is to be less than a negro. In Puerto Rico you get used it and don’t see it everyday. It takes a visitor to point out that all the dark skin sisters and brothers are in the service industry."
Maybe that's it. I don't know anything about Puerto Rico because I'm a visitor.
It is something to think about . . .
I have to admit that when I moved to Puerto Rico I did notice that people with darker skin were over represented in the service industries. It did make me wonder if there was prejudice here but I have never heard anyone say anything that was overtly discriminatory against them.
What I have heard overtly is prejudice against white people, although that may be just prejudice against people from the states. Although there are many shades of skin here, white people from the states stick out like a sore thumb.
I have to admit that when I moved to Puerto Rico I did notice that people with darker skin were over represented in the service industries. It did make me wonder if there was prejudice here but I have never heard anyone say anything that was overtly discriminatory against them.
What I have heard overtly is prejudice against white people, although that may be just prejudice against people from the states. Although there are many shades of skin here, white people from the states stick out like a sore thumb.
Hawaii is similar to PR in that way. The prejudice isn't as much toward whites as it is toward gringos (American whites) or haoles (the Hawaiian word for white foreigner). I don't think Puerto Ricans who are white or near white have that problem.
Here's some more good information: Afro Puerto Rico: The Island’s Ties to Slavery*|*Road Trip (http://roadtrip.journalism.cuny.edu/2009/06/afro-puerto-rico-the-island%E2%80%99s-ties-to-slavery/ - broken link)
Here's some more good information: Afro Puerto Rico: The Island’s Ties to Slavery*|*Road Trip (http://roadtrip.journalism.cuny.edu/2009/06/afro-puerto-rico-the-island%E2%80%99s-ties-to-slavery/ - broken link)
Is that right? Wow... then please explain how for centuries white Europeans, wherever they went in the world, quickly became the conquerers, the movers and shakers, the discoverers, etc. All without knowing anyone or having really any way to get unfair, unearned opportunities. And they did it when they were very small in numbers compared to the indigineous peoples. This has occurred over and over in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and other places that white Europeans ventured. They had no infrastructure or contacts in place, yet did phenomenal things in terms of discovery, civilizing, building, etc. It was white Europeans and Americans who found the oil in the middle east, and knew what to do with it and how to extract and refine it. The natives hadn't done that. Europeans discovered all the precious metals/mineral wealth in Africa, knew it's value, technical uses, and figured out how to extract and process it. The natives hadn't done that.
To say that white Europeans didn't have special talent and abilities, and got their power and prosperity all over the world through "contacts" and so forth, is just the silliest sort of poltical correctness. Look at an exhaustive list of all the inventions of the past few hundred years, who the inventors were and where they came from. See a pattern? Would this not denote exceptional talent and ability, for crying out loud? You've got alot of explaining to do...
You cannot refute anythiong I've said, except with liberal cliches and pseudo-history. The true historical record is quite clear.
And I really don't know what to say about the anti-Bush comment at the beginning of your post.
You have a point but I'm not sure you've really considered everything. A person could say Europeans conquered so much of the world by being the most talented. But that could also come from being more competitive/power/material oriented than family/society oriented like many other cultures. Not to mention initial success often produces a "J-curve" effect. Once Western Europe started conquering it probably became more and more easy to do, like growing a business and making money - once you have a certain amount it becomes easier and easier to increase your amounts. Plus Europe hasn't always been the most advanced area of the world. I'm not saying that other races are more superior either, but I think it might do a few people some good to pay attention to the nice things about other cultures - like how unique, creative, musical, and neighborly African-Americans can be, how nature and community-oriented Africans can be, and how family-oriented Asians and Hispanics can be. Sitting around thinking negative things about other cultures is kind of pointless.
Also, that business about them being small in number is silly. Early American colonist were backed up by England/France/Spain/and Portugal. Settlers didn't start out numerous but became so very quickly and had superior weapons.
..... "Young black Latinos have to learn their story. We also need to start our own media, and forums and universities. We are treated like second class citizens. They tell blacks in Latin America that we are better off than U.S. blacks or Africans and that we have it better here, but it’s a false sense of being. Because here, it’s worse."
.....
"This is not about rejecting whiteness rather; it’s about learning to love our blackness - to love ourselves. We have to say basta ya, it’s enough, and find a way to love our blackness. They have confused us - and taught us to hate each other - to self-hate and create divisions on shades and features.
I agree with the first statement only. But, creating your own black media, forums, and universities will only further deepen any divisions that there may be. I can't speak for the rest of Latin America, but you must be living in a bubble if you think that blacks in PR face more discrimination and are treated more poorly than blacks in the US. I also find ironic that he wants to "love our blackness" but marries a white Puerto Rican.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunil's Dad
....And each of us has to put a grain in the sand to make it into a movement where we get respect, where we can celebrate our blackness without shame. It will be difficult but not impossible."
I'd say go for it. You can celebrate your blackness all that you want. But, why is that if I say that I want to celebrate my whiteness, I'll be called a racist in a heartbeat?
It takes a visitor to point out that all the dark skin sisters and brothers are in the service industry."
How would a visitor know that the "dark skin sisters and brothers" are Puerto Ricans (predominantly white) and not Dominicans (predominantly black in PR)?
I agree with the first statement only. But, creating your own black media, forums, and universities will only further deepen any divisions that there may be. I can't speak for the rest of Latin America, but you must be living in a bubble if you think that blacks in PR face more discrimination and are treated more poorly than blacks in the US.
Don't tell that to me. Tell that to Tego.
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I also find ironic that he wants to "love our blackness" but marries a white Puerto Rican.
Glad you found that ironic, because in the same sentence that you quoted, he pointed out that he was not against that which was white. I believe he said "This is not about rejecting whiteness."
Why did you conveniently leave that out?
He married whoever he fell in love with. Not something you can control, imho.
Quote:
I'd say go for it. You can celebrate your blackness all that you want. But, why is that if I say that I want to celebrate my whiteness, I'll be called a racist in a heartbeat?
Because it is a different dynamic. In America, or in Puerto Rico, whites do not need to celebrate their whiteness, because it is done for them on a daily basis as a matter of course.
How would a visitor know that the "dark skin sisters and brothers" are Puerto Ricans (predominantly white) and not Dominicans (predominantly black in PR)?
How many Dominicans are in Puerto Rico? Is their population equal to that of the black PR population?
You sound like that Dominican poster on here who, not wanting to admit that 85% of Dominicans have African roots, tried to say that the majority of blacks in his country were actually Haitians.
So most of the blacks we see in PR are actually Dominican. Does that mean they are really Haitian?
I'm trying to say that a lot of Dominicans work in the service industry. In the towns of Loíza, Canóvanas, Río Grande, Fajardo, and Carolina you'll find a lot of black Puerto Ricans and few Dominicans. However, in San Juan, specially around the Santurce sector and in some neighborhoods in Río Piedras, it is pretty safe to say that black Dominicans outnumber black Puerto Ricans.
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