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Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 06:27 pm: | 
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Well, having read Cynique's interesting posting ('On Being Black' - Posted on Friday, July 15, 2005 - 12:27 pm), let's get brutal and bring an 800 pound gorilla into the house...
This writing is a non-oblique extension of “http://africanamericancontext.blogspot.com“, a crude but poignant assessment of the color factor within the “black” American community.
The intent of this particular writing is not to inflame any specific person or group of people. Its sole purpose is to share an individual perspective on the dynamics of “black American” social interaction in a direct and unapologetic manner. The subject matter itself is sufficiently inflammatory enough to cause true rage among certain members of the so-called “black” community (“the piston heads”), but the colorism condition itself is not unique to persons of African descent.
Yes, the choir might get pissed off.
What is this forced “African-American” nonsense” If at least one of your parents or two of your grand parents aren’t African (as in sub-Saharan “black” African - not Arabic or white South African), then more than likely you are probably not African American and will never be considered African American, no matter how hard you try to search for an identity. You are mixed. Forget what white America thinks and says - you are of mixed heritage. This isn’t a scientific conclusion, it’s just what many people believe. Ironically, there is a rather large following of black Americans that choose to deny their non-African ancestry out of anger, fear and ignorance. Furthermore, continental black Africans (i.e., those originating from “black” Africa) have been known to go to great lengths to distinguish themselves from so-called indigenous African-Americans (IAAs). In essence, they want IAAs to know that African Americans themselves are really Americans with/of African descent, and absolutely nothing else.
Though the white American establishment labels and considers any U.S.-born persons of African descent as “black” in order to promote their ill-conceived theory of racial purity (i.e., whiteness) and superiority, the fact of the matter is that with the exception of a minute few, virtually no one anywhere in America or the world is pure black (pure white or pure anything else), for that matter.
Along those lines, we find colorism ingrained within the status quo of the black body politic. Black, when applied as a blanket descriptor of an entire class of people can be viewed as a reckless misnomer. In the genealogical context, black does not exist in intangible characteristics, behavior, aptitude and the like. However, as a currently recognized group pointer, there is a clear distinction between persons of significant or identifiable black African heritage and those of identifiable mixed heritage, which includes a rather large portion of so-called “black” America. This is irrespective of eye color, hair texture and other physical attributes - by choice or otherwise.
A viable argument can be made that colorism exists because darker skinned black Americans promote it - as either a benefit, detriment or in some cases, both. Those of more distinct black African heritage, cultural and physical characteristics, and more - cannot escape their blackness, though many try. They do not have the benefit being able to identify with other heritages and be accepted in today’s society for what they truly are. As a result, they may have a strong tendency to intentionally or inadvertently support the ODR (One-Drop Rule) to ensure that no other persons having any degree of black African descent can self-identify with anything else other than “black” or “African-American”.
Therein lies a basis for strong resentment from those of mixed heritage. Mind you, mixed-heritage does not begin at mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, Indian-this, Indian-that, etc., it begins with an identifiable break in the genealogical chain of one’s ancestry. Therefore, neither of one’s parents, grandparents or further up the chain need to be of another dominant racial classification for one to claim a mixed-heritage. An unscientific assumption, to say the least. However, skin color remains a sticking point, and so does its relevance, but not its impact.
Much of darker-skinned black America seems to have a problem with anyone of African descent identifying with anything else other than “African”. At the first instance or inference of such, they holler “self-hate”. This is the most ridiculous crock of crap that exists within the pro-black/African constituency, which (itself) by most accounts has a tendency to go ballistic at the first mention of non-African affiliation. Even more so, these pro-ethnic zealots find no ill will in denigrating other entire races, ethnicities and cultures, yet this is the very type of targeted behavior that they themselves are constantly trying to avoid.
Darker-skinned black America turns in its grave at the mere thought (and possible inevitability) of there being another racial/ethnic classification that would separate them from their lighter-skinned counterparts and the power, influence, respect and self-esteem that “that” lighter-skinned segment commands. It’s no secret that dark-skinned black Americans have had a rather strong affinity for dating and marrying light-skinned [black Americans] (ß misnomer), to the point of identifiably and selectively inbreeding to ensure that their future generations don’t suffer the bias, prejudice and other negatives that come with having darker complexions in a white/(light-skinned)-driven American society.
And, don’t we all get tired of the sniping that we hear from darker-skinned blacks when caramel or light-skinned blacks refer to themselves as “mocha”, “vanilla pudding” and so forth. What right does darker-skinned black America have to impose their perspective of self-identity on others? Absolutely none, and they can’t stand it. Beyond that, darker-skinned blacks tend to coddle their lighter-skinned counterparts in a relationship that is akin to being able to take a bite out of the apple without it falling off the tree. In other words, “I can jump the fence without really jumping the fence” - meaning that they don’t have to select another person outside of their identifiable race and/or ethnicity and then be ridiculed from within their own “black” community as in (marrying a white person and being called a sell-out).
This itself shouldn’t be confused with “acting white”, as that false assignment itself is bull, and only reeks of the ignorance of its professing cultural detractors. Darker-skinned black America is also known to quickly prejudge persons of color based on their “blackness”. Jokingly, how many times have you heard (in blaque tongue) - (“Oh, she black. She look black. I know she black.”)? Damn, for all we know, she could be Puerto Rican. The stupidity of it all. Well, when those Negroids learn how to speak proper English (and no offense to those with Downs Syndrome), then the world might listen.
For that matter, lighter-skinned “black” America needs to get on with its own agenda of moving forward, and not being hampered and dragged down by the time and energy-consuming issue of colorism. Yes, lighter-skinned black America is also at fault - more so for inflicting skin color prejudice on its darker-skinned counter part(s), intentionally or not - and in this regard, they are as guilty as sin, and they know it. But, they shouldn’t have to take any crap from the choir when it comes to self-identification. Just imagine, lighter-skinned black America actually jumping ship. That scares the hell out of the pro-black/African constituency.
As interracial, interethnic and intercultural association continues to grow at a phenomenal pace, the two (- yes two for now -) “black” Americas will have to come to grips with the fact that skin color still does make a big difference. Another official racial/ethnic category lies ahead, and there’s literally nothing that black America’s talking-head leadership can do to stop it. It’s just a matter of when. As scary as it seems, one day Jim Crow might enter through the back door instead of the front.
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Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 335
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 07:18 pm: |
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I agree with your whole post.
Of course, I'm a Sudanese biracial who LOOKS all black and identifies "all black".
I do know what's coming for Black Americans in the next 2 generations...
...and it's beyond terrible.
They're going to lose everything, because this is HOW the Oppressor destroys, breeds out his slaves AFTER they've became liberated.
He welcomes them to be broken down.
Families, communities, cultural folkways and mores...will all be destroyed and wiped out.
CONFUSION....utter confusion...and separation from identity and from one's ancestors
is all that lay ahead.
As my father said: "Interracial only benefits the White people. Never the blacks."
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2353
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 08:05 pm: |
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Very interesting post, Nels. So, is change necessarily bad? Can't stagnation be a consequence of not changing? And while skin color might be diluted, isn't DNA fairly constant. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 336
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 09:19 pm: |
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From an African standpoint, I have just three things to add Nels.
#1--I don't consider everyone with black blood to be black. We don't have that one drop rule in Africa, thank God.
#2--The "darker skinned blacks" are the blacks. This whole dark skin/ligh skin thing IN AMERICA is the invention of the slave planatation. Your ancestors came to this country from West Africa, and were overwhelmingly negroid black with African hair and almost entirely unmixed. In Africa, they don't consider African Actress Thandi Newton to be "black". She is "half-caste". In Kenya, they would not call Barack Obama "black"--he would be "mulatto". In Sudan, as dark as I am, I was registered by the government as "Arab"--because I'm light next to the pure blacks, who are charcoal, Sudan being heavily mixed with White Arab and Egyptian Noor blood. So you get no argument from me in lighter skinned blacks going their own way.
I truly believe that such a move on their part would FORCE the blacks to stand on their own two feet for once and stop hiding behind the yellow buffer group--which is way over represented anyway. The blacks would be able to find beauty and worth in their "darkness" for the first time, rather than depending on the yellows to IMPORT white beauty status.
#3--In my own AA adoptive family, there are too many of my family that are EXTREMELY close to me who are very light skinned---so that makes it impossible for us to really break away. My sister and brother, my cousins that I love--I couldn't stand be separated from them at this point, because I am raised in the same sand box with them all my life. It's not like in Africa where mulattos generally do not live/socialize around the blacks and are strangers to one another.
So that is where your analogy doesn't hold water.
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Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 337
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 09:24 pm: |
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Cynique--
in 6,000 years, the WHITES have not become stagnated.
Nor the Asians.
Nor the Arabs.
It's horrendous how you try to degrade blackness in the name of "change". What you're espousing has nothing to do with change---you're basically stating that you see "intermixing" as Moving Up/Moving Forward/Improving.
Black People are not stagnant or backwards---they are confused from being conquered; exploited; abused and denied self-determination and self-love.
I don't know how you could reach the age you are now and not see that.
Oh wait, yes I do---you come from a long line of High Yellow people who passed this thinking on to you generation after generation.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2356
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 11:49 pm: |
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zzzzzz. Here we go again, Kola. Haven't we pretty much established that this is a subject we will never agree on. You say:
"Black People are not stagnant or backwards---they are confused from being conquered; exploited; abused and denied self-determination and self-love."
I sing:
If that ain't stagnant, it will just have to do, until the real thing comes along.
And why you are trying to align yourself with Nels I don't know, because it didn't sound like he was supporting your position. He seemed resigned rather than angry when he implied that change is inevitable and is on the way. I am not wasting my time engaging in the same ol tired discourse with you about this subject. We reached an impasse long ago. Your attempts to villainize will me fall on deaf ears because I don't care what conclusions you draw. So save the pictures and the name-calling and go back to working on your novel. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 338
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 12:21 am: |
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Cynique, I'm sorry.
I wasn't trying to pick a fight with you.
Just tired of everyone insulting black people and the reality of their experience.
I realize that you didn't mean stagnant the way I took it.
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Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 3
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 02:08 am: |
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Kola_boof --
No analogy is perfect in everyone's mind, nor do they have to be. Assumptions will be made. Some will be more accurate than others. However, from an American standpoint, the "use" of color as a core classifying factor within the so-called "black" community still promotes separateness - whether right or wrong. How the color factor is manipulated will always be subject to interpretation.
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Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 4
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 02:13 am: |
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Cynique --
DNA is only constant within an instance of its intepretation. If metrics drawn from any given DNA sample are skewed, then the intepretation itself is also skewed.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2357
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 11:32 am: |
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In the best case scenario, a mixed person will still carry black DNA. My point is that just because a person doesn't have dark skin doesn't mean that he is contributing to the obliteration the race. Color isn't the only trait that is a characteristic of the Negroid stock. But it is certainly the most divisive one. So it's possible to conclude that the less contrast there is in color, the less divisiveness there will be. If Kola had her way, everybody would be her color - or else! |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 339
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 12:34 pm: |
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Cynique:
If Kola had her way, everybody would be her color - or else!
LMAO!!!!! 
NELS:
First of all, I was totally agreeing with you that these racial mixtures create a situation where the "blacks" are no longer the same people---and can even mix to the point of co-opting OTHER races---and as a consequence, this will obliterate black unity, scatter the black community, destroy the black family and make blackness in America....IMPOTENT and benign in relation to whiteness.
The White man rules the world...through his white woman and her white womb. WOMEN pass acculturation into children and make it possible for MEN to have racial parity.
Therefore, the Black man can only rule through the black woman....but has deliberately PHASED OUT her blackness, choosing the yellow or mixed black, or the pure white woman, etc.---to the point that he is no longer able to procreate his own seed or rule anyone...because those Non-Black Women are ruling him through "acculturation"....their offspring will not be black, will only partly identify as black and will eventually refuse to be contained in their father's "Black Group". So without the Black woman---the children lose Africa and the black man loses his place of power.
That's why the U.S. let in millions of Latinos, to create a new "white/spanish" minority....while at the same time fooling Afro-Americans with the "one drop rule", which allows them to BREED themselves "white"--but claim to be black---until there's enough of them to stampede and claim something else, which is beginning to happen now.
So you and I agree on all that.
________
My point was that Dark, light and mixed people of the United States....can NEVER be free from each other now, because of past "acculturation" and the legacy of the dead. It would be different if they were immigrants--but they are marked by haunted blood. The Black Americans themselves are haunted and followed by the "ghosts" of ancestors who have not been redeemed, both in Africa and in slavery.
It's just as futile as Black Americans attempting to be FREE of "Africa". You can never be.
The dye is cast.
You have not redeemed your ancestors--and instead of "change", chose "exchange"--bartering assimilation rather than liberation.
The whiter you become, the more miserable, disconnected and haunted you will become. Not to mention rejected by your ancestors and those who still look like them.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2358
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 01:59 pm: |
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I can't help but question your line of reasoning, Kola, eloquent though it may be, when you say:
"The whiter you become, the more miserable, disconnected and haunted you will become. Not to mention rejected by your ancestors and those who still look like them."
Really? If, as you claim, colorism prevails and white people hold all the power, then how can you tell blacks that the more white they become, the more miserable they'll be. Furthermore, what you need to realize is that ancestor worship is not a tradition among blacks. They are not as obsessed as you are with perpetuating the image of their African forbears, especially since white and red blood also runs in their veins. And do you really think mixed people care about being rejected by those who look like their African ancestors? According to you, mixed people are the ones doing the rejection. As is your custom, you have dramatized this issue, assigning non-existent sentiments to people, prophesying dire consequences if your crusade fails. You are clinging to the past, and others are embracing the future because the top priority of black folks is to make it into this country's mainstream in hopes of getting their piece of the pie. Instead, you want them to march to your drum beat, forecasting doom because the promise of change is music to their ears. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 340
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 02:26 pm: |
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Cynique:
If, as you claim, colorism prevails and white people hold all the power, then how can you tell blacks that the more white they become, the more miserable they'll be.
Kola:
Because they still KNOW their history....
And will forever be haunted by the Literature LEFT BEHIND...the old movies about "passing"....the songs/music
...they will be HAUNTED by the blacks who constantly attempt to OUT them
...OR who coldly disavow them with "petulant, accusatory" glances....
they will not be respected by the rest of America---they'll become the GYPSIES of this country----everyone knowing full well that they sold out, killed their own mother, abandoned on their own "root"....
They are not immigrants--they are Slave Booty. In other words, they had a special mission which was to REDEEM their ancestors.
This I know---because that's how it is in SUDAN and all other societies, Cynique, where the descendents of conquered/enslaved people have mixed themselves to gain acceptance....only to be filled with rage, disappointment and rejection (LOOK at the Arab world; they have no peace, because of a similar beginning--although, they still are not as bad off as the U.S. blacks will be).
Everyone, Cynique NEEDS ROOTS, needs identity.....needs to know that they are loved by their ancestors/their people...
...not a disappointment to them, not seen as "betrayers".
There's no CLOSURE for the mixed race person in America---because it began with SLAVERY and with the killing of their mother; their mother being Africa.
YOU THINK they won't care---but the fact is, they'll be eaten alive by LONGING and you will have TWO distinct types----(a) the guilt-ridden, emotionally isolated, sentimental ones and (b) the slick cold, no-looking-back, denying-any-association TYPES "who", as they desperately try to get Whiter and Whiter to purge the "taint"---will face the INNER BELL....the REJECTION, the IRE and the "emptiness" of becoming nothing at all.
The ONLY thing, Cynique, that the Black Americans ever had going for them, in any shape, form or fashion----was that they were Black.
That was the one thing that made America itself special, gave it flavor and solidified their Superiority over all other Americans---that they were the thing that everybody wanted to be. But like fools--they can't see it.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2359
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 03:54 pm: |
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Kola, what you say is rhetorical and hypothetic, and has little relevance to the state of flux that morphs into the different realities that comprise our existence. Which is to say that there are too many variables, too many abstracts, too many assumptions and too many unknowns to draw conclusions about the fate of a critical mass of individuals. You have taken on the role of psychologist and declared black America dysfunctional and in doing so, you have become neurotic yourself. You concoct scenarios and forecast doom, thinking you understand what goes on in the minds of millions of people and that you know what the future holds for a country that is rife with diversity. You act like white Americans are not a combination of different nationalities, and you apparently think that mixed-people don't have an identity when, in fact, they do know what their roots are. You seem to believe that unless a person is pure-blooded they will spend a life-time, yearning for closure. Nonsense. You judge everybody by yourself and you are enslaved by your fears. You resist flexibility, never considering that it is the key to survival. As far as I'm concerned, materialism is the real enemy of black folks; not assimilation. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 342
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 07:03 pm: |
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Which is to say that there are too many variables, too many abstracts, too many assumptions and too many unknowns to draw conclusions about the fate of a critical mass of individuals.
________
Excuse me, Cynique.
You keep ignoring the fact that what is about to happen over here has already happened THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO in North Africa---the effects of which DECIMATED "The Moors" and has left a bitter, painful divide between Blacks and "OTHERS" every since.
I speak from an incredible place of EXPERIENCE and knowledge---and as boldly as I engage people on this subject, year after year---it seems to me that somebody would figure out where this concern/vigilence on my part is coming from.
You (and many AAs) are just too arrogant to notice that History Repeats Itself---and that your experience over here as "Black folks" is NOT UNIQUE.
This is all...OLD.
But it's my obligation to at least warn you as strongly as possible...that the GRASS IS NOT GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE. It's dead.
And assimilation means just what it says----kill your own self to conform, to become someone else.
Of course, there's a few perks....but worse than that, there's a PRICE.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2362
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 08:29 pm: |
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Phooey on The Moors in North Africa. This is America. You think your "formula for success" will avoid future upheavel but conflict is part of the human condition and will always rear its ugly head. And why is it so hard for you to understand that AAs are already assimilated; that's why we come in all colors. To assimilate is not to kill yourself any more that it kills the person with whom you assimilate. Something of each parent remains. And if the eventuality of assimilation blurs the color divide then the divisiveness of the color caste system will abate. Blacks are 400 years removed from Africa and our indigenous culture has and will endure. Skin color is just one aspect of what a race is. You keep applying your concerns to a situation that doesn't involve you. You are a Cassandra, a Medea, a wanna-be Oracle. But you ain't one of us. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 343
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 08:52 pm: |
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First of all, Cynique.
I really don't appreciate you saying that I'm not "one of you".
As a matter of fact---I AM.
I don't know how much more of EVERY BLACK PERSON I could possibly be, and that's just FACT.
NEXT UP:
There are 200 million WHITES in the U.S.
42 million LATINOS
and 37 million BLACKS.
Assimilation will not do a damn thing to WHITES.
And MOST Black Americans are still, right now, today, OVERWHELMINGLY African in both blood and looks--whether they be mixed or not---another FACT.
Cynique says:
And if the eventuality of assimilation blurs the color divide then the divisiveness of the color caste system will abate.
KOLA:
Uh, yeah. Yet another reason that you need to seriously research the effects on assimilation on other cultures, be it Asia, North Africa or South America---it always spell disaster. But you're being arrogant and "personalizing" this because you're talking with KOLA.
And your mother was a wanna-be Oracle or whatever you meant to say.
I am KOLA, that's who I am.
I'm GREAT ENOUGH on my own, I don't need anybody's mythological designation.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2363
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 10:37 pm: |
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And we don't need you to plan our future for us. You can't even navigate your own life, so how are you gonna preach to us? And I repeat. Your are not one of us. Your history is not our history. Your ethnicity is not our ethnicity. You are a pseudo African-American, taking what you want from our culture and discarding what you disapprove of. Or are you about equality. You think you are better than us. We are constantly inundated with the details of the lineage you are secretly proud of, yet you constantly put others down about the diversity of their blood lines. But I give you credit for being dedicated and full of convictions. So why don't you get your act together and establish a public platform for your movement. Prove your sincerity by abandoning your frivolous quest for fame and fortune. Take your message to the streets, start a grass roots movement, become a Sudanese Harriet Tubman and lead your adopted countrymen to the promised land in - where? |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 344
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 11:20 pm: |
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Cynique,
I'm a novelist and a homemaker.
I'm not here to lead your people anywhere. For the life of me I don't know what your problem is.
We're trading opinions on a subject---none of us are God, none of us are going to live to see what happens and none of us are claiming to know.
I give my opinion just like everybody else. Mines is presented no more strongly than anyone else's. I come from a completely different set of circumstances, experiences, beliefs...so, of course my views seem totally out of place to you. But that doesn't make me the daughter of Satan, as you tried to describe, and it doesn't make me Harriet Tubman. Right now, I would like to enjoy peace, raising my sons and writing from time to time.
I love Black American people and can only love them with the love that I HAVE. That's all I have.
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The_ethiopian
Newbie Poster
Username: The_ethiopian
Post Number: 17
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 11:13 am: |
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preach on kola........those dumb negro americans are so stupid they dont know they are becoming a permenent underclass.........500 years on u foolish negros still havent grown a brain...so sad. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2364
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 11:31 am: |
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Well, Kola, you've gained an unlikely ally. Before I get off my soap box, I'll remind the ethiopian that the black middle-class is growing by leaps and bounds and that in any capitalistic society there's a permanent underclass, and it crosses color lines. Of course, he wouldn't know this because in his country, all of the people live in the gutter. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 1340
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 01:54 pm: |
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Cynique:
Bad Cynique! Bad! The Ethiopian upper classes live well--like upper classes everywhere. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2369
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 02:02 pm: |
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I've been waiting for the ethiopian to correct me about this, but he's too busy ignoring the fact that the African-American upper classes live well. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2371
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 02:24 pm: |
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BTW, Chris, why don't you take on the the ethiopian? Can't a pedigree black guy like you come up with any responses to his put downs? |
Yvettep
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 629
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 02:59 pm: |
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Hi, everybody!
Well I drop back in and it's like a soap opera up in here--Like I never left! LOL
My 2 cents: Someone write a post about something having to do with this color issue that has actually *changed* in their mind since participating on these boards.
My changed idea: I always assumed that on-line, non-face-to-face discussions would *lessen* the sting of "colorism" or other aspects of ethnic/racial "authenticity" (because you don't see color in cyberspace). But since coming here it seems that actually, many folks seem just as intent on calling attention to their own color, that of their family members, mates, etc. as they seem to be in "meat space."
What that says to me? If somehow we magically could do away with color tomorrow and all be midnight black (or any other color) we'd find a way to make color-like distinctions based on other aspects.
Speaking of which, who is this "ethiopian" fellow/gal?
Hope everyone is having a good summer! |
The_ethiopian
Newbie Poster
Username: The_ethiopian
Post Number: 21
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 06:48 pm: |
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"I've been waiting for the ethiopian to correct me about this, but he's too busy ignoring the fact that the African-American upper classes live well"
i didnt say the AA upper class dont live well ......what i said is that the upper and middle class are a minority of the AA community....most AA are working class/poor.....u are right in a capitalist economy u need an under class......but what does it mean when the majority of the underclass come from a specific race.....there are more poor whites than blacks......thats natural because whites make up 70% of the countrys population but when u look at it by percentage of race....there are way more poor black ppl than whites most whites are middle class while most blacks are working class again this is by the percentage not by numerical figures.....according to economic data.....even the working class whites are better off than the working class black i saw a study that said working class whites on average have 10,000 worth of assets while most working class blacks dont have anything saved up again this can be blamed on the consumerism culture in AA communities. This in equality in wealth can even be seen in middle class blacks who make the same amount of money as there white counter part but they are less likely to own there homes and according to an economic survey i read middle class blacks have less than 20,000 dollars worth of assets compared to 45,000 dollars worth of assets of there white counter part....the reason for this inequality in wealth distribution has it roots in slavery....because white familes passed down there wealth while black families had little to pass down.....the other reason is blacks save less money than whites.....AA are major consumers of products........in short they dont keep the money in there community but throw there money away to anybody.....thats why AA are in danger of becoming a permenant underclass |
Tonya
First Time Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 09:30 pm: |
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For a person who hates African Americans you sure know a lot about us. There really is a thin line between love and hate. |
Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 9
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 03:18 am: |
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Genre: Fiction - Hypothetical Scenario
Two light-skinned brothas - contemplating the great coming divide between light and dark-skinned 'black' America. Lighter-skinned blacks are attempting to separate themselves from their more darker-skinned and self-identifying pro-black/African-(American) counterparts.
First Brotha:
"Hey! Check this out."
"Co - First two letters of 'Colored'."
"Mi - First two letters of 'Mixed'."
"Bi - First two letters of 'Bi-Racial'."
Comibi!
"Yeah, I like the sound of that. Exotic, huh? Reeks of fine high-yellow honeys and all that shit, don't you think?"
"That's it! We got it! We'll have a new racial/ethnic classification - lickity split."
"The Comibians, as in 'comibi'..., maybe even Comibia. I really like it, you know... Just wait 'till the others hear about our new discovery. We'll be famous. Get a lot of play too. (smile)"
"What choo think?"
Second Brotha:
"Shit! What the fuck are you talkin' about? Comibians? Sounds like another African tribe to me".
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The point is, no matter where you're headed, you may end up right back where you started. |
Tonya
Newbie Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 09:09 am: |
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Nels,
I'm confused. I thought you wanted to separate???
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Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 1345
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 10:54 am: |
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Cynique, Cynique, Cynique!
I have seen my destiny on this site as being the peacemaker. Pouring oil on the troubled waters. Making the brothers and the sisters love one another.
I will, however, go back through the ethiopian's posts and see if there is something I can sink my teeth in, you instigator you.
I read what he posted above and I agree with most of it, by the way. |
Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 10
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 05:47 pm: |
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Tonya --
In my opinion, separation in this context can purely be a state of mind. What I was alluding to was the hypocrisy of untempered action and judgment. In this case, these guys embarked on a journey without direction, and ended up right back where they started - and came full circle in doing so. In real life, it happens all the time. Simply speaking, the rapid demise of their quest represents nature's checks and balances at work. |
Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 11
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 05:56 pm: |
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Tonya --
One more thing - in context, they were confused: Namibian -+- Comibian, etc. In other words, they didn't take what they were attempting to do seriously, had no idea where they were actually headed, nor did they understand the gravity of their impending actions. Mind you, this is only a story, for now. |
Tonya
Newbie Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 4
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 06:43 pm: |
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Nels,
They were confused. That was my point.
Are you?
One love
Tonya |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2378
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 07:05 pm: |
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Life is organic not plastic. Time brings change and the more things change, the more they become the same. We are just travellers, wending our way, leaving footprints behind. |
Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 13
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 01:41 am: |
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Tonya --
No, I'm not confused at all -- and I'm also not planning on endlessly retorting within this thread, particularly to the point of insinuation. When I wrote the piece, I was expecting a response just like yours, and I got it. All said.
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Tonya
Newbie Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 11
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 02:03 am: |
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Glad I could help!!!
Tonya |
Renata
Newbie Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 5
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 06, 2005 - 02:53 pm: |
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Nels, I don't really know you, but you are a trip!
Comibians...LOL |
Nels
Newbie Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 25
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 06, 2005 - 09:13 pm: |
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Renata --
"?"... Just speculating and observing, that's all. It's sometimes suprising what people think, believe or disbelieve, but don't want to actually say. Even the Comibians got it wrong.
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