I Don't Get Along With Members Of My Own Race

Please don't ban me. If you don't like this, you can delete it. I just had to get this off my chest.

I'm black: African and African-American (two African parents = African, born in the US = African-American).

First of all, I really don't like all these newfangled labels like African-American and people of color. They sound so PC, so delicate. But the main reason I don't like being called African-American is because it makes me sound like a visitor in my own country. I also hate it because it's convoluted.

Anyway, that's one of the myriad number of reasons why other black people get on my nerves.

-We only know about black things, like racism, racial profiling, victimology, our own cultures and religions, etc. No I'm not saying we should necessarily start talking about women or gay issues (although maybe we should). What about other things, like the God question, science, philosophy, morality, psychology, music, art, literature, something else besides the fact that we're black and we deal with racism?

-White privilege probably doesn't exist or if it does, it depends where you live. If you live in DC, you're not confronted with white privilege. Not all whites are rich. There are plenty of whites poorer than the average black. And everything's a trade-off on an individual level, like if you're a white little person. ("midget")

-Racism has greatly abated and is mostly a thing of the past.

-Prejudice and racism are two different things. Everyone's prejudiced at some point.

-Black people tend to be more bigoted. There are blacks who will blatantly harass Asians for example. I saw a black woman yelling about Asian men (supposedly) having little dicks. How would we like to hear Asian men yelling in the street that they think we have big vaginas?? That would be horrible. (I don't anyway).

-Black men don't give a damn about black women. They have always just used us to be a united front and help them get ahead. They don't even want us to be their wives or mothers, they just don't have a choice.

-The black community is boohoo, angry, negative..just looking for more and more excuses. Now the new conspiracy is that black boys are groomed to go to prison and that the police is racist. Also that there are no fathers. 15 years ago, absolutely no one said this.

 

I'm a white male and grew up poor and still am poor. I'm not broke but I don't have a lot of financial freedom. My parents divorced when I was 5 and Dad died when I was 15. Dad was an alcoholic.

I am also a felon. Police treat me no better than any other race, depending on how I behave.

I think the problem is that culture tends to do what is easy. I belong to several sub-cultures and I think that kinda balances me out. I don't think every black person feels they have to listen to rap and be an attitude. All attitudes that are negative in some response yield negative results. I think attitude should be debated as every race and culture has bias attitudes. Every sub-culture has it's grief and complaints.

It's just that minority cultures made a lot of money off of crime culture and still do. Being a felon myself I can see how crime is a way to make money when it's difficult to get a job. I don't have that playa attitude to survive in any hustle, I'm just not good at bullshitting to make a deal or steal.

Who you grow up around says the most about us. It influences all of us and that's hard for people to get away from.

 

When I say minority cultures, I also mean Italian and Irish. They have their criminal lifestyles and have for a long time. I don't just mean Asian, African and Hispanic.

 

This is what becomes of someone when they have a warped sense of racial pride ingrained into their heads their entire lives, all based around nothing more than a victim mentality, while at the same time constantly seeing underachievement and subhuman behaviors glorified non stop, encouraged to keep voting for politicis that profit off their schools and cities being crappy and catering mainly to the bad eggs amongst them, their biggest heroes being hardened criminals, sports porofessionals and shitty "musicians", which are often times one and the same. But a successful Black buisnessman who isn't a criminal, or one who talks articulately and shows signs of intelligence, is looked at like a freak by their own kind. I don't blame the person who started this thread for feeling the way they do.

 

"I think the problem is that culture tends to do what is easy."

this is a good way to put it.

 

You make some interesting points, particularly in regards to PC culture and White Privilege. White Privilege probably only applies to a small percentage of the white population and really those that have been steeped in wealth for generations, so it may be mostly illusory, although I do think profiling definitely exists.


Overall, the Black People I interact with tend to enjoy talking about music, sports, faith, technology etc. I don't think I've ever met any Black Person that is as One Dimensional in regards to only discussing Social Struggles as you mention.

The best racial joke about black people I've been told recently was from a Black guy too, so in my experience I don't think they are above self-depricating humor or "always angry" and what not.

I can't really say too much about "in-group" dynamics regarding relationship issues with the gender dynamics or the frequency and level of bigotedness that goes on among Blacks strictly amongst each other though.

 

It's time for intelligent, well educated individuals to get beyond race, in most situations. People are people. Some are good, some are bad. Some are interesting, many are not. Some have a lot to offer, most don't. Race games are a waste of time for people who can think on a higher level. The big American racial issues were settled in 1964. It's time to move on.

I see you as a person, not a black person. That's where we need to be. We get to choose a lot of things about ourselves, but not race. You should be defined by your choices.

 

I just wanna date a black chick. Funny how racist the black people get when they find THAT out.

 

Speaking as a black male, I don’t know where this self-hatred of yours comes from but you couldn’t possibly more wrong. Black people are just as diverse as any other race.

Take my family for instance, I honestly can’t think of anyone in my family who isn’t successful. I’m probably the least educated and I have a Bachelor of Science degree.

I grew up in an upper-middle class community in a suburb West of Boston and attended one of the finest school systems in the country. From High School on it was all about College Board Exams and what School you were going to attend, Harvard/Radcliffe, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Vassar, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Williams, you couldn't help but be swept up in such a nurturing environment.

Success breeds success. Put in the right environment anyone can succeed, it's not about race it's about cultural norms and expectations.


Hotwater

 

If we could all just stop seeing color as our first impression...see humans first, then if you wish talk of backgrounds, etc fine.

 

Uhhhmmm, isn't that essentially what the OP said, just from a different perspective?

obviously her experience is very different from yours and you must admit, for a black male in America, your experience is far from the norm.

 

Are you educated? I'm an import, but one of those white upper class British sorts, so people seem to think I AM the Queen, which I must say is raaaather nice. LOL

I have all sorts of friends and I have noticed that black women go to university more than black men, and then people get a bit upset when they end up dating non-black men, who honestly I think seem to mostly date very fat white women!

A friend of mine pointed out a while back that if you watch comedians, black comedians are 90% talking about being black and often are victims, where as other comedians are talking about life.

So I think you are correct that black people are playing victims and oddly think white people made them slaves! I was at a party and a rather silly black man was complaining about how white made them slaves. A charming fellow who was coal black, but armed with excellent manners and a PhD pointed out that Blacks enslaved Blacks in Africa and used to sell them to the Arabs.

Every so often, a group would escape and come back and retake their lands and enslave the other tribe. So when some Dutch and Portuguese came along, paying a hirer price and putting an ocean between them, Those Blacks started selling Their Black slaves to white people.

The most interesting thing I heard was in South America 5-10 million slaves and 90% died, Caribbean 5-10 million 90% died, but only 300-500,000 to the US and 90% lived (this is the ones who made it, not died in the boats.) and the ones who lived had a longer lifespan than a Free Black back in Africa! Now I am not suggesting we return to slavery, but might be time to get over it.

One thing my brilliant white friend pointed out and that black PhD confirmed was 95% of the poor white in the south who fought and died for slavery, never owned a slave, never had any chance of owning a slave. They literally died mostly for 1% of the very richest whites.

Talk about conning someone.

Penelope