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Afro -Americans

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looks like I'll be the first one to answer the question

Speaking only for myself I wish more black people would realize what kind of image they present to the rest of the world. I've voiced this opinion many times and I've had people tell me that I'm an Uncle Tom or something along those lines. It really hurts to see people of my own race going through life with so little ambition (I have theory behind that but I'll save it for another day). However it should also be noted that there are many, many black people who like myself pride themselves on working hard and maintaining strong families and friendships.

At times it can really be a difficult experience being a black guy, that's not to say that everyday of the week I'm fighting racial opression and running from the klan. But there has been occasions where I've been the victim of blatant racism. For example back when I was in high school my best friend and I were walking home from the mall, (we missed the last bus for that night) we were on a main street which was in a pre-dominantly white area. Anyway as we were walking along a bunch of guys in a SUV pulled up next to us and started screaming the n-word and throwing beer cans at us. Naturally my buddy and I ran like hell, we went about a block and then we saw a police car. The SUV punks saw the cop too and they turned down a side street. At this point the policeman drove over to us and asked what we were doing. We replied that we had missed the last bus from the mall and were walking home, the guy then replied he would be watching us and to stay out of trouble. Needless to say my friend and I were shocked and upset. A more recent encounter I had was a few months ago in a Borders bookstore. I was standing in line waiting to pay for a few items. An older white lady who did'nt see where the line formed stepped ahead of me, her daughter (I think she was in her 40's) who was with her tried to pull her to the back of the line. I politely smiled and said that I did'nt mind if they wanted to go ahead of me, the daughter rolled her eyes and whispered under he breath "fvcking n!iggers". I could'nt believe it, I should have been furious but it just made me really sad. It's such a drag to work hard and try to present yourself as a respectable person only to be torn down soley on skin color or some other meaningless criteria.

I did'nt intend for this post to drag on for so long but I'll just try to summarize in a couple of more sentences. Yes being black in america can have it's disadvantages, but I've learned from my 33 years of life that it does'nt have to hold you back. I feel as if I've accomplished a lot in life, I have a very nice home, a beautiful wife and my first child on the way. I also have a well paying job (even though I hate it right now 😛) and a side business that's really taking off (I"m talking about REALLY taking off). I've also managed to earn everything that I have through my own work, I had no handouts or freebies. I guess that's why I can be a bit hard on my own race, I just feel if you put forth the effort and try to make smart decision in life you can go far. At the same time I do realize that there still is much racism in america and it is'nt going away anytime soon unfortunately. All I can do is try to be the best person I can be and maybe someone will take notice and it might change their outlook about a few things.
 
Originally posted by: Arkitech
looks like I'll be the first one to answer the question

Speaking only for myself I wish more black people would realize what kind of image they present to the rest of the world. I've voiced this opinion many times and I've had people tell me that I'm an Uncle Tom or something along those lines. It really hurts to see people of my own race going through life with so little ambition (I have theory behind that but I'll save it for another day). However it should also be noted that there are many, many black people who like myself pride themselves on working hard and maintaining strong families and friendships.

At times it can really be a difficult experience being a black guy, that's not to say that everyday of the week I'm fighting racial opression and running from the klan. But there has been occasions where I've been the victim of blatant racism. For example back when I was in high school my best friend and I were walking home from the mall, (we missed the last bus for that night) we were on a main street which was in a pre-dominantly white area. Anyway as we were walking along a bunch of guys in a SUV pulled up next to us and started screaming the n-word and throwing beer cans at us. Naturally my buddy and I ran like hell, we went about a block and then we saw a police car. The SUV punks saw the cop too and they turned down a side street. At this point the policeman drove over to us and asked what we were doing. We replied that we had missed the last bus from the mall and were walking home, the guy then replied he would be watching us and to stay out of trouble. Needless to say my friend and I were shocked and upset. A more recent encounter I had was a few months ago in a Borders bookstore. I was standing in line waiting to pay for a few items. An older white lady who did'nt see where the line formed stepped ahead of me, her daughter (I think she was in her 40's) who was with her tried to pull her to the back of the line. I politely smiled and said that I did'nt mind if they wanted to go ahead of me, the daughter rolled her eyes and whispered under he breath "fvcking n!iggers". I could'nt believe it, I should have been furious but it just made me really sad. It's such a drag to work hard and try to present yourself as a respectable person only to be torn down soley on skin color or some other meaningless criteria.

I did'nt intend for this post to drag on for so long but I'll just try to summarize in a couple of more sentences. Yes being black in america can have it's disadvantages, but I've learned from my 33 years of life that it does'nt have to hold you back. I feel as if I've accomplished a lot in life, I have a very nice home, a beautiful wife and my first child on the way. I also have a well paying job (even though I hate it right now 😛) and a side business that's really taking off (I"m talking about REALLY taking off). I've also managed to earn everything that I have through my own work, I had no handouts or freebies. I guess that's why I can be a bit hard on my own race, I just feel if you put forth the effort and try to make smart decision in life you can go far. At the same time I do realize that there still is much racism in america and it is'nt going away anytime soon unfortunately. All I can do is try to be the best person I can be and maybe someone will take notice and it might change their outlook about a few things.
Click to expand...
do you like being called an African-American or is it time to lose the label already?
 
I think it also has to do with location. My high school was highly diverse and I was on the track and football team where there was a 50-50 mix if not more blacks. Im comfortable with the word blacks because well the makority of my friends are. I never saw a problem with racism at all growing up in schenectady. Its not until playing counter-strike that I saw some pure racism.
I have jokes about black people and black people got jokes about white people, but people in prodomently white schools and neighborhoods seem to bring this to a im white your black thing. I really never saw it like that like I said until I saw some pretty fvcked up things said on CS.
Im not trying to speak for black people at all but I can see they are disadvantaged in a lot of areas but so is anyone. I was white in the sport world and I was discriminated against. I once had a black kid comment on my racing shoes at the state meet, needless to say his team didnt make it to the finals and we won. Racism is everywhere and to every person.
Blacks dominate sports and it seems they dominate the music industry.
All threads like this do is bring up an issue that shouldn't be an issue. The question shouldn't be asked stop looking at black people as "them" and think of them as us and vice versa.
The less you think about how unfortunate black people may be the less racist you will become. and yes I think if you start threads like this you are a racist because it shoudn't even be a thought process in the first place.
 
According to Webster, Racism:
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

i could be wrong, but asking a question about something that obviously exists in society doesn't mean your racist. did anyone one else besides ctrackstar, get anything about inherent superiority out of the OP, cause i guess i missed it?
 
Originally posted by: Arkitech
looks like I'll be the first one to answer the question

Speaking only for myself I wish more black people would realize what kind of image they present to the rest of the world. I've voiced this opinion many times and I've had people tell me that I'm an Uncle Tom or something along those lines. It really hurts to see people of my own race going through life with so little ambition (I have theory behind that but I'll save it for another day). However it should also be noted that there are many, many black people who like myself pride themselves on working hard and maintaining strong families and friendships.

At times it can really be a difficult experience being a black guy, that's not to say that everyday of the week I'm fighting racial opression and running from the klan. But there has been occasions where I've been the victim of blatant racism. For example back when I was in high school my best friend and I were walking home from the mall, (we missed the last bus for that night) we were on a main street which was in a pre-dominantly white area. Anyway as we were walking along a bunch of guys in a SUV pulled up next to us and started screaming the n-word and throwing beer cans at us. Naturally my buddy and I ran like hell, we went about a block and then we saw a police car. The SUV punks saw the cop too and they turned down a side street. At this point the policeman drove over to us and asked what we were doing. We replied that we had missed the last bus from the mall and were walking home, the guy then replied he would be watching us and to stay out of trouble. Needless to say my friend and I were shocked and upset. A more recent encounter I had was a few months ago in a Borders bookstore. I was standing in line waiting to pay for a few items. An older white lady who did'nt see where the line formed stepped ahead of me, her daughter (I think she was in her 40's) who was with her tried to pull her to the back of the line. I politely smiled and said that I did'nt mind if they wanted to go ahead of me, the daughter rolled her eyes and whispered under he breath "fvcking n!iggers". I could'nt believe it, I should have been furious but it just made me really sad. It's such a drag to work hard and try to present yourself as a respectable person only to be torn down soley on skin color or some other meaningless criteria.

I did'nt intend for this post to drag on for so long but I'll just try to summarize in a couple of more sentences. Yes being black in america can have it's disadvantages, but I've learned from my 33 years of life that it does'nt have to hold you back. I feel as if I've accomplished a lot in life, I have a very nice home, a beautiful wife and my first child on the way. I also have a well paying job (even though I hate it right now 😛) and a side business that's really taking off (I"m talking about REALLY taking off). I've also managed to earn everything that I have through my own work, I had no handouts or freebies. I guess that's why I can be a bit hard on my own race, I just feel if you put forth the effort and try to make smart decision in life you can go far. At the same time I do realize that there still is much racism in america and it is'nt going away anytime soon unfortunately. All I can do is try to be the best person I can be and maybe someone will take notice and it might change their outlook about a few things.
Click to expand...

Nice post. It is sad when people are friendly, and courteous and get treated like ******. And to add insult to injury they throw a derogatory term at you.

 
What im posing is that its not an issue unless you address it as a racist. You may be right I dont mean hes a total racist but the term racist is different depending on where you live. Its just I constantly see useless threads about blacks and rap music and it gets on my nerves.
Your opinion may be different than mine you may think a racist is someone who wears a white cape where i think its someone who nearly says disadvantage and black in the same sentence. I don't believe they are at a total disadvantage. You may also hear a different story from a black person who lives in a white neighborhood then a black who lives in a area where its diverse. Everyone is at a disadvantage in one way or another. If im a white person trying to rap im going to be discriminated against but it can be achieved if you got skills. Blacks like whites are only disadvantage by there skill or lack of skills. If they are skilled they will succeed and nothing will stop them just like a white person in sports or rapping.
 
Originally posted by: Ctrackstar126
What im posing is that its not an issue unless you address it as a racist. You may be right I dont mean hes a total racist but the term racist is different depending on where you live. Its just I constantly see useless threads about blacks and rap music and it gets on my nerves.
Your opinion may be different than mine you may think a racist is someone who wears a white cape where i think its someone who nearly says disadvantage and black in the same sentence. I don't believe they are at a total disadvantage. You may also hear a different story from a black person who lives in a white neighborhood then a black who lives in a area where its diverse. Everyone is at a disadvantage in one way or another. If im a white person trying to rap im going to be discriminated against but it can be achieved if you got skills. Blacks like whites are only disadvantage by there skill or lack of skills. If they are skilled they will succeed and nothing will stop them just like a white person in sports or rapping.
Click to expand...

Oh you're just ignoring how the white man keeps the black man down!
 
Originally posted by: Circle O Willis
According to Webster, Racism:
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

i could be wrong, but asking a question about something that obviously exists in society doesn't mean your racist. did anyone one else besides ctrackstar, get anything about inherent superiority out of the OP, cause i guess i missed it?
Click to expand...


Oh and just because you read a dictionary doesnt mean you know what racism is.
 
Originally posted by: Arkitech
looks like I'll be the first one to answer the question

Speaking only for myself I wish more black people would realize what kind of image they present to the rest of the world. I've voiced this opinion many times and I've had people tell me that I'm an Uncle Tom or something along those lines. It really hurts to see people of my own race going through life with so little ambition (I have theory behind that but I'll save it for another day). However it should also be noted that there are many, many black people who like myself pride themselves on working hard and maintaining strong families and friendships.

At times it can really be a difficult experience being a black guy, that's not to say that everyday of the week I'm fighting racial opression and running from the klan. But there has been occasions where I've been the victim of blatant racism. For example back when I was in high school my best friend and I were walking home from the mall, (we missed the last bus for that night) we were on a main street which was in a pre-dominantly white area. Anyway as we were walking along a bunch of guys in a SUV pulled up next to us and started screaming the n-word and throwing beer cans at us. Naturally my buddy and I ran like hell, we went about a block and then we saw a police car. The SUV punks saw the cop too and they turned down a side street. At this point the policeman drove over to us and asked what we were doing. We replied that we had missed the last bus from the mall and were walking home, the guy then replied he would be watching us and to stay out of trouble. Needless to say my friend and I were shocked and upset. A more recent encounter I had was a few months ago in a Borders bookstore. I was standing in line waiting to pay for a few items. An older white lady who did'nt see where the line formed stepped ahead of me, her daughter (I think she was in her 40's) who was with her tried to pull her to the back of the line. I politely smiled and said that I did'nt mind if they wanted to go ahead of me, the daughter rolled her eyes and whispered under he breath "fvcking n!iggers". I could'nt believe it, I should have been furious but it just made me really sad. It's such a drag to work hard and try to present yourself as a respectable person only to be torn down soley on skin color or some other meaningless criteria.

I did'nt intend for this post to drag on for so long but I'll just try to summarize in a couple of more sentences. Yes being black in america can have it's disadvantages, but I've learned from my 33 years of life that it does'nt have to hold you back. I feel as if I've accomplished a lot in life, I have a very nice home, a beautiful wife and my first child on the way. I also have a well paying job (even though I hate it right now 😛) and a side business that's really taking off (I"m talking about REALLY taking off). I've also managed to earn everything that I have through my own work, I had no handouts or freebies. I guess that's why I can be a bit hard on my own race, I just feel if you put forth the effort and try to make smart decision in life you can go far. At the same time I do realize that there still is much racism in america and it is'nt going away anytime soon unfortunately. All I can do is try to be the best person I can be and maybe someone will take notice and it might change their outlook about a few things.
Click to expand...


We all experience it, regardless of color. A recent shopping experience: I went to ask a sales person about some car speakers. I patiently waited for her to get to me, and it did take awhile, but it was worth the wait. While we were discussing the speakers we were headed to the terminal to look something up, conversing as we went. Then all of a sudden this black woman says, "I need to find some speakers." The sales person looks at me then looks at the woman who then says, "Yeah, speakers." For some reason the sales person just starts looking confused. I said, "She was helping me." The rude woman says, "Exscuse me! Dont be rude! I just need some quick help." Mind you there were also other people waiting. But she jumps in front of me and everyone else and just demands help immediatley. I didnt say anything because everybody was looking at her. The newb sales person just starts to help her to diffuse the situation. As shes being helped, she stops and keeps muttering about me being rude. I was so tempted to say, "Isnt that the pot calling the kettle black?" Apparently the sales person was too slow and this woman wouldnt shut up. So finally I said, "Look, I patiently waited until my turn came up and you just barged in front of everyone. You got what want and your still going on about it?" I guess we were just supposed to be intimidated by her and not say anything. Or maybe her feathers were ruffled. She then stammered off before the sales person could finish helping her. We picked up our transaction like nothing ever happened.
 
Originally posted by: stash
Dave Matthews is from Africa, so is he an African-American?

See why labels suck now?
Click to expand...

Does that dumbass comment have to get said in every thread about race?
 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
do you like being called an African-American or is it time to lose the label already?
Click to expand...

Yeah like, is "black" ok? Arkitech, you used that term in your well-written post there. I just prefer the word because it's descriptive enough, and it's only one syllable. 🙂
And of course, African American might not be right - people from India also can have really dark skin.
I think of it as ok because I have no malicious intent behind it. The whole thing of "let's discriminate based on melatonin concentration in the skin" just never made much sense to me. OMG, a natural evolutionary adaptation to the higher UV exposure in the equatorial latitudes? Yeah, that's reason to hate them. :roll:
 
Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
We all experience it, regardless of color. A recent shopping experience: I went to ask a sales person about some car speakers. I patiently waited for her to get to me, and it did take awhile, but it was worth the wait. While we were discussing the speakers we were headed to the terminal to look something up, conversing as we went. Then all of a sudden this black woman says, "I need to find some speakers." The sales person looks at me then looks at the woman who then says, "Yeah, speakers." For some reason the sales person just starts looking confused. I said, "She was helping me." The rude woman says, "Exscuse me! Dont be rude! I just need some quick help." Mind you there were also other people waiting. But she jumps in front of me and everyone else and just demands help immediatley. I didnt say anything because everybody was looking at her. The newb sales person just starts to help her to diffuse the situation. As shes being helped, she stops and keeps muttering about me being rude. I was so tempted to say, "Isnt that the pot calling the kettle black?" Apparently the sales person was too slow and this woman wouldnt shut up. So finally I said, "Look, I patiently waited until my turn came up and you just barged in front of everyone. You got what want and your still going on about it?" I guess we were just supposed to be intimidated by her and not say anything. Or maybe her feathers were ruffled. She then stammered off before the sales person could finish helping her. We picked up our transaction like nothing ever happened.
Click to expand...

That has absolutely nothing to do with race, unless I missed something. Sure, it's possible that she wanted better treatment because she was black, but it makes no sense to assume that. She was just a crabby lady.

edit: Ah sorry, I missed the point of your post. However, presumably this women was not behaving so because of an racial differences. The situation at the bookstore is different because racial biases were obviously present.

Anyway, I know tons of black people and almost all of them want to be called just that because they consider themselves full Americans. Not half American, half African. Same as how I wouldn't call myself Swedish-American.

Arkitech - Good post. I think (for the most part) racism only brings down those who choose to let it do so. Personally, I feel that sometimes the amount of "racial awareness" and "politically corre act" ideas and policies in our societyre counter-productive. If minorities see themselves as isolate and/or disadvantaged, it may give them less will to be ambitious. I'd be curious as to what your theory is, though.
 
Originally posted by: Vich
Originally posted by: Arkitech
looks like I'll be the first one to answer the question

Speaking only for myself I wish more black people would realize what kind of image they present to the rest of the world. I've voiced this opinion many times and I've had people tell me that I'm an Uncle Tom or something along those lines. It really hurts to see people of my own race going through life with so little ambition (I have theory behind that but I'll save it for another day). However it should also be noted that there are many, many black people who like myself pride themselves on working hard and maintaining strong families and friendships.

At times it can really be a difficult experience being a black guy, that's not to say that everyday of the week I'm fighting racial opression and running from the klan. But there has been occasions where I've been the victim of blatant racism. For example back when I was in high school my best friend and I were walking home from the mall, (we missed the last bus for that night) we were on a main street which was in a pre-dominantly white area. Anyway as we were walking along a bunch of guys in a SUV pulled up next to us and started screaming the n-word and throwing beer cans at us. Naturally my buddy and I ran like hell, we went about a block and then we saw a police car. The SUV punks saw the cop too and they turned down a side street. At this point the policeman drove over to us and asked what we were doing. We replied that we had missed the last bus from the mall and were walking home, the guy then replied he would be watching us and to stay out of trouble. Needless to say my friend and I were shocked and upset. A more recent encounter I had was a few months ago in a Borders bookstore. I was standing in line waiting to pay for a few items. An older white lady who did'nt see where the line formed stepped ahead of me, her daughter (I think she was in her 40's) who was with her tried to pull her to the back of the line. I politely smiled and said that I did'nt mind if they wanted to go ahead of me, the daughter rolled her eyes and whispered under he breath "fvcking n!iggers". I could'nt believe it, I should have been furious but it just made me really sad. It's such a drag to work hard and try to present yourself as a respectable person only to be torn down soley on skin color or some other meaningless criteria.

I did'nt intend for this post to drag on for so long but I'll just try to summarize in a couple of more sentences. Yes being black in america can have it's disadvantages, but I've learned from my 33 years of life that it does'nt have to hold you back. I feel as if I've accomplished a lot in life, I have a very nice home, a beautiful wife and my first child on the way. I also have a well paying job (even though I hate it right now 😛) and a side business that's really taking off (I"m talking about REALLY taking off). I've also managed to earn everything that I have through my own work, I had no handouts or freebies. I guess that's why I can be a bit hard on my own race, I just feel if you put forth the effort and try to make smart decision in life you can go far. At the same time I do realize that there still is much racism in america and it is'nt going away anytime soon unfortunately. All I can do is try to be the best person I can be and maybe someone will take notice and it might change their outlook about a few things.
Click to expand...

Nice post. It is sad when people are friendly, and courteous and get treated like ******. And to add insult to injury they throw a derogatory term at you.
Click to expand...

Yea, sorry that happened to you man. I remember at times when I tried to be courteous to others, and they see it as me being scared and inferior so they up the ante. Its typically from senior citizens too. oh well.
 
Originally posted by: guoziming
Egyptians are African Americans, but they would be offended if you called them that.

PC - SUB-SAHARAN-AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
Click to expand...

except Egypt is not sub-saharan africa
 
let's just all admit it. no one is safe from discrimination...and the funny thing, while no one will probably admit it, each person who complains about discrimination has probably used their race to their advantage at some point in their life......

that's not to say we don't have stereotypes which have more/less affects than others..but i guess that just depends where you are. Yes, even whitest non-hick American caucasians are made fun of too...hence why every backpacker in Europe I see is from Canada 😉

 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Nik
I hate all x-american titles. You're a fvcking goddamn American and that's that.
Click to expand...
well, that's what i was getting at, but not as boldly. 😛
Click to expand...
If I were black I'd prefer being called an African American over being called a Negro!
 
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: Nik
I hate all x-american titles. You're a fvcking goddamn American and that's that.
Click to expand...
well, that's what i was getting at, but not as boldly. 😛
Click to expand...
If I were black I'd prefer being called an African American over being called a Negro!
Click to expand...

Red, you are a Negro...I've seen pics. 😉
 
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IS TEH SUPERIOR!!!!!!11111111


 
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