That should be easy, if nothing else Oakland has plenty of sketchy parts.
Sorry 
; and yeah that’s exactly what I was wondering.
I wasn’t quoting you…I was quoting the OP, whom you were defending. I said Black History is American history.
You took issue with it because, you suggested other portions of American History weren’t given a month of their own.
I offered examples of other months and THEN qualified it with my assertation that even if NO other heritages were represented I still don’t think we should “fuck black history month in its big black ass”
Clearer now?
Your GF is most certainly of African heritage. Jamaica was settled by black slaves who were brought there by European traders to work the sugarcane plantations.
And you can celebrate your German heritage, as lots of German-Americans (and non-Germans) do. It’s called Oktoberfest.
Robin
At its best, _____ History Month can and should make visible those history-makers who have been rendered invisible by being ______. It’s all well and good to say that we should all be equal, but in fact many are mistreated or ignored because of their race or other irrelevant detail. If we have systematically neglected some groups, it seems good to set aside a time to recognize that the imbalance exists, and to give some examples of the heritage we lose by excluding a whole segment of our society.
Where does anyone get the idea that this should create sudden converts? All it has to do is gradually create a greater diversity of role models for people to choose from, a greater sense of inclusion for the systematically excluded.
Strange Fruit is just a funny-looking banana. Right?
Right?
I dont know, personally Ive always thought of black history month not so much as a celebration, but as an encouragement.
I know when I was a kid in Oregon, the schools there all played up any Oregonian in the past who had done anything of any note. This is the same in every state, Im sure, from the city/town level to the county level to the state level. Im sure part of the reason is a sense of pride or celebration, but it also acts as a deterent to the “Ah, Ive got no chance, no one from xxxx has ever done anything” syndrome. Its an ecouragement; that even though the place you live may be the loneliest backwater in the world, someone from there at some time made a mark; they overcame. And if they did, then that means theres a chance you can too.
Its in this same light that I view Black History month; not as an insult or anything to whites, but as an ecouragment to black kids or adults who may not know or who have lost sight of all the things that black individuals have done, thus demonstrating what black individuals are capable of.
Does it have the potential to be divisive? Sure it does, but in the same way and for the same reasons that regional pride is divisive. If a state or region focused solely on the achievements of those residents who had come before, leaving out the achievements of others, its not unexpected for that state or region to get a bit full of itself.
But Black History month doesnt try to replace the achievements of non-blacks, it just adds those of black people to them. Its not an insult, a replacement, or a revolution; its stepping up and saying this is what we have done as well. And if youre black, and if these black people did this, then you can do great things too. 80% of success is all in the mind.
Y’know, being Canadian I really have no bone in this specific debate, but it really gets my panties in a knot when (a) an unpopular opinion, generally about race or sexuality, that (b) is expressed in less erudite standards than most Dopers are accustomed to, is automatically met with © accusations of trollery. Especially when I seriously doubt that gluteus maximus has perused all of the OP’s previous posts to determine if there’s some sort of pattern of animosity towards blacks.
Oh wait, I stand corrected - there’s no accusation here, because gluteus maximus didn’t actually use the dreaded T-word. And he/she used small font, so I guess that means the sentiments expressed are merely ephemeral whispers that only he/she can hear. Carry on.
Well, you know a gluteus maximus is an ass…or at least, part of one.
Maybe their poster-boy should be Samuel L. Jackson? With this caption: Damn Neeegro!
And from what I’ve seen of its posting, it takes its name very seriously. Being an ass at every opportunity seems to be its life mission.
Not that I’m defending the OP, of course, just saying that gluteus maximus acting like a dick should surprise no one.
Ever been able to see someone’s point without agreeing with them?
Actually I learned quite a few interesting things about history that may have been ignored were it not for Black History month. Because of BHM I have a more complete understanding of American history and I’m quite thankful for that. So why did they create BHM? Because for years the role of African descendants in this nation had been ignored and marginalized.
Marc
Well since I neither want nor desire the respect of the OP, I’ll be the first to say celebrate whatever you want however you want as long as it’s done in a tasteful, peaceful and informative manner. We have huge celebrations here for Black History Month, they are advertised all over the place, and it’s your choice on whether you want to attend or not. Most are held indoors so it’s not like it’s out in the street thrown in your face kinda thing. Sometimes it’s hard, very hard, to step out of the way you’ve been taught to be and brought up from childhood to believe. We need that very much here as I will be the first to admit that racism runs rampart in this state. But I see it getting better with each generation.
Well said!
One would hope that proclaiming a day or week or month for this or that would be aimed at enlightening and uplifting people more than just saying “Rah, rah, ain’t we grand?” Nothing wrong with that, either, but what’s the point of cluttering the calendar with the equivalent of flirt threads if they don’t make folks’ lives better in some way?
[hijack]
Which bring me to Captain Amazing’s observation:
Ummmm… did no one stop to think that National Snack Food Month might be hanging out with the wrong crowd?
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[hijack, though in the same vein…]
I’ve got no problem with the existence of Black History Month. I do find it exceedingly strange, however, that only three U.S. holidays honor individuals (as opposed to events, groups of people like veterans, etc.), and seem like very odd choices: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Columbus Day, and Christmas.
Someone who knew nothing about history would conclude that King, Columbus, and Christ are the three most important people in U.S. history. That’s just weird.
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We also celebrate President’s Day. If by celebrate you mean have the day off.
I hate to sound like a broken record here, but why do people keep feeding this guy? He’s made two posts in a 96-post thread, and NONE of those 2 posts have responded to a single question directed towards him. Methinks he’s not here for discussion.
Well, Munch, there are a bunch of other folks in the thread who agree with the OP, so we’re responding to that, rather than the OP itself.
What I’m missing here is how the existence of Black History Month is possibly INCONVENIENCING anyone or CHANGING the way they live or DISTURBING their routine.
It’s not like we have disrupted mail service for all of February, or everyone starts learning a different language, or the banks are closed for a month. It’s just a month when, if you choose, you can learn a little something about your fellow man. It’s giving a group the spotlight for while. Like taking an elective for a month of your life.
I just don’t get where the ire comes from.
That’s a group of people, not an individual. We used to celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s Birthday, but no longer.
The legal name of Presidents Day is still Washington’s Birthday. Everybody calls it Presidents Day.