So, according to you here, I can finally hang out in mixed company having learned the way to comport myself after generations of being, well, too black. It only took a president and some athletes to show me how to act more like a white person.
I wonder how many will come in here and claim that calling this bullshit racist is going too far. Especially since he can’t be a racist since he’s dated quite a few blacks (although, heaven forbid, not AMERICAN blacks).
No, your head isn’t in the sand, it is wedged far up your tightly puckered white anus. Because it isn’t racist AT ALL to claim black people don’t act right unless they act the way you think is correct. Thanks for the advice on how to succeed. That was mighty white of you.
The assumption seems to be that since blacks (and, presumably, other minorities) are appearing more in the “main stream,” the only logical conclusion is that some blacks, at least, have finally decided to change their ways and do a better job of blending in. There appears to be a deliberate effort to ignore the fact that what is now mainstream is a better blending of different cultures rather than being the exclusive domain of any one culture.
Or, as WordMan put it in the thread:
I agree that the badger in question is mistaken about whose head is where. It’s hard not to see willful ignorance in missing minority influence on current American “culture and language.”
I know my opinion on this isn’t popular. I want nothing more than to see equality for everyone. I can say quite honestly it breaks my heart everyday to see innocent young black children growing up feeling like they are not an equal part of the American dream. Where I differ is how to end this evil chain. I think the biggest problem is not so much that we would like to see things fair but more so that we expect things will be fair. Life has never been fair. Until the stereo typical image of the American black has been squashed things will never be fair. The problem is we still have a significant portion of young black men and women who continue to reinforce this negative image and the entire black society suffers because of this. This is not some half baked theory I see it everywhere. I have a college right down the street from my house. On any given day you might have a few hundred students milling around on the surrounding main streets and businesses. The vast majority are all behaving themselves and they are all races but the few who are acting like idiots are usually some rowdy black kids. They don’t represent the other black kids that are obviously doing the right thing but they are never the less making an impression that sticks with people who are not so familiar with other races besides the ones they grew up with. In the workplace the percentage of blacks who were filing bogus workman comp was way out of line with the number of employees. This all affects how people view them. The blame needs to be aimed at where it is. The blacks need to call out the shitheads and stop making excuses for them.
Are you willing to explain how anything in the above refers to “adapting to mainstream culture [and] language”? What aspects of culture and language are the “good” blacks using that the “shithead” blacks aren’t?
No, this is not the problem, and never has been. It should be easy to understand: all the negative stereotypes of black people in American society – laziness, aggression, savagery, danger to white women, etc. – originated long, long before there was any crime statistics, and in fact came about at a time in which white people were far, far more dangerous to black people (especially black women) then the reverse. So even though thousands or hundreds of thousands or more black women were routinely raped during the 18th and 19th centuries in America, there was never a stereotype of white men as dangerous to black women.
The behavior of black people is not and has never been the problem in terms of the chances for black people to succeed in American society. Their treatment by the rest of society and institutions has always been the problem.
What does “rowdy” mean? Are they attacking people? Are they playing music you don’t like? Are they playing games?
Maybe they’re just doing the stuff that teens tend to do, but it stands out in your mind because you have some bullshit preconceived notions about black people that you’re unaware of?
Do you have a cite for this? Considering all the bullshit you’ve said about black people so far, I’m quite unwilling to just take your word for another negative thing you’re saying about black people without strong evidence.
The blame is on institutions and society which still don’t treat black people equally. And it’s on people like you who ignore this and choose to focus your anger on a large group of people when the vast majority are hard-working folks doing the best they can and have committed no crimes.
Huh, we still have a significant portion of young black men and women deferentially grinning and bowing to their white masters to obtain lenient treatment of their natural laziness and incapacity for the sake of their childlike good-natured simplicity? I was not aware of this.
Oh wait, sorry, that was the “stereotypical negative image of the American black” from a couple centuries ago. Racists have subsequently updated it with new stereotypical negative images.
In other (and less ponderously sarcastic) words, the problem is not that some subset of black people (like some subset of all other people) behave in ways that are widely considered inappropriate. The problem is that due to entrenched racist attitudes, any disfavored behavior on the part of some black people gets turned into a stereotype attached to all black people.
It is not black people’s responsibility to fix that problem.
I know. It’s so sad that those poor black children can’t participate in the American Dream because they are so black acting. Acting black is a terrible thing that we must ensure our precious younglings learn to never, ever do.
Yes. You see all the black people acting all black and shit. If only they’d not act like black people. Of course not all black people act black. And it isn’t just some racist theory you made up. Nooooo. You see it EVERYWHERE!
Usually. Those blacks acting all black. Except when it isn’t black people acting all black. But that doesn’t count against the non-blacks because when white people act rowdy it doesn’t reflect on all the other white students. Because white people don’t generally have to learn how to act, do they?
You hear that black people? All of you better act white-- I mean right! No rowdiness. Don’t file for workman’s compensation! If you see another black person act in any way that HoneyBadger deems shithead-y, you must call them out. No, not any white folks acting shithead-y. It’s perfectly fine when they do it and a totally different thing all together. They’re acting like shitheads in a mainstream manner. Plus, as you all know, white people don’t really act like black people anyway, so it’s OK not to say anything to them or to judge their whole race by the way the shitheads act.
HoneyBadger is NOT a racist. It’s all the black people who are bringing his disfavor on themselves by not acting accordingly.
This is the evolution of some of the paternalistic racism of the past. “It’s not that we don’t want blacks to be part of mainstream society, it’s that they’re not ready. They’re too sava-, I mean childish and impulsive,” has become “Wonderful; they’ve finally learned how to behave like civilized people.”
If you want equality for everyone, start practicing it and stop expecting people to police others just because they share a similar skin tone. Although, considering your views, I’m skeptical that the people you’re criticizing have actually done anything wrong.
How about black people just get to have a normal human range of personalities and behaviors, without being shoved into stereotyped categories such as “Uncle Tom” or “thug”?
Footnote: And furthermore, the actual character of Uncle Tom in the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel bears very little resemblance to the modern pejorative “Uncle Tom”. Tom in the novel was not a suck-up or toady to white people. He was a committed Christian altruist-pacifist who frequently suffered (and eventually died) due to his principled refusals to cooperate with the efforts of white oppressors to harm or degrade other black people.
I agree with you, but the sad truth is fair or not fair that the burden will always be on the one suffering to pull him or her self out of this mess. The uncle tom bullshit is another thing that irks me. We all have to play uncle Tom when we are looking for work. Until we have reached a place where we are in demand we pretty much have to become a bit submissive. Maybe I am old school, but I was always taught when looking for work, cut your hair, mind your manners and try to be what they are looking for. I spent 40 years of my career in a position of hiring and firing people. I went out of my way to give blacks a shot and I have no regrets. I have seen a lot of success stories because someone got a break. I also caught some flack about my shop having too many workman comp cases and union grievances filed. But overall I think everything worked out for the better for all concerned and I would like to see more employers try to be a bit more open minded but we can’t legislate that.
Fine. So why the hell are you ragging on the behavior of college youths hanging out in the neighborhood during their leisure time when they are presumably not looking for work? (And you haven’t even specified what these kids are doing that you think is so terrible.)
It seems to me that when management says you have too many workers’ comp cases and union grievances, that what they mean is “You’re failing as a manager in some key ways. Clean up your problems with shop safety and employee relations.”
HBDC, you are not doing yourself any favors here. As a fellow Oldish White Guy, I can see that this is White Man’splaining from way off. Can you?
Demonizing Black Youth is a Thing. Thug Life, Wilding, Stop & Frisk, Crack vs. Cocaine penalties, the Prison System. You and I have NO idea what that experience is like. Therefore, we should not make broad statements about it, yes? Please think about that.
And again, think about which is moving, the minority groups or the Mainstream. Because the correct answer is that the Mainstream is moving, who are we as White Guys to suggest that the other groups are coming to us? Again, please think about this.
If you choose to consider the other perspectives, you may see how your statements to date lead to a Pitting.
What’s Uncle Tom got to do with this?*