I’m a sort of peachy-pink-gold color myself. (I don’t see the “gold” myself, but I’ve been informed that I have a gold undertone.)
Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99.
“[A]gainst stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain.” --J.C.F.S. as quoted by H.M.
Gee willikers… You’d think I called for racial quotas or something…
First of all, to whomever assumed that I JUST KNEW that people here were not black, I in fact in the OP asked a couple of questions to address this. Read what I said, thanks. Asking questions would show that I in fact do not “know” anything, but I have yet to see otherwise. That’s why I asked, thanks.
Second of all, I am aware of the presence of several Hispanic folks on this board, which is why I did not mention them either way. I’m sorry if our hispanic friends thought I was calling them white - that was not my intention. But since I knew we had some here, I did not think the need to make a distinction. I thank you for bringing it to the attention of all, however, for the record.
Fuck all this political correctness… I really don’t care what color anyone is, but I find it odd that we have such a proponderance of people who are (fill in the blank with almost anything, such as gay, asian, hispanic, from other countries, lesbian, Christian, Jewish, bi-sexual, et al) yet nobody I know is black.
Since the arrival of our Pounder friends, we have learned more about that mindset (face it - isn’t ARG a lot more understandable now?) and the exchange of ideas between us and them has been fruitful for both sides.
I happen to think that, if we indeed do not have any black people here, that maybe it would be a good idea to have some for that same reason - a different view, possibly on subjects which are often brought up.
So forgive me if I’m not fucking PC - I never claimed to be. At the same time, being concerned that the “black view” be represented among the “Teeming Millions” could serve as QUITE PC if you really think about it.
So I ask again, are there any black people here? If not, don’t you think it would be a good idea for there to be some? I, for one, do.
Yer pal,
Satan
I’d welcome new posters of any race. . . black, white, yellow, green, polka-dotted, you name it.
– Sylence
Another day, another attempt to cross Niagra Falls on a tightrope. . .
No, at the moment there are more blacks than Hispanics in the U.S., but within a few years there will probably be more Hispanics than blacks.
Satan: I think the problem people are having is that you didn’t take the attitude “I wonder if anyone here is black?” You seemed to think that probably nobody was. That is, you took the “no one is black until I’m shown otherwise” stance rather than “I have no idea what color ANYONE is until told”… do you see the difference? It;s like you assume that someone is white until told they aren’t…
–
Teeming Millions: http://fathom.org/teemingmillions
“Meat flaps, yellow!” - DrainBead, naked co-ed Twister chat
O p a l C a t
www.opalcat.com
I have never read any post in which any poster has identified themselves as black, Negro, African, African-american, colored, or any other euphemism for racial color. Until this thread I never read anyone posting that they were of any other minority race (minority in the US, that is) and very few ethnic minorities except Jewish. We have discussed racism, and prejudice, and I have seen the word bigot bandied about now and then.
Every picture I have seen of members, and every description I have heard, and all the members I have met conform to the assumption that the board is, at the very least overwhelmingly white. For Satan to notice it, and post about it is does not imply to me that he is racist. I noticed it, and was not even surprised enough to be curious. Fifteen years of net contacts have led me to conclude that the ethnic make up of the Internet is not demographically similar to the World at Large.
The fact is not newly discovered, and has been discussed in other venues. I have no ready reference, and (given the current venue) will not pull statistics out of my hat. That does not change the truth of the matter. No one who examines the issue can deny that in the U. S. it is not common cultural habit for black families to have computers for recreational use. Some small part of that is economic. The more fundamental reason is that geekyness is even less esteemed in black culture than in white culture, and like it or not, computers are geeky. American-Asian culture lacks that prejudice, and Asians are not as disproportionately outnumbered on line as blacks.
American Jews practically revel in geekdom. For that reason even the goyim are aware that Jews are rather common on line, even more heavily represented than their numbers in population would imply. American Indians are evidently about geek neutral, since there is not the disparity between their relative small numbers in both groups.
Other groups can have greater rather than lesser representation because of similar kinds of social encouragement. College students litter the cyberways. They get free access, and have lots of spare time. Genuine rednecks, as opposed to progressive-reformed rednecks are nearly unheard of. A real left-arm sunburnt, gun in the pick-up, workin’ on the Ford in the back yard, no not that one, the other one, redneck would no way spend his time typing all damn day, even if those cyber chicks were as hot as they say they are.
In my whole cyber life nearly half the black people I have known well were from Europe! That was only half a dozen people. It is quite possible that some other people I have conversed with were black. They never mentioned it. Most of the people I correspond with and read don’t mention it. But I am not doubtful that the proportions among the ones I don’t know are the same as they are among the ones I do, which is mainly white, some Jews some Asians, and a few Hispanics, and a very few Blacks. There is no “whites only” sign on the door, just a lot of geeky white guys inside. In the last decade, the girls showed up. It was real grim before that.
When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.
–** Eric Hoffer**
Just for the record, I don’t think that Satan’s post implied that he was a racist.
–
Teeming Millions: http://fathom.org/teemingmillions
“Meat flaps, yellow!” - DrainBead, naked co-ed Twister chat
O p a l C a t
www.opalcat.com
Aside from what I hoped was some amusing jokes, the main thrust of my OP is, and I quote myself:
“I don’t know a single Doper reg who is black.” - and…
“Oh, and BTW - Do we in fact HAVE a black person on this board?”
These are questions, and surely, it is very possible that a lot of people whose pictures I have not seen and whom have not commented in posts about being black are, and since - as I said in my follow-up post - many other “minorities” have identified themselves as such, I felt the questions to be very relevant.
What prompted my post was hearing on NPR about how the amount of black people getting on-line in this country is actually growing at a greater rate now than white people - as in, that community is finally catching up, like how women did initially (as Trisk noted in yet another of that posters excellent posts).
Fact is, while nobody is obligated to come here and say they are black to appease this OP, nobody HAS come forth. Doesn’t prove anything, but if I had an OP asking about gay or Jewish Dopers, I know several would raise their hands. So I am still wondering if my guess is correct.
I also said - in a joking manner, admittedly - that we SHOULD have some black people here, and I stand by it.
Yer pal,
Satan
I understood what Satan was trying to say, too.
It is impossible to tell who’s what around here. I have trouble distinguishing male from female most of the time (a confession: I didn’t know what gender ZenBeam was until about 5 minutes before I actually met him at the Michigan meeting. UncleBeer told me).
The city where I live is quite racially diverse. I enjoy it, and can’t imagine living without it. I’ve lived in ethnically diverse communities most of my life. Because of that, I think I just assumed that the SDMB had the same mix of people and cultures. I will admit that I’ve never seen anyone here identify themselves as black, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t. It just means that they haven’t said they are.
It doesn’t matter, anyway. I come here seeking knowledge (I do read the other forums) and friendship. I’ve gotten both. It would have been cool, though, if at least one person at the Michigan meeting had been green with pink polka-dots. 
“The quickest way to a man’s heart is through his ribcage.” --anonymous redhead
Well pal, we have one reg who identified himself as such many moons ago and apparently (thankfully) does not seem to feel that “race” is a necessary characteristic by which he must play the game. He pretty much posts as just another person, as do most of us. Bravo.
I have no idea what our composite racial profile might be, nor do I think there is any reason to know. It is my impression that the board is predominantly “white” Americans, but I know from various notes dropped here and there that we have quite a few members of other ethnicity. So what? In a place where our minds meet do we need to belabor such trivial stuff? Personally, I would like to see “race” distinctions amongst humans whither and die as a measure of anything. Quit counting and quit watching. We’re pretty much all the same.
Perhaps I’m missing your point? I know you from your posts, Satan, and I would have a hard time swallowing any charge of racial prejudice levied against you. That’s fine. I just wonder if it’s not possible for this relatively new medium by which we have acquaintance to be of help in the abandonment of the heretofore crippling concept of race as some kind of measure of a person.
Well, I agree with you, pal, that we want to represent the planet; I’m still looking for a time when we quit caring. I’m not so seriously out of touch that I don’t realize that our society still does much accounting of hue - I just think we need to get past it.
Hmmm… A little bit farther than I usually take the Sunday morning cup of coffee.
Regards,
beatle
(I’m not talkin’ - but, I do have a drum kit, well, two, in fact)
Tris, I think your post was very well thought out, and extremely helpfull in capsulizing a trend that I believe we will continue to see.
Maybe if Spike Lee (?) did a movie about cool black geeks instead of gangstas we would see more diversity. I would very much welcome that.
Where I live, there is a very small black population, and they are almost exclusively university students here at the french university from their native African homes. They have french as a second language, and they violate every stereotype TV portrays their race to have. Of course, they werent brought up in the north american society…blah blah blah. Long story short, they would fit right in here if they spoke any english.
OTOH, I hope that ther left arm sunburnt knuckledraggers NEVER get online. We dont need THAT much diversity!
It’s a good point. There are some areas in our society which do seem, upon casual observation, to be have a disproportionate number of blacks or whites, and I think it’s not unfair to say that Internet participation seems to be weighted towards whites.
For what it’s worth, although my dad was from El Salvador, my mom is from Villa Park, Illinois – they met while she was working for the American Embassy in San Salvador. I was born here and have not the slightest trace of an accent. And I look pretty dang Anglo, too. I say that only to suggest that I might not be the best poster boy for Hispanic participation herein, notwithstanding my name.
News flash: the NBA is dominated, at least numerically, by blacks. Does this observation make me a racist? Not remotely. It is simply the truth. For the moment, the Internet is dominated, at least numerically, by whites. Just the facts, ma’am.
Satan:
Friday night, I caught up with a very old and dear friend, at a bar where “everyone knows your name”. I enjoyed catching up with her very much, and I also enjoyed meeting all of her friends there. While conversing with one man in particular, I thought “he’s one of them.” He’s most intelligent, articulate; he marches to the beat of his own drummer and FUNNY (oh, and black).
Being a lurker, I don’t know any of you, but never thought about what race you belonged to. I asked “Raymond”, if he had ever heard of Cecil and his great knowledge and he replied no, I thought it my duty to recommend straightdope.com to him, for a review.
Lots of good points made all around. My 2 cents is that people from different parts of the world, different educations and beliefs, and different family backgrounds make the board more interesting, no? Imagine this board without Coldfire, for instance. Or our new friend Navigator. Not the same, huh?
The fact is, the more different people we can get to come here and participate intellegently in our discussions, the better this board will be. I think that’s what Satan was getting at in the OP. As for reconnoitering or recruiting missions, I think Satan’s done reasonably well in the past, so I’d nominate him again as the Official Straight Dope Emmissary to the Rest of the Web.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again.
I am pretty fly for a white guy.
Have you nominated and/or voted for your favorite huggable Mullinator today?
Satan hasn’t said anything offensive. I swear, “race” can hardly be used in a sentence without someone getting pissed off.
FWIW, I check the “caucasian” box. However, I have enough Cherokee blood to become a voting member of the tribe. I choose not to because I know nothing about the Cherokee ways and culture. I might go through with it one of these days, though.
formerly known as LauraRae
I’m a Raggety Ann in a Barbie Doll world.
Tom: No, I’m not Incan. Or does Capac mean something else?
Wendell Wagner says:
According to Census estimates, the black population is about 1.5 million ahead of the Hispanic pop. So, I was wrong. For now.
I did not see Satan’s post as anything but a simple question. And I’m sorry if I seemed miffed about the Hispanic thing. I’m as white as Bricker, so it’s no big deal.
Beatle said:
I see your point Beatle, but I also think we need to recognize the diversity of our culture. It seems to me, that when we enter this Internet world, many of us “check our race at the door.” We post, share, and interact as humans, not as separate races, or even nationalities. (Goodness, I sound like Bj0rn)
I think Satan is just trying to recognize, and acknowledge any black members we have here. I for one, would certainly like to see a black person chime in, on a great many threads. Their views would be quite welcome, and in that instance, it would help to know if they are of a different color.
I agree with Satan, and all who say diversity is good, and exposes one to others’ views, experiences, etc. I DON’T agree with the “geek” theory – most, if not all, schools now have computers. Children of all races start learning on them in elementary school, I believe. I’m in the D.C. area, specifically Prince George’s County, which is majority black population, and has a large middle- and upper-class black population. You think they don’t have computers? Well, maybe many don’t. But then that makes me curious to know why - if we do have any black SDMB members, I’d be interested in their views on this – if they haev computers but don’t participate on message boards or chat rooms, why? I’m not saying we should always identify our ethnicity, but, this being a case in point, it would be interesting and educational to have a black person’s opinions on this. Also, I’ve read many of the threads on race issues, and one would think that if there were any blacks here, they WOULD have identified themselves to lend credibility to their views on these subjects (i.e., help educate us on their perceptions, experiences with prejudice, their reactions to our posts, etc.)
And not just here. I only ran into one person ANYWHERE on boards, who might be black. But the board is about music, so I don’t ask and I don’t care. But maybe there are some special African American places?
Adam, No. I was guessing (not very seriously) that you came from Capac, MI.
Tom~