# Why I am not black this week. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 18, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959 "2004-03-18T02:39:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/41 "2004-03-18T21:37:55Z")
> [@Super Gnat](#): > > Will you marry me? šŸ˜ƒ > > I unconsciously mimic whoever Iā€™m around, so I usually donā€™t get the ā€œoreoā€ designation anymore. Though come to think of it, when I was a little kid my ā€œwhiteā€ English got mocked quite a bit before I absorbed the PG county accent. Even now, Iā€™m much more articulate in print than in person, probably because I learned to censor my speech to shake off the haters. You wouldnā€™t happen to be talking about PG County Maryland, would you? Thatā€™s definitely where Iā€™m from. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/42 "2004-03-18T21:52:14Z")
> [@auntie em](#): > > Scoot over, **Nightlight**. Is there room on this bus for another ā€œwannabeā€? Make room for me too, willya? My life has been a series of meetings with people whose faces do a weird little bobble thing when they see me after having only spoken to me on the phone. Iā€™ve had people who donā€™t believe that Iā€™m me and have reacted to my self-introduction by saying ā€œ_Youā€™re_ Tracey?ā€ Iā€™m sick of being viewed as odd because I donā€™t fulfill some stereotype. Iā€™m me. Thatā€™s all. Iā€™m not a paid spokesperson for black people everywhere nor am I like someone you might see on UPN or BET. Why is that so hard to get? ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/43 "2004-03-18T22:00:29Z")
[QUOTE=TeaElle] Make room for me too, willya? QUOTE] We need a theme song for this bus. Iā€™m thinking something by Barry Manilow. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/44 "2004-03-18T22:04:17Z")
Heh, great OP. Iā€™ve kinda felt the opposite side of this coin, in that I was accused by a fellow Asian in high school of perpetuating the Asian geek stereotype simply because I was good at math and interested in school. I then countered that he was perpetuating the Asian Kung Fu Ninja Killa ā„¢ by being a green belt in Tae Kwon Do, and he was like, ā€œYou have OFFENDED MY HONAH! PREPAH TO DIE!ā€ and I was like ā€œYo, chill out manā€ and promptly gutted him like a fish with my sharpened TI-85. (OK, this story was true up to a certain point ;)) ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/45 "2004-03-18T22:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > **gooti** said: > Indeed it was! It was taken at a friendā€™s wedding that was held up there. > > Good eye! I believe Iā€™d know those bridges anywhere. One comic remarked while doing stand up in Pittsburgh that we should color-code the bridges to make it easier to give out-of-towners directions. ā€œJust take the pink bridgeā€¦ā€ _Apologies for the off-topic posts_ I donā€™t understand one word of this new lingo thatā€™s going around at all. Sometimes when I hear people talking it (black and white people) I wonder if I have magically been transported to a foreign land. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/46 "2004-03-18T22:35:48Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Chilluns, **Skip** , chilluns. You eat chitlins, you raise chilluns. Well, [fuck](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chittlin). That explains all those damned fingers on my plate. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/47 "2004-03-18T22:37:53Z")
> [@auntie em](#): > > > [@TeaElle](#): > > > > Make room for me too, willya? > > We need a theme song for this bus. Iā€™m thinking something by Barry Manilow. šŸ˜‰ Donā€™t do it, Honey. Youā€™re turning white enough as it is being married to this pink ass. Word up. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/48 "2004-03-18T23:01:27Z")
> [@auntie em](#): > > We need a theme song for this bus. Iā€™m thinking something by Barry Manilow. šŸ˜‰ How about Lenny Kravitz instead? I wonder how many people have been surprised to find out that a guy with a name like a little old Jewish man looks likeā€¦well, Lenny Kravitz. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/49 "2004-03-18T23:35:28Z")
[Barack Obama](http://www.obamaforillinois.com/nm/publish/news_89.html), who kicked ass in last Tuesdayā€™s Illinois Democratic Senatorial Primary, has had some of those ā€œmulattoā€\* problems. From the _Austin Weekly News,_ > [@](#): > > Today, within the black nationalist community, some are now urging all out support for Obama. In addition to praising his legislative record during his seven years as state senator, they argue that itā€™s perverse for black nationalists to reject the son of a Kenyan for not being black enough. - - Love that word almost as much as ā€œquadroonā€ and ā€œoctaroon!ā€ And since nobody hardly these days knows they are offensive (and those that do are as arthritic as me) I can almost use them without fear of getting beat up. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/50 "2004-03-19T00:04:35Z")
> [@auntie em](#): > > We need a theme song for this bus. Iā€™m thinking something by Barry Manilow. šŸ˜‰ Her name was Lola! She was a Fly Girl! With shiny bling-bling in her hair, and her milkshake all out there! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/51 "2004-03-19T00:10:23Z")
> [@Heloise](#): > > I wonder if Strom Thurmond is spinning in his grave because of people like us. Actually, given recent news developments, heā€™d probably be masturbating if his family hadnā€™t skimped on the funeral and gotten him the casket with the low lid. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/52 "2004-03-19T00:24:06Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > [Barack Obama](http://www.obamaforillinois.com/nm/publish/news_89.html), who kicked ass in last Tuesdayā€™s Illinois Democratic Senatorial Primary, has had some of those ā€œmulattoā€\* problems. From the _Austin Weekly News,_ From the link: > [@](#): > > Obama was born in Hawaii, where he was raised by his mother and her family, and spent his formative years in many non-anticipated locations. ā€œKids, Iā€™ve been thinking alot about this, and Iā€™ve decided itā€™s time to leave Hawaii, and live somewhere else.ā€ ā€œWhere, mom?ā€ ā€œWeā€™ll find out when we get there!ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Deadly\_Nightlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Deadly\_Nightlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadly_Nightlight)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/53 "2004-03-19T00:33:36Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Not to be too horribly nosy, butā€¦ > > How old are you? Iā€™ve never (but then Iā€™m from WAY up north, so my ignorance on this subject might be more than I thought), seen this as a ā€œblack/whiteā€ thing, but rather a generational, and/or environment thing (as in where were they raised). I am 23. Well I am glad that there are a few people who understand what this is like. My husband read the thread and apologized. He said he had no clue it bothered me that much. Pssssst- I have a few Barry Manilow Cdā€™s. Guess I have gone past the point of no return. \<----walks off humming Copa Cabana ( I like the fly girl version **JayJay** , cracked me yup) ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/54 "2004-03-19T00:39:24Z")
> [@Sqube](#): > > You wouldnā€™t happen to be talking about PG County Maryland, would you? Thatā€™s definitely where Iā€™m from. Yup. Small world. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/55 "2004-03-19T00:43:04Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > - > - Love that word almost as much as ā€œquadroonā€ and ā€œoctaroon!ā€ And since nobody hardly these days knows they are offensive (and those that do are as arthritic as me) I can almost use them without fear of getting beat up. šŸ˜‰ I was kinda surprised that octaroon was defined in [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) as ā€œA person whose ancestry is one-eighth Black.ā€ Are there different words for people who are 1/8 White or 1/8 Asian? ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/56 "2004-03-19T00:43:56Z")
**jayjay** now Iā€™m gonna have to cut ya! šŸ˜ƒ On the startled reactions upon people meeting me for the first time. I call it the Lethal Weapon Syndrome syndrome: ā€œBut, but, butā€¦youā€™re blackā€ True story, I was at the Paris Air Show a few years ago and was having some drinks with some other people in the industry when I met a guy with the same name as my own. He did that impression perfectly. We spent the rest of the Convention going ā€˜but, but, butā€¦ā€™ every time we encountered each other. It was a stitch. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/57 "2004-03-19T01:08:04Z")
> [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > I was kinda surprised that octaroon was defined in [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) as ā€œA person whose ancestry is one-eighth Black.ā€ Are there different words for people who are 1/8 White or 1/8 Asian? The whole mulatto, quadroon, octaroon model has a long history, mostly in Louisiana. Historically, the blackness of a biracial person was measured, not the whiteness. And also historically, biracial blacks were much more common than biracial Asians. There was (as recently as the first half of the last century) a very strict (and black-enforced) social layering based upon the degree of African blood one had and the lightness of oneā€™s skin. To a less overt degree, that continues in some areas today (see the debutante ball chapter in _Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil_ for an (Iā€™m sure) dramatized example). Basically, no, thereā€™s no word for 1/8 white or 1/8 asian, because historically it wasnā€™t as socially important. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/58 "2004-03-19T01:30:05Z")
This attitude can be _lethal_. When my daughter was in 4th grade her grades suddenly dropped. Her reading level dropped from 12th grade to 3rd on the standardized tests. Her father and I were called in to meet with her teacher. After a few conversations with her, we found out the kids in her class were calling her Eggbert, Oreo and Wannabe. We talked to her and convinced her that she wasnā€™t ā€œtalking whiteā€ and being black doesnā€™t mean being stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/59 "2004-03-19T02:27:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I was at the Paris Air Show a few years ago and was having some drinks with some other people in the industry when I met a guy with the same name as my own. He did that impression perfectly. We spent the rest of the Convention going ā€˜but, but, butā€¦ā€™ every time we encountered each other. It was a stitch. When I lived in Deep South Georgia, in the PeeWee football league, one team had two Tommy Johnsons (or whatever), one white, one black. Most people just thought it was kind of amusing (after all, the area was probably 1/3 black). IIRC, they went by ā€œSaltā€ and ā€œPepperā€ at team practices and games. ---
**Author:** ![Deadly\_Nightlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Deadly\_Nightlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadly_Nightlight)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959/60 "2004-03-19T02:47:20Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > This attitude can be _lethal_. When my daughter was in 4th grade her grades suddenly dropped. Her reading level dropped from 12th grade to 3rd on the standardized tests. Her father and I were called in to meet with her teacher. > > After a few conversations with her, we found out the kids in her class were calling her Eggbert, Oreo and Wannabe. We talked to her and convinced her that she wasnā€™t ā€œtalking whiteā€ and being black doesnā€™t mean being stupid. I know how that is. When I went to a private school, I didnā€™t run into those problems. But once I transferred to a public school :eek:. My last two years of school were miserable. Black people picked on me for ā€œtrying to be whiteā€. White people ignored me because I was ā€œtrying to be whiteā€. I ended up with some of my dearest friends, who last I checked are classified as ā€œfreaks and geeksā€. I Wouldnā€™t trade them for the world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-am-not-black-this-week/234959.md?page=4)