Jill Scott's Essay on Interracial Relationships

[Schlosser85]

Being of German descent, I guess I should sue Rome for slavery and use the financial windfall to pay Holicaust reparations. I can sue the American government on behalf of my Cherokee great great grandmother, so I'll still come out ahead. Life is good.

[chaseter]

Originally Posted by dnno1

I'm pretty sure they are dead by now and are unable to make the payment.

Then I have to remind people about it all the time. They must remember feudalism. They don't teach it in the schools anymore. NEVER FORGET.

[MessiahDecoy123]

Originally Posted by chaseter

Then I have to remind people about it all the time. They must remember feudalism. They don't teach it in the schools anymore. NEVER FORGET.

I was taught about feudalism in high school.

and how long did the legacy of institutional feudalism haunt your parents and grand parents? Did your parent have to fight to overcome the legacy of institutional feudalism up until the 1960's and 70's?

Do the descendents of Lords use fuedal slurs against you on various websites today or on X-box Live? Do police screw with you because they recognize your fuedal class? Do you lose jon opportunities for the same reason?

How has the legacy institutional fuedalism adversely impacted you family for the last 3 generations?

[Schlosser85]

Do you lose jon opportunities for the same reason?

Well....not that I can prove...

[Pink Ranger]

Originally Posted by MessiahDecoy123

Do the descendents of Lords use fuedal slurs against you on various websites today or on X-box Live? Do police screw with you because they recognize your fuedal class? Do you lose jon opportunities for the same reason?

Actually, when trash talking on WoW, I regularly call people "dirty tenant farmer." Never gave a thought to who I was hurting ...

But seriously though, I agree with your point. Part of the reason is, I think all people, of all races, today don't realize how horrific slavery really was. The worst depictions of slavery in even the most well-meaning popular media still don't do it justice, for lack of a better word.

[Schlosser85]

The same way no movie, not even Schindler's List, can truly convey the Holocaust.

But that doesn't make them invalid.

I personally believe Schindler's List and one film about slavery, maybe Amistad just off the top of my head, should be required viewing in high school.

[StrainedEyes]

Originally Posted by Schlosser85

The same way no movie, not even Schindler's List, can truly convey the Holocaust.

But that doesn't make them invalid.

I personally believe Schindler's List and one film about slavery, maybe Amistad just off the top of my head, should be required viewing in high school.

I remember watching Roots in middle school and we watched Schindler's List in high school.

[RockSP]

Originally Posted by Nell2ThaIzzay

But his point still stands.

Nah, he'd need a point for that to be the case.

I didn't have anything to do with slavery, nor segregation or Jim Crow. Neither did any of my family.

I do not like being looked upon by many black people as being a racist, as being a threat to them, and in return, them becoming a threat to me, because they are still holding a grudge about stuff that I was not responsible for, nor that I condone, for acts that never happened to them by me or anyone I know or am related to.

I doubt their grudge is because of slavery specifically. More likey because of the racist society that we live in (and no I'm not condoning their assumptions or saying it's okay for them to threaten you).

Focusing on the past is just that - living in the past. Nobody alive today was involved in slavery, and a very marginal percentage of the population was alive during segregation and Jim Crow.

It's not about forgetting that stuff, it's about not living in the past, which too many people do. You were never enslaved, and I never enslaved you, so let's stop acting like that's what happened.

I personally don't know any black people who sit around talking about slavery constantly. The reality is the effects of american slavery didn't end when american slavery ended. Instititionalized racism is real and present. No living in the past necessary.

[terry78]

It feels like whenever slavery is brought up people have some kind of knee jerk reaction to immediately try and say get it over it or change the subject. It's uncomfortable. Tough ****.

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Originally Posted by RockSP

Nah, he'd need a point for that to be the case.



I doubt their grudge is because of slavery specifically. More likey because of the racist society that we live in (and no I'm not condoning their assumptions or saying it's okay for them to threaten you).



I personally don't know any black people who sit around talking about slavery constantly. The reality is the effects of american slavery didn't end when american slavery ended. Instititionalized racism is real and present. No living in the past necessary.

You're right. The effects of slavery didn't just magically go away, and you're right that racism still exists today.

However, essays like the one that Jill Scott wrote, and the mentality that black men should give "first dibs" so to speak to black women is not helping the case.

Still holding a chip on your shoulder towards all white people is not helping the case.

I have a black friend (no, not in a "I'm not racist, I have black friends" kind of way) who pretty much hates white people, and will be quick to regard them as a threat to him without so much as even getting to know them. I'm an exception to his rule, because I listen to rap, hang out with a lot of black people, and generally have a lot of "black" personality traits. If it wasn't for that tho, I'd be just another "whitey" to him.

That's not helping to end that institutionalized racism, it's only further perpetuating it.

[terry78]

And with that, I say...Happy Loving Day.

http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/arti...2389032381.txt

[Parker Wayne]

Happy Loving Day.

[terry78]

Now go out and bang someone of another race...preferably within earshot of their own people.

[jaymes_e06]

Originally Posted by terry78

It feels like whenever slavery is brought up people have some kind of knee jerk reaction to immediately try and say get it over it or change the subject. It's uncomfortable. Tough ****.

This.

[MessiahDecoy123]

Originally Posted by Schlosser85

The same way no movie, not even Schindler's List, can truly convey the Holocaust.

But that doesn't make them invalid.

I personally believe Schindler's List and one film about slavery, maybe Amistad just off the top of my head, should be required viewing in high school.

Amistad has 1% of the emotional impact of Schindler's List.

Glory is much better. But I don't see schools in the south going along with that.

[MessiahDecoy123]

Originally Posted by RockSP

I personally don't know any black people who sit around talking about slavery constantly. The reality is the effects of american slavery didn't end when american slavery ended. Instititionalized racism is real and present. No living in the past necessary.

Exactly.

Blacks don't randomly bring up racism or white supremacy in grocery stores or the workplace.

But if the topic does come up on a political forum or even a race-related article we're not allowed to acknowledge historical precedent or even suggest that that racism against blacks is an issue today.

If we do it's "playing the race" card.

Next time a white guy complains about taxes, tell them they're "playing the taxes card". See if they "get over it".

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Originally Posted by MessiahDecoy123

Exactly.

Blacks don't randomly bring up racism or white supremacy in grocery stores or the workplace.

But if the topic does come up on a political forum or even a race-related article we're not allowed to acknowledge historical precedent or even suggest that that racism against blacks is an issue today.

If we do it's "playing the race" card.

Next time a white guy complains about taxes, tell them they're "playing the taxes card". See if they "get over it".

"Playing the race card" is thrown around when blacks claim racism in a situation that has no racism.

Example: Trayvon Martin

While I fully believe Zimmerman is guilty, that **** was played up to be some kind of racism fueled hate crime where a kid was killed only for the fact that he was black.

[dru-zod2501]

This stuff is indoctrinated in us from the cradle.

I'm a black man, taught by my mother & grandmother to be nice and respectful to the white folks, but never ever lie with them. Mom always said she'd never forgive me if I ever married a white woman, and for the longest time I felt guilty for even looking at them with interest.

I've had white girlfriends, and been called a race traitor for it by many. And people have long tried to convince me that there's some correlation between a black man choosing a white woman, and the degree of racial confusion in that man. All this leads to is alot of messed up black men who start resenting the very people who raised them with these twisted notions. It's not pretty.

Love is love, except when it's wrong.

[chaseter]

Originally Posted by MessiahDecoy123

I was taught about feudalism in high school.

and how long did the legacy of institutional feudalism haunt your parents and grand parents? Did your parent have to fight to overcome the legacy of institutional feudalism up until the 1960's and 70's?

Do the descendents of Lords use fuedal slurs against you on various websites today or on X-box Live? Do police screw with you because they recognize your fuedal class? Do you lose jon opportunities for the same reason?

How has the legacy institutional fuedalism adversely impacted you family for the last 3 generations?

How long should slavery haunt the minds of today's African Americans when slavery has been abolished for 150 years? That's only about 300 years less than when feudalism flourished! Slavery is a part of our history and we should never forget it so we never repeat it. Most people don't employ white guilt. Some do. Everyone alive today had no part in slavery and neither did the past 6+ generations. Slavery today is a completely moot point in relation to our society. No one alive today should ever claim how they were negatively affected by slavery. Maybe if my ancestors were lords and ladies instead of feudal slaves then I may have a castle somewhere in Europe!

Now racism is another example entirely. People today are still affected by racism. It's not as rampant as it was 50 years ago but it still exists. Japanese internment camps, the Holocaust, Jim Crow laws, etc. Those are still legitimate complaints today because it still exists today. We weren't talking about that. Whoever started the argument about slavery affecting people today which carried over the last few pages is what this has been in reference to. I have no idea who started that...

But...there is a bill introduced into congress every year that tries to get slavery reparations.

[MessiahDecoy123]

Originally Posted by chaseter

How long should slavery haunt the minds of today's African Americans when slavery has been abolished for 150 years? That's only about 300 years less than when feudalism flourished! Slavery is a part of our history and we should never forget it so we never repeat it. Most people don't employ white guilt. Some do. Everyone alive today had no part in slavery and neither did the past 6+ generations. Slavery today is a completely moot point in relation to our society. No one alive today should ever claim how they were negatively affected by slavery. Maybe if my ancestors were lords and ladies instead of feudal slaves then I may have a castle somewhere in Europe!

Now racism is another example entirely. People today are still affected by racism. It's not as rampant as it was 50 years ago but it still exists. Japanese internment camps, the Holocaust, Jim Crow laws, etc. Those are still legitimate complaints today because it still exists today. We weren't talking about that. Whoever started the argument about slavery affecting people today which carried over the last few pages is what this has been in reference to. I have no idea who started that...

But...there is a bill introduced into congress every year that tries to get slavery reparations.

Like I said before slavery is an important part of the American historical narrative and the black historical narrative. It should be acknowledged and reflected on just as much a other important parts of American and African American history. Should it bother people today??? Hell yes. The same way a Jewish or German kid should be bothered that the holocaust happened even 300 years from now.

Also we can learn alot about how society was conditioned to accept slavery and how slaves were conditioned to be dumb, obedient servants because the same tactics are used against the general public today.

Now how much blacks today were impacted by slavery can be debated but to argue it had zero impact on the genetic, cultural and socio-economic tendencies within the black community is flat out ignorant. I wish there was an entire branch of science committed to studying such a thing.

[MessiahDecoy123]

Originally Posted by Nell2ThaIzzay

"Playing the race card" is thrown around when blacks claim racism in a situation that has no racism.

Example: Trayvon Martin

While I fully believe Zimmerman is guilty, that **** was played up to be some kind of racism fueled hate crime where a kid was killed only for the fact that he was black.

While I'm not convinced Zimmerman himself or the cops that botched the investigation and let Zimmerman go free are racist, I wouldn't rule it out.

I mean is it impossible that they might've had racist motives???

[Pink Ranger]

Originally Posted by dru-zod2501

This stuff is indoctrinated in us from the cradle.

I'm a black man, taught by my mother & grandmother to be nice and respectful to the white folks, but never ever lie with them. Mom always said she'd never forgive me if I ever married a white woman, and for the longest time I felt guilty for even looking at them with interest.

I've had white girlfriends, and been called a race traitor for it by many. And people have long tried to convince me that there's some correlation between a black man choosing a white woman, and the degree of racial confusion in that man. All this leads to is alot of messed up black men who start resenting the very people who raised them with these twisted notions. It's not pretty.

Love is love, except when it's wrong.

Just date Asian girls, let your family wrap their heads around that.

[terry78]

Originally Posted by Pink Ranger

Just date Asian girls, let your family wrap their heads around that.

That just means we're dating the ones that follow us around in the store. We don't wanna buy now, we just browsing.

[SentinelMind]

Originally Posted by Schlosser85

I've always thought any self-respecting black person should be against Affirmative Action. That's not true equality. It's still someone getting into college ahead of someone else because of their race.

True equality is when EVERYONE gets into college based on their academic performance, not what race they are.

Valid points, but I think you have to look at the business component of this decision when considering race in application. Certain institutions won't give funding or create alliances if they don't see a strong minority influence at that institution. The college loses money and the college is not entitled to that community's money. All ethnic groups and communities do this.

Furthermore, let's say you have a prodigy of a certain minority race looking at certain educational institution,...that prodigy may feel more comfortable at the college that has a higher proportion of minorities or at a school that more aggressively practices affirmative action. So a college that didn't practice affirmative action may lose that prodigy because he or she feels uncomfortable, whether that perception is fair or not.

Some minorities will try reach for the ivy league school and accept being the only minority in the classroom, but many prefer to have some balance and some community in the atmosphere.

I don't really look at it as "fairness" or "slavery reparations"...its more of a business decision. People won't buy a product if they don't think other people who look like them wouldn't feel comfortable with that product. Its a perception issue.

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Originally Posted by MessiahDecoy123

While I'm not convinced Zimmerman himself or the cops that botched the investigation and let Zimmerman go free are racist, I wouldn't rule it out.

I mean is it impossible that they might've had racist motives???

Impossible? No. Not at all.

But it wasn't the "RAWR I'M GONNA KILL ME A BLACK KID!!!" story that it was made out to be by the media and many within the Africian American community looking to find a racial issue where there wasn't one.