Bugging Me...
 

Okay, I know this post is probably going to anger some people, but it's something that is really bothering me. I was watching the Real World last night and I just couldn't understand Nicole's hypocriscy. When season 10 started, Coral accused Mike of being ignorant...when the truth is he's just quite sheltered. Now, Nicole and Coral are saying that Malik, an educated and culture-enriched black man, is a hypocrite because he wears Garvey shirts but has never slept with a black woman.

My point, for all you non-RW watchers, is this: why is it that when a white person is only informed about his own history/culture, he/she is "ignorant" but if it's a black person, he/she is simply "Afrocentric"? And to some people, culture/race mixing means you're not true to your heritage...

Don't get me wrong, I get pissed when people automatically assume I'm Mexican if I say I'm Spanish, or if they ask me if I "speak Cuban"...but why is there such a double-edged sword for whites and blacks?

[This message has been edited by LeslieEMU (edited August 08, 2001).]

I don't see the hypocrisy. They were upset because he is very "Pro-black" yet he hasn't dated a black woman. To some that could be seen as a slap in the face to black women. I have nothing against interracial dating and the like but don't put up a big pro-black let's go back to Africa front if you are constantly on the other side of the fence.

Thats my two copper.

I believe that Nicole has a lot of emotional baggage to deal with from her own past, especially being a person of a multi-cultural background. Nicole has continually said to Malik "You let me down as a brother." She had expectations that she and Malik were going to automatically because they share a common racial background, which is normal. However, Nicole was in the wrong when she expected Malik to be the so-called "epitome" of a stong Black man simply because he sports an afro, listens to Marley, and has posters of Garvey and Malcolm X, yet his 'flaw' is that he dates outside his race. I agree with Malik on the fact that Nicole is too judgemental and she shouldn't put Malik in such a high position, however noble and flattering, it's wrong.

[This message has been edited by pirate00 (edited August 08, 2001).]

It's reverse discrimination. I don't like it too. I'm Chinese, in a city with a high asian population. More often than than not, they will only associate with people of the same heritage. Society has seen a reversal in the last several years. Now, minorities have such a strong voice, that white people can't contradict anyone, without being branded "racist". I think it's an imbalance thing. The whites have been "on top" for so long, everyone is eager to drag them down. Race should be a non-issue. While a person's upbringing has a lot to do with their cultural background and heritage, in the long run, no one gives a damn.

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Travelling with no boundaries, moving in imaginary.

KnowledgeEternal, he never said he never dates black women, just that he had never slept with one. Being that they both have a white parent, I don't see why Nicole is so offended.

Maybe I've grown up a little too PC, but I don't understand people complain about how bad they've had it, but then then throw out negative vibes. We've all had it bad (Natives & Mexican Tribes lost their land, Africans had slavery, Jewish people had the Holocost, the Japanese had internment camps, etc.). I mean, IMO unless someone has personally been in a concentration camp or in the fields picking cotton, they should respect it as their history but for Christ sakes don't live your live with a chip on your shoulder.

I think this is more like my five cent...


[This message has been edited by LeslieEMU (edited August 08, 2001).]

I don't mean you, I mean people in general. But yes, if something happened to my ancestors, it happened to them, not me. And while I can be angered (or proud if it's a good thing) by thing in the past, the suffering/glory belonged to the people who lived it. For example, people who think they are entitled to monetary reparations for past events that happened to their great-great-great-great aunt when she was a child. Come on!

KnowledgeEternal,

I've been reading this topic and I respect your mature responses to the individuals. When I read this topic, I was quite pissed but didn't respond because I vowed to myself that when I came on GreekChat, I prefer to discuss race issues in BGLO rooms.

Why?

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University of Alabama--- ROLL TIDE!!!!!

The following is my opinion:
I was a longtime silent board monitor prior to registering and posting. When I was reading pages of topics, I found that the BGLO rooms' race discussions, while lively and sometimes heated, were usually respectful.
On the other hand, when I looked at race discussions in the general rooms, I was repelled because they turned into flame wars. I'm close to 40 and have dealt with prejudice and racism in my own life.
I do admit, however, that much of the flaming was brought on by gutless, UNREGISTERED users, which doesn't happen nowadays because John blocked unregistered folks from posting.

SteelTrap- Thank You http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif
Thats what I thought you meant. Everyone of those groups received somekind of reparations due to their suffering. Everyone except african americans. Did you know that someone can go to college for free if they register as a Native American in their homestate and they attend a state-school? I don't think those students were at the "Trail of Tears" were they? Why do they get extra breaks when it was their great-great-great-great-grandparents that suffered? African americans were treated like animals for years. Are their descendants any less worthy of reparations?

Now, Before anyone attacks me, let me clarify myself. Do I think that some sort of reparations should be payed to african americans? YES! Do I think we should all get a check for X amount of dollars? NO! No monetary amount could compensate for the way our ancestors were treated and the schematics of such an undertaking make it almost impossible. Personally, I think reparations should come in the form of scholarships and educational investments. But I digress.

I have one more question. How would you compare the life of an African American in the 1860s, 1960s, and the present?

[This message has been edited by KnowledgeEternal (edited August 08, 2001).]

KnowledgeEternal,
You're welcome. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

This is kind of off the subject, but I just wanted to say I am just annoyed by Coral in general. I think she is just a complete witch and that Mike is trying way to hard to make her happy and she wouldn't do the same for anyone else. It has gotten to the point that I really don't want to watch anymore because she ticks me off so much. I read somewhere that Real World people get ticked because they are sometimes portrayed in ways that they really aren't like in real life and I hope thats how it is for Coral. I just think Mike is sheltered and she could be helping him see a whole new world out there instead of just shutting him out and making him feel bad. Thats just how I feel and I am glad someone else did this board because I thought it would be a good topic!

Well, some would say that it is IMPOSSIBLE for a black person to be ignorant about other (white) culture. Look at popular media and your history books. Most afrocentrics I know, know a lot about both cultures, while Eurocentrics only know their own culture.

People who think that cultural/race mixing for legitimate(sp?)reasons are not being true to their heritage, are dumber than rocks as far as I am concerned. Don't listen to Nicole, SHE was the one who showed her ignorance.

Steeltrap: I'm sorry that my post "pissed you off"; I know race/ethnic discussions can get agrivating but I don't feel that've said anything that can be called "immature"

KnowlegeEternal: I was in no way attacking you, African Americans, or the struggle that many people went through with slavery. I used reparations as an example because it was the first thing that came to mind. I don't pretend to know everything there is to know about race relations, and yes I do agree with you that more scholarships should exist, but I would just like to point out that when I was looking at minority scholarships, they all gave priority to African Americans and with all the Affirmative Action actions and lawsuits, it isn't as if African American's don't receive "educational investments."

But, I am getting totally off topic! If you go back to my original post, you will notice that my question was directed towards the difference be ignorance and race/ethnocentricism.

Thanks AOTLALA!

Leslie,
I do apologize if you perceived my comments to KnowledgeEternal as a backhand way of calling you immature. My intent was complimenting KnowledgeEternal on how he responded.

Steeltrap--- I believe you have a very valid opinion about posting. I know this is off topic, sorry Leslie http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif, but it's almost like we're even segregated on these boards also. I'm trying not to piss anyone off b/c I believe most of the regular posters here in ALL of the forums are well educated and smart and all have valid opinions. But, I've noticed in some of the BGLO boards when a non-BGLO member{except for sister-friends(not claiming to know exactly what that means, just info I've gathered from BGLO boards)}, posts in a BGLO forum no one even responds to their posts, just ignores them, even if a question is asked. Not everyone, b/c I've had some wonderful BGLO members respond to my posts and/or explain things to me. Which I sincerely appreciate http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif. Anyways, it's just something I have noticed and thought I would share. This is just MO.

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University of Alabama--- ROLL TIDE!!!!!

[quote]Originally posted by KnowledgeEternal:
[b]SteelTrap- Thank You http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

I'm sure you are aware that those registered Native Americans have to PROVE their lineage (through documentation). I have no problem with African-Americans who can PROVE that they are descended from those who were enslaved getting some kind of educational benefits. However, my ancestors were NOT EVEN IN THE US during Civil war times, therefore, I, just because I happen to be of lighter skin, should NOT be taxed to pay those reparations or educational benefits!!

And what about all the European-americans whose ancestors were ALSO treated very poorly when they immigrated here in the early 20th century? For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, read a little bit about what Irish and Polish immigrants went through. They were NOT accepted into the mainstream. There were signs up in establishments all over major cities stating things like "No Micks Allowed." etc..

If we are going to undo all the wrongs of the past rather than move on, I think my Irish American ancestry entitles me to some reparations too!

Yes but your family CHOSE to come here. They weren't shipped over in chains then sold, divided and treated by sub-human standards. No offense to you personally but I think you just proved why they prefer to discuss this stuff in BGLO forums.

I don’t recall ever getting my check in the mail, could you please explain to me how all the sins of the US have been settled with reparations. If you honestly think that only your culture has been excluded, you really should take a step back and try and look at things from another point of view. As far as some type of monetary value that should be set up for descendants of slaves, I think that burden should be put on the companies that have profited from slavery, not the middle class.

Okay, since this obviously is going to continue as an "evils of slavery" discussion, I want to add something to Veruca's comment. Honestly, I've only gone into the BGLO forums a few times so I don't know how these discussions are handled there. However, it seems that if I had brought this up in a BGLO forum, I would have received mainly African American answers and I was looking for a more varied response (not that I'm likely to get an answer now). Why do some of you feel you can't discuss this here?

Before we all get our knickers in a twist (pardon my British) let's remember we're talking about The [UN]Real World here.

Everything you see has been edited, spliced, and re-edited for drama and conflict. MTV has apparently decided that its stereotype of the "angry black male" has gotten old and has decided to replace it with "angry black female." I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the Nicole/Malik conflict was instigated by the show's creators. Such as leading questions in interviews. ("Do you think Malik is 'being real'?")

There are valid issues here but I wouldn't take any cues from the cheese dongs on this show.

It should be a non-issue but unfortunately it is an issue.

So what you are saying is that since I am not in the fields picking cotton that I have no right to complain. Please clarify before I respond harshly.