Quote:
Originally posted by DST Love:
I use the term "Black" myself, however I don't mind if African-American is used. Now let me start with this, if we call ourselves African-American then what does someone like Charlize Theiron (the white actress from "The Legend of Bagger Vance") who is from South Africa and now an American citizen call herself. Is she not African-American? Also, I don't know about you, but like my father, I'm proud to be an American, not that I am denying that I probably have African ancestry as well, but I know for a fact that my "Black" ancestors are the reason why this country is what it is today. Our ancestors helped build this country literally. Not only through physical means but also through all of their willingness and courage to fight for what they believe, their great inventions and other contributions. Now I don't care whether white people or anyone else want to ignore that or give us our just due because they don't define who I am. God, history, family and I define who I am.
[This message has been edited by DST Love (edited December 20, 2000).]
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You are valid in the assumption of what Charlize Theron can call herself. She would probably prefer to be of Afrikaaner descent because her anscestors traveled from Denmark (and elsewhere) to populate the land in South Africa. Currently, the Afrikaaners are fighting for their rights as farmers to farm "their" forefather's land... These arguments stem from the post Apartheid regime and the ANC. Either way, the region is rather unstable and may go into conflict at any point much like that of upper sub-Saharan countries, i.e. Rwanda, Sierre Leone, Liberia.
As far as the point of personal preferences, I agree with my soror AKA912D--I have a name my parents endowed to me, I would like others to use it, thank you...
And my point is we all need to get away from the concept of race. I know it has been
centuries that we have used our color to define our culture(s) and our reference point(s) in the universe. However, IMHO, we need to move away from that concept now. Practically a whole religion based on a small a gene product, tyrosinase, that is more abundant in darker complexion skin cells which produces higher levels of (eu)melinin. That concept is old, not 21st century thinking, it's soooo last millennia.
If you understand the nature of White Supremacy, you understand how we folk of a darker hue have been deconstructed and subjugated. I knew what I said would make some people disgruntled, it's a hard concept to learn to let go our enslaved selves. It's easier to deny our true sovereignty and claim a cultural asili use to oppress us so that we can easily move thru "mainstream" society. However, it's a high cost to do that--I have to do it everyday and it's practically drive me nucking futs! But what's happening is that we have lived under europee-on ideology for so long, such as who is the best president to lead this country--think immediately, who come into your mind? Ask yourself does your immediate thinking follow your Afrikan centered anscestors thoughts? How come we can't think of the immediate from our Afrikan heritage? Some of do, most of us don't... We have been brainwashed and bamboozled... How do we break outta of it? Think about it. Black Afrikan annihilation did not start with the American Revolution... Nor did it start with the first darker hued person to be sold to a much more lighter hued person... It started when Aristole philosophically segregated the spirit from the body. Most Afrikan cultures are incapable of doing that. Why do you think we are always talking about the church??? Why do you think Ilyana Vanzant's so popular, now? Could it be the transmission of our cultural asili from our Afrikan anscestors? We can never forget where we come from. Why is that? Most white men I discuss this concept with tell me they never think of themselves as anything other than American, even if their anscestors came during the massive white europee-on migration in the 1900s. But I tell you, these folks suffer from classism, too. Such as an elitist caucasian vs. one that comes from a trailer park... Now truly ask yourself this question, who has the harder life, a man of Afrikan descent who has numerous degrees but still gets beat down by the cops or a man of europeeon descent that grew up in a trailer park?