Quote:
Originally posted by Steeltrap
I suspect, and I've said this before, many of the same people who think "ghetto" sendups are OK don't really have any meaningful contact with AfAms who may be affected by inner-city miseries. If they have meaningful contact, it's often with suburban AfAms who sometimes are "go along to get along" types at best or self-hating at worst.
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sooooo true. I grew up in the rural south. Now, say what you will but I've read studies that say the rural South actually has some of the most diverse schools nowadays... because the districts are so large they draw in many different types of people. At my high school we had African Americans, whites, Latinos/as from all areas of Central and South America, as well as many people from Korean and Hmong background. So I was lucky enough to have many different types of friends and know people of ALL backgrounds who were successful. In fact, a lot of times the good ole boy white guy redneck types were LESS successful than minority students. I had minority teachers and role models too. (My first elementary school when I lived in the city was 80% AfAm.)
Now I go to a predominantly white, Southern college of elite spoiled suburban kids. Most of them have never interacted with anyone different from them. The things that will come out of their mouths floor me!
This summer I worked in a homeless shelter in Washington, DC. The thing that *really* annoys me is that there are plenty of homeless, mentally handicapped, and/or drug-addicted people in urban areas that are NOT African American. This summer I worked with many types of people--a formerly middle-class white novelist, a former African American prison guard, mentally ill women of ALL descents (Mexican, Chinese, AfAm, white, African, etc), drug-addicted women of ALL descents... Most of the women I worked with were inspiring and had a true commitment to bettering their lives. Yet, I wouldn't begin to say that I know or have experienced the inner-city urban life of the poor. Anyone who claims to know another person's life experience is committing the gravest form of disrespect. The first thing we learned in our training was NEVER to say "I understand what you're going through/saying" to a woman. It was only "I can hear you.. that must be tough."
Too many people think they can generalize their own experiences to everyone. That's the subtle and worst form of most kinds of racism and prejudice of all kinds.