Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
You're right we should. I guess the only thing I can say is that there would be tons of protests about America going into another country. Regardless we should and so should the rest of the world.
And I don't buy the whole not knowing your roots thing because evidently African Americans still could protest Apartheid in South Africa.
-Rudey
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Don't buy it if you so wish, but I agree with Reds6. As a matter of fact, I was scrolling to the bottom of the screen to post a response saying pretty much what she said shen I saw her post.
It's pretty hard to explain, probably because the effects of history on Black Americans is not even quite thoroughly understood by many as it is, but I do have a sense of disconnect from the continent of Africa and although I do tend to pay more attention to the affairs of the region than I do to other parts of the world because of my heritage, I recognize that I don't have a whole lot in common with black africans other than our skin color. I am AMERICAN. I know a lot about what is going on and what has gone on in this country regarding black Americans. That is me. I know for a fact that there are plenty of black Americans who are very well versed in affairs of the African diaspora and the continent itself and I respect and appreciate their willingness to protest and fight for more adequate funding and attention to matters over there.
The best way I can explain my viewpoint is to say that black americans are basically a group in and of ourselves who function in America, obviously, because of our ancestors having been brought here, but not really integrated into mainstream american society for most of our history here. We also were taken from our homelands in Africa so long ago that our connection to the history, culture, etc. there has been distorted. This is why you hear about how black americans tend to be slightly less patriotic than other groups (in the sense that we often are mistrustful of the government's intern'l policies because we look at our history here and what is going on in other parts of the world where the population is heavily black and wonder how in the world "America" puts forth their ideals of freedom and equality when they've treated their own people so badly. So we have sort of deduced that we were never really considered American people) So it's sort of like, and again I am speaking more for myself because I am sure people have other views, we have been so busy fighting social battles right here for so long that we aren't as eager or able to fight the battles in other places. So while I do care deeply about what is going on in Africa, I feel that there are so many differences between my group here and the Africans there or the Sudanese, that I really can't feasibly see what to do...just like during our struggles here a few decades ago, there wasn't a huge outcry, I don't think, from African nations that really affected American policy.
I hopes thats clear, if not sorry. I can't explain it much better than that. Reds6, abaici, jump in if you want and fill in any gaps.