Is it me, or do...

[The Original Ape]

Black people rank on ourselves more easily than we compliment each other?

[pebbles_6]

What do you mean by "rank", I'm understanding it to mean, "diss" so I will answer accordingly. I think that as a society, as a whole, we are negative before we are positive. A lot of people in this country lack self-love which makes it darn near impossible to extend love to someone else. I do believe it's more apparent in the black community though, probably because I'm a part of it. But there is so much division in our community and the divide only grows deeper and wider the more we put each other down. IMO.

Pebbles

[princessbee21]

I would have to agree with Pebbles that as a whole, society tends to gravitate toward negative, rather than positive things. I think often times it's easier to criticize and judge others than it is to look within ourselves and fix what it wrong there...I believe that this is just human nature, but I'm not sure if we, as black people, do it more than others, or if we are all equally guilty

[Lovely]

I think it's kind of like you'd be politer to a total stranger than a family member. For instance at the dinner table you wouldn't say "Would you please be so kind as to pass the gumbo?" I think it's because we consider us to be family.

[1 Woman of Virtue]

Absolutely. Sadly the rankin' tends to take our worst realities as a people and degrades them.

[Virtuous Woman]

The history of Black people ranking on one another and tearing each other down as opposed to building on another up, is a long one that dates back to slavery....but that's a whole 'nother story.

Personally, I don't think that Black people tend to "rank" on each other instead of building each other up but,like someone said earlier, society tends to focus on negativity. So even when we are trying to build each other up, it gets overlooked because people would rather focus on the negative than on the positive.

[The Original Ape]

To rank on: talk about negatively.

During contemporary times, I've seen an increase in it. There are those that do it for humor; and there are those that build their political reputations by doing it. We even have people that have made careers out of it via television.

This leads me to believe that as a people, we have an esteem problem. Anybody agree?

[cocowoman_65]

TOTALLY!!!

[The Original Ape]

Originally posted by cocowoman_65:
TOTALLY!!!

See; THAT'S WHY I LIKE COCOA!!!

[dirtymike1906]

Crabs in a barrel, OA. Crabs in a barrel.

We are our own worst enemy.

[BlueReign]

OA, I listed this as one of the things that makes me mad!!!

For instance, I was shopping with my mother one day and I had just had my hair done. I saw a sister looking at me from the corner of my eye and I knew she was eyeing my hair but I didn't pay her no mind.

When we left the store my mother was like, did you know that woman or something? she was looking at you like she wanted to hit you. I thought you knew her and she was mad at you about something.

Funny, this is not the only time this has happened to me, either. When I see a sister who has it hooked up right, I almost always compliment, ask her who does her hair, etc.

For this reason I can't stand some of my girlfriends' convo. "Oh she got the figure but not the face". or "He's nice looking but he don't make no money" "They've got a nice house but they drive them raggedy cars"

I know this is long-winded but today, I am going to go out of my way to give someone I know and/or don't know a compliment!!