Talkin' white

[The Original Ape]

Originally posted by blu_theatrics:
This is a topiuc that is very personal to me. I grew upi going to school with primarily white people ( I was the only black in my class most of the time) I also had a speech impediment (hope I spelled that right ) when I was younger so my school offered speech classes and myt mother enrolled me in them.
Putting both of these things to gether I assume that you would realize that I talk, as some would say it "proper". I ussually will joke around with my friends now and say something like I'm not ebonically inclined, but for years it really hurt me because when I would go home and I would be playing with my friends at home ( who were black) I would always get called a little white girl or people would say you think you white or call me stuck up, just because of the way I spoke. I can remeber actually sitting up at night and practicing "ebonics", but I really just never got a hold of it.
I was taught for years in speech class how to speech correctly, so it was hard to chnage this. Today I am really glad that I do speak "prpoer" ecause I feel like it doesn't make me uncomfportable or anything like that when I'm in a interview, I don't have to change my way of speaking, I just remain my self.
But on another tagent I really am offended when people tell me that I'm very articulate or I speak so well, like just because I'm black, I'm supposed to be illeterite or something.
I am a Black Female and very proud of my heritage, but black people will look down on me because I add ing's to my words and that hurts and white people look at me like I'm some kind of inner-city miracle and that hurts too.

We need to get away from this, because it is really something that can hurt a child's self-esteem ( and believ me for me to bring up self-esteem I have to be serious, because I really hate when people use self-esteem as a scape goat)

I'm a lot older now and I really don't care as much about it all, but I will tell you this, my son will be 4 next month and I correct him all the time when he speaks incorrect eglish because I absolutely dispise whne partents allow there kids to grow up not know the defference between he and him or she an her (her went to the store......him not here) I don't think that I should be ashanmed for talking proper because it is just that the proper way to speak. I believe thatwe should learn that we neeed to all learn to speak properly.

Hope I wasn't too long

I hope I am not misunderstood. Being an educator, I promote the use of proper English. As I stated earlier, slang has its time and place. I just don't like to see people try sooo hard to be something they will never be, for people who will never truly accept them.