Recent college parties mocking black stereotypes spark outrage

[06pilot]

For the record, I am a 38 year old black man. Member of the oldest blackcollege fraternity for men. I love my God, my country and my family.

Do I think racism is alive and well? of course. Do I think blacks and whites are racists? of course. Do I think we can cure racism? Not with 100% of people but with a lot more. How? by taking thwe time and learning about each other. We dont have tolike each other but we need to get to know each other. Most people judge by face value without getting to know the person. For example, you see a white guy walking downthe street with a tsirt with a rebel flag on it and weraing a dirty baseball cap. You make a judgement about him without even knowing him. He could be a racist. He could not be. You dont know. You se a black kid walking down the street wearing baggy pants and a hat turned crooked. Youmake a jugdement about him. Could be a thug, could not be we dont know. '

The point is when we stop prejudgin people bythe waythey look or theri color we will be better off in the long run.

Also as I said before, young white kids listen to BET and rap music. Heck, the producers makrket too them. Rap is not a black thing. I dont listen to a lot of nor do my friends. Thig life is NOT a blackthing. I am not a thug. Its actually an insult to suggest that thegangster life is an african american culture thing.
So why insult yourselves? Not logical too me.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by 06pilot

Get along gang nonesense. Wow. I guess Ihope for the world being a christian number 1 and being a soldier I know what true unity is all about.

I don't know what you're communicating here. Suffice it to say that Christianity has never been used to promote "true unity." And I guess you're saying you're in the military. I guess the racism, sexism, and other isms that many people have experienced in the military were signs of "true unity."

Originally Posted by 06pilot

I dont look at people as different races. Ilook at them as people. Good or bad. The sooner more people start doing what Dr Martim Luther King said the better we will be.

I really wish people would stop misinterpreting Dr. King's dream. He never said anything about pretending to be color blind. He wanted people to not be judged and discriminated against. NOT for our differences to be swept under the rug.

Originally Posted by 06pilot

Sure there are bad racist white people just like there are bad racist black people.

Oh. LOL.

Well, I won't go on my soapbox about how "racism" isn't about BAD PEOPLE and how blacks can't be racist against whites at a societal level.

Originally Posted by 06pilot

I dont know what to say to you. maybe you had some bad experience as a child and havent gotten over it yet. Me I justtry to live everyday and do unto ohters as Iwould have them do unto me.

I can't tell.

The difference between you and me is that I can remove the emotion and personal experience from this type of stuff. It isn't about feelings, childhood, or how YOU as a person choose to live everyday.

[06pilot]

People are a prodcut of their environment. Not a procduct of their color.

I can take a white child and raise him inthe ghetto. When he grows up, he will probably enjoy hip hop music, wear his pants half way downhis body and he will more than likely speak slang. Its not that he is a wannabe as many would think. Thats just his nature based on how he was raised and the influences in his life.

I can take a black child and raise him iin anupper class neighborhood send him to private school and he will probably listen to a certain type of music, talk a certain way and dress a certain way based on his environment.

So, you see its not about their color, its about their backgrounds. Now dont get me wrong. I realize their is a blackculture and a white culture in this country but thats more or less on the whole based on history and experiences as a whole race.

I do believe the military is the best place to go to understand equality. It has its problems too with racist and sexist and all that but nowher enear the same level as in society. When you are on patrol and you depend onthe guy next to you to get you backhom safe you dont give a rats a** what color he is. If you have never experienced that than you cannot possibly undertand what I am talking about. You see what you see on TV. But its very different in real life.

One final example. I have a friend from Trinidad who works as an airline pilot for British Airays. He said attitudes about race are soooooo musch different in Europe than they are in America . In Europe race is a non issue. A white guy can make a joke about a blackguy and its looked upon as a joke. In the US if a white guy makes a joke about a black guy,the first thing they want to do is call the NAACP. And the NAACP, well thats anothe rpost Icould talk about but I wont on here

[ladygreek]

^^^^To be 38 years old, you sure are naive about a lot of things. Regarding your statement about Europe I have an example that contradicts that. My half brother (product of my father and a German woman during WWII--and yes I am that old) was subjected to racism his whole young life. It was not until he became a national soccer star that he was finally "accepted." To this day he would not tolerate a racist joke.

And ditto what Chaos said about misinterpreting Dr. King's sentiments. I heard them directly.

BTW, it was just reported in today's paper that a "liberal" college here had a theme party on Jan. 16 where folx dressed in black face and wore afro wigs. It is being seriously investigated, and campus-wide meetings are being held.

Do you not find suspicion in the timing of these parties?

Lastly, I have a 36 year old daughter who gets it. I wonder why you don't.

[06pilot]

People get what they were raised to get. My parents didnt raise me tohate another race of people. sorry. I NEVER said racism didnt exist/
You quoted examples from 50 years ago. The world was a much different place.

Again, NEVER said racism didnt exist. I have been around the world and have seen many many things. My life wasnt limited to the USA in a small town watching CNN . So, my view is lot more open minded than most.

Eddie Murphy used to fress up like a white man on SNL and walk around behaving a certain way. So wat does that make him? The Wayans Brothers recently made a movie called "white chicks" wher ethey dressed up like white girls. What does that make them?

People do stupid things of course. No one is perfect. But to automatically assume the reason for the stupid behaivor is because of hate (thats what racism is, hate) is rediclous.

Sorry, I dont tote the standard African AMerican line that everytime a white person does something to or against a black person,its because of racism. Sometimes its just becasue they are stupid.

There are real cases of racism out there, but if EVRYTIME a white person does something agaunst a black te start shouting racsim we wil ot be taken seriously People will begin to say "Well, there they go again" And when something that is truly racist happenes we wont be taken seriously.

An example her ein Atlanta a few years ago: Two puk white guys beat up a black guy. OK, the firsat thing the NAACP did was get on TV and scream rasicm. Now did the whites kids beat up the black guys because they wee black or did they beat up the black kids because the opportunity was there and had it been two white guys the white kids would have beat them up as well. We assume it was because they were black cause thats easy to do. Sometimes I just dont like aperson not because of their color but just cause I dont like them.

[ladygreek]

^^^^ My parents didn't raise me to hate another race of people either, and I don't. That is not what we are talking about here. Trust, I too, do not believe that all acts involving other races are racism, but when the parties described here are done on MLK's b'day I do have to wonder the intent. And stupidity is not an excuse for racism in my mind. Because if that is how your stupidity is manifested I also have to wonder why?

BTW, my example of 50 years ago is not obsolete. I too have traveled outside of the US and my experiences are not based on watching CNN. And it is quite possible that my life experiences, which are far greater than yours allow me to see things that you miss.

And again, you will get your points across much better if you articulate better your written word by proof reading before you hit the submit button.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Regarding your statement about Europe I have an example that contradicts that. My half brother (product of my father and a German woman during WWII--and yes I am that old) was subjected to racism his whole young life. It was not until he became a national soccer star that he was finally "accepted." To this day he would not tolerate a racist joke.

He was accepted at the surface level after he became a public figure. But as many "non-white" public figures find in many countries, you're still the same kind of (insert racial slur) as the rest when it comes down to it.

I know people who lived in Russia and places across Europe. These persons were shoved in the snow and chased by "Nazi" skinheads. This was in the late 90s and early 2000s. And this is just the overt stuff. Imagine what kinds of covert stuff is going on.

Race means something different outside of North America in terms of categorization. However, we aren't the only country where there are disparities based on whether you are deemed a member of the African diaspora.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by 06pilot

People are a prodcut of their environment. Not a procduct of their color.

People's environments can not be separated from the larger context.

I have seen what being raised in the black ghetto (since ghetto isn't synonymous with black) can do for many whites. And poor whites have historically excelled faster than poor and even middle class blacks. Listening to rap music and wearing baggy clothes is just a matter of culture. Opportunities trump culture, though.

The biggest measure of how a person's environment matches with the larger societal context is to compare people of different races from the same environment. Research has indicated that poor whites receive more opportunities than poor blacks and middle class whites receive more opportunities than middle class blacks. This is on a societal level, which also accounts for whatever exceptions people may see fit to type about. Except it isn't called "race." People who discriminate will use any excuse BUT race--such as "he dresses better" or "speaks better." How is that really possible for millions of people who supposedly have the same "environment?"

You can also talk to millions of middle and upper class blacks and find that they are treated a certain way by their white neighbors (who accept them as long as there aren't too many black families in the neighborhood). Realtors intentionally keep a well documented "racial tipping point" and white neighbors make an effort to keep track of their black neighbors' activites. Their excuse is that they want to protect the neighborhood from "riff raff" and from reducing the property value. As if black is synonymous with deterioration regardless of the social class of the people involved. So is that about race or "environment?"

[DSTKellie]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

I really wish people would stop misinterpreting Dr. King's dream. He never said anything about pretending to be color blind. He wanted people to not be judged and discriminated against. NOT for our differences to be swept under the rug.



Oh. LOL.

Well, I won't go on my soapbox about how "racism" isn't about BAD PEOPLE and how blacks can't be racist against whites at a societal level.



I can't tell.

The difference between you and me is that I can remove the emotion and personal experience from this type of stuff. It isn't about feelings, childhood, or how YOU as a person choose to live everyday.

It's like you took the words right out of mind. I wish people would understand the definitions between the words prejudice, discrimination and racism. The three are all different.

[Little32]

I read about this and had two responses.

First, as another poster commented, why does the media continue to give attention to ignorance--especially given the timing of the incidents, which seem contrived to provoked anger. Things like this don't deserve any attention at all.

Second, what kind of sad little life do you have to have, what kind of stunted intellectual growth, to be a person that sits around coming up with ways to provoke people just for the sake of provoking them.

[shinerbock]

They probably did it to drink 40's and eat fried chicken, as opposed to making some sort of statement. I highly doubt those kids were thinking about much more than having fun when they decided on the party.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

They probably did it to drink 40's and eat fried chicken, as opposed to making some sort of statement. I highly doubt those kids were thinking about much more than having fun when they decided on the party.

They needed an excuse to drink 40s and eat fried Chicken? And couldn't they have done that dressed as usual? Again the timing is what disturbs me.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

You can also talk to millions of middle and upper class blacks and find that they are treated a certain way by their white neighbors (who accept them as long as there aren't too many black families in the neighborhood). Realtors intentionally keep a well documented "racial tipping point" and white neighbors make an effort to keep track of their black neighbors' activites. Their excuse is that they want to protect the neighborhood from "riff raff" and from reducing the property value. As if black is synonymous with deterioration regardless of the social class of the people involved. So is that about race or "environment?"

This reminds me of some friends of mine who are upper class. He is one of the original investors in Embassy Suites Hotels and she was the chair of the Kellogg Foundation Board of Directors among other major accomplishments. They are both Howard grads (he's an Omega and a trustee of HU,and she's an AKA) and well known in this community by all races for their philanthropic endeavors.

But they had me laughing at how many times their son would be stopped driving down their street (where the minimum value of a house was $1 million) to come home, because he was driving an expensive car. And invariably he was stopped, because the police thought he must have just stolen the car. It got to a point that even the White neighbors complained about it to the police chief.

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

They needed an excuse to drink 40s and eat fried Chicken? And couldn't they have done that dressed as usual? Again the timing is what disturbs me.

I'm not saying the timing isn't disturbing, but I imagine it was more of a "we have a day off, its MLK day, MLK was black, lets do "black" things and get drunk all day" kind of thought train. You can call it a lot of of things, but I highly doubt it was really intended to be hateful. Apparently college kids like excuses to get drunk and dress up. I think thats probably what this was.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I'm not saying the timing isn't disturbing, but I imagine it was more of a "we have a day off, its MLK day, MLK was black, lets do "black" things and get drunk all day" kind of thought train. You can call it a lot of of things, but I highly doubt it was really intended to be hateful. Apparently college kids like excuses to get drunk and dress up. I think thats probably what this was.

one question. in your estimation, what, if anything, would have been over the top by these students?