So I came across an article, in the AJC, regarding the growing Hispanic population in Gwinnett County (an Atlanta suburb.) A sick hobby of mine is browsing http://www.ajc.com/ and reading the reader comments...especially the "Vent" section. It's pure comedy for a moderately-liberal-Black-yankee like me ;) I sometimes get caught up and write these long rants. Today is one of those days, the comments turned to how this is the second time moving was necessary...the first being when "the Blacks" came. Here's my rant:
Interesting comments. Can't say that I'm surprised by any of it. Yes, I'm a "Yankee" who chose to live here. But, I remain surprised at the level of bigotry and ignorance some of you have.
I grew up in a majority white--but fairly diverse--surburb outside DC. I knew several Black families that owned--and maintained--nice homes. When I lived in Maryland, my child attended a private school which was nearly 100% Black. Parents were very involved and the students tested well and were good kids.
Reading these comments leads you to believe these things aren't possible. But, I know several Blacks, in and out of Atlanta, that tell me differently. I AM one of those Black people and find your comments highly offensive! Is it that you haven't left your front stoop? Or are you that blind?
White folks did not invent morality or "goodness." Let's hypothetically agree that Blacks/Hispanics/Others are somehow morally corrupt or less than Whites. Well how do you, as good ole Christian boys, explain that? Did God somehow corrupt an entire race of people? I mean you claim Blacks do most of the violent crimes (more on that later) and that we are stupid and low level, so how do you explain that? How do you explain Blacks who don't fit those stereotypes? I will agree Blacks are disproportionately represented in our prison systems and that we are falling behind in many categories like education and income. It's not crazy to expect that poverty leads to crime. No matter the race, that is the truth. You can go to the trailer parks of Wisconsin and find a higher crime rate than other areas in the same town. It's the same with Atlanta and America overall. Poverty leads to crime.
I love how nonchalantly a few of you write off slavery. It's time to get over it? What am I getting over?The fact that I am a CREATED race? Remember the story of how your ___ immigrated to America? Doesn't that give you pride? When learning the story of MY heritage, I didn't exactly feel pride. As a child, that's a lot to wrap your head around. I asked myself, what can I take pride in? Thankfully, my mother, education and maturity taught me to value that history and I allowed it to empower me. But that's a tall order and we're dealing with generational issues of low self-image and feeling very un-empowered.
Slavery forced Africans to let go of their history, family, language, religions and culture. In one fail swoop, my heritage was wiped away and there was no turning back. There was no way to solve the damage done and now we must all deal with it. How are we going to deal with it? As this article shows, minorities are not going anywhere. Where will you run to? The moon?
Names were replaced and chains (tangible and not) were placed on us. After slavery, there were over 100 years of legalized chains which prevented Blacks from having equal rights. Take any group, ANY GROUP, from its home, force a new EVERYTHING on them, enslave them for hundreds of years and what can you expect when you release them? Especially when society continues to say they are less and expects less from them? Those Africans didn't have $20 in their pockets or the freedom to start anything. They were prohibited from READING! And this was less than 100 years ago! Yet, their descendants should somehow measure equally to Whites? And slavery doesn't hold any weight today? Give me a break!! Slavery is alive in kicking in ALL of us. As witnessed by you pompous folks who think you are too good to be around minorities and see all in one way.
RE: Crime Stats. I will not deny that Blacks are disproportionately represented in the prison system. As I said, poverty can do that. However, you should be more careful with your sweeping allegations and how you word things. Studies have shown minorities and/or those with older vehicles have much higher pull, arrest, and conviction rates. Cops, whether on purpose or not, see "suspect" with certain people more than others. That does NOT mean certain groups COMMIT crimes more than others. Also, and maybe this comes from living in GA, but you need to remember Blacks are only 12% of this country! And some areas have little to none. It's not even possible to blame Blacks for committing MOST crimes. Check out what the FEDERAL GOV has to say about it http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus/current/cv0540.pdf.
Also it's important to note that most crimes are not interracial. Again check out the FED's stats, MOST crimes committed against you are done by your own http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus/current/cv0542.pdf
Your fear and white flight are mostly unfounded. Yes, Blacks are ARRESTED and CONVICTED at higher rates for some violent crimes. But it is impossible to say we commit more. How can you quantify that? Rape is the most common violent crime. It is also mostly unreported. Based on the demographics of this country, I'm all but certain your assumptions are incorrect. But this is a silly game and we shouldn't even go there...why should we have to prove ourselves? Can we not get acceptance based on being human? Or are we still stuck in slavery? It's either one or the other.
The real issues are poverty and education. Until everyone has access to good schools and a decent quality of life, we will have citizens (of every color) who are more likely to commit crime, use drugs and become disconnected from their communities. How can you expect people to care about YOUR community? You make it so clear that they are beneath you and that this is somehow your pristine territory, so again where's the motivation to change their "ghetto ways" or whatever you call them? It's time to realize we live in ONE community.
Showing posts with label Blacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blacks. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
The "N-Word" gets banned....
Calling all rappers....
In what was billed as a purely symbolic measure, New York's city council banned the word Nigger. Yep, I said it. No "n-word" today. I heard about this last week and have been thinking about this ever since.
Earlier, I mentioned a relevant documentary we watched. It's called "The N-Word" and as you can imagine, it explores the history and usage of the word. Everyone from historians and politicians to actors and journalists were interviewed. One of the most memorable interviews showed Bryant Gumbel admitting to using the word with his buddies. Go figure! Here we were questioning his connection to Blacks and just how Black he was. All the while, he's a n-word ;)
Back to the point, as noted in the documentary, this word has been part of the African-American culture for many years. Initially, it was used to describe us. We were Black and, like the Latin/Spanish language says we were "Nigers." That's the most logical explanation for what became Negro and Nigger in our American society. But, what isn't clear is when/how we decided to use the word on ourselves.
Historians (credible and street) have said the "house/field niggers" situation was to blame. They felt a need to distinguish themselves from each other and labeled the other group "niggers." Maybe that's true. I know what is true. Some Blacks currently use a deviation of the n-word and people are making a big fuss over nothing in my opinion.
I have heard the following arguments against the use. Of course, I've added my responses…
It's hypocritical and unfair to get angry if a non-Black person calls you that but to use it "lovingly" amongst yourselves.
So let me get this straight…there is a large group of non-Blacks that would really love to use this word. They are waiting for an "okay" and are upset that Blacks only "allow" this within their group? If so, aren't we barking up the wrong tree here? Shouldn't we be asking WHY a non-Black person WANTS to use this word? Shouldn't we question their motives and intents? You see, it's usually quite clear that Blacks do not mean harm when they are using that word. At least not the racially-charged harm we associate with non-Blacks using it!
That's the whole point. Within a group, you can say and do things that are understood INSIDE the group. You know what your group is thinking and how they operate. But, an outsider cannot do the same because you do not know their motives or what they have on their minds. This is the same everywhere. I know people, of all colors, whose parents said "What goes on in our home stays in our home." And that's because it's FAMILY business that no one else could understand and, thus, they shouldn't have the privilege of knowing.
Which leads to the "so why do hip-hop artists say it so much?" question. That is a valid question and my only response is "hip-hop was never meant to crossover." And that's the truth. Just like Rock-n-Roll and R&B, hip-hop was not created for the masses. It was created for a group of people who would understand it's energy and words. Even today, artists lose credibility when they "sell out" and make music for all. I'm pretty sure no one expected 70% of hip-hop albums to be purchased by White teens. But, now that this is reality, I do wonder if, at the least, we should scale back on the usage in music?
Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks are rolling over in their graves
The word was used, by Blacks, when both were alive. It's not a new thing. It's discussed more and is definitely in the open with movies, videos and a new rapper coming out every week. But, it's not new. And, Rosa Parks (or her people) spent a lot of time and efforts suing Outkast. Were they suing them for using the n-word? Nope. They were suing because they used Rosa's name to title one of their songs. In the end, Rosa settled and took cash from rappers who have said the word many times on and off record.
It makes non-Blacks confused
There is no confusion. If anyone, in this day and age, is confused over the n-word they are either slow or too young to listen to explicit lyrics in the first place.
It continues to limit us and encourage racism/discrimination
The verdict it still out on that one. Maybe it's because I am part of the hip-hop generation. But, I do not see it that deeply. In fact, I rarely associate the word "nigga" with negativity! I know many things, that some do, add to destroying our overall self-image. But, two brothers/sisters saying the word here and there doesn’t make me feel bad. Unless it's done in public or around children, I actually feel a sense of pride in our united community. At times, our private dialect is the only visible sign of a unique African-American culture. We spent so much time fighting for equality and failed to realize, equality does not have to mean morphing into something else. We are free to have our own culture and ways. Just as Hispanics can speak Spanglish at home, we can and should do what we want with our own.
In what was billed as a purely symbolic measure, New York's city council banned the word Nigger. Yep, I said it. No "n-word" today. I heard about this last week and have been thinking about this ever since.
Earlier, I mentioned a relevant documentary we watched. It's called "The N-Word" and as you can imagine, it explores the history and usage of the word. Everyone from historians and politicians to actors and journalists were interviewed. One of the most memorable interviews showed Bryant Gumbel admitting to using the word with his buddies. Go figure! Here we were questioning his connection to Blacks and just how Black he was. All the while, he's a n-word ;)
Back to the point, as noted in the documentary, this word has been part of the African-American culture for many years. Initially, it was used to describe us. We were Black and, like the Latin/Spanish language says we were "Nigers." That's the most logical explanation for what became Negro and Nigger in our American society. But, what isn't clear is when/how we decided to use the word on ourselves.
Historians (credible and street) have said the "house/field niggers" situation was to blame. They felt a need to distinguish themselves from each other and labeled the other group "niggers." Maybe that's true. I know what is true. Some Blacks currently use a deviation of the n-word and people are making a big fuss over nothing in my opinion.
I have heard the following arguments against the use. Of course, I've added my responses…
It's hypocritical and unfair to get angry if a non-Black person calls you that but to use it "lovingly" amongst yourselves.
So let me get this straight…there is a large group of non-Blacks that would really love to use this word. They are waiting for an "okay" and are upset that Blacks only "allow" this within their group? If so, aren't we barking up the wrong tree here? Shouldn't we be asking WHY a non-Black person WANTS to use this word? Shouldn't we question their motives and intents? You see, it's usually quite clear that Blacks do not mean harm when they are using that word. At least not the racially-charged harm we associate with non-Blacks using it!
That's the whole point. Within a group, you can say and do things that are understood INSIDE the group. You know what your group is thinking and how they operate. But, an outsider cannot do the same because you do not know their motives or what they have on their minds. This is the same everywhere. I know people, of all colors, whose parents said "What goes on in our home stays in our home." And that's because it's FAMILY business that no one else could understand and, thus, they shouldn't have the privilege of knowing.
Which leads to the "so why do hip-hop artists say it so much?" question. That is a valid question and my only response is "hip-hop was never meant to crossover." And that's the truth. Just like Rock-n-Roll and R&B, hip-hop was not created for the masses. It was created for a group of people who would understand it's energy and words. Even today, artists lose credibility when they "sell out" and make music for all. I'm pretty sure no one expected 70% of hip-hop albums to be purchased by White teens. But, now that this is reality, I do wonder if, at the least, we should scale back on the usage in music?
Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks are rolling over in their graves
The word was used, by Blacks, when both were alive. It's not a new thing. It's discussed more and is definitely in the open with movies, videos and a new rapper coming out every week. But, it's not new. And, Rosa Parks (or her people) spent a lot of time and efforts suing Outkast. Were they suing them for using the n-word? Nope. They were suing because they used Rosa's name to title one of their songs. In the end, Rosa settled and took cash from rappers who have said the word many times on and off record.
It makes non-Blacks confused
There is no confusion. If anyone, in this day and age, is confused over the n-word they are either slow or too young to listen to explicit lyrics in the first place.
It continues to limit us and encourage racism/discrimination
The verdict it still out on that one. Maybe it's because I am part of the hip-hop generation. But, I do not see it that deeply. In fact, I rarely associate the word "nigga" with negativity! I know many things, that some do, add to destroying our overall self-image. But, two brothers/sisters saying the word here and there doesn’t make me feel bad. Unless it's done in public or around children, I actually feel a sense of pride in our united community. At times, our private dialect is the only visible sign of a unique African-American culture. We spent so much time fighting for equality and failed to realize, equality does not have to mean morphing into something else. We are free to have our own culture and ways. Just as Hispanics can speak Spanglish at home, we can and should do what we want with our own.
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