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Originally posted by PrimePorkchop
reply to post by Sinny
If Michael Phelps came on TV and said "I'm the first Caucasian American to win this many gold medals'
people like you would be foaming at the mouth and Photoshopping swastikas on his face.
You're just being a hypocrite.
Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
Because you don't have the same history as the US has with race relations.
You do know it was illegal just 50 years ago for non-whites to use the "whites only" drinking fountains and bathrooms...right? You do know that blacks were forced to sit on the back of the bus so the whites didn't have to look at them right...only 50 years ago...one generation...there are people still alive today that had to endure places legally telling them "We don't serve 'n-word's here".
Originally posted by blackcube
Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
Because you don't have the same history as the US has with race relations.
You do know it was illegal just 50 years ago for non-whites to use the "whites only" drinking fountains and bathrooms...right? You do know that blacks were forced to sit on the back of the bus so the whites didn't have to look at them right...only 50 years ago...one generation...there are people still alive today that had to endure places legally telling them "We don't serve 'n-word's here".
How cute. We had slavery here in Brazil too. So what? Do you mean your country didn't get over that yet?edit on 4/8/12 by blackcube because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by Liquesence
Some people *do* feel that their race is a barrier, especially people who are minorities, or those who have been oppressed for a long time (blacks) and are still struggling. I know for a fact that there are some blacks who feel as if their race is a barrier. Now, whether it's entirely a personal feeling or whether the MSM and our culture have unconsciously created this feeling (by their very methods) is an entirely different thing and debate, but i do not a problem with the commentator saying she is the first black person to win (even though i DO see your point, and agree with the issue of division that we need to look past), nor do i see a problem with the statement about invisible barriers (even though i DO see your point). Invisible barriers DO exist. From race, to any personal feeling about anything about what one might be self conscious.
The same issue, to me, applies when people say "why do blacks get a black history month," or "why do blacks...if it was a WHITE history month..." When a group of people have been trodden on and oppressed for so long (and still are in instances), and many are still struggling in our culture, and see themselves as inferior (even in the 21st Century) if makes sense to recognize and honor the perseverance and accomplishment (even of anyone, yes, but in this case--that the person is black--it offers a model for others, and that many people need a role model and something to seek, something to hope for, especially those less fortunate).
And while i do agree that we need to move beyond grouping and labeling we also can't *forget.* So that the first black president, the first black Olympic winner, the first of *anything* is significant.
If it had been the first caucasian to win something in a predominantly Asian or African event (and i am NOT saying the Olympics are a caucasian/white event) it would be "the first caucasian," or "the first woman," or "the first man."
Same thing.
There is no *agenda* here.
Originally posted by TsukiLunar
You don't just "get over" something like that. It is something you should remember forever, and never try to justify or forget.
Originally posted by TKDRL
reply to post by TsukiLunar
Sure if you are a masochist.
Originally posted by blackcube
Originally posted by TsukiLunar
You don't just "get over" something like that. It is something you should remember forever, and never try to justify or forget.
So the best solution is to keep reminding.. You are different, you are HALF what the rest of people are... Yeah, great approach!edit on 4/8/12 by blackcube because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by Frankenchrist
NOM NOM NOM
Originally posted by TKDRL
reply to post by TsukiLunar
The slaves don't exist anymore. The slave owners don't exist anymore. Go ahead and keep beating yourself over the head with it if you want. Feel bad cuz your great great great great great great great great grandparents might have owned a slave. Or feel inferior because your great great great great great great great great grandparents might have been a slave. Stupid way to live if you ask me.
Originally posted by TsukiLunar
Originally posted by blackcube
Originally posted by TsukiLunar
You don't just "get over" something like that. It is something you should remember forever, and never try to justify or forget.
So the best solution is to keep reminding.. You are different, you are HALF what the rest of people are... Yeah, great approach!edit on 4/8/12 by blackcube because: (no reason given)
Pretending the mistakes of mankind never happened is WRONG. We should ALWAYS learn from the mistakes of the past.
Yeah, i think it is a "great approach".
No it is not. You are telling is great to call someone she is HALF-XYZ. What human mistakes had anything to do with the question? In my point of view your just saying "hey you all half-xyz" you are not 100% like the rest of us... it's just the complete oppose of learning the lessons about slavery.
In my point of view your just saying "hey you all half-xyz" you are not 100% like the rest of us...
Originally posted by GaspardUlliel
I'm sorry, but I HAD to log into my account and reply to this topic because I feel as if some of you need a history lesson.
First of all, there is a difference between RACE and ETHNICITY. Please stop using it interchangeably, because they are not the same thing.
This girl's race maybe of a mixed origin. But because I'm not that good at classifying her just by her looks alone, I am going to put her under the "Negroid" race. That's her race for the people who think African-American is a race, in which it isn't. It's an ethnicity. Race =/= Ethnicity. Now, there are only a limited number of "races" within the social construction of humanity, while there are THOUSANDS of ethnicities in the world (with more being created everyday). Back to "races" as here they are listed:
Caucasoid
Negroid
Mongoloid
Uncertain (These are the Dravidian people and Sinhalese people)
There are subcategories within these "races" and people can be of mixed race origin.
Now, back to ethnicity, specifically the African-American one.
Now, you can be of mixed race and be a part of this ethnicity. For example, let's look at the singer and actress Lena Horne:
www.thecubiclechick.com...
Now it is VERY obvious that this woman has ancestry that is not just of the African origin. I know for a FACT, she has Native American and European origin, but she is classified (and I believe she classifies herself) as an African-American. That term doesn't mean that she isn't of mixed race. It's a term that someone has created to describe people who are the decedents of the West African slaves that were brought to the USA. (Personally I think it is very confusing terminology, but whatever.)
Now, I agree with the OP, that if this girl's ethnicity was to be stated for achieving the first of this competition, then other people's ethnicities should be announced too. To the people that argue that "well African-Americans were enslaved and were discriminated against...they deserve to be proud of how far they have come since then." I call bull and favoritism. Please, open a history book and learn that African-Americans weren't the only ethnicity in America to face such harsh circumstances. As I recall, the Irish and the Italians were very heavily discriminated against when they first came to America. The Natives Americans were the FIRST slaves that were picking cotton in the Southern part of America before they began shipping in slaves from Africa. And "colored" during the highly discriminatory age of the South, did NOT just mean "African-Americans", "Negro" or "black". It meant ANYONE of any ethnicity that wasn't "European-American", "Caucasian", or "white". That means the Japanese, Chinese, Native Americans, Mexicans that lived in the South (and there were people of the origin that lived there) had to drink from the SAME fountain that African-Americans drunk from. They had to sit in the back of the bus and they were called "tight-eyes" or "wetbacks" or "redskins" just like how the African-Americans were called the "n"- word.
Every ethnicity in the USA has been through hardships not just the "African-Americans". So, to somehow put forth the girl's ethnicity as being the first of her people to achieve such a goal, is silly, if they don't do it for others.
Originally posted by AutOmatIc
Originally posted by GaspardUlliel
I'm sorry, but I HAD to log into my account and reply to this topic because I feel as if some of you need a history lesson.
First of all, there is a difference between RACE and ETHNICITY. Please stop using it interchangeably, because they are not the same thing.
This girl's race maybe of a mixed origin. But because I'm not that good at classifying her just by her looks alone, I am going to put her under the "Negroid" race. That's her race for the people who think African-American is a race, in which it isn't. It's an ethnicity. Race =/= Ethnicity. Now, there are only a limited number of "races" within the social construction of humanity, while there are THOUSANDS of ethnicities in the world (with more being created everyday). Back to "races" as here they are listed:
Caucasoid
Negroid
Mongoloid
Uncertain (These are the Dravidian people and Sinhalese people)
There are subcategories within these "races" and people can be of mixed race origin.
Now, back to ethnicity, specifically the African-American one.
Now, you can be of mixed race and be a part of this ethnicity. For example, let's look at the singer and actress Lena Horne:
www.thecubiclechick.com...
Now it is VERY obvious that this woman has ancestry that is not just of the African origin. I know for a FACT, she has Native American and European origin, but she is classified (and I believe she classifies herself) as an African-American. That term doesn't mean that she isn't of mixed race. It's a term that someone has created to describe people who are the decedents of the West African slaves that were brought to the USA. (Personally I think it is very confusing terminology, but whatever.)
Now, I agree with the OP, that if this girl's ethnicity was to be stated for achieving the first of this competition, then other people's ethnicities should be announced too. To the people that argue that "well African-Americans were enslaved and were discriminated against...they deserve to be proud of how far they have come since then." I call bull and favoritism. Please, open a history book and learn that African-Americans weren't the only ethnicity in America to face such harsh circumstances. As I recall, the Irish and the Italians were very heavily discriminated against when they first came to America. The Natives Americans were the FIRST slaves that were picking cotton in the Southern part of America before they began shipping in slaves from Africa. And "colored" during the highly discriminatory age of the South, did NOT just mean "African-Americans", "Negro" or "black". It meant ANYONE of any ethnicity that wasn't "European-American", "Caucasian", or "white". That means the Japanese, Chinese, Native Americans, Mexicans that lived in the South (and there were people of the origin that lived there) had to drink from the SAME fountain that African-Americans drunk from. They had to sit in the back of the bus and they were called "tight-eyes" or "wetbacks" or "redskins" just like how the African-Americans were called the "n"- word.
Every ethnicity in the USA has been through hardships not just the "African-Americans". So, to somehow put forth the girl's ethnicity as being the first of her people to achieve such a goal, is silly, if they don't do it for others.
"So to somehow put forth the girls' ethnicity as being the first of her people to achieve such a goal, is silly, if they don't do it for others."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Originally posted by puzzlesphere
Wow... the sympathisers in this thread are getting dangerously close to "racism denial".
There are echoes of classic arguments from real self-proclaimed racists in this thread (Prussian Blue in their most popular racism stage comes to mind), which was one of my fears when this thread was created, and why I disagree with the OP's premise and don't see a problem when the media puts African American in a favorable light. I come to this association because of similar comments that are made by racists such as "I don't care that they're black, i just don't see why they get special treatment".
Denial of a persons race or ethnicity, for any reason, seems to me to be a racist attitude. Celebrating all aspects of a persons identity (gender, age, nationality, race, ethnicity, achievements, etc.) as a whole, not denying any part of their character seems much more tolerant and forward thinking than trying to remove the race issue from all commentary.
I don't watch the Olympics because I don't really care for it, but have other ethnicities that have been first place (gold medal) for the first time been recognized as much as this girl has?
What if a person choses not to consider themselves any racial or ethnic category, do you believe that this person has "self-hatred" issues?