The conspiracy against Black History Month

[THE BIG SITT]

I should have qualified that with "negative behavior." Outlook based on race should never justify hooliganism. There are many times, that I personally, think of my "condition," and adjust my behavior. I've the guy in the elevator with the lady with a purse in a death grip.... So I purposely stand as far away from a woman if we're on an elevator alone. I was the 12 year old in the comic store followed by the owner my entire time there, and when I went to the counter to pay, he was so embarrassed at his behavior, he gave me my comic for free. So now if I know exactly what I'm looking for, I immediately ask a clerk for help upon entering a store. I had a fairer skinned girlfriend, and once while at a grocery store, she opened up a bag of candy (she intended to buy) and began eating them. I was horrified. I took the bag from her and paid for it immediately. I'm the guy who constantly hears "you're the whitest black person I know" which they think is a compliment, but is actually highly offensive. I'm the guy who tips at minimum, a 1/3 of my dinner bill, because "black people dont tip well" (i have lots of friends in the restaurant industry). How can I not be conscious of the way I look, and certain perceptions some people have. And why wouldn't I adjust my behavior to debunk ignorance?

To be honest, I have no idea what point anyone is trying to make in this thread. Great, you do the right thing, especially in the above situations. You don't like the way you handle yourself in certain situations to be described as "white". No problem, I get that. What I don't get is how any of this translates to us having a month to honor a certain group of people and their accomplishments. It may seem good on the surface, but I question how much good it actually does. To me, it seems to say "hey, we were able to accomplish things even though we're black" Wait, what? So being black held you back? Sure, ~50 years ago, your race did have something to do with what you could accomplish. But that is not the world we live in today. So what good does BHM serve?

 

[Dead Duck]

WOW!
What happened here?

OK -
I Officially Forgive You and All Your Ancestors, (that you don't know) For All The Atrocities That They Performed, (that you don't know what) On All The Victims, (that you don't know who) Throughout The World (that you don't know where).





Now can we move the **** along and UNITE ALREADY??

 

[HoughMade]

What's the point of this post, and what in this thread does it address?

I will be very clear as to why I posted this. In a word: satire.

There are some posts in this topic that take on a tone as if: "well black people have special black person stuff and I feel left out." It's almost as if ("almost" is me being kind) these posters feel like they are suffering in some way because a group of people with certain common cultural touchstones want to celebrate them or want to build a brand around them or whatever. We are about a hair's breadth away from people claiming to be victims because African-Americans want to have their own cultural institutions.

People say: "they're the racists, we don't call it 'white this' or 'white that'" and they may have a point if there were any history of "white" being a distinct culture.....but there is not. We all know that "black" is used as a description of an ethnicity or culture rather than strictly race. The only time "white pride" is celebrated as such is in contexts that I don't believe many, if any of us want to be associated with.

However, we celebrate Italian, Irish, German, French, Polish, even Southern, etc. culture all the time in different ways. Is that "Ethnist"?

As I said previously, African-Americans developed their own cultural traditions, institutions, events, etc.....BECAUSE THEY WERE FORCED TO. Many of these things became traditions, valued and cherished. There is no reason they should have to give them up because white people now feel bad at being excluded (actually, they only really feel excluded in most cases because with only a few exceptions, they are not actually excluded). It's as if there are non-black people who feel like the existence of these things "keeps them down." It's laughable. That's where the satire comes in.

That this nation, made up of people of just about every race and ethnicity, should allow the different communities to celebrate where they are from and their cultural distinctives are a good thing. WE DO NOT NEED HOMOGENEITY TO HAVE UNITY.

[video=youtube;5ZQl6XBo64M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQl6XBo64M[/video]

 

[Kutnupe14]

To be honest, I have no idea what point anyone is trying to make in this thread. Great, you do the right thing, especially in the above situations. You don't like the way you handle yourself in certain situations to be described as "white". No problem, I get that. What I don't get is how any of this translates to us having a month to honor a certain group of people and their accomplishments. It may seem good on the surface, but I question how much good it actually does. To me, it seems to say "hey, we were able to accomplish things even though we're black" Wait, what? So being black held you back? Sure, ~50 years ago, your race did have something to do with what you could accomplish. But that is not the world we live in today. So what good does BHM serve?

The serves to illustrate what can be accomplished. If blacks were excelling during slavery and Jim Crow, then there's no excuse for those that say (and often it's other black people) "you can't" or "they won't let." For as many people that ***** and moan about having it hard, or being given a raw deal, there are multitudes of people who were worse off, and succeeded. It's powerful stuff to those who think the system has already predetermined their destiny. And it is an often overlooked looked part of American History. American History is amazingly diverse and complicated. We've all contributed. There is no way that our schools could create a comprehensive narrative of what makes us, "us." The various months, be it Irish, Asian, Black, German, Italian all give us a small slice of the rich contributions each group has made.

 

[THE BIG SITT]

The serves to illustrate what can be accomplished. If blacks were excelling during slavery and Jim Crow, then there's no excuse for those that say (and often it's other black people) "you can't" or "they won't let." For as many people that ***** and moan about having it hard, or being given a raw deal, there are multitudes of people who were worse off, and succeeded. It's powerful stuff to those who think the system has already predetermined their destiny. And it is an often overlooked looked part of American History. American History is amazingly diverse and complicated. We've all contributed. There is no way that our schools could create a comprehensive narrative of what makes us, "us." The various months, be it Irish, Asian, Black, German, Italian all give us a small slice of the rich contributions each group has made.

How can a month of talking about how great Jackie Robinson was, or how inspiring MLK was change the way people look at the world? To think that special programming on TV, seminars during the lunch hour at work, and signs around downtown will make people change their destiny is foolish. A change will only occur when a community stops making excuses for people based off their race, and instead expect them to achieve as much as they can achieve. The parents need to be involved in their child's life, and guide them to where they should be. BHM may have been beneficial for those who lived through the civil rights movements and experience those things firsthand, but I seriously doubt that BHM is what people need today.

 

[Trigger Time]

What do you want? Serious question. What more can the govt give that hasn't already been given?

 

[Kutnupe14]

How can a month of talking about how great Jackie Robinson was, or how inspiring MLK was change the way people look at the world? To think that special programming on TV, seminars during the lunch hour at work, and signs around downtown will make people change their destiny is foolish. A change will only occur when a community stops making excuses for people based off their race, and instead expect them to achieve as much as they can achieve. The parents need to be involved in their child's life, and guide them to where they should be. BHM may have been beneficial for those who lived through the civil rights movements and experience those things firsthand, but I seriously doubt that BHM is what people need today.

The fact that you simplified BHM to a celebration of Robinson and King, only strengthens my stance. I never lived a day during segregation, but I certainly remember being in Sunday school in February, and Mother Porter giving us a quick bio of a person before we started our lessons. I was amazed to learn of black pilots, doctors, and inventors because the outside of tv, sports, and MLK, the concept was completely foreign. There were black mayors? Douglas Wilder was actually a governor? Pretty powerful stuff to a black kid who only knew about the Jeffersons, Sanford, and What's Happening. It was beneficial to me, and I don't think I'm particularly unique.

 

[Kutnupe14]

What do you want? Serious question. What more can the govt give that hasn't already been given?

Give to who? And who is asking for anything within this thread?

 

[hornadylnl]

The fact that you simplified BHM to a celebration of Robinson and King, only strengthens my stance. I never lived a day during segregation, but I certainly remember being in Sunday school in February, and Mother Porter giving us a quick bio of a person before we started our lessons. I was amazed to learn of black pilots, doctors, and inventors because the outside of tv, sports, and MLK, the concept was completely foreign. There were black mayors? Douglas Wilder was actually a governor? Pretty powerful stuff to a black kid who only knew about the Jeffersons, Sanford, and What's Happening. It was beneficial to me, and I don't think I'm particularly unique.

In an era of *****ing about poor role models for our youth, why would anyone want to highlight positive role models?

 

[HoughMade]

I find it ironic...sad...that in the same breath we decry the existence of Black History Month because we claim it separates rather than unifies, we ask why those people aren't doing more to clean up their community.

Which one is it. Are we a "we", or are we "us" and "them"? If we believe in unity, it is our community.

...but even then, many parts of this discussion belie an attitude that the African-American community itself is homogenous and homogenously poor and troublesome. The truth is, it is as diverse as any "white community".

 

[hornadylnl]

I find it ironic...sad...that in the same breath we decry the existence of Black History Month because we claim it separates rather than unifies, we ask why those people aren't doing more to clean up their community.

Which one is it. Are we a "we", or are we "us" and "them"? If we believe in unity, it is our community.

...but even then, many parts of this discussion belie an attitude that the African-American community itself is homogenous and homogenously poor and troublesome. The truth is, it is as diverse as any "white community".

Couldn't rep you.

 

[Crbn79]

Meanwhile, this morning I listened to an idiot say: What ISIS is doing is nothing compared to what white people did to black people during slavery.

Now that I've thrown that propane tank into the fire, I must be off....

 

[91FXRS]

Since it is 2015.... how about changing it from Black history month to American history month and then we can get on with uniting to better this great place we AMERICANS call home.

 

[nakinate]

Meanwhile, this morning I listened to an idiot say: What ISIS is doing is nothing compared to what white people did to black people during slavery.

Now that I've thrown that propane tank into the fire, I must be off....

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I find it ironic...sad...that in the same breath we decry the existence of Black History Month because we claim it separates rather than unifies, we ask why those people aren't doing more to clean up their community.

Which one is it. Are we a "we", or are we "us" and "them"? If we believe in unity, it is our community.

...but even then, many parts of this discussion belie an attitude that the African-American community itself is homogenous and homogenously poor and troublesome. The truth is, it is as diverse as any "white community".

I actually never asked that.

 

[HoughMade]

I actually never asked that.

I did not mean to imply that you, specifically, did. If I did, I apologize.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I did not mean to imply that you, specifically, did. If I did, I apologize.

Just pointing out that not everyone who has an issue with it thinks in those terms. People are individuals. Blaming all black people for the state of a neighborhood is as nonsensical as giving all black people accolades for any single person's acts.

These generalizations are one reason it's tough to have these conversations and try to see through the other person's eyes.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Meanwhile, this morning I listened to an idiot say: What ISIS is doing is nothing compared to what white people did to black people during slavery.

Now that I've thrown that propane tank into the fire, I must be off....

Well that guy is an idiot. Which many more people were killed, it was in the best interest of the slave holder, in America, to ensure the health of his property.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Couldn't rep you.

I can't rep him either. He hit the nail on the head. If we are to do away with the idea of black communities, and merge them in with the "American" community, when are people going to put their money where their mouths are and head to troubled communities and help with the solution? From here out, when people talk about specific communities, I will reject the notion, and inform them that they are part of the "American" community, and any fault they find can be attributed to their failure to act on "our" behalf.

 

[Crbn79]

Roger here has the solution for all the problems plaguing the United States: