Black or White
Last week I was listening to Howard Stern. He's not nearly as funny as 20 years ago, but on rare occasion, he does good stick. The day I listened he sent one of his staff to Harlem to conduct a straw poll on who people were voting for. Howard's staffer would ask people who they are voting for, which was always Obama. Then he would ask something like, "what do you think of his running mate, Sara Palin" or "do you agree with Obama's stance on stem cell abortion"  duh. Although the questions were completely ridiculous, the person on the street would answer in the positive (obviously showing they know nothing about the candidate). The reason they are voting for Obama is he's black.
Now, back to my question, what does it take to be considered black? Obama has a white Mother, black Father, that's 50/50. He was raised by his white Mother and white Grandparents with no relationship to the black culture. I have a 50% ethnic side that can give me advantages. I was raised much like Mr. Obama, not immersed in the related culture. I'm very open and proud of my heritage. but feel it's inappropriate to take advantage of something I haven't lived everyday. I did get one answer to this question last week while traveling in Texas, and that was "It only takes one drop of blood to be black". After being totally appalled, I thought I'd bring this conversation to a thinking group of people. |
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| Hmmm. Tough question.
At first I thought the answer might be "If people look at you and think you're black." Then I thought "The way you are raised into a culture affects your perception of who you are" Then I thought "That doesn't make any sense, you're treated by the way people perceive you, and most of that will be on color of your skin and other physical features before listening to how you talk or what you think. Besides we're talking about skin color not culture" Then "Are we talking skin color or culture, and ethnicity rather than a race?" I guess it depends on what you mean by the question, and in what circumstance. That's my answer and I'm not married to it.  |
| obviously in this country if you look black - you are considered black. Is that an improvement over the days of "mulatto", quadroons etc etc?
And Ron are we really talking about skin color or are we talking about perceived culture and values? and does it really matter anymore? |
| In the olden days (and maybe still in some southern states), one drop of black blood made you black. That was (and maybe still is) a law. But I don't think there is any specific percentage of "ethnicity" or "race" that makes you officially black or Mexican or whatever. I think it's more an individual identification as in how you perceive yourself. Or how you were raised. |
| color is just something to add to a room, wall or shoes......
i believe it is how you were raised...the values that you hold and the deep pride within..... |
Darcy wrote: color is just something to add to a room, wall or shoes......
i believe it is how you were raised...the values that you hold and the deep pride within..... I know many African Americans who are light skin with Caucasian features, but their families embraced their culture and raised the children to appreciate it. To me, the wholesale, unquestioning support of Obama by the black community is a form of racism. They have built that support on the color of his skin. That community does not publicly recognize his Caucasian heritage or the fact that he was not raised with the black heritage. If we accept nurture over nature then Mr. Obama is not a black man. To me, it takes both. |
Sheeps over Aces wrote: To me, the wholesale, unquestioning support of Obama by the black community is a form of racism. I don't disagree with that. I also heard the Howard Stern thing and found it very eye opening. Black or white, I think voting for someone based on either of those things is just as much of a disservice to the country as NOT voting for someone because they're black or white. |
| i totally agree....
people who are only voting BECAUSE of his skin color are fools.... if they didnt take the time to listen, evaluate and make a thoughtful vote, then shame on them.... all i was saying was that it doesnt matter what you look like, its what youre going to do to make our country better and safer.... the whole gender/skin color thing has blown out of proportion...if youre good, youre good...if you suck, you suck..... |
| Many American Indian tribes have a specific % to be declared a member of the tribe. It varies greatly. A friend's grandson was just denied membership because he's doesn't have the proper %.......because somewhere 5 generations back there's a thought (no proof) that a parent wasn't 100%. Though this boy will be raised within the tribe and will be allowed to participate in it's religion and dances.......he will be denied a % of the casino profits!!!!!
So what is it for blacks? I don't know. My niece is 50:50 AA (African American) and Hispanic, adopted and raised in a white household. What is really very, very sad is this country has access to an incredible news base: papers, magazines, web, radio, tv but we are the most ignorant when it comes to issues. Unfortunately most of us can't read beyond the 4th grade level (hubby works for GOV and is constantly having to dumb down his reports to the public as they can't understand what he is saying. When I wrote for newspaper I couldn't go above 8th grade level........now I'm lucky to write up to 8th grade  )
We are lead around by a few generation icons: tv people, radio people and not necessarily in journalism. We don't take the time to research the issues, we'd rather listen to our iPods. We want to be told how to vote and have the government do everything for us. So this election, we get what we desire. Quote: To me, the wholesale, unquestioning support of Obama by the black community is a form of racism. Ditto. As well as the support based solely on his color. |
Darcy wrote: the whole gender/skin color thing has blown out of proportion...if youre good, youre good...if you suck, you suck.....
That's my feeling on all things in life. Well summed up. |
| Obama's black??? OMG, why didn't someone tell me???
My nephew, according to him, is BROWN. His mom, my sister, is half Norwegian + 1/2 American caucasian mutt with a little native american thrown in. His father is from Trinidad, considers himself black, and has one Korean grandparent. We decided to let my nephew decide for himself what he is and one day when he was about 5 years old and out and about and noticing that almost everyone around him looked different (white) he declared himself brown. Good enough for us. I do think that culture trumps color, but over the years I've had many friends of African descent completely disagree with me. To them their skin color identifies them to the rest of the world and shapes how others perceive them for better and worse and that is ultimately the defining characteristic as far as most of them have been concerned. I had honestly forgotten that color was a pervasive issue in this campaign. I'm not so sure it has been, to most white americans at least. Maybe that's progress of sorts. Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: I had honestly forgotten that color was a pervasive issue in this campaign. I'm not so sure it has been, to most white americans at least. Maybe that's progress of sorts.
Kristine I think it's probably in the bigger cities where it comes up more, too. Detroit is almost 82% black and one of the most segregated cities in the U.S. so it's talked about A LOT and not just on TV. |
ButtersStotch wrote: Darcy wrote: the whole gender/skin color thing has blown out of proportion...if youre good, youre good...if you suck, you suck..... That's my feeling on all things in life. Well summed up. Ditto, it really is that simple. |
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