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I'd take slave culture than but definitely not black culture. I will refuse to distinct culture by race Why I said US culture is that's where this so called cu

I'd take slave culture than but definitely not black culture. I will refuse to distinct culture by race Why I said US culture is that's where this so called culture originated. Because you don't like doesn't mean it's not American. My country has a rich history of slavery as well, but we never started calling people "Black" it's always "African", "Nigerian", "Surinam". Those people live here and have been allowed to live their own culture. Plus I grew up with all the lessons learned from WWII. Slavery has been a thing of the past for a while now. There's 0 reason people should still be suffered from its consequences. We got past it. Yes it's true I have never experienced "Black culture". But I also never will, even if you put me inside the biggest ghetto, I will not call their culture black culture, even if the people in that culture wanted me I would not. The color of your skin is worthless to me. Also, "forged their own culture" is a very ignorant thing to say. It was forced upon them IMO

jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago
The situation between your country and mine are not the same. Black Americans are not the same as people termed black elsewhere. As I explained, it's impossible for black Americans to use terms like Nigerian, as that history was erased by force. Slavery may be over wherever you are, but the impacts here in the US continue. Explicit rezoning continued into the 1980s. It continues today in a more covert way, as proven by numerous studies that do things like send out identical resumes or loan applications with different pictures or names that signal particular racial backgrounds. You are making what is commonly called the "colorblind argument." I'd encourage you to research it with an open mind. Forged their own culture is entirely the right way to put it. Yes they were forced into their situation, but the culture they created was truly their own, as their response to that horror. Your comment on this point acts to attribute the creation of Gospel, Blues, Bluegrass, Jazz, Rock and Roll, and Hip Hop as a creation of the plantation owners, vs their victims. And that's just the examples from music. Race is an essential part of the black American identity. Everyone I've ever talked to about this would respond to your comments as an attempt to erase a part of their identity, one that they are ultimately proud of, albeit in a complex and often bittersweet way. You don't get to make that choice for them, you can just decide whether you respect them or not. If you want to learn about this with an open mind to the idea you're getting something very wrong, Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the very best writers on this topic. I'd suggest starting here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/health-care-and-social-justice/276281/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/health-... I'd strongly suggest one of his longer form essays or books as well, but that's a reasonable introduction to how the colorblind perspective remains harmful.
cloverich 5y ago
> Why I said US culture is that's where this so called culture originated. Because you don't like doesn't mean it's not American. Parent isn't protesting your usage of American, but the lumping of black US culture with non-black us culture. They defend this meaning in their follow up reply. To re-iterate, most (all?) descendents of slaves in the US cannot trace their heritage prior to the slave ships so its not possible to do in this country what is done in yours ("Nigerian" instead of the more generic black). The same thing has happened with whites in the US for different reasons. > I will refuse to distinct culture by race Any way of grouping people, artificial or not, can produce a unique culture. In the case of black americans, the history of slavery and the ensuing oppression that followed has done just that. We'll never erase the legacy. It is possible we'll one day lose the distinction of "black" culture as anything but an historical artifact, and have only american culture, but that would take generations AFTER stamping out the final remnants of racism as a starting point. As it stands, some of our parents attended segregated schools, and many of us have friends or even family who still hold genuinely racist beliefs. That manifests in many ways. We are a long way from slavery, but we still have a long way to go.

jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago

The situation between your country and mine are not the same. Black Americans are not the same as people termed black elsewhere. As I explained, it's impossible for black Americans to use terms like Nigerian, as that history was erased by force. Slavery may be over wherever you are, but the impacts here in the US continue. Explicit rezoning continued into the 1980s. It continues today in a more covert way, as proven by numerous studies that do things like send out identical resumes or loan applications with different pictures or names that signal particular racial backgrounds. You are making what is commonly called the "colorblind argument." I'd encourage you to research it with an open mind. Forged their own culture is entirely the right way to put it. Yes they were forced into their situation, but the culture they created was truly their own, as their response to that horror. Your comment on this point acts to attribute the creation of Gospel, Blues, Bluegrass, Jazz, Rock and Roll, and Hip Hop as a creation of the plantation owners, vs their victims. And that's just the examples from music. Race is an essential part of the black American identity. Everyone I've ever talked to about this would respond to your comments as an attempt to erase a part of their identity, one that they are ultimately proud of, albeit in a complex and often bittersweet way. You don't get to make that choice for them, you can just decide whether you respect them or not. If you want to learn about this with an open mind to the idea you're getting something very wrong, Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the very best writers on this topic. I'd suggest starting here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/health-care-and-social-justice/276281/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/health-... I'd strongly suggest one of his longer form essays or books as well, but that's a reasonable introduction to how the colorblind perspective remains harmful.

cloverich 5y ago

> Why I said US culture is that's where this so called culture originated. Because you don't like doesn't mean it's not American. Parent isn't protesting your usage of American, but the lumping of black US culture with non-black us culture. They defend this meaning in their follow up reply. To re-iterate, most (all?) descendents of slaves in the US cannot trace their heritage prior to the slave ships so its not possible to do in this country what is done in yours ("Nigerian" instead of the more generic black). The same thing has happened with whites in the US for different reasons. > I will refuse to distinct culture by race Any way of grouping people, artificial or not, can produce a unique culture. In the case of black americans, the history of slavery and the ensuing oppression that followed has done just that. We'll never erase the legacy. It is possible we'll one day lose the distinction of "black" culture as anything but an historical artifact, and have only american culture, but that would take generations AFTER stamping out the final remnants of racism as a starting point. As it stands, some of our parents attended segregated schools, and many of us have friends or even family who still hold genuinely racist beliefs. That manifests in many ways. We are a long way from slavery, but we still have a long way to go.