9 ms·
You make it sound like segregation end... the last few years, and especially the state voting laws passed in the past year, show that while it may not be explic
by zentiggr 5y ago
You make it sound like segregation end... the last few years, and especially the state voting laws passed in the past year, show that while it may not be explicit law anymore, it is still certainly what a lot of people are fighting to do in any way possible.
I (as a middle age white male) WANT people to be thinking about because it's still happening 24/7, and people who aren't bigoted should be aware and pushing back every minute, in every way they can.
Saying "X for black people" is a cultural focus, on the same level as "Finnish music" or "Flamenco dance" or "Swahili language".
- thegrimmest 5y agoIt's not though is it? "black people" are not a cultural group are they?
- adenozine 5y agoAmerican black sorta kinda is, and I think Americanized thought leaders on all this stuff are muddying the waters immensely.
- thegrimmest 5y ago> sorta kinda I think the muddying consists of the fact that conflating physical traits with cultural identity means that any criticism of the given culture can be and is frequently labeled as racism.
- Koshkin 5y agoThey are; not one group but many (still distinct from "non-black").
- thegrimmest 5y agoI don't think it's possible or reasonable, particularly in the US, to assume or associate cultural identity with physical traits.
- tptacek 5y agoThey very, very much are.
- skyde 5y agotry getting a recent kid book focused on black culture but that isn’t also racist and try to portray white peoples as evil. I have not been able to find any.
- imbnwa 5y agoStrangely Telemundo/Univision's American arms don't have to deal with this type of criticism. The "for" is clearly indicating a target audience, not that you can't sign-up if you're not Black with photo identification, which is the courts' criteria for illegal discrimination and segregation.
- thegrimmest 5y agoSpanish-speaking is not a physical trait is it?
- imbnwa 5y agoMajority of Black Americans are a distinct shared cultural group, like Hispanic folk, who come in many different pigments, also like Hispanic folk, who also tend to have an identifiable manner of speaking and protocol, also like Hispanic folk.
- thegrimmest 5y agoThe problem is that while "hispanic" indicates a linguistic origin, "black" (like "white") indicates a physical trait - having skin pigment past an arbitrary threshold of darkness/lightness. You can be black and hispanic, or white and hispanic. You can't be a white black american, even if that accurately describes your skin and culture respectively. Also, you're problematically lumping all sorts of people who happen to have dark skin into a single category. The African immigrants I know want nothing to do with "american black culture" and resent being associated with it. Finally, in order to be able to discuss these issues clearly, it's important to have distinct terms. If someone wants to criticize "american black culture", they cannot do so without being labelled as racist, despite that fact that criticism of cultural practices is generally accepted. Basically we have two concepts: 1) Being "black" - being of african descent and/or being above a certain threshold of darkness in skin pigment. We should not tolerate discrimination for being black. It's also worth noting that this sort of categorization of people into black/white is not very scientific. 2) Belonging to American slave-descended culture. You can belong to this cultural group regardless of your skin color. We should be tolerant of criticism of this culture's ideology and practices. These two concepts need different names. I'm aware "slave-descended" isn't an ideal (if accurate) name, so open to suggestions here.
- thegrimmest 5y ago> people who aren't bigoted should be aware and pushing back every minute, in every way they can. Nah man, I think just being not-bigoted and intolerant of directly witnessed bigotry is good enough.
- wolverine876 5y agoIt's hard to tell how serious you are, based on the first couple of words, but that tactic seems to have failed. Racism is widespread and, according to some data and personal experience, has broadened and deepened in the last few years. If we want something to change, we'll have to act. African-Americans are only ~1/7th of the US population - not enough to make changes themselves.
- thegrimmest 5y agoOh really? Black americans are totally disempowered to make any changes at all? I couldn't disagree more, and object to your denial of agency to these people.
- wolverine876 5y agoIf I'd said that, I'd agree with your response. Have a great day!
- thegrimmest 5y ago"African-Americans are only ~1/7th of the US population - not enough to make changes themselves" - wolverine876 I'm saying it is enough. It's always enough.