You're right, BF. But let me play Devil's Advocate here. How come it seems that when Black people express pride in their background, it's considered noble? Yet if White people do it, they're often assumed to be racists?
Interesting take ,, pizza. I'd disagree though. Tomorrow in the city, St. Pat's Day is essentially an Irish American parade.The Columbus Day parade is basically the Italian American parade.West Indian Day parade.Puerto Ricans.Greeks. Several ethnicities..though we are all American....celebrate their roots openly in parades in the Big Apple. Nobody ever links these displays of cultural pride as being racist.Nor do they consider cultural clubs, civic associations, etc created by hyphen-American groups to be racist.
Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
I mean, can you imagine the uproar in the liberal media if there was a White History Month? And I'm not looking to rabble-rouse here. I hope you know me better than that. But there's a clear double standard in this country when it comes to expressing your roots (or as you aptly put it, tribalism).
The Black History Week, when it first started, was created because ANY reference to contributions by Black Americans to American history were omitted from history books and school curricula. If you are saying that the books should include the contributions of ALL Americans to our country and culture thereby rendering a Black History Month or any hyphen American month "obsolete"..I'd agree with you.Until that happens...BHM, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc....serve their purpose.
Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
And being that racism is going nowhere (again, you're right, and it's unfortunate on BOTH sides), how long do Black folks hang onto that as a crutch, and use it as an excuse to not assimilate?
Again...very good point.I don't think that this case, of protesting against police brutality in general, qualifies as using racism as a crutch. I think that there are more effective ways of making change than holding up picket signs, but that's the method that those in MO. are choosing to use.
You are absolutely right about "racism" not ever going away. You won't find many people willing to roll up their sleeves and ADDRESS internal problems and constructively tackle the external ones,including institutional racism. But holding up pickets and marching is easy.
Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
Because you know as well as I do that some Black people don't want to climb the social ladder. Now, there are certainly Ethnic Whites that feel the same way. I'm Italian American, and we did it for years. But Ethnic Whites seem to finally give into the "American Way," if you will, and assimilate in a generation or two anyway. Whereas there are some Black families that have been here for ten generations, and they're still living down to the same stereotype that keeps pulling them back down the social ladder. Vicious cycle if you ask me.
I have to agree with this.In fact it would be hard for anybody to disagree with this. I have to say that though, in certain East Coast cities,and several cities in NJ for sure....the white ethnics were pushed out of their former ethnic enclaves by large waves of Black and later Hispanic migrants from the early 1970s on. I'm not sure as many of the last ones living in the older neighborhoods would have moved out and assimilated otherwise.
Blacks who don't want to do better would have to answer the question for themselves as for why. Very easy for me to think that under any circumstance that I still would have become the same person I am today but that's egotistical and mostly BS. True,I don't have the "follower's gene" which leads a lot of otherwise decent kids into trouble, but most decent people come from good stock. For example, we may disagree on issues here and there but you and I are able to communicate honestly without disrespecting each other. We respect ourselves & we are going to show that respect to others and expect it.Think we're both smart enough to know that the people who raised us (family,community,clergy)help instill some of these and other virtues into us.
Unfortunately, a lot of people are born and raised in situations where basic things like self respect and dignity are not seen or developed. It's most visible in poor people as it plays itself out in public ways, but lot of people were just not brought up the right way.Their decision making in life is a reflection of that.
