This topic is always scary, mainly because you don't know what another person has been through. This is VERY sensitive to some and a JOKE to others. I usually don't like to refer to TV to make a point, but remember the show blAck. whItE., about a Black family and a White family who "switch places/races." The Black son was about 15, and the way he dealt with race was to ignore it and joke about it. It was just easier for him.
But others who take it VERY seriously and are frustrated with it will have shorter fuses. They'll also be less likely to wanna hear your side of the story because yOU nEvEr gEt A 2nd chAncE tO mAkE A 1st ImprEssIOn...as cliche as it might sound, it's the truth.
OK...as always, on these SENSITIVE TOPICS, I'll will start with MY stance, viewpoint, reasoning, experience, whatever you wanna call it, etc....
Born as JOSE VICTORIANO FRAYRE JUNIOR, I have to tell ya: A rOsE bY AnY OthEr nAmE dOEs NOT smEll As SwEEt!
I lived in Harrisburg until the 5th grade, with majority Black friends @ school, my name was Jose. This is ages 5-10, the beginning of sports and competition. While the White kids were busy studying and going to church, I was with my Black friends playin' ball and listenin' to hIp hOp. And that was early 80's--around the last time thEsE gUYs won a championship...
Then I moved to Middletown...CULTURE SHOCK!...and that's weird because the shock was from not seeing any BLACK folk. In the mid-80's Middletown was practically segregated. There was definitely a "BLACK SECTION." One thing I can say I learned from this timeframe is that RESPECT means something different to WHITES than it did to BLACKS. Looking back now...I think it boils down to $$$mOnEY$$$ again. And here's what I mean by that: it seemed to me that the white dudes always ULTIMATELY had money to fall back on...if they lost a game or a fight, it wasn't that important because they were gonna sleep in their own bed in their own room that night. On the BLACK side, sports and fighting defined you more because you tend to have to curve out your own niche A LOT more. Ask any White kid who has really entered into the Hip Hop culture about curving out your niche. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THESE DUDES THAT SAY THEY'RE HIP HOP AND DON'T EVEN KNOW ANY BLACK FOLK! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
Anyway, it's as basic as MENTAL vs. PHYSICAL. It's the root of the relationship between Black Africans and the fOUndErs Of thIs cOUntrY.
Other than Africans, I consider anyone with NON-WHITE skin in my generic definition of the category BLACK. Because, unfortunately, the ONLY time thE mAn has historically proven not to discriminate is when he's deciding WHO to discriminate against.
Ask the Japanese, Mexicans, Cubans, Chinese, Native Americans, Puerto Ricans, and the list goes on and on...
OK, I guess this is really turning into a rambling...let me reel it back in...
I've been aware and interested in this complex paradigm we call RACE for my whole life. So I spent a lot of time researching it and doing my own "social experiments" to try and understand it better. It means a lot to me to do what I can to allow different races to be patient enough with each other to actually LISTEN to where the other is coming from. I have great BLACK friends; I have great WHITE friends; And I know that WHITES & BLACKS can get along GREAT! Because if they couldn't, there wouldn't be so many MIXED babies running around!
Our generation has the opportunity to turn around this country's philosophy about characterizing people by race. We have a WAY better understanding of how much skin color DOES NOT MATTER than our grandparents had. Unfortunately, our generation is also a generation of do-nothings. REVOLUTION no longer has the same meaning; although this country was founded as a result of a REVOLUTION. People are so concerned about their little RAT RACE that they ignore the fact that they would be SO much more POWERFUL as a group of like-minded people of ALL races fighting for the same reason. It's true that DEMOCRACY is the government OF THE PEOPLE.
The people need to be aware of this. Because the PEOPLE can be the PEOPLE'S worst nightmare if they are ignorant to what their GOVERNMENT is doing; Within a DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT, it is the PEOPLE'S (ANY COLOR) RESPONSIBLITY to revolt and make sure the government's policies reflect the majority. Race is the ultimate dIstrActIOn! While the poor and uneducated babble back and forth about it, kill themselves over it, the most powerful look at their plan and celebrate as people of all races get FATTER, ADDICTED TO MORE DRUGS(LEGAL), SPEND MORE THAN THEY MAKE, AND JUST GO ALONG WITH THE STATUS QUO.
Using this characterization of RACE is no different than using other similar labels, like Christian, Gay, Liberal, etc., to motivate people to engage in emotional HATE CRIMES. And if you think that these kind of distractions are too little to make a difference. Imagine if the KKK used their power and influence to LOVE instead of HATE. CONFLICT based on emotional factors can take over individuals, as well as groups, so much that not much else matters. IF YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN IN A DAY IS JUST TO GET THROUGH IT, THAT'S NOT HEALTHY!
I can ramble on about this forever. It's a very complex issue that affects us all. I just hope and pray that ONE DAY IT WON'T MATTER. Before that day, WE'RE going to have to take politics and government way more seriously. Until corporations like DuPont stop researching EUgEnIcs, we all have to have each other's back.
CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS BASED ON THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS YOU SHARE; NOT SKIN COLOR!
HIP HOP CULTURE IS OUR GENERATION'S CHANCE TO BREAK THE CYCLE! DON'T LET IT GET PIMPED!
P. L. U. R.,
zAy
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