Race Is “No Big Deal”…

… At least according to this young black man.

Say What? (9)

  1. Laura(southernxyl) March 18, 2007 at 2:20 pm | | Reply

    “In Rome, I learned that whatever I was told to expect, it was best to assume nothing.”

    How not to be a racist, in a nutshell.

  2. Miss Profe March 18, 2007 at 7:11 pm | | Reply

    Again, John, you take the quote made by the young man out of context. Unless one is a racist, race should not matter with respect to who we befriend, love, date, and marry, or the clothes we wear or the music to which we listen. Strangely enough, nobody judges Caucassians according to such harsh criteria. Why should Black Americans be subjected to this under-the-microscope scrutiny? That being said, there are Black Americans who have assimilated so well into the larger Caucasian society that they have forgotten that they are Black. Knowing who one is and where he/she comes from begins in the home. Many times, however, when a Black family moves to White suburbia, that sort of home training becomes all but absent, and that shouldn’t happen. While a Black family should not become overly-fixated on race, there is the need to properly equip Black children and youth for the realities of living in America. Remember: this country has never properly addressed its race problem.

  3. John Rosenberg March 19, 2007 at 12:01 pm | | Reply

    I’m sorry, but I don’t believe I quoted him out of context. True, I didn’t provide any context at all, but his whole article is a celebration of the irrelevance of race in the relations of his friends, himself, and by implication of his whole generation. He of course didn’t say that no one cared about race, but then I didn’t suggest he did. My point was that he and his circle of friends are living an attractive ideal. If I had said more, I would have pointed out the obvious: all the “race matters” policies, preferences, etc., are obstacles to that ideal being more widely lived.

  4. Anita March 19, 2007 at 12:38 pm | | Reply

    the very fact that as Miss Profe says that some blacks have assimilated shows that race does not matter like it used to matter. At lot of black people simply cannot admit this. They really feel it deprives them of something vital, not the vitality of art or cusisine or such cultural attributes, but the vitality of self pity and grudges.

    as for the realities of living in America, people always say that as if the Us was the most racist place on the planet, instead of what it really is, the least racist. That’s why blacks immigrate here from all black countries, so that they can encounter the realities of living in America, which the whole world would love to encounter. The country has addressed its race problem more than any other place. the only way to address it more is through the gradual change of people’s attitudes. but that is not what people mean when they say the problem should be addressed. they mean that congress should pass a law that from now own, every black person will get a million bucks or something like that.

  5. Miss Profe March 19, 2007 at 2:16 pm | | Reply

    John, I’m glad you acknowledged the young man’s perceptions as the ideal, for they are nothing more than that.

    As far as reparations, I desire none. What I would like, however, is for people to be honest about how they feel. The simple truth of the matter is Caucasians, by and large, really don’t care for people of color, and vice versa. Which is why things won’t change more than they have. We tolerate each other.

    As for “Black countries”, let’s rephrase and call them by their proper name: African countries. All who reside there aren’t Black.

  6. Laura(southernxyl) March 19, 2007 at 7:08 pm | | Reply

    Perhaps Anita was referring to places like Jamaica and Haiti.

    “What I would like, however, is for people to be honest about how they feel. The simple truth of the matter is Caucasians, by and large, really don’t care for people of color, and vice versa.”

    The simple truth is that YOU don’t like white people, so you attribute ugly attitudes to us and want us to own them. Hold your breath.

  7. Miss Profe March 20, 2007 at 12:48 pm | | Reply

    Laura, I think that a lot of people would agree with me, if they were being truly honest.

  8. Miss Profe March 20, 2007 at 12:58 pm | | Reply

    And, Anita, don’t presume by my comments what it is that I like or do not like. Casting such aspersions is uncomplimentary. I’m simply saying that if people were truly honest, this is how many would feel.

  9. Miss Profe March 20, 2007 at 8:54 pm | | Reply

    I erroneously directed my last comment to Anita instead of Laura. My apologies.

Leave a Reply to Miss Profe Click here to cancel reply.