by Englishman 51 Replies latest jw friends
Even if only your great, great, great, great, great grandmother was black, you're still considered to be black.
By who?
Does Walker, The Texas Ranger ring a bell?Unfortunately yes... but not in whatever context you're talking about. Could you elaborate?
Even if only your great, great, great, great, great grandmother was black, you're still considered to be black.By who?
By white people. I realize this doesn't include the entire planet, and it shouldn't matter what caucasians think as a collected race, but it does. Let's face it. This is a white man's world.
Does Walker, The Texas Ranger ring a bell?Unfortunately yes... but not in whatever context you're talking about. Could you elaborate?
On the show his character is part indian, but overall he's still considered white in the role he plays.
I find that when people call themselves "black" because they have one tiny drop of black blood, and are 98% white, that's it's insulting to their white forebears. Not all white people were slave owners. Not all white people agreed with slavery either. So why not acknowledge the majority of their heritage?
I know in America you say that it's the governments that force the issue, but not necessarily. It's your choice to state what race you put down on forms, isn't it?
Here in Australia you can claim Aboriginality if you have at least one great-grandparent who is Aboriginal. But you don't have to claim to be one. You can call yourself a white person if that's how you see yourself to be. I have a friend who falls into this category. His Italian background adds to his swarthiness, yet he doesn't see himself as an Aboriginal nor does he claim to be. If he did claim to be one, he could get extra hand-outs for the rest of his life. But why claim something simply to receive hand-outs? He has more Italian blood than anything, and after Australian, he calls himself an Italian.
So the "one-drop rule" doesn't apply in all the world.
Perhaps the choice to identify as Black has less to do with rejection of any whiteness and more to do with a resistance to any further assimilation (after generations of forced assimilation via rape, being forbidden to speak in their native tongue, conversion to Christianity, among others)?
After all, their ancestors, in many cases, were never given the choice of whether or not to assimilate. But now the choice is there.
This is a personal choice left for the individual to decide. I believe in respecting the right of each one to choose his/her path freely.
I find that when people call themselves "black" because they have one tiny drop of black blood, and are 98% white, that's it's insulting to their white forebears. Not all white people were slave owners. Not all white people agreed with slavery either. So why not acknowledge the majority of their heritage?
I agree, but I think anger is what fuels it. Segregation only ended a few decades ago. The wounds are still fresh. And since "many" white people think of them as less, why would you want to identify with them? This isn't my thinking personally, but the mindset of many blacks I know.
Even if only your great, great, great, great, great grandmother was black, you're still considered to be black.
well ya ... by who ? lots of white people are in this situation you know. For example some people in the Antiguas for example are called white (but everybody in the island knows that they've got at least one ancestor black in the last 3 to 4-5 ... génération) told you it depend on who wants to define it ... and Why
If your parents feel sick about telling you that you've got a black ancestor ... you'll never know ... (Italiens and sicilians just forgot about it and are even known to tend to be very racist !!!)
If you are the one you may don't know (Parent's may hide it) and if you ain't got a least 2 very specifique features like colored skin, big nose or nappy hair. Who's gonna say you're black ? Told you, even some white people got those specifiques features without having a colored skin but they are called white ... Lots of Bretons here have nappy hair and big nose but they are white and are considered as white here.
There's some interesting selectivity going on here.
Now let's say you're a professional footballer and you would like to play for your country. Let's say you want to play for Ireland. If you have one great grandparent who is of Irish descent, you can be in the squad!
Interestingly, there is a shortage of Irish footballers, so the law of supply and demand seems to be involved.
Now let's say you want to be a professional cricketer. Well, up until recently, you would be wasting your time trying to sign up for the Yorkshire team, because you can't join unless you were actually born in the county of Yorkshire! Being British or even English wasn't good enough to get you in, even if you were a whizz batsman.
However, they're a little short of good cricketers now, so the rules have been relaxed a little. Supply and demand again.
Ah well...
Englishman.
Even if only your great, great, great, great, great grandmother was black, you're still considered to be black.
By who?
By white people. I realize this doesn't include the entire planet, and it shouldn't matter what caucasians think as a collected race, but it does. Let's face it. This is a white man's world.
Ariell, I don't think that is true at all. In fact, for me, when I see a person who is mixed, even the slightest bit, such that I can tell visually, I then think of them as mixed, not black, not white or asian or whatever. I'd be surprised if I'm alone in making those distinctions. Mixing is good, btw. Were I the king of the world, I'd make it worldwide law and solve this problem in two short generations.
I'm not sure the origin of it, but that we are even talking about a "one drop rule" reminds me that there actually is or more likely was a law dealing with this for some issue or another; perhaps voting?
I think the key phrase here is "for me". I certainly wasn't referring to all white people. I'm not saying they don't think of them as being mixed at all, but mixed black people aren't regarded as being white as say a mixed Puerto Rican. Take Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey for instance. Both are half white and both could pass for white, but we know Christinia is part latino and Mariah is part black. The public identifies Christina more with the white race and Mariah more with the black race. You're lying to yourself if you say otherwise. Or maybe you truly do believe it. That's the point I was trying to make with the one drop rule. Not that whites and some others (yes, blacks too) consciously adhere to it, but it along with other factors has shaped America's view on race as well as other areas of the world.
"The public identifies Christina more with the white race and Mariah more with the black race."
I identify them both with crappy music but, that's just me.
My son is mixed and, why should he feel a need to identify with either race more than the other. When asked to identify his race on any forms I choose both Anglo-American and African-American if I'm required to choose something. If I'm not required I skip the question entirely.
Now, to be serious, the reason many people identify Christina one way and Mariah another is the type of (crappy) music they choose to make. Mariah tends to make more R&B sounding music which many people identify with "black" culture while Christina just makes bland, generic pop that is one of the hallmarks of crappy, suburban ie "white" Top 40 stations.
I think what people identify as "white" or "black" is more about culture, or perceived culture, than anything else.
~Aztec
