In hindsight, are African Americans thankful their ancestors were taken as slaves away from Africa to America?
First of all, it is impossible to be thankful to the monsters (including 12 USA presidents) who owned my ancestors - men, women, and children captured and sold into slavery by equally monstrous Africans. I'm sorry for the cruelty that my African ancestors suffered and am grateful to them for they are an unparalleled example of human strength and courage. Although they might never be credited for it, my ancestors built the USA and are (at least in part) responsible for it being the rich and powerful nation that it is today. Their strength is in my DNA. And I’m proud of that. However, as a gay man, I could not live in Africa where being who I am since birth is frowned upon and illegal in 33 of its 54 countries. When I lived in the USA, I was glad to be there but not at all appreciative of how I got there. Now that I live in Europe, life is far better for me as a black man. And, after 14 years abroad, I can’t imagine living in the USA again.Secondly, Americans calling themselves African is a ridiculous as those calling themselves Italian, etc. I’ve been to 3 African countries and it was painfully clear that I had more in common with the white Americans in our travel group than with any Africans who eat different food, dance to a different rhythm, have a different history and speak multiple languages. At most, 1 percent of black Americans speaks an African language and has been to Africa. Just call yourself American and get on with it.
Why do people mock names, especially those of black Americans, in the US? It surprises me, especially when there’s a prominent US politician named “Newt.” Why is having the name “Diamond” or “Deja” considered weird but “Mitt” or “Tanner” is not?
The whole name is issue comes down to powerNo white person is concerned with naming their children to please blacks.Why is that ?No one is shaming them for their boring names (Anne. Jill. Emily)Most of the African-American names are from two categories1. ISLAMIC NAMES : Raheem, Shameeka, Rameesh, Aaliyah and such names. I know that some slaves were Muslims who were later forced to Christianity. As well as some blacks such as the Nation of Islam adopting Islam in the 20th century.2. FRENCH NAMES (or pseudo-French) : LaTrell, LaShawn, LeWon, LaQuisha, DeShawn, Marquis, Antoine, Andre. They have Creole origins and those names are most popular in the Louisiana region.White people don’t like these ultra-black names, because they don't sound white.So the Darnells and Dejas have a rougher time than the black Anthonys and Ashleys which sound white.Other so called black names like Tyrone is an Irish nameI prefer the names in the middle range. The ultra white American names like Connor, Amy, Claire, Emily, Tanner, Molly, Cody, Dustin, Katie, Luke don’t good to me.Such is the power of white supremacy that even many white celebs have whitened their names to fit in.lTony Bennett = Anthony Dominick Benedetto Mel Brooks = Mel KaminskyNicolas Cage = Nicolas CoppolaDavid Copperfield = David Seth KotkinTom Cruise = Thomas Mapother IVKirk Douglas = Issur Danielovitch DemskyRalph Lauren = Ralph LifshitzSophia Loren = Sofia Villani ScicoloneHelen Mirren = Ilynea Lydia MironoffDemi Moore = Demetria GuynesChuck Norris = Carlos Ray NorrisNatalie Portman = Natalie HershlagWynona Ryder = Wynona HorowitzCharlie Sheen = Carlos EstevezWoody Allen = Allen KonigsbergJennifer Aniston = Jennifer Joanna AnistonYou've gotta give max respect to Arnold Schwarzenegger....Keepin it real !!The irony that underlies this talk about blacks having names acceptable to white people in the USA is that it was white people who stripped blacks African Americans of their African names to make them serviceable for white people. If that is not racist, nothing is.If the president of the United States can have the name Barack Hussein Obama and still be elected as president TWICE. Why should it matter what any African American citizen chooses to name themselves ?
What is "acting white", and why is it so frowned upon in the Black community?
It’s basically a combination of economic jealousy combined with group loyalty, with a racial twist. Economic jealousy is not unique to blacks, but it presents itself in a particular way in the black community.When people are saying “act white” they usually mean “act middle class” with the unspoken and inaccurate assumption that all whites are middle class, and all blacks are poor. It also stems from the incorrect assumption that all whites and all blacks act the same (or should act the same).The reality is that both blacks and whites are a very diverse group, and are present in all economic levels.The reason it is “frowned upon” is because people don’t like it when someone betters themselves economically, which may prompt them to leave the social group.It also helps justify their own group’s behavior, or their own personal behavior.For example, if someone with a job has a friend who works hard and becomes a successful entrepreneur, the one with the job will feel inferior and start questioning his own choices. If someone who smokes weed all day has a friend who gets a great job, the one who stays home and smokes weed will feel inferior and start questioning their choices in life. To avoid that, they try to keep their friends down at their own level, intentionally or unintentionally.This behavior is not limited to blacks, by the way. It’s human nature.Some in depth answers an the topic include:Scott M. Stolz's answer to Would "acting white" alleviate some of the issues African Americans face? Is there misguided pressure to not “act white”? (Yes, it's a ridiculous construct, but a real obstacle.)Tejan Ausland's answer to Would "acting white" alleviate some of the issues African Americans face? Is there misguided pressure to not “act white”? (Yes, it's a ridiculous construct, but a real obstacle.)
Do Black Americans realize that no matter how they act the media will still paint them as ghetto?
Here is a PERFECT example: http://zuri1.com/2011/01/26/mother-jailed-for-sending-kids-to-wrong-school-district/ A black Mother who wanted only THE BEST for her children...used one of the Father's address to register her children in a better school district so that her children could simply get a better education (she lived in the projects in Akron, Ohio). She was sentenced to 10 days in jail and three years probation and her name and photo was pasted all over every paper and she was on every news channel including CNN. If she were white this would NEVER have happened!!!!! The media is owned and controlled by white people and they have always portrayed ANYONE of ANY opposite race in any extremely negative light. How many times have you seen a black child on Nancy Grace? It's extremely rare that they use the power of the press to help them FIND a missing black child who is in trouble...it does happen...but it's RARE..99% of the time it's white kids. Excellent point.!!! Peace, Love & Happiness
Black people- Are black Americans bilingual?
The term for that is code switching. When we are amongst ourselves we tend to slip into a dialect that is accepted by our own. When we are with the mainstream culture we switch to their dialect ("proper" English) because we don't want to be judged or looked down upon because we are not using the accepted language or dialect. I do it. When I am in a professional setting I use professional language/dialect/whatever. When I'm not I code switch back to speaking "improper" English, etc.
Babe Ruth: Question about his adopted daughter
There was, in his time, enough speculation that the Babe was black due to his nose and his lips and the stereotype, that other teams would call him a "half-n..... " (I won't use the actual word, but you can guess.) And he would yell back, "Listen, you guys, call me anything you want, even a c---sucker, but lay off the personal stuff, will ya?" So he was aware of it. But his family has been thoroughly researched, and he was of almost completely German ancestry. As for Ms. Jennings, I know nothing about her, but it wasn't completely unknown for non-Hispanic women to be given Spanish names. Senator McCain's mother was born in 1912, shortly before the Babe's big-league debut, and her name is Roberta. (For all the jokes about McCain's age, his mother just turned 96 and still does campaign appearances with him.) It could (underline could) also be that Ms. Jennings was Spanish, her ancestry purely from Spain, with no black or native Caribbean blood, as were Yankee legends Lefty Gomez and Lou Piniella. You might also be interested to know that it was recently discovered that the other man often credited as the greatest hitter who ever lived, Ted Williams, was the son of a Mexican or perhaps half-Mexican mother, but for whatever reason he ignored this part of his heritage.