IS IT WRONG TO SAY SOMEONE ACTS WHITE?

by nvrgnbk 55 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  metatron

  This discussion is a whole lot too politically correct for my taste. Keep in mind that the phrase

  "acting white" is primarily something said by blacks in accusation of other blacks. I argued with

  an older black woman about this. I asked why wasn't a highly intelligent, talented and powerful

  black woman like Condolezza Rice held up as an example of what could be achieved? To me, there

  is nothing more potently racist than the elevation of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as spokesmen

  for blacks - rather than a number of military, business or political figures. It's disgusting.

  If Hungarians can find pride in Dr. Edward Teller , why can't blacks admire Colin Powell or

  Condoleeza - and ignore rappers who denigrate both women and themselves in general?

  Gangstas? Don't get me started!

  and by the way, I don't like the popular term "blacks' . It is polarizing and unreal. I'll give

  Jesse Jackson ( ugh) credit for 'African-American' as more acceptable.

  metatron
• 

  Threestars

  My sentiments exactly, Metatron. In my opinion Jackson and Sharpton are hypocritical fools who do little if not nothing to benefit African-Americans. And sorry if this offends anyone, but Johnny Cochran, may he RIH, set race relations back 50 years in the USA, effectively undoing most of Reverend Martin Luther King's great work. (I still say "Blacks" BTW because I can't seem to keep up with what is PC anymore)

  To my knowledge, saying someone "acts white" is a derogotory remark that black youths say to their peers who are trying to keep their grades up in order to go to college and have a better life. This is a BIG problem for guidance counselors in racially mixed high schools. They constantly see bright, talented kids throw their lives down the tube due to peer pressure.

  A bout 10 years ago, in my town, the local library put on an exhibit for Black History Month and I was appalled to see that it was nothing more than a collection of memoribilia that included, for the most part, statues of Aunt Jemima, kids eating watermelon, black-face minstrel singers, shoe shine boys--you get the picture. Not one thing about Dr King, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Frederic Douglass, etc. Apparently I wasn't the only person appalled because the NAACP got involved and made them shut it down. All the old (mostly Germanic descent in this town) folks who had donated from their collections for this "tribute" kept wailing, "But it's their HISTORY!!! Slavery is part of their history!"

  My ex-husband was Native American--I say that instead of Indian because people confuse that with people from India, but they call each other "Indians". They laugh and joke a lot and make fun of EVERYBODY, including themselves, but mostly "white" people. They tend to lump all non-Indian people into one category and that is "white people". In their own languages the term for African Americans is "Black White Man". My half-Indian children are referred to as "Breeds".
• 

  sammielee24

  I'll give

  Jesse Jackson ( ugh) credit for 'African-American' as more acceptable.

  But is it really? A good friend of mine was born in Jamaica to a Jamaican mother and a Scottish father. He is 'black'. He has lived in England, Canada and the USA. I asked him what if any racial comments or attitude he was the victim of and he told me 'none'. I asked him if he had ever been called African American before and he said yes - but that it was stupid to him. He wasn't African, any more than I, who am English and might trace my heritage back to the Swedes - Swedish. He labelled us all as black or white, simply because white is as generic as black and thats how he saw it, and he felt that somehow the labelling of African Americans as such was misleading and portrayed him as a victim that needed help by the implementation of another new, nicer sounding label. That was his take on it and it was food for thought. sammieswife.
• 

  Gerard

  I dislike the destructive Yo culture but even more a Pink Yo.
• 

  MsMcDucket

  This discussion is a whole lot too politically correct for my taste. Keep in mind that the phrase

  "acting white" is primarily something said by blacks in accusation of other blacks.

  Whites don't say "you're acting white" to black people, they ask them what country are they from. You can't be a black American if you don't fit the stereotype that they see on TV.
• 

  nvrgnbk

  I'm white and have been told I'm acting white by black and Latino friends. I've also heard the expression used by black people and Latinos when describing one another. I've never found any use of the expression to be offensive, but rather comical. But that's just me.

  Nvr

  I get what you are saying there MsMcD.
• 

  NotaNess

  What kind of reaction would there have been if Hollywood came up with a movie called "Black Men Can't Swim"? About a black guy trying to be a swimmer?

  How fast would the shake-down artists like Jackson & Sharpton and others have jumped into the media to start yelling racism?

  You see, if you're a white male in this country you are completely fair game for attacking verbally. This is fact, and you can't fight back because then you're a racist. Yet, no one goes after minorities that are doing it....it's "accepted".

  My opinion: People abuse the word racist and apply it to all situations of human critiquing. "Racism" - Thinking & acting as if your race is superior to another race.

  If you make comments about a group of peoples characteristics, or a feature on someone's face, people want to cry Racist or Racism. It's not applied correctly in my opinion.

  Example: I'm white. I'll make a satement about 2 people -

  1) "Look at the size of the Freckles on that guys face and can his hair be any more red"?

  2) "That guys nose is pretty big and and look how dirty his dreadlocks are"

  ---Now, where was I being a Racist here? 1 is white, the other is black. Was I being racist to another white guy? Rediculous.

  I don't like squash because of the way it looks & tastes. Am I a "vegetable-ist"?

  You can have likes & dis-likes, various tastes for things, acknowledge differences in things, but when it comes to humans...watch out.
• 

  MsMcDucket

  What kind of reaction would there have been if Hollywood came up with a movie called "Black Men Can't Swim"? About a black guy trying to be a swimmer?

  They'd, probably, say he's not from this country. Everybody knows that Black Americans don't swim.
• 

  MsMcDucket

  But is it really? A good friend of mine was born in Jamaica to a Jamaican mother and a Scottish father

  Is his name Chris?
• 

  RichieRich

  It's all about ownership.

  Now I present my left cracker thigh: