Black History Month is Ridiculous?

[7starmantis]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10482634/
(among others)

Tells of Morgan Freeman's recent discussions of "Black History Month".

"NEW YORK - Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."

Interesting, I am interested to see if he gets the same reactions as Bill Cosby has in discussing african american topics. In my opinion he is right on, and I've been saying ot for years...."The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism."

Opinions?

7sm

 

[MA-Caver]

From one stand point Freeman is correct that "Black-History is American History". But from another stand-point Black History should be remembered because of the innumerable contributions people of color have made to the advancement of Science (Washington Carver), Medicine (Charles Drew), Civil Rights (M.L. King and Rosa Parks), acting (Denzel Washington -- first black actor to win best actor award), sports (Jackie Robinson), politics (Shirley Chisholm) and so forth.
Still, again Freeman is correct that the desgination still points out the "differences" in race and could be harmful to the agonizing race-relations we're still suffering today.
So it's really a double edged sword. Damned if we remember and damned if we don't. But who's "we"?? Whites? Other races?
So, the question is what do "we" (Americans) do about it? How can we take care of this problem that should've been (IMO) taken care of during the civil rights movement years?
I do disagree with Mr. Freeman on his statement that "...the only way to get rid of racism is to stop talking about it." Because it's in one way, just hiding or denying the problem. But then again I do see the gist of his statement. The key I think is to talk about it postitively or in a manner that finds solutions rather than point out the problems which we all see everyday.
Racism or ANTI-Racism (as I've said several times before and still am adamant about) begins at home. Parents of all colors/races (then teachers and other adult role models, i.e. MA instructors :wink1: ) have to teach their children that there are no differences between me and Mr. Freeman other than the colour of our skin... that and he makes about a trillion times more money than I do every time he goes to work ... <smirk>
(I hope that) Many of us here agree that outward appearances make no difference in what's inside... "... that a man be judged by the content of his character..." (MLK~ "I have a dream." --1968). So, what is still causing people to still be racist or bigoted or prejudiced?
I recall as a young boy, when I first began developing interest in the opposite sex, my father telling me that he'd dis-own me if I ever kissed a black girl. Later, years later, my father recanted his statement and told me that I was free to marry whomever I fell in love with. Seems he learned his lesson as well as I did when a black man saved my life from a (black) gang mugging.
Racism will always be there so long as people still hold a grudge against the color of person rather than the character of the person. I've had more white people screw me over (for one thing or another) than I've had blacks. So I learned that lesson as well. There's no differences as far as skin-color.
Still, it doesn't help, when we see Katrina victims (on both sides of the law) loot, murder and pillage among the devestation and they're by and large black. What does that tell the whites? But whites can be just as bad (Colombine comes to mind with that one). :idunno: Is there a solution to making us see just bad people and not just "bad Black people" and/or "bad White people"?

We owe it to our children and their children and thier children's children to stop this as soon as possible. For our country to truly survive and prosper and be as glorious as it CAN be this... must happen. We need to rid ourselves of the stigma of shame that is our past (slavery and near genocide of Native Americans) that people fall back upon time and again,... (but we must never deny that it happened, just ... regret it and be better people.... )and outlaw groups that preach hatred and prejudice out of sheer ignorance. (So called) Aryans, Klansmen, Crips, Bloods, and so forth.

It begins at home... every American home is responsible for the mind-set of it's children who will become the adults of tomorrow.

:asian:

 

[mantis]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10482634/
(among others)

Tells of Morgan Freeman's recent discussions of "Black History Month".

"NEW YORK - Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."

Interesting, I am interested to see if he gets the same reactions as Bill Cosby has in discussing african american topics. In my opinion he is right on, and I've been saying ot for years...."The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism."

Opinions?

7sm

i kinda agree with cosby saying that...
even if you say "i love black people" even with the sweetest intentions you are declaring they are different and that u dont treat them normally.
i dont know if im expressing myself fully, but if u feel normal about them u'd say i like people, or i dont like people...
i think merely metioning the race is pretty messed up....
but hey, how is he gonna beat racism?
if there are people who believe they are supreme how can you convince them that theyre not!
the only solution i see is by executing all white people all at once
(jk)

 

[Blotan Hunka]

Its the difference in cultures and beliefs, not skin color that are keeping us divided.

I think some people with darker skin WANT to be treated different and that people with lighter skin enjoy feeling superior because of it.

Its all bull ****. Its how we treat each other that matters.

 

[mantis]

Its the difference in cultures and beliefs, not skin color that are keeping us divided.

I think some people with darker skin WANT to be treated different and that people with lighter skin enjoy feeling superior because of it.

Its all bull ****. Its how we treat each other that matters.

right
but dont forget hundreds of years of them getting enslaved by you (or the other way around dpending on ur SKIN COLOR)
they didnt even get an apology (which actually means nothing) but not even that...
i'd be pissed as heck for the rest of my 7th grandchildren's lives!

 

[Xequat]

I think he's kind of right also because by having Black History Month, that kind of implies that it is separate from the rest of American history and it's OK not to teach it during the rest of the year because we know it'll come up in February anyway. And I also agree that we should ignore race altogether, meaning take it off of every application for anything, for example. We could still have privately funded scholarships and such things if someone wants to, but I agree that it should be ignored.

Here's something kind of fun and funny: when you're describing someone white, make sure that that's one of the first things you say and don't call attention to it and when you're describing a black person, put it in the middle somewhere. For example, "yeah you know Bob...he's kind of tall, like 6'1," bald head, dresses nice, black, usually starts work at noon, loves doughnuts," etc. versus "Have you seen Henry? White guy, about 5'10" with blond hair, drives a Ford, wears glasses," etc. I usually do that and for some reason, I think it makes people think because if you leave out someone's race in a description, it seems to be assumed that that person is white. Watch for headlines like "Four black teenagers killed in car crash" versus "Four local teens killed in car crash." I've noticed it in the Cincinnati papers, but I'm just kind of assuming it happens everywhere.

 

[sgtmac_46]

I respect Freeman and Cosby, as they are self-made men, who are strong willed and intelligent, and who just happen to be black. They would be successful no matter what race they had come from, and prove that race is incidental.

Freeman makes an important point, that over-emphasis on race and racism is, itself, a subtle form of racism. It's a lot like picking at a festering wound, and never allowing it to heal.

The only way to move beyond racism is to stop focusing on it. Race blindness, not reverse preferences, is the only path to a future devoid of racism.

Everyone know that,as a majority, that means letting go of those prejudices, subtle and overt, that have developed, and embrace minorities and equals, and no longer view skin color as evidence of anything.

However, what is not so commonly accepted is the fact that, as a minority, that means letting go of those institutional beliefs and prejudices that have developed as a defence. To embrace a larger society, devoid of the groups that have been created to insulate themselves from the constant threat they perceive from the majority.

Of course, all this may be easier said in theory than done in practice, as some evidence exist that racism may be a naturally occuring phenomenon.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I thought it was pretty cool when one my kids were talking about Star Wars and were trying to describe one of the Jedi to me and described him as "you know, the bald one", referring to Samuel Jackson. My son never described him as black. Maybe that's because I've never referred to people using 'black', 'white' or 'hispanic' or whatever. Especially friends and fellow musicians. I used to jam with a guy named Paul, excellent guitar player; happened to be black and in a wheel chair. I would tell my kids "Hey, Paul's coming over tonight, you remember the guitar player who was here last week?" It was never "the black guitar player" or even "the guitar player in the wheel chair" because in my mind what made him special to me was that he was a great guy and an incredible guitarist and that's how I want my kids to think of him. I don't want my kids growing up using "black", "white", "indian", "hispanic" as adjectives that they use to describe people as being "someone different then me". You can always find enough adjectives about someone to describe them without calling out how they are 'different' from you. Keith is not 'that white drummer I played with last week', so Paul is not 'the black guitarist'. I don't call attention to Keith's race, why should I call attention to Paul's? There are enough good ways to describe Paul that are uniquely about him as a man and a musician that I can remind him to my kids without needing to point out to them that he's black. I started noticing that when they describe other people, they don't use terms like 'black', 'white', etc...
------------
I know on my Mom's side of the family, the family has only been here since the early party of last century and they settled in Ohio. I don't know about my Dad's side. My wife is hispanic and her family has been in the New Mexico area for at least a few generations. I really don't know. I don't much about what happened to Slovaks and Russians and Scots and Irish in the past, even though that's my background, because what happened to people that far back doesn't concern me. I do know that of the people I know myself; none of them owned slaves themself and none of them have been slaves themself. History is something to study as an abstraction, but not something to be taken personally in your own life

 

[Don Roley]

Maybe when the majority of people think that blacks are not fully human there is a need to point out all that has been done by them.

But now, there is less of a need to do that and some people may see it as trying to push an agenda.

I had a talk with someone about my work once as part of an evaluation. He asked me a question about how I felt taking orders from a woman. I looked at him in silence for a few seconds. It just had never occured to me to even think about that type of thing. I have had good bosses and complete idiots from both sexes. It was just a non-issue for me. I think now we need that in terms of race, sexual preferences, etc.

I agree with Freeman. True equality will come when we don't even notice if a person is black or white.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Maybe when the majority of people think that blacks are not fully human there is a need to point out all that has been done by them.

But now, there is less of a need to do that and some people may see it as trying to push an agenda.

I had a talk with someone about my work once as part of an evaluation. He asked me a question about how I felt taking orders from a woman. I looked at him in silence for a few seconds. It just had never occured to me to even think about that type of thing. I have had good bosses and complete idiots from both sexes. It was just a non-issue for me. I think now we need that in terms of race, sexual preferences, etc.

I agree with Freeman. True equality will come when we don't even notice if a person is black or white.

The time has come to focus on the ultimate minority...the individual. A person should be judged on individual merits, black, white, or any other ethnic or racial make-up. Yet, it becomes far to easy to focus on externality.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

At it's nadir, the human creature is a pack animal that discerns those that are different as 'other'. I think this in inherent to our psyche and, as rational creatures, we have to rise above it. Although it is my deepest hope that, as a society, we can respond harmoniously to the differences between the races, I feel that, as long as there are races, there will be race relations. There will also be marginalization, dehumanization and bigotry. There will be such separation.

I feel Black History Month is ridiculous only in that there is no Asian History Month, Native American History Month, Hispanic History Month or Fremen History Month. I agree with Freeman. The more differences are noted, the firmer the divisive line becomes.

But, that's just me.

 

[Xequat]

I feel Black History Month is ridiculous only in that there is no ... Fremen History Month.

Hehe, yeah, we should have a month dedicated to historical figures who have had really blue eyes.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

Hehe, yeah, we should have a month dedicated to historical figures who have had really blue eyes.

lol...just wanted to make the point.

Btw...good catch. Here's your Muad Dib

 

[Ray]

but dont forget hundreds of years of them getting enslaved by you (or the other way around dpending on ur SKIN COLOR)
they didnt even get an apology (which actually means nothing) but not even that...

Isn't it sterotypical to blame all whites in America today for the enslavement of blacks in America? My people arrived in 1874 and settled in Emery County, Utah...past the end of slavery and with a people that opposed slavery.

 

[Navarre]

Where I live there isn't a large population of anything other than Caucasians.

I was out at The Olive Garden the other day with my children (both of them 3 yrs old). The host was an average looking guy. He was also black.

At one point several minutes after being seated my son, while taking in the room, looked back at the host and asked, "Daddy, what's the brown guy's name?"

The host was out of earshot. My internal question was "Should I be embarrassed by the question?" and should I caution my son that the phrasing is inappropriate.

My personal feeling is that the question is perfectly innocent (obviously in his case). He chose the most apparent physical attribute to distinguish the host from the other males in the room.

Perhaps in a more culturally diverse area he would have been less likely to choose race as the distinguishing characteristic. The question is still whether it was inappropriate.

I wouldn't have referred to the man that way because of a learned caution towards the sensitivity that others may have. The assumption of most if I referred to him as black is that I'm racist.

I notice races other than my own because it is an apparent distinguishing characteristic. But I equally notice everything else that distinguishes the person.

If I teach my son to not refer to someone as black (or brown or whatever) am I teaching him that race doesn't matter or that it matters because we must be conscious to not mention it? Am I in fact enforcing racism?

Incidentally, my son also refers to Mace Windu only as the bald guy", apparently because that is the characteristic that stands out to him. But he keeps reminding me that Yoda is green. Is he prejudiced against green people?

 

[Blotan Hunka]

right
but dont forget hundreds of years of them getting enslaved by you (or the other way around dpending on ur SKIN COLOR)
they didnt even get an apology (which actually means nothing) but not even that...
i'd be pissed as heck for the rest of my 7th grandchildren's lives!

Well. I dont think theres anybody lefty alive that remembers being or owning a slave.

Should I apologize or pay (if i was the great grandson of a slave owner) for EVERYTHING my ancestors have done?

Theres probably a lot of white people in the US that had ancestors that were treated badly in Europe. Should they be able to grieve their causes to Germany, Russia etc.

Where does this end?

 

[Blotan Hunka]

Where I live there isn't a large population of anything other than Caucasians.

I was out at The Olive Garden the other day with my children (both of them 3 yrs old). The host was an average looking guy. He was also black.

At one point several minutes after being seated my son, while taking in the room, looked back at the host and asked, "Daddy, what's the brown guy's name?"

The host was out of earshot. My internal question was "Should I be embarrassed by the question?" and should I caution my son that the phrasing is inappropriate.

My personal feeling is that the question is perfectly innocent (obviously in his case). He chose the most apparent physical attribute to distinguish the host from the other males in the room.

Perhaps in a more culturally diverse area he would have been less likely to choose race as the distinguishing characteristic. The question is still whether it was inappropriate.

I wouldn't have referred to the man that way because of a learned caution towards the sensitivity that others may have. The assumption of most if I referred to him as black is that I'm racist.

I notice races other than my own because it is an apparent distinguishing characteristic. But I equally notice everything else that distinguishes the person.

If I teach my son to not refer to someone as black (or brown or whatever) am I teaching him that race doesn't matter or that it matters because we must be conscious to not mention it? Am I in fact enforcing racism?

Incidentally, my son also refers to Mace Windu only as the bald guy", apparently because that is the characteristic that stands out to him. But he keeps reminding me that Yoda is green. Is he prejudiced against green people?

Skin color IS a fact. If you were trying to describe a person to the police would you not include the color of the skin?

The trouble is when you start to put racist beliefs WITH the skin color.

Saying someone is black (or has dark shin) is a fact. Its the other garbage we have attached to that fact that causes all thes problems as I see it.

 

[7starmantis]

Good post, I have allways believed that our differences are what make us beautiful. Observation of those differences is not wrong in my opinion and can be part of the process of understanding or acknowledging our beauty as diverse creatures.

What I find wrong is action based upon these differences....but I guess we would have to live in a perfect world and we know the chances of that. The problem is liken to the one we are seeing with religious freedom. If one religion can be vocal, we must then be held responsible for vocalizing all religions or be pegged a bigot. Thats ridiculous, but then look at this "history month" issue...as was allready said, where is Native American History Month (although our history is pretty much dead)...wait I guess it should be "Red History Month"...this is ridiculous. If we can intigrate the history of america accurately, we have no need for them. That in itself is a huge issue though.

I do agree, the constant mentioning and observation of race is a problem, but so is taking said observation as an offense.

7sm

 

[Navarre]

That's my feeling on it. To recognize or mention race is not wrong or inappropriate.

I resent when someone is offended because I might mention their race because they assume I must be racist. Their assumption is the problem as I see it.

What is wrong is to make a decision or take an action based solely on race. That is equally as wrong and clearly racist.

I did not tell my son to not refer to the man as "brown". I felt to do so would be to teach my son that race is something no one should speak of. I do not believe this. My son had made no conclusions about the man based on skin color.

I want my children to grow up to believe that skin color is no more a reflection of character than hair style or clothing. But I also do not want them to believe that the subject should be avoided either.

good lord. I've made 3 posts to The Study in the last day. How unlike me.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

I think you made a wise and thought out decision.

Not a kneejerk political one.