<p>well..i dont see whats wrong with calling African Americans "black" if the term "white" is used to describe the people of various ethnicities who share a lighter skin color</p>
<p>Also, what is wrong with what Bill Cosby said? From what I understand, he wants blacks to get themselves out of this negative image and focus on education...etc. I guess thats what the OP is saying as well..and I commend her for it. As for the posters who attacked her afterwards...how do you know shes not helping other blacks? All she did in her post was acknowledge a growing problem in black society...sure she did make some sweeping generalizations but how can you NOT generalize in an issue like this. Its like saying "asians care alot about grades and prestige of colleges"; this generalization has been made numerous times but it hasn't been made a big deal.</p>
<p>Spyder: To completely disregard what you actually /said/, here are a few tips on format: </p>
<p>1) Never call something you've said "adept." Other people get to say that. If people can't figure out for themselves that you made an adept generalization, telling them that it was adept will not help matters.</p>
<p>2) Don't quote yourself, especially if it's not actually funny. If you want to repeat something you said earlier, go ahead - there's no issue of copyright. No need for citation. We won't know you said it before.</p>
<p>3) Rude, inaccurate criticism - here I refer to "Maybe if you stopped being so loud, and uneducated, and just plain wrong no one would be racist" - is very, very dangerous, especially if it applies (in the eyes of your audience) almost word-for-word to you.</p>
<p>I go to a high school that is about 60% black, and here's my opinion on the issue. Bad socioeconomic conditions in combination with bad surrounding influences causes a serious ripple to occur. In my eyes, about 80some percent of black people I've met have caused me some serious headaches. It's an attitude that the majority of them have that causes blanket statements to form. I have met some OUTSTANDING black guys though, and I have some friends who are black. My school's NJROTC Commanding Officer AND Executive Officer are both black, and they are also #1 and #2 ranked in their class, respectively. If more people followed their example to make something of themselves instead of falling into the same rut that they are falling into over and over again, I'm sure the world as a whole would have a much better view of African-Americans as a whole.</p>
<p>i HATE black people who bring themselves the bad reputation. dont be complaining if u are the CAUSE of those criticisims. i mean.. i have some really nice intellectual black people in my ap classes, and they study, they're focused, they're helpful, and they're nice. then u have those LOUD, OBNOXIOUS people who scream at each other in the hall way. they're voice is soooo piercing its like a knife cutting through your ears... puLEASSE learn some manners. talk like civilized people. just because you shout doesnt mean people like to listen to what you say. use some more colorful vocabular other than f*** this and f*** that... "that b<em>**h f</em><em>ing jacked my s</em>*t" gosh its not a contest to see how many swear words u can use in one sentence, because if THAT was what it was, then you would win.
its not like im racist. i just think they give themselves the bad reputation. im not a stereotype racist that dislikes black people in general. actually, i dont care if they're white or asian or w/e if they act like that, then i have zero respect for them... its just most of them are black and i dont think they DESERVE respect</p>
<p>davidrune, I fail to see your point. When people use the term "black", they are not referring to a culture, but rather a person's race. There doesn't seem to be any objections to the term white, even though white people are from different cultures. "Black" people can be from Jamaica, Africa, France, or America, yet the race category they belong to is "black", just as people with a peach complexion are referred to as "white".</p>
<p>Here's my point... when people talk about the black community.. they are making the assumption that all black people share the same community. Or even remarks like the black culture etc. I think that people should be more specific with their words.. they should use African-american instead of black. If you are not prepared to see that black people can have different cultures.. then I'll be blunt... you're either blind or stupid.</p>
<p>davidrune, I am neither blind nor stupid, though you seem to be very quick to judge, and, if I may be blunt........irritating and rude.</p>
<p>I fully understand that African-Americans, black people, whatever you prefer to call them, have different cultural, ethnic, economic, and social backgrounds. However, your assumption that African-American is the correct term to use is flawed. A "black" French person is not by any means African-American. While their roots may be African, they are not American. The term African-American also makes a generalization: that all "black" people are from an American culture and exhibit American characteristics, whether it is in the food they eat or music they listen to.</p>
<p>This whole racist issue that America struggled over for so long was completely idiotic. I'm appalled it took them so long to get basic freedoms for everyone. I know some countries don't even offer basic freedoms, but if you're going to, give it to everyone..it doesn't matter if someone is a little dark, geez. That is why people say such statements..because of the history of racism in this country. There are plenty of White people out there who have the same low morals as some of these Black teenagers you refer to. In fact, there are some Asians and even some Desi kids with these same low morals! But people don't complain about them, they complain about the Blacks, just because America made such a big deal about dealing with them throughout its history. There are many studious, intelligent young adults in the world, of all colors. No need at all to exclude Blacks from this group. And also, Blacks need to represent themselves, and express their opinion. Many people choose to express themselves through the arts, such as music or literature. They have been shut up and pushed aside all of these years; there is no need to bash them for voicing their opinions, their voice in the American society, whether it be through rap or poetry or anything else.</p>
<p>Obviously there is nothing we can do to fix the errors of the past, but people need to know that these kinds of statements are unacceptable. No other country struggled SO much as America to establish a true equality for ALL the people..which is just..unbelievable. It took the United States so long..and I'm amazed that these heroic Blacks were able to put up with the violence and atrocities done to them. They don't deserve respect? Maybe those select group of teenagers with low morals don't, but honey, every human being deserves respect and everyone should respect one another, whether Black, Mexican, Arab, whatever. People tend to blame the race for the low morals of these teenagers, but there are many more important factors involved, such as family size, income, location of neighborhood, family history of abuse, etc etc. Anyone could be "rude and obnoxious" if put under these conditions, because they are desperate and have been put under quite a bit of stress. It's not necessarily the race.</p>
<p>I think that the arguments some people are making about "representing" the community are completely unfair. When I act incredibly stupid, no one gets mad at me for presenting a bad image of nerds, or a bad image of Scottish people, or a bad image of vegans, or a bad image of people who like chocolate... unless I do something RELATED to one of those traits (for instance, being "preachy" about veganism).</p>
<p>And those in the majority don't have to worry about how they "represent" their group, because almost everyone gets that a couple people can't accurately represent a nation. (I've never had someone assume I was an idiot because of Congress, for instance.) The problem only comes UP once people start to SEE a racial minority as a cohesive "group." That problem isn't immediately solvable, as has been demonstrated here - but it seems like the logical one to address, instead of just trying to improve the impressions "representatives'" present.</p>
<p>"...and they study, they're focused, they're helpful, and they're nice. then u have those LOUD, OBNOXIOUS people who scream at each other in the hall way"</p>
<p>What I don't get is why you see these two groups of people as connected. Personally, I don't look at the "nerds" and the "jocks" at school and say, gosh, I wish those jocks would stop misrepresenting the white race, cause the nerds really aren't so bad.</p>
<p>Your argument is like me saying, look, I KNOW some really nice green-eyed people. They're smart, and funny, and very accepting. And then there's this really annoying green-eyed girl who goes around insulting everybody, and she's really dumb. I mean, why can't she learn some manners and study harder? Why can't she follow the example of the nice green-eyed girls?</p>
<p>"All she did in her post was acknowledge a growing problem in black society"</p>
<p>Thank you, that's all I was doing. For the poster's who said what are you doing about it??Well my youth group at church that I am in sends money to kids who are less fortunate, to help them with education, clothes, etc. But all I was saying is there are problems, I wasn't criticizing the whole African-American race. But take it however you want, I can see people are obvisously going far overboard, and accusing me of stuff, but you don't me, so don't judge me at all..</p>
<p>flierdeke: well.. exactly my point... im just saying... black people should stop complaining about people "judging" them becuz they are not being judged by race, but by their attitudes</p>
<p>Helix: I'm not saying all black people are african-american, I"m just saying that the ones to which you are referring to are African-American. Using the term "black" assumes that ALL black people are the same. However, the ones in France, Africa, England... are not all the same. Using the term "black" assumes that I share the same culture as african-Americans. Although the colour of our skin might be the same, I have nothing in common with African-americans.</p>
<p>I reading an article a few days about the whole "black" or "african-american" thing. What I'm about to say is my opinion. Don't jump my throat. I think that using the term "black" is a general term to describe those of a african descent. However I also think using the term african american for every "black" person just to be politically correct is wrong. Sure the belief is that everyone orginated from Africa. But immediately, like my grandparents and what not, are not from Africa. They were born in the island of Haiti. Yes, african slaves were brought over to HAiti but there were natives there too. And to say that I'm African would be a lie. I'm Haitian. The second point of adding the American at the end is up to the person. I add American because grew up in America and absorbed its culture and lifestyle. But not everyone wants to add the American part. It would easier to apply the term "black" to diverse group of dark people.</p>
<p>In my eyes, being politically correct is utterly useless. Being offended because someone called you "Black" is as stupid as me being offended at someone calling me "White". Seriously folks, it isn't a way to assume that everyone of a particular skin color are of the same heritage. It is a convenient way to refer to the general people of a particular skin color. We aren't insulting you here. If a person doesn't know my descent, what am I going to be called? White. Even though I am of primarily German descent, I am still going to be called white. Regardless if they are Russian, German, English, Dutch, Welsh, French, or other person of my skin color will be called white. Is it so hard to comprehend that a person of Haitian, African, etc. descent with a particular skin color is going to be called black simply because it is convenient?</p>
<p>I personally do not like being identified as an African-America.... simply because I do have a percentage of mulatto blood and I'm not American... I'm Canadian.</p>
<p>If anything, call me brown :)</p>
<p>And btw... when I took my AP test, I was the only black of out the 80 people at the testing center. And my school is like 8% black out of 3300.</p>
<p>While I am in no way racist, I do recognize a majority of aforementioned generalizations as fact...It is quite sad, and I am happy that ppl like Bill Cosby recognize the problems instead of dismissing them as results of white culpability.</p>
<p>They are generalizations...and they are also truths. Bill Cosby said it with a lot more conviction than the people on this board, though, which is why it was also more classy when he said it.</p>