oh the humanity, part II
continuing the discussion on race...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Remember, most often, members of the minority group are not seen as individuals. The accused person often is associated with the rest of his/her race. But more than that, most visible members of the minority group are portrayed in typecast or specific roles in media and people come to assign those attributes to all members of the group.
[ok, here, I’m just gonna drop the “minority/majority” business and use the terms ‘black’ and ‘white’. (I was trying to be as general and inoffensive as possible to promote as much education as possible from this piece, but frankly, I’m tired of tip-toeing.) Just note that while most of this discussion is peculiar to American race issues between whites and blacks, it may (in some cases) also be applied to attitudes about/toward women and other minorities in America]
So, think about the roles/images of black men and women you see in the media. Do patterns emerge? If not, look closer - as objectively as you can. In fact, it would do us all some good to view tv shows and movies with a more critical eye. Ever notice how almost all media is geared to support the hierarchy or white men over everyone else? No? I denied it for a long time, myself. But how is it that, over and over, a pretty girl ends up with a dude that looks like nothing - or straight up crap? Ever notice how often the girl leans into the guy for the kiss? Subtle things like that actually shape the way impressionable people believe they’re supposed to act - thus breeding a generation where life imitates the art that was engineered to maintain a certain ideal. But I’m getting sidetracked. My point was going to be that you need to be aware of what’s accepted - when did Denzel get his Oscar? After playing a dirty cop. Halle Berry? After playing a woman whose husband was killed on death row and later falls for her white savior/husband’s killer. If you never thought of either of these movies this way, start taking notice. There aren’t as many coincidences in life as you may think.
What other media might reinforce negative images of minorities in general - blacks in particular? How about music? Considering that music is not just the beat and accompaniment, but the lyrics, the videos, and the visible personas of the artists are also part of the machine. Where does success lie for a white artist? In any genre. I haven’t heard a white person do straight-up crunk music yet, but I’m sure it’s coming. For blacks, success has a much broader area of purview now, but it is still quite noticeable that the music that reinforces stereotypes maintains its popularity. It’s prominent on radio, tv, in movies and the news, allowing some to continue to revel in their belief that black women really are more sexual and black men really are more violent because black people really are more like animals. That’s right. That’s what it goes back to. The dehumanization of a group of people.
Sure, blacks aren’t personally owned anymore. Generally speaking, there aren’t a whole lot of lynchings going on, anymore. Some would say we have it really good, cuz we’re allowed to do so much. And I’m not denying that we have more rights now than ever. But don’t confuse that with parity. Don’t confuse that with everything being ‘honky-dory’.
Growing up, I pretty much identified as white. I didn’t have one language out and a different one at home. I didn’t censor myself. I didn’t know any better. But then, I was a very different child: in the sixth grade, one of the boys in my class said the phrase “word up” to me, and I looked at him like he was crazy. He looked incredulous that I [one of the 2 black people in our 26 person class] didn’t know what he was talking about - but at the time, the only music I was listening to was classical, baroque, and romantic [as in the period, not the genre].
Like most, I tend to speak like those I am around, and it didn’t take me long to pick up quite a lot of slang as a teenager. The older I got, the more aware I became that I am black. I always knew it - I realize I’m fairly light-skinned, but no one would ever mistake me for white. [and no one ever has] So by the time I started my first job, and began to be around more black people than I ever had before, I began to pick up more … relaxed language. And that’s really what it is. The term ‘ebonics’ is actually offensive to me. I can’t tell you why. It just seriously rubs me the wrong way, and you won’t hear/see me using the term unless I’m actually using it as a derogatory. To boil it down, there are some superficial niceties that some in the majority have tried to maintain to demonstrate an illusion of civilization. This has led to the creation of an overabundance of euphemisms. The relaxed language spoken among blacks in particular simply dispenses with pretense. The words are still words. Should you choose to do so, you would find some complex and interesting etymologies in some of the terms used. Certainly, more than ever, popular culture influences this relaxed language, as art imitates life imitates art imitates life.
But why two languages? Each is effective. Each legitimate. But trace history just a bit, and you’ll notice that the issues of loyalty and secrecy are behind this as well. 150 years ago, it wasn’t a good idea to let white people know you could read - this being a punishable offense [free or slave]. Maintaining the language is a way of maintaining your authenticity - your loyalty - your ability to be trusted. Ever wonder why it was offensive to be called an ‘Uncle Tom’? or a house negro? Pretty much the same as ‘acting white’. It’s all about losing your identity - forgetting where you’ve come from. With the implicit warning that no matter how light you are, no matter how ‘white’ you talk, unless you can actually PASS, the white man still doesn’t see anything other than a black person. And the day of reckoning will come.
This attitude is generally encouraged by the majority group, because it fosters the ‘crabs in a barrel’ mentality. Once this belief system is in place, the group manages itself. Self-fulfilling prophecies add to this, and before you know it, a whole race of people has bought into a belief system that was created to keep them behind and below. Getting up out of that is harder than you will ever know. Harder than I will ever know. Definitely not as simple as just “pulling oneself up by one’s own bootstraps.”
Wanna know one of the easiest ways to try that bootstrap thing? Thug life. It’s just a notorious way to describe a street entrepreneur. I don’t support illegal activity in any way, but I don’t pretend to not know why the life is so tempting. Objectively, we’re talking about a network of people who are ruthless in business, moving a product they believe in, and taking care of their family and employing their friends in the enterprise. When they start off in the biz, folks have to pay their dues [‘put in work’], but as they work hard and progress, they can become successful and move up in the company. Doesn’t sound too different from most other jobs, right? But then we remember that the traffic is illegal, and often leads to other legal problems [murder, theft, etc.] A host of young people with brilliant business minds are in jail right now, because they signed with the Folk Nation instead of Bear Stearns.
This is not to say that any person is blameless for making bad decisions. We’re all responsible for our own choices. No matter how limited they are.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Remember, most often, members of the minority group are not seen as individuals. The accused person often is associated with the rest of his/her race. But more than that, most visible members of the minority group are portrayed in typecast or specific roles in media and people come to assign those attributes to all members of the group.
[ok, here, I’m just gonna drop the “minority/majority” business and use the terms ‘black’ and ‘white’. (I was trying to be as general and inoffensive as possible to promote as much education as possible from this piece, but frankly, I’m tired of tip-toeing.) Just note that while most of this discussion is peculiar to American race issues between whites and blacks, it may (in some cases) also be applied to attitudes about/toward women and other minorities in America]
So, think about the roles/images of black men and women you see in the media. Do patterns emerge? If not, look closer - as objectively as you can. In fact, it would do us all some good to view tv shows and movies with a more critical eye. Ever notice how almost all media is geared to support the hierarchy or white men over everyone else? No? I denied it for a long time, myself. But how is it that, over and over, a pretty girl ends up with a dude that looks like nothing - or straight up crap? Ever notice how often the girl leans into the guy for the kiss? Subtle things like that actually shape the way impressionable people believe they’re supposed to act - thus breeding a generation where life imitates the art that was engineered to maintain a certain ideal. But I’m getting sidetracked. My point was going to be that you need to be aware of what’s accepted - when did Denzel get his Oscar? After playing a dirty cop. Halle Berry? After playing a woman whose husband was killed on death row and later falls for her white savior/husband’s killer. If you never thought of either of these movies this way, start taking notice. There aren’t as many coincidences in life as you may think.
What other media might reinforce negative images of minorities in general - blacks in particular? How about music? Considering that music is not just the beat and accompaniment, but the lyrics, the videos, and the visible personas of the artists are also part of the machine. Where does success lie for a white artist? In any genre. I haven’t heard a white person do straight-up crunk music yet, but I’m sure it’s coming. For blacks, success has a much broader area of purview now, but it is still quite noticeable that the music that reinforces stereotypes maintains its popularity. It’s prominent on radio, tv, in movies and the news, allowing some to continue to revel in their belief that black women really are more sexual and black men really are more violent because black people really are more like animals. That’s right. That’s what it goes back to. The dehumanization of a group of people.
Sure, blacks aren’t personally owned anymore. Generally speaking, there aren’t a whole lot of lynchings going on, anymore. Some would say we have it really good, cuz we’re allowed to do so much. And I’m not denying that we have more rights now than ever. But don’t confuse that with parity. Don’t confuse that with everything being ‘honky-dory’.
Growing up, I pretty much identified as white. I didn’t have one language out and a different one at home. I didn’t censor myself. I didn’t know any better. But then, I was a very different child: in the sixth grade, one of the boys in my class said the phrase “word up” to me, and I looked at him like he was crazy. He looked incredulous that I [one of the 2 black people in our 26 person class] didn’t know what he was talking about - but at the time, the only music I was listening to was classical, baroque, and romantic [as in the period, not the genre].
Like most, I tend to speak like those I am around, and it didn’t take me long to pick up quite a lot of slang as a teenager. The older I got, the more aware I became that I am black. I always knew it - I realize I’m fairly light-skinned, but no one would ever mistake me for white. [and no one ever has] So by the time I started my first job, and began to be around more black people than I ever had before, I began to pick up more … relaxed language. And that’s really what it is. The term ‘ebonics’ is actually offensive to me. I can’t tell you why. It just seriously rubs me the wrong way, and you won’t hear/see me using the term unless I’m actually using it as a derogatory. To boil it down, there are some superficial niceties that some in the majority have tried to maintain to demonstrate an illusion of civilization. This has led to the creation of an overabundance of euphemisms. The relaxed language spoken among blacks in particular simply dispenses with pretense. The words are still words. Should you choose to do so, you would find some complex and interesting etymologies in some of the terms used. Certainly, more than ever, popular culture influences this relaxed language, as art imitates life imitates art imitates life.
But why two languages? Each is effective. Each legitimate. But trace history just a bit, and you’ll notice that the issues of loyalty and secrecy are behind this as well. 150 years ago, it wasn’t a good idea to let white people know you could read - this being a punishable offense [free or slave]. Maintaining the language is a way of maintaining your authenticity - your loyalty - your ability to be trusted. Ever wonder why it was offensive to be called an ‘Uncle Tom’? or a house negro? Pretty much the same as ‘acting white’. It’s all about losing your identity - forgetting where you’ve come from. With the implicit warning that no matter how light you are, no matter how ‘white’ you talk, unless you can actually PASS, the white man still doesn’t see anything other than a black person. And the day of reckoning will come.
This attitude is generally encouraged by the majority group, because it fosters the ‘crabs in a barrel’ mentality. Once this belief system is in place, the group manages itself. Self-fulfilling prophecies add to this, and before you know it, a whole race of people has bought into a belief system that was created to keep them behind and below. Getting up out of that is harder than you will ever know. Harder than I will ever know. Definitely not as simple as just “pulling oneself up by one’s own bootstraps.”
Wanna know one of the easiest ways to try that bootstrap thing? Thug life. It’s just a notorious way to describe a street entrepreneur. I don’t support illegal activity in any way, but I don’t pretend to not know why the life is so tempting. Objectively, we’re talking about a network of people who are ruthless in business, moving a product they believe in, and taking care of their family and employing their friends in the enterprise. When they start off in the biz, folks have to pay their dues [‘put in work’], but as they work hard and progress, they can become successful and move up in the company. Doesn’t sound too different from most other jobs, right? But then we remember that the traffic is illegal, and often leads to other legal problems [murder, theft, etc.] A host of young people with brilliant business minds are in jail right now, because they signed with the Folk Nation instead of Bear Stearns.
This is not to say that any person is blameless for making bad decisions. We’re all responsible for our own choices. No matter how limited they are.