Becoming raceless
Imagine how you'd feel if Neo Nazism/Fundamentalism came to define your race as a whole. Imagine if being white/muslim basically meant mirroring the behaviours of these groups.
I feel that this is basically what has happened to black culture with gangstas and thugs. The basic concept is admirable and mirrors the great jazz gospel blues and Harlem Renaissances which occurred up until the late 20th century. That notwithstanding gangsta rap and the associated culture has had an effect on the whole which could be comparable to crack cocaine. It validates and elevates all the worst features of the human condition and its the ONLY youth culture there is for black youth. Its saturated our culture to the point where it defines our culture
As a community we dont support each other. We dont have the mutual support networks we dont give a **** about Africa and we're quick to point the fingers at "those darkies who act like x". Im guilty of it and the only people who seem to be happy are those who leave race out of the equation completely and get on with their lives.
Its sad that that's the way things are. One should be able to tap into a culture which isn't fragmented into diasporas and vauely defined historical records. I've spent hours reading up on my cultural lineage but its like trying to examine a shattered stained glass window. We're a diaspora in more ways than one.
I feel that this is basically what has happened to black culture with gangstas and thugs. The basic concept is admirable and mirrors the great jazz gospel blues and Harlem Renaissances which occurred up until the late 20th century. That notwithstanding gangsta rap and the associated culture has had an effect on the whole which could be comparable to crack cocaine. It validates and elevates all the worst features of the human condition and its the ONLY youth culture there is for black youth. Its saturated our culture to the point where it defines our culture
As a community we dont support each other. We dont have the mutual support networks we dont give a **** about Africa and we're quick to point the fingers at "those darkies who act like x". Im guilty of it and the only people who seem to be happy are those who leave race out of the equation completely and get on with their lives.
Its sad that that's the way things are. One should be able to tap into a culture which isn't fragmented into diasporas and vauely defined historical records. I've spent hours reading up on my cultural lineage but its like trying to examine a shattered stained glass window. We're a diaspora in more ways than one.
(edited 9 years ago)
Amen.
Ch. Stop being a drama queen. I turn up to school in brogues and fedoras, I listen to folk and 90s grunge/industrial music & slang is not in my vocabulary. Yet no one has EVER questioned my blackness. I doubt your bougie aura has anything to do with you not having a gun or smoke crack. You need to get a grip.
Original post by Truths
Ch. Stop being a drama queen. I turn up to school in brogues and fedoras, I listen to folk and 90s grunge/industrial music & slang is not in my vocabulary. Yet no one has EVER questioned my blackness. I doubt your bougie aura has anything to do with you not having a gun or smoke crack. You need to get a grip.
This thread is just going to be filled with coloured folk calling me an oreo. **** it I guess. Im just tired of hearing that im not a "typical black person" "You dont act black at all" "That's such a black thing to say" and so on. It seriously sucks that all my heroes of colour are dead or dying. Gil Scot Heron Curtis Mayfield Billie Holiday John Coltrane. I feel closer to them than I do to anyone alive right now. Im deeply proud of my heritage but blackness has become something crass in the last few years and I want no part of the gangsta culture. Maybe I was just born in the wrong times. Racism may have been more overt in the 20's -50's but the black community was far more unified and its identity had something honest and pure at its core. We were building something and then we tore it the **** down.
Maybe you're happy with the situation however. Thats nice for you.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by phaedron
This thread is just going to be filled with coloured folk calling me an oreo. **** it I guess. Im just tired of hearing that im not a "typical black person" "You dont act black at all" "That's such a black thing to say" and so on. It seriously sucks that all my heroes of colour are dead or dying. Gil Scot Heron Curtis Mayfield Billie Holiday John Coltrane. I feel closer to them than I do to anyone alive right now.
I'm not calling you an oreo, I'm just pointing out the absurdity of what you are saying. You are not colorless, you are black. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. But you would be wise to (acknowledge it), and actually try to use it to your advantage because for the most part, it will work to your disadvantage. You'll be doing yourself a massive disservice in being so inattentive and dismissive to your race. Not a wise move at all.
Original post by phaedron
Im deeply proud of my heritage but blackness has become something crass in the last few years and I want no part of the gangsta culture. Maybe I was just born in the wrong times. Racism may have been more overt in the 20's -50's but the black community was far more unified and its identity had something honest and pure at its core. We were building something and then we tore it the **** down.
Maybe you're happy with the situation however. Thats nice for you.
Maybe you're happy with the situation however. Thats nice for you.
I sympathize with this point to a certain extent. Blacks were far more driven in the 50s when the common enemy, and common goal was patent that there was no room for complacency or disillusion. What I don't agree with however, is "we tore it down". Don't be fooled, white people set the wheels in motion with mass incarnation schemes that targeted black men, "the war on drugs" (aka the war on black people) - Which then led to the overall downfall of the black community in society. No amount of affirmative action is going to repair anything when black neighborhoods simply can not see promise as all the men are either in prison or have become 2nd class citizens after incarceration. It has become a lethal cycle of transgression. I could go on, but I digress.
That being said, you are not African-American (I assume), so I have no idea why you identify with them so strongly. What is your ethnic background, if you don't mind me asking?
My parents are from the caribbean. They were born and raised there until around13-14.
I fell in love with the jazz era black community when I heard the jazz musicians of that era. I am however deriving my cultural identity from a culture which cant be replicated in this age. Theres this massive disconnection betwee what I feel represents blackness for me and what actually is in the present. Its like being in a cultural no man's land hence the title
I realise that weve been and are being plied with false promises by governments and tge past has been hell but we also havebt left the crab in a barrel slave mentality behind. We really just dont have a strong sense of being part of an ancestral family
We are however in possession of everything we need. Africans excel well beyond afrocaribbeans precisely because they seem to be tightly knit
I fell in love with the jazz era black community when I heard the jazz musicians of that era. I am however deriving my cultural identity from a culture which cant be replicated in this age. Theres this massive disconnection betwee what I feel represents blackness for me and what actually is in the present. Its like being in a cultural no man's land hence the title
I realise that weve been and are being plied with false promises by governments and tge past has been hell but we also havebt left the crab in a barrel slave mentality behind. We really just dont have a strong sense of being part of an ancestral family
We are however in possession of everything we need. Africans excel well beyond afrocaribbeans precisely because they seem to be tightly knit
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by phaedron
My parents are from the caribbean. They were born and raised there until around13-14.
I fell in love with the jazz era black community when I heard the jazz musicians of that era. I am however deriving my cultural identity from a culture which cant be replicated in this age. Theres this massive disconnection betwee what I feel represents blackness for me and what actually is in the present. Its like being in a cultural no man's land hence the title
I realise that weve been and are being plied with false promises by governments and tge past has been hell but we also havebt left the crab in a barrel slave mentality behind. We really just dont have a strong sense of being part of an ancestral family
We are however in possession of everything we need. Africans excel well beyond afrocaribbeans precisely because they seem to be tightly knit
I fell in love with the jazz era black community when I heard the jazz musicians of that era. I am however deriving my cultural identity from a culture which cant be replicated in this age. Theres this massive disconnection betwee what I feel represents blackness for me and what actually is in the present. Its like being in a cultural no man's land hence the title
I realise that weve been and are being plied with false promises by governments and tge past has been hell but we also havebt left the crab in a barrel slave mentality behind. We really just dont have a strong sense of being part of an ancestral family
We are however in possession of everything we need. Africans excel well beyond afrocaribbeans precisely because they seem to be tightly knit
Yes I do understand where you're coming from. From my perspective Jamaicans are even more tightly knit than Africans tho. In my school they all seem to be related lol. I think where they differ from Africans is that Africans(west) tend to come from money and success, where as Jamaicans come from slavery and poverty, so maybe their networking efforts are less effective. I know I'm probably being too simplistic here.
Regarding the crab in the barrel mentality, that is something I've seen too. I mean it's really hard to stay unified and nationalistic as a minority when the country you live is seemingly very open and rewarding to multiculturalism. But like Malcolm x said, they used to bite us with growl, now they bite use with a smile.
No offence but in my opinion Jamaican culture lacks class. I agree. But living in London it's kinda difficult not be able to see the sliver lining to every culture. I don't know where you live but I can imagine it to be difficult if you are even more of a minority to identify with something with negative connotations .
But honestly, the game is not going to change anytime soon. I advise you to be smart about it, and play it to you're advantage. The reality is, you are going to see better treatment within your own community than by whites. Don't forget your blackness because white people will not.
Original post by phaedron
Imagine how you'd feel if Neo Nazism/Fundamentalism came to define your race as a whole. Imagine if being white/muslim basically meant mirroring the behaviours of these groups.
I feel that this is basically what has happened to black culture with gangstas and thugs. The basic concept is admirable and mirrors the great jazz gospel blues and Harlem Renaissances which occurred up until the late 20th century. That notwithstanding gangsta rap and the associated culture has had an effect on the whole which could be comparable to crack cocaine. It validates and elevates all the worst features of the human condition and its the ONLY youth culture there is for black youth. Its saturated our culture to the point where it defines our culture
As a community we dont support each other. We dont have the mutual support networks we dont give a **** about Africa and we're quick to point the fingers at "those darkies who act like x". Im guilty of it and the only people who seem to be happy are those who leave race out of the equation completely and get on with their lives.
Its sad that that's the way things are. One should be able to tap into a culture which isn't fragmented into diasporas and vauely defined historical records. I've spent hours reading up on my cultural lineage but its like trying to examine a shattered stained glass window. We're a diaspora in more ways than one.
I feel that this is basically what has happened to black culture with gangstas and thugs. The basic concept is admirable and mirrors the great jazz gospel blues and Harlem Renaissances which occurred up until the late 20th century. That notwithstanding gangsta rap and the associated culture has had an effect on the whole which could be comparable to crack cocaine. It validates and elevates all the worst features of the human condition and its the ONLY youth culture there is for black youth. Its saturated our culture to the point where it defines our culture
As a community we dont support each other. We dont have the mutual support networks we dont give a **** about Africa and we're quick to point the fingers at "those darkies who act like x". Im guilty of it and the only people who seem to be happy are those who leave race out of the equation completely and get on with their lives.
Its sad that that's the way things are. One should be able to tap into a culture which isn't fragmented into diasporas and vauely defined historical records. I've spent hours reading up on my cultural lineage but its like trying to examine a shattered stained glass window. We're a diaspora in more ways than one.
Agreed
Source: Black
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Truths
Yes I do understand where you're coming from. From my perspective Jamaicans are even more tightly knit than Africans tho. In my school they all seem to be related lol. I think where they differ from Africans is that Africans(west) tend to come from money and success, where as Jamaicans come from slavery and poverty, so maybe their networking efforts are less effective. I know I'm probably being too simplistic here.
Regarding the crab in the barrel mentality, that is something I've seen too. I mean it's really hard to stay unified and nationalistic as a minority when the country you live is seemingly very open and rewarding to multiculturalism. But like Malcolm x said, they used to bite us with growl, now they bite use with a smile.
No offence but in my opinion Jamaican culture lacks class. I agree. But living in London it's kinda difficult not be able to see the sliver lining to every culture. I don't know where you live but I can imagine it to be difficult if you are even more of a minority to identify with something with negative connotations .
But honestly, the game is not going to change anytime soon. I advise you to be smart about it, and play it to you're advantage. The reality is, you are going to see better treatment within your own community than by whites. Don't forget your blackness because white people will not.
Regarding the crab in the barrel mentality, that is something I've seen too. I mean it's really hard to stay unified and nationalistic as a minority when the country you live is seemingly very open and rewarding to multiculturalism. But like Malcolm x said, they used to bite us with growl, now they bite use with a smile.
No offence but in my opinion Jamaican culture lacks class. I agree. But living in London it's kinda difficult not be able to see the sliver lining to every culture. I don't know where you live but I can imagine it to be difficult if you are even more of a minority to identify with something with negative connotations .
But honestly, the game is not going to change anytime soon. I advise you to be smart about it, and play it to you're advantage. The reality is, you are going to see better treatment within your own community than by whites. Don't forget your blackness because white people will not.
Jamaican culture is reasonably varied. Rastafarian culture is beautiful for instance. Latin America os also incidentally a treasure trove for loads of hybrid afro latin cultures asis cuba of course.
Black people give the illusion of being tight knit but there's no sense of duty to the wider community. Compare the way we conduct business and networking with other cultures.Our generation aspire to attain a high power career but its rare that we aspire to put something back into our community.
Racism is virtually impossible to fight. The type of racism that is most deadly is preconscious. Ive seen whites and coloureds separate naturally into colour coded groups without any conscious attention. Its a slow working poison that stirs ggression and resentment in young black men.
Whites deny it but there was a study which showed that a high percentage of whites believe blacks to be "dirty". That's the kind of thing im talking about. It manifests itself in countlesa ways that we dont fail to notice. Cumulatively the effect is devastating
(edited 9 years ago)
I'm not sure what your trying to say OP.
On the one hand your admitting that 'black' culture is inferior and trapping young people but on the other hand your saying you need to have solidarity with blacks in Africa ect..
Why don't you just try and be British? If you really want to get past the racism stuff then you should forget your ties which i might add is one reason Brits critisize the lack of integration.
On the one hand your admitting that 'black' culture is inferior and trapping young people but on the other hand your saying you need to have solidarity with blacks in Africa ect..
Why don't you just try and be British? If you really want to get past the racism stuff then you should forget your ties which i might add is one reason Brits critisize the lack of integration.
Original post by Rakas21
I'm not sure what your trying to say OP.
On the one hand your admitting that 'black' culture is inferior and trapping young people but on the other hand your saying you need to have solidarity with blacks in Africa ect..
Why don't you just try and be British? If you really want to get past the racism stuff then you should forget your ties which i might add is one reason Brits critisize the lack of integration.
On the one hand your admitting that 'black' culture is inferior and trapping young people but on the other hand your saying you need to have solidarity with blacks in Africa ect..
Why don't you just try and be British? If you really want to get past the racism stuff then you should forget your ties which i might add is one reason Brits critisize the lack of integration.
What does it mean to be British? Is it the pageantry is it the tea and scones? Is it croydon or Basildon Brixton or Broxburne?
I'll never feel truly British because im not white. I'd only be nominally British. The image of "Britishness" is and will for a long time be that of a white person because that's how the racial lineage has played out.
Additionally, is it integration or disintegration? How can I be expected to abandon my genetic and familial heritage to join another to which I dont really feel any connection? Im not sure how i'd benefit there. I can see why Americans might look at it this way but America is pretty much a European outpost. The institutions and positions of influence were created and are maintained by those of European heritage. Latinos Blacks and others are by and large second class citizens.
I dont believe that its actually a good thing to just forget one's race especially when that race has a history of persecution. There are legions of people who came before me who suffered unimaginable things. If young black men like me forget that who will remember?
I just feel as if black youth have forgotten and replaced the rich history with glorified ****.
Ultimately I would like to think that humanity will merge into a collective culture which acknowledges ALL Earth cultures as a single human achievement. Race becomes irrelevant and we have a common heritage. Unfortunately that's not how things work right now.
(edited 9 years ago)
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