Are we too far gone as a people??? - AfroChat - African American

Jewels0479 · June 13th, 2008, 12:27 AM

These thoughts run through my head from time to time as I go about my life and I always tell myself that it's a struggle and I have to do my part but sometimes I look around at "us" and an overwhelming feeling of dread comes over me. I'm feeling particularly dispondent today because of some things that I've seen recently. I'd thought I'd throw this out here and see what you guys think....

First, people are always looking crazy when a black person says that they don’t truly feel American. Like just because they were forced to give us our freedom in order to win the Civil War and then forced again by worldwide media attention to stop lynching us (so often) and give us equal rights a mere 40 years ago we’re supposed to forget about the struggle we went through for it and act like it’s all good. That would just be foolish. While we are Americans in the sense that this is the only home that many of us have known for generations, we are still looked upon and treated as second rate citizens by many of those in power.

Second, while I stand firmly behind what I just wrote, I have to say that some BLACK PEOPLE are just as bad as biggots because we tear down our own just like the white man taught us to do hundreds of years ago. While we face opposition both real and perceived in white america, we are our own worst enemies. We kill each other daily for no reason at all, we have demeaned one another so much so that when we do it now, there is little or no acknowledgement of it's detrimental impact on our image of ourselves. It's expected and accepted by us and society. Listen to the music on the radio today. Kids, 15, 16 years old talking about "superman that hoe" and we all know what that really means by now. That is unacceptable. We should be outraged but instead we just shake our heads, momentarily appauled, and keep right on bouncing to the music because we like the beat. While we are so busy trying to preserve our urban edge and coolness, we forget that we still live in the real world where people are looking at what we say and do on TV and in music (and on the internet) and taking that as our contribution to society. They will judge us no matter what we do but giving them justifiable reason to by acting ignorant and then backing ignorance with a foolish resignation to continue “keeping it real” is old and hasn’t helped us collectively get anywhere, ever.

With that said I have a few questions.....

Do we feel somewhat disenfranchised for the reasons I've stated in my first point or do we perpetuate the divide with our own insecurity and inability to rise above our circumstances because we're too busy playing the victim?

When are we going to learn that what we think, speak, and perpetuate is what we are perceived as, what we ultimately become and what we teach our children to become?

Honestly, are we ever going to learn to respect ourselves so that others will also respect us and take us seriously as a people?

Jewels0479 · June 18th, 2008, 11:06 PM

I'm still struggling with this. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

216 East · June 19th, 2008, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jewels0479

These thoughts run through my head from time to time as I go about my life and I always tell myself that it's a struggle and I have to do my part but sometimes I look around at "us" and an overwhelming feeling of dread comes over me. I'm feeling particularly dispondent today because of some things that I've seen recently. I'd thought I'd throw this out here and see what you guys think....

First, people are always looking crazy when a black person says that they don’t truly feel American. Like just because they were forced to give us our freedom in order to win the Civil War and then forced again by worldwide media attention to stop lynching us (so often) and give us equal rights a mere 40 years ago we’re supposed to forget about the struggle we went through for it and act like it’s all good. That would just be foolish. While we are Americans in the sense that this is the only home that many of us have known for generations, we are still looked upon and treated as second rate citizens by many of those in power.

Second, while I stand firmly behind what I just wrote, I have to say that some BLACK PEOPLE are just as bad as biggots because we tear down our own just like the white man taught us to do hundreds of years ago. While we face opposition both real and perceived in white america, we are our own worst enemies. We kill each other daily for no reason at all, we have demeaned one another so much so that when we do it now, there is little or no acknowledgement of it's detrimental impact on our image of ourselves. It's expected and accepted by us and society. Listen to the music on the radio today. Kids, 15, 16 years old talking about "superman that hoe" and we all know what that really means by now. That is unacceptable. We should be outraged but instead we just shake our heads, momentarily appauled, and keep right on bouncing to the music because we like the beat. While we are so busy trying to preserve our urban edge and coolness, we forget that we still live in the real world where people are looking at what we say and do on TV and in music (and on the internet) and taking that as our contribution to society. They will judge us no matter what we do but giving them justifiable reason to by acting ignorant and then backing ignorance with a foolish resignation to continue “keeping it real” is old and hasn’t helped us collectively get anywhere, ever.

With that said I have a few questions.....

Do we feel somewhat disenfranchised for the reasons I've stated in my first point or do we perpetuate the divide with our own insecurity and inability to rise above our circumstances because we're too busy playing the victim?

When are we going to learn that what we think, speak, and perpetuate is what we are perceived as, what we ultimately become and what we teach our children to become?

Honestly, are we ever going to learn to respect ourselves so that others will also respect us and take us seriously as a people?

As long as White Supremacy and the white/european culture continues to smother our people, and treat us as less in a so-called EQUAL country, then self-hate and hatred towards our own people will develop, because we're being fed through the media that being black is no good, when in fact white amerikkkan rule and governing is the one thats the root cause of the majority of our problems, so we just continue it blindly! We gotta take back our culture and history, its being stripped everyday!!

The truth must be told to open the eyes of our people....here's some good videos that explains very well....

YouTube - Who are you? Trailer

YouTube - Malcolm X - Who are YOU ??

MadameX · June 19th, 2008, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 216 East

As long as White Supremacy and the white/european culture continues to smother our people, and treat us as less in a so-called EQUAL country, then self-hate and hatred towards our own people will develop, because we're being fed through the media that being black is no good, when in fact white amerikkkan rule and governing is the one thats the root cause of the majority of our problems, so we just continue it blindly! We gotta take back our culture and history, its being stripped everyday!!

The truth must be told to open the eyes of our people....here's some good videos that explains very well....

YouTube - Who are you? Trailer

YouTube - Malcolm X - Who are YOU ??

umbrarchist · June 26th, 2008, 08:31 PM

That question reminds me of my father talking 50 years ago. He kept asking, "What is wrong with Black people."

I think one problem is that we concentrate on WHITE PEOPLE too much.

Why do White people have so much power? Do you ever think that it is because of technology? What would have happened if Indian's had had AK-47s when Whites showed up. Would their skin color have mattered?

When I started reading sci-fi books my mother called it something crazy. I learned more about science and technology because of those books than i did from my grade school teachers. Too many of us act like education is just getting a degree and it doesn't matter what subject and then go for easy subjects.

Don't expect the White people to give kids good books. They hide important information from each other.

A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov

Now how many Black women would not give those to their sons because they are written by White men?

I tried getting a Black woman to read a book by Octavia Butler. She gave it back. Said it was too weird. She even disliked the cover.

Don't you think the Chinese used knowledge they got from White people to build Three Gorges Dam? But no we are too busy getting emotional about stupid palefaces to sort the wheat from the chaff.

um

RealTalk3000 · June 27th, 2008, 03:37 AM

as long as theres ignorance and self-hate within the black community, we as black folk will always be mentally shackled. We worry too much on what they white man think of us, instead of listening to what God has written in the bible about us being FREE in the first place. When Jesus died for us all,all of our sins were cast away, and we have no real reason to be ignorant and lost like we are now. This is satan's system anyway. Jehovah (GOD) said: MY People perish because of lack of knowledge. If we worry about how whites feel about us or any other race then we will always be in the hands of the white man. The white man dont have control over us anymore. We can do anything our hearts desire, but greed and hatred wont make things better for us. We gotta stop blaming the white man and start opening up our own Malls, fastfood places, gas stations, and luxury homes. If the white man can build and occupy people so can we, and make alot of money. We can help others along the way.Why you think black people always seem to be the underdogs? We always put each other down. We are the most unique race on earth,Im not saying we are better than any other race, it's just that every other race wanna be like us, they copy our style, we influence every culture on earth from, Hiphop to Fashion. We are our own worst enemy. Ive noticed in every black neighborhood, theres always drug dealers, pimps, Gangbangers, the white man can mess up our family structures and mistreat us as a culture then live in nice homes and dont have to worry about drivebyes and murders all the time in their neighborhood.We as black folks make things bad on ourselves we gotta stop blaiming and start making changes for ourselves. When you are Pass 21 years old, you should be wiser and know how the system works, why you think the white man always prosper, they work the system and know who to go to when they need Financial help. the only way we can better ourselves is to stop complaining,keep God in your life, and do YOU

umbrarchist · June 27th, 2008, 08:49 AM

Quote:

We worry too much on what they white man think of us, instead of listening to what God has written in the bible about us being FREE in the first place.

Did the Chinese use the Bible to design the Three Gorges dam?

Three Gorges Dam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

um

amd1588 · June 27th, 2008, 09:44 AM

^^

You are SO Right brother. We are so beseech ed by all of these socio-psychological impediments that lead to our own self hatred. Christianity is one of many, in a whole litany of things that we use to keep ourselves ignorant. In fact, organized religion as a whole is deadly to the black mind. We are in an extreme state of self hatred- but it has nothing to do with what "White/Europeans cultures" are doing to us, its what we're doing to ourselves. It is not the White cultures that come into our community and kill us, it is our fellow brother.

On the bus home yesterday from school two brothers were trying to fight on the bus, grown men. They even threaten to shoot each other when they got off the bus, Why ? Because one dude looked at him the wrong way, and hating on his style.
Last week an 11 year old straight A six grader was shot as she laid in her bed taking a nap after school. There was a drive by in her community and the bullet came through her window and ricochet off her wall and bounced back into her forehead. European Culture did NOT Kill that little sister, another Brother did ! These days it doesn't have a thing to do with White Culture, we don't even value our own damn culture. How many young black men you know listen to Jazz ? Bop ? The Blues ? Its our acceptance of ignorance, laziness and mediocrity that is the source of ALL of our problems. And if ever we haven't had it good in our history, today should be the day that we strive towards goals of intellectual, educational and economic success. There is an old Egyptian proverb that says only through the Arts and Sciences can the mind truly liberate itself from its bodily impediments. Our people cant even value knowledge to be free. Yet we sit around, and sit around, talking about White Culture.... Lets take back our culture !

Lets start telling black children it is alright to READ, and to study. And that education does lead to greater opportunity, it may not guarantee you success, but it does opportunity. And the limits are endless for you. Are we too gone for a people ? As of today YES>..... Can It be changed ? I'd like to be optimistic, although it is HARD To do !

Jewels0479 · June 29th, 2008, 03:40 PM

Thank you all for your feedback on this. I appreciate your input.

While I agree that we can not forget the suffering that we have endured as a people, to blame whites for all of the problems that we currently face is a stretch. We are all living in a America where we have the oportunity to achieve anything that we put our minds to. Do you all not believe that? In spite of how outcasted we might feel, innerstrength and confidence in our own ability will overcome any adversity that we might face whether racially motivated or otherwise. I think that playng the victim is old and by doing so we give up all of our power to change our own lives.

umbrarchist · June 29th, 2008, 03:54 PM

Quote:

We are all living in a America where we have the oportunity to achieve anything that we put our minds to. Do you all not believe that?

Basically I don't believe it.

It is part of the psychological trick to get people to sabotage themselves and each other. The way the concept of competition is promoted in this society is absurd. Like you are supposed to compete with other students in getting A's at subjects you don't even want to know to become an HONOR STUDENT.

More like an honorable psychologically manipulated dummy.

This is the 39th year after the moon landing and our economists can't figure out that planned obsolescence is going on in automobiles but we are supposed to give a damn what that junk looks like? Did the economists get straight A's.

Go to school and pay to be told what to think not encouraged to actually think.

Get a higher salary to buy more expensive clothes to wear to work. This makes sense? When have you heard an economist say accounting should be mandatory in the schools? Shouldn't that make sense under CAPITALISM? No the workers are supposed to be dumb consumers running on a treadmill.

But I don't hear socialists or communists suggesting mandatory accounting either.

umbra

June 13th, 2008, 12:27 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jewels0479 Afro Resident Occasional 2Cents Join Date: May 2008 Gender: Posts: 74 Thanks: 0 Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts Rep Power: 0 Credits: 500	Are we too far gone as a people??? These thoughts run through my head from time to time as I go about my life and I always tell myself that it's a struggle and I have to do my part but sometimes I look around at "us" and an overwhelming feeling of dread comes over me. I'm feeling particularly dispondent today because of some things that I've seen recently. I'd thought I'd throw this out here and see what you guys think.... First, people are always looking crazy when a black person says that they don’t truly feel American. Like just because they were forced to give us our freedom in order to win the Civil War and then forced again by worldwide media attention to stop lynching us (so often) and give us equal rights a mere 40 years ago we’re supposed to forget about the struggle we went through for it and act like it’s all good. That would just be foolish. While we are Americans in the sense that this is the only home that many of us have known for generations, we are still looked upon and treated as second rate citizens by many of those in power. Second, while I stand firmly behind what I just wrote, I have to say that some BLACK PEOPLE are just as bad as biggots because we tear down our own just like the white man taught us to do hundreds of years ago. While we face opposition both real and perceived in white america, we are our own worst enemies. We kill each other daily for no reason at all, we have demeaned one another so much so that when we do it now, there is little or no acknowledgement of it's detrimental impact on our image of ourselves. It's expected and accepted by us and society. Listen to the music on the radio today. Kids, 15, 16 years old talking about "superman that hoe" and we all know what that really means by now. That is unacceptable. We should be outraged but instead we just shake our heads, momentarily appauled, and keep right on bouncing to the music because we like the beat. While we are so busy trying to preserve our urban edge and coolness, we forget that we still live in the real world where people are looking at what we say and do on TV and in music (and on the internet) and taking that as our contribution to society. They will judge us no matter what we do but giving them justifiable reason to by acting ignorant and then backing ignorance with a foolish resignation to continue “keeping it real” is old and hasn’t helped us collectively get anywhere, ever. With that said I have a few questions..... Do we feel somewhat disenfranchised for the reasons I've stated in my first point or do we perpetuate the divide with our own insecurity and inability to rise above our circumstances because we're too busy playing the victim? When are we going to learn that what we think, speak, and perpetuate is what we are perceived as, what we ultimately become and what we teach our children to become? Honestly, are we ever going to learn to respect ourselves so that others will also respect us and take us seriously as a people?

June 26th, 2008, 08:31 PM	#5 (permalink)
umbrarchist Afro Resident Occasional 2Cents Join Date: Mar 2008 Gender: Posts: 61 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Rep Power: 0 Credits: 403	Black Tunnel Vision That question reminds me of my father talking 50 years ago. He kept asking, "What is wrong with Black people." I think one problem is that we concentrate on WHITE PEOPLE too much. Why do White people have so much power? Do you ever think that it is because of technology? What would have happened if Indian's had had AK-47s when Whites showed up. Would their skin color have mattered? When I started reading sci-fi books my mother called it something crazy. I learned more about science and technology because of those books than i did from my grade school teachers. Too many of us act like education is just getting a degree and it doesn't matter what subject and then go for easy subjects. Don't expect the White people to give kids good books. They hide important information from each other. A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov Now how many Black women would not give those to their sons because they are written by White men? I tried getting a Black woman to read a book by Octavia Butler. She gave it back. Said it was too weird. She even disliked the cover. Don't you think the Chinese used knowledge they got from White people to build Three Gorges Dam? But no we are too busy getting emotional about stupid palefaces to sort the wheat from the chaff. um

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June 18th, 2008, 11:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jewels0479 Afro Resident Occasional 2Cents Join Date: May 2008 Gender: Posts: 74 Thanks: 0 Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts Rep Power: 0 Credits: 500	I'm still struggling with this. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

June 27th, 2008, 03:37 AM	#6 (permalink)
RealTalk3000 Afro Resident Emerging Voice Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Somewhere in the U.S.A Gender: Posts: 390 Thanks: 0 Thanked 40 Times in 31 Posts Rep Power: 0 Credits: 2,158	as long as theres ignorance and self-hate within the black community, we as black folk will always be mentally shackled. We worry too much on what they white man think of us, instead of listening to what God has written in the bible about us being FREE in the first place. When Jesus died for us all,all of our sins were cast away, and we have no real reason to be ignorant and lost like we are now. This is satan's system anyway. Jehovah (GOD) said: MY People perish because of lack of knowledge. If we worry about how whites feel about us or any other race then we will always be in the hands of the white man. The white man dont have control over us anymore. We can do anything our hearts desire, but greed and hatred wont make things better for us. We gotta stop blaming the white man and start opening up our own Malls, fastfood places, gas stations, and luxury homes. If the white man can build and occupy people so can we, and make alot of money. We can help others along the way.Why you think black people always seem to be the underdogs? We always put each other down. We are the most unique race on earth,Im not saying we are better than any other race, it's just that every other race wanna be like us, they copy our style, we influence every culture on earth from, Hiphop to Fashion. We are our own worst enemy. Ive noticed in every black neighborhood, theres always drug dealers, pimps, Gangbangers, the white man can mess up our family structures and mistreat us as a culture then live in nice homes and dont have to worry about drivebyes and murders all the time in their neighborhood.We as black folks make things bad on ourselves we gotta stop blaiming and start making changes for ourselves. When you are Pass 21 years old, you should be wiser and know how the system works, why you think the white man always prosper, they work the system and know who to go to when they need Financial help. the only way we can better ourselves is to stop complaining,keep God in your life, and do YOU

June 27th, 2008, 09:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
amd1588 Afro Resident Occasional 2Cents Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Atlanta Gender: Posts: 48 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Rep Power: 0 Credits: 269	^^ You are SO Right brother. We are so beseech ed by all of these socio-psychological impediments that lead to our own self hatred. Christianity is one of many, in a whole litany of things that we use to keep ourselves ignorant. In fact, organized religion as a whole is deadly to the black mind. We are in an extreme state of self hatred- but it has nothing to do with what "White/Europeans cultures" are doing to us, its what we're doing to ourselves. It is not the White cultures that come into our community and kill us, it is our fellow brother. On the bus home yesterday from school two brothers were trying to fight on the bus, grown men. They even threaten to shoot each other when they got off the bus, Why ? Because one dude looked at him the wrong way, and hating on his style. Last week an 11 year old straight A six grader was shot as she laid in her bed taking a nap after school. There was a drive by in her community and the bullet came through her window and ricochet off her wall and bounced back into her forehead. European Culture did NOT Kill that little sister, another Brother did ! These days it doesn't have a thing to do with White Culture, we don't even value our own damn culture. How many young black men you know listen to Jazz ? Bop ? The Blues ? Its our acceptance of ignorance, laziness and mediocrity that is the source of ALL of our problems. And if ever we haven't had it good in our history, today should be the day that we strive towards goals of intellectual, educational and economic success. There is an old Egyptian proverb that says only through the Arts and Sciences can the mind truly liberate itself from its bodily impediments. Our people cant even value knowledge to be free. Yet we sit around, and sit around, talking about White Culture.... Lets take back our culture ! Lets start telling black children it is alright to READ, and to study. And that education does lead to greater opportunity, it may not guarantee you success, but it does opportunity. And the limits are endless for you. Are we too gone for a people ? As of today YES>..... Can It be changed ? I'd like to be optimistic, although it is HARD To do !

June 29th, 2008, 03:40 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jewels0479 Afro Resident Occasional 2Cents Join Date: May 2008 Gender: Posts: 74 Thanks: 0 Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts Rep Power: 0 Credits: 500	Thank you all for your feedback on this. I appreciate your input. While I agree that we can not forget the suffering that we have endured as a people, to blame whites for all of the problems that we currently face is a stretch. We are all living in a America where we have the oportunity to achieve anything that we put our minds to. Do you all not believe that? In spite of how outcasted we might feel, innerstrength and confidence in our own ability will overcome any adversity that we might face whether racially motivated or otherwise. I think that playng the victim is old and by doing so we give up all of our power to change our own lives.