Racial stereotypes

Should I infer that you are black?

i'm thinking i might be half black

if i could just get me a fake birth certificate i could become president

bail out the auto industry, bah we're talking nationalized baby, you're all gonna be driving Yugos

Actually, Direhunt's original question simply asked why the stereotypes about blacks liking fried chicken and watermelon exist.

Just taken by itself, that is not an unreasonable question, nor is it racist, nor does it promote negative, or racist stereotypes. There are historical reasons for the stereotype, some of which I mentioned in my earlier post. I would not necessarily expect that someone from outside the U.S. would be aware of this history. And, as fresco helped to point out, the chicken and watermelon caricature is part of a stereotype bundle which has historically been associated with anti-black racism, it was used to degrade black people. Again, someone from outside the U.S. might, or might not, know that.

So, I didn't find Direhunt's basic question offensive, and I was willing to answer it.

What certainly seemed off-the-wall, to the point of being amusing, was Direhunt's stating that he/she did not want any "liberal/neo-hippy subjective faggotry" explanations in answer to the question. Blacks were actually one of the few groups that Direhunt managed not to insult --he/she certainly tried taking swipes at everyone else, including the people posting here.

I don't know whether this was trolling, although Direhunt certainly is provocative. And I personally don't care what that person's motives were. It's rather pathetic that a person would have to set up a situation just so they could rant and curse at the people responding to their thread.

BTW, do we have any neo-hippies around here?

Isn't that a stereotype, stating that blacks cannot utter "liberal/neo-hippy subjective faggotry"?

it almost has to be provocative with purpose, because only the brain dead don't know that the only socially acceptable thing to say about stereotypes is that they suck. This is an opinion that is not fact based, but it does not matter....the taboo against supporting and using stereotypes is now set, which is a big part of why shows like South Park are such a guilty pleasure

Hawkeye, simply asking about why certain stereotypes exist, or came into being, is quite apart from either supporting or using stereotypes. There is nothing wrong with discussing the origin of stereotypes. However, the way Direhunt characterized the type of responses he/she didn't want to hear, does make one wonder whether brain death wasn't a factor.

Francis, Direhunt wasn't talking about blacks at that point. Direhunt didn't want a "liberal/neo-hippy faggotry explanation" (whatever the hell that is) in response to the question about why the watermelon/fried chicken caricature exists. Or did I misunderstand what you meant?

You did say DireHunt didn't insult blacks.

He did insult liberals/neo-hippies.

Can't these be blacks?

Is it a stereotype?

wrong, because right away you are faced with either lying or admitting that stereotypes evolved from truth about the group being spoken of.....lie or say something in support of the stereotype, neither is morally acceptable.

Francis, sure those terms could also include blacks.

And Direhunt sure seemed to be insulting liberals, neo-hippies, and those who engage in "faggotry", but I'm less sure what Direhunt actually meant in using those terms, and frankly I don't care, because the total characterization seems so disjointed and off-the-wall. And yes, I do agree that Direhunt likely has stereotypes about those groups, whoever he was actually referring to.

But Direhunt did not say he/she shared or supported the stereotype about fried chicken and watermelon, he simply asked why it existed. I'm not sure it warranted attacking Direhunt for just asking that particular question. On the other hand, Direhunt said a lot of other nasty, and possibly bigoted, things which did warrant having people jump all over him/her, and respond with anger.

Hawkeye, stereotypes often come into existence because there may initially have been some validity to the perception, but it has become overly generalized, or distorted, or used to promote a negative image of an entire group. Origins of stereotypes are considered by sociologists, as well as social psychologists, as well as historians. It's a reasonable topic for academic discussion.

Stereotypes, even positive ones, never apply to all members of a group, and, in that regard, they can never be fully accurate.

if there is still a good amount of truth to the stereotype, which there may well be, then it is a good jumping off point when dealing with individuals of that group.

If we could take this energy we use to bash stereotypes and would instead put it into learning the truth of things we would be far ahead. But no, we can't do that.

Whether or not Stereotypes are insulting to the people portrayed, I was horrified several years ago to hear that Reverend Jesse Jackson had been involved in a clear stereotypical and, what would appear to be Anti-Black remark,

The Reverend Jackson commented:

“There is nothing more painful for me at this stage in my life,” Jesse Jackson said several years ago, “than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery"and then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”

I am certain that Jackson is not a bigot and certainly not Anti-Black. He has worked ceaselessly to help his people. However, he, as well as thousands of black cab drivers, deliverymen and others who go into the ghetto are realists.

The problem comes when the stereotype is stretched to include ALL or MOST members of any group.

Most blacks are law-abiding. However, because they do not wish to be branded as traitors to their race, MOST of them do not attack the problem of violence in the ghetto( which really includes only a minority, if truth be told). They do not, like Bill Cosby, fulminate against the black culture of the ghetto in which young blacks often prize basketball skills over academic pursuits and casual sex over binding marriage contracts,

Of course, Blacks in American society have had good reason to fear "The Man". I am reminded of a machine gun slaying in the middle of the day in a crowded street on the streets of Palermo. Although there were many witnesses, no one saw the perpretator.

Most blacks do not read Bill Cosby. They should. Cosby realizes that a wholesale change in Black Culture would go a long way in curing the problems of the Ghetto!

I don't really care if something is a stereotype or not, I care if it is true or not true. Considering that Jackson was talking about his feelings then we must assume that what he said was true. He should be praised for being willing to talk about his feelings considering that his feelings go against the script.

I generally can't stand Jesse Jackson, but I took notice when I originally heard of him saying this. It was one of his better hours.

You are absolutely correct,Hawkeye10. That is why I quoted Jesse Jackson. Most of the one worlders love to excoriate the hundreds( both black, white and Hispanic) who are assaulted by the savage fringe elements from the ghetto. We must, of course, be "politically correct".

Perception, as you point out, is vitally important. The "media"may stand on its head in offering the most benign portraits of the "violent" among us but reality is reality and millions of people, of all races, drive and walk far out of their way in order to avoid a dangerous ghetto.

Some call that racism. The level headed call it self preservation. As I have pointed out, there will be few if any changes until the CULTURE of the fringe in the ghettos is extirpated. The prospect is dim since, as I pointed out, with the exception of some far sighted blacks, the bulk of the population in the ghetto is either apathetic or in denial and the liberal media urges all of us to be more accepting of the behavior of people whose grandfathers and great grandfathers have suffered so many years under the terrible conditions of slavery. A nice sentiment but impossible to counter a "mugging"

Definition--A conservative is a former liberal who has been mugged!

I don't see people in the ghetto, particular the mothers of young men, as being either apathetic or in denial. I see a great deal of anguish about the drug drenched situation in most of these poor neighborhoods, and the constant level of violence, including gang violence, that surrounds their children. Many of these women work, but at jobs that don't pay enough for them to move their families out of there. Sometimes, no matter what they do, their children get caught up in the life on the streets, or they wind up in jail or get killed. This situation is due to many things, but a past history of slavery is not among the reasons I've heard from either the people in these communities or the media. And no one really wants to accept the situation as it is.

nobody is doing much to fix it either. The first step is to reintegrate the black man into the family, give him a mission besides gang-banging and titillating his nerve endings. Black women need to be a part of this, they need find something else to aspire to other than being super bitches. When they start to act like they need and want men around the world will change.

Dude, on page two of this thread you actually wrote "Afro-Americans." Therefore you cannot be taken seriously. And it's not personal, I assure you, but a consequence of physics. Nevertheless you must understand that your posts--any post related to race, henceforth--shall go unread.

Still I must ask, are you one-hundred-and-twenty years old? Do you own a television or radio, or visit sites other than A2K? In short, since the year 1980, have you, in general, paid attention?

Yup, those ties that bind. Pretty successful that.

I will amend it- Gargamel--African-Americans. Is that better? Is that the only nit you can pick? I am disappointed in you. It is of no consequence to me that you will not read any of my posts related to race. I understand that people who cannot deal with opinions which do not fit their narrow minds do not read anything except the mush that fits their narrow minds. I don't know very much about you except that I note that you have a foul mouth and a nasty mind judging from the personal comments you have on your personal site.

I will not belabor your comment as to whether I have paid attention except to say that I have three advanced degrees-the last one at the University of Chicago which, of course, is five times better than the execrable trade school you attended!

By the way, Gargamel--My name is not Dude. That may be an accepted nomenclature among pot smokers but I assure you that I have never smoked pot and never will. It dulls the mind. Have you discovered that?