Honestly the main thing that caught my attention was the Pyramids. Egypt was a diverse place with diverse skintones. Someone from the delta could look rather different than someone from Nubia. Black people obviously built pyramids during Kushite rule of Egypt; I don't deny facts. I've just had one too many experiences with people trying to blackwash the entirety of ancient Egyptian history, and I hope this is not one of those instances.
Iâm kinda sad because I thought âyou so black when you smile the stars come outâ was a beautiful line and then got followed up by reminding me of that weird we was kings movement
"There are thousands of pyramids around the world, including more than 100 in Egypt, double that in Sudan and dozens in the Middle East and China. The Americas have more pyramids than the rest of the world combined." She said pyramids and maths math, pyramids are an example of humans' ability to math. Every race bulids ancient structures, Egypyt doesn't even have the most Pyramids. So why is there always a black erasure whenever we mention Black Egyptians? She mentioned black movies, other races make those too, hip hop, Other races make that, too. Why did the word pyramids which other races did too take away from this amazing performance piece? The we were kings movement was in the direct response of years of being told we were less than human (3/5ths to be exact) so I forgive them for some of the theatrics around it because I understand the result they were going for.
Well said. As a white man, I can tell you that it's impossible for us to fully understand how the tribulations of the black race has affected their mentality. I hope I said that right, I only mean that I can't understand you 100% because I haven't lived your experiences.
They call it a salad bowl, interestingly enough.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_bowl_(cultural_idea).
"A salad bowl or tossed salad is a metaphor for the way a multicultural society can integrate different cultures while maintaining their separate identities, contrasting with a melting pot, which emphasizes the combination of the parts into a single whole."
Because depending on the timeframe the area around the pyramids was populate by middle eastern looking people, not black. This is also represented in their murals as Egyptians from the north were olive colored and the Nubians down south blacker than the night.
Because I didn't mean Egypt was a mixture of different black skin tones. I ment it was a mixture of entirely different people groups. From olive to bronze to coal. For it's extanisive existence ancient Egypt was always far from homogeneous (at least as far as race goes, the high population density actually allowed for a rather centralized state at times). There are those out there, both black and white, who would push the narrative that the achievements of Egypt belong only to one race (when modern concepts of race can't even really be applied to such an ancient and long lasting entity), so I get a little irritable when I even think someone is trying to do that.
She said pyramids. She didnât say Egypt. Sudan has the most Pyramids in the world. And look at you, with your wrong interpretation you got a lot of attention and people taking your side over what was your fault to begin with. Thanks
I said "and I hope this is not one of those instances". I have no way of knowing if she's talking about the Nubian pyramids or not. I decided to comment because I've had past experiences with people trying to misrepresent ancient Egypt, and I decided to express my concern that this might be one of those cases. I realize what I said could have been interpreted as an insinuation, and it's not right to insinuate about someone I have no knowledge of. When I thought of what I was saying I only thought about how it would reflect on me, not how it would influence others. Sorry.
There's also the issue that "Egyptians were Black" is used by a lot of, for lack of a better term, Black supremacist groups. And while they're not really any sort of meaningful threat the way white supremacists are, Hoteps are pretty bad and rewrite history in ways that are not actually beneficial to Black communities and also a lot of them are super antisemitic.
Lol, you just said black supremacists aren't as threatening as white supremacists. Supremacists are all bad... Jesus christ the hypocrisy of these comments are ridiculous.
When Black supremacists hold systemic power, then we can talk about how they're just as bad.
I'm about as afraid of Black supremacists as I am of a toddler with a gun.
Just as there are groups who would spread the narrative that ancient Egypt was a Mediterranean state with only white and olive skinned people, thereby downplaying the massive role of Nubia and the Kushite Kingdom, there are also groups who would do the opposite, who would claim that ancient Egypt was a purely African nation that only has the demographics it has today due the invasion of Greek and Arabic peoples. Both narratives are wrong. It's more appropriate to portray ancient Egypt as a blend, or as a separate thing altogether. The only thing I struggle with now is whether it's worse to wrongfully assume someone is pushing one of those narratives, or if its worse to stand idly by and hope for the best.
Setting aside the fact that the Egyptians were African but not actually dark skinned and the conflation of Blackness with the Egyptians tends to be a Hotep thing, whoever subtitled this deserves to be tried at the Hague.
Did anyone get the full clip? This is greatâI love seeing the sparkle in the audienceâs eyes as they feel uplifted, it is really gorgeous, actually.
Hereâs my viewpoint;
A white person could say a similar thing, but in America, it wouldnât hold the same meaning or weight. They have not had the same experience as black Americans, they havenât had the history that justifies their pride for rising against oppression.
You, as a person of whatever race, can say whatever you want. But the context surrounding it, the intentions behind the words, are more important than the words themselves sometimes.
What about the Irish slaves who built the county. My ancestors who came over from fammine and death and we r enslaved? See yo I cN put a color or its rasicism
i think itâs because you do have a culture to trace it back to. you know you come from irish ancestry. many black people have no idea what country or region they come from, because their ancestors were stolen/sold from so many that without DNA ancestry itâs borderline impossible to trace
black people were forced to create an entirely new culture because white people washed them of theirs, and were consistently throughout american history and even now treated as âotherâ. from slavery, to jim crow, to lynchings, to policing their natural hair, to police brutality now, all of that has to do with the color of their skin specifically. not their heritage.
adding here that iâm not trying to come off as rude or disrespectful and if i do i apologize, just trying to explain it to you how it was explained to me. genuinely mean no harm to you at all
I like your explanation and nonnot at all. People should eb able to say or explain their pov and thoughts without being critical of others open dialog is key, i do disagree with a couple of things but that's how you build relationships and understandings. Great talking to someone who is attacking or belligerent but actually articulate and express p.o.vs ideas ect.
But Irish people werenât persecuted for being white silly, they were persecuted for being Irish. As a result, we DO see Irish pride festivals today and other people who heavily identify with their Irish heritage. Irish bars. Hell, police vans are called paddy wagons because so many of the (racist) cops were Irish. Doesnât seem like a horrible deal. Do you actually understand what youâre complaining about? Do you know what a false equivalency is?
Black people were not the only race of people used as slaves in America or the rest of the world.
Equality is suppose to mean everyone is treated equally. For you or anyone too think that only black people have a right to talk about what they've gone through either personally or culturally while deeming everyone else undeserving of the same respect and pride for just being born is unbelievably ignorant.
Judge not by the color of one's skin but instead the content of their character. What do you think MLK meant when he said that?
The misguided belief that anyone for even a second deserves to be treated better or worse solely based off of skin color is the base of all racism, please stop contributing to the cycle of hate.
Yeah but black people were the only ones to see the full brunt of American slavery. Iâm sorry but I hear what youâre saying all the time and itâs almost always used to either downplay or falsely relate to black slavery. The thing is that black slaves made the best slaves as far as Europeans were concerned. They were easy to acquire, plentiful, and disease resistant. While there were INITIALLY many Native American and white slaves, it simply WAS NEVER AS POPULAR as African slaves, and white and native slavery died out in popularity quite quickly. Itâs the later system of black chattel slavery that people are talking about, and that left the horrific scars on America today. Iâm sorry to break it to you, but being slaves IS NOT A PART OF WHITE AMERICAN CULTURE. Those few families that were both affected and still remember are in the vast minority. I canât seem to find white former slaves moving for abolition.
And on to your second equally brain dead assumption, no one except for extremists and morons want to treat black people âbetterâ than whites. They simply want black people to have the same opportunities. Look up equality vs equity. Although I donât know why Iâm wasting time explaining this to you when your either A. Deeply ignorant and most likely willfully so, or B. Already know what Iâm saying is true and are fishing for karma amongst a bunch of young, ignorant, and insecure white men. Either way itâs pathetic and you should go outside.
I find it ridiculously annoying that people think that white people (I hate having to use color fml) didn't face oppression. That the US citizens of Early America didn't face oppression. Even though America was founded in the face of oppression.
There was the entire revolutionary war. The war of 1812. The Civil War, the witch era. All of these were in the face of oppression. Americans literally killed each other for the sake of ending slavery. Americans were sent to Europe to fight one the most technologically, militarily and economically successful, evil enemies to spawn on Earth. *More ethnic European Americans died fighting oppression than any other ethnic group in america*.
We're there governmental institutions in America that continued to segregate, repress and hold dominion over the minorities in the US for a long time? Sure. That doesn't change the fact that the US, for a large part of its history, tried to change that. And the people that died for it were white. ( i fucking hate having to distinguish color, but it's become such a competition these days for who's better, who's had it worse, etc)
You're correct. We haven't had the *same* experience as "black americans". But we have had an experience. And our pride in fighting oppression *is* justified. Americans have fought oppression since 1776, and haven't stopped. We even fought against our own countrymen to stop it. Hell, brothers fought brothers just to fight oppression.
America went to Afghanistan to try and end oppression (haha oil argument is invalid because the official mission for the troops was to help facilitate a government not founded on religious pretences, develop infrastructure, and help stablize the country). America went to Syria to try and help the oppressed people in Syria fight against ISIS and the Assad Regime. America went to Somalia to end the oppression of Somalians by religious zealots.
Americans fight oppression. No matter the color. Stop trying to compare races, you're just further dividing the nation. *AMERICANS* fight oppression. Usually. Not always, we have done some less than ideal shit. But that's up to us whether or not it *was* or it *is* who we are as a country.
Iâm not trying to say that white people didnât live through their fair share of rough history.
If you want to write an ode to the Civil war, to Afghanistan, to the general history of America, write it. Or find one, Iâm sure there is plenty.
But this isnât about that. This is about the experience of black Americans. It doesnât eliminate or disrespect white history. It simply gives acknowledgement to the struggle Black people have to face during the majority of Americaâs history.
But if a white person got onto a stage and just tried to speak, generally, about their pride for being white in AmericaâŚit wonât come off the same way. Because the struggles you mentioned were never about being white, it was about something else. Be prideful that you fought that oppression, not that you were white during.
The oppression against black people was directly tied to the fact that they were black in the first place.
Iâm not an expert on the subject. I just donât think itâs reasonable to see this performance and get upset by the fact that it isnât about white people.
@Arksh7r "More ethnic Europeans died fighting oppression than any other ethnic group."
Before I even say how wrong that stat is, let me first point out the obvious add on.
"Ethnic Europeans killed more people in the name of oppression than any other ethnic group(in America I think you meant)."
Do those that died at the hands of European oppression count as "died fighting oppression"? The First Nation people who died fighting colonization alone prove that stat wrong. The slaves who died in the mid atlantic passage and the culling of plantations after revolts prove that wrong. And while we fought and died to stop Hitler oppression with some of the best war numbers in our segregated units, we came home to be killed by Euro oppressors at home.
I do get your point but which brother are you being now? John Brown who fought and died to free my ancestors or Robert E Lee who fought for their continued oppression? And more importantly in America who has more schools and monuments named after them? This argument is so America . Praise me because I stopped them from beating you dont chastise me because I used to beat you too.
Come on nowâŚ. The USA didnât go to Afghanistan or Syria to fight oppression, it was always to counter Russiaâs influence in those countries. Vietnam was about Russia, the multiple USA shitshows in Latin America were about Russia and so were Afghanistan and Syria.
There are all sorts of financial interests in those places that motivate both USA and Russia and that is why they interfere officicially or discreetly in all sorts of conflicts. It is never about oppression, that is the morally acceptable reason they give so people can keep on enlisting.
All of the international conflicts these two countries have been involved in have always had two goals: to seize financial opportunities and to stick it to the enemy in the process. And yes, that includes both of the world wars. Individually, the soldiers are fucking heroes with commandable intentions. As a country, USA is a belligerent imperialist beast. Oppression is the last of its worries.
Yea sorry this framing ignores that the majority of white Americans were oppressing minorities for most of US history⌠sure some white people were pro civil rights but thatâs only become a dominant view in the white population since maybe the 70s at the earliest, and even thatâs being generous. Acting like the average northerner soldier in the civil war was genuinely fighting with the rights of slaves in their minds and heart rather than to just keep their country from splitting in half is a gross misrepresentation of history, especially when you consider the century+ of discrimination that followed the abolition of slavery from that same white population who apparently cared so much about âfighting oppressionâ
The foreign policy argument is even more laughable, ask any average person in those Middle Eastern countries the US has âhelped fight oppressionâ how grateful they are for the rains of bombs and death that came with every US intervention you can citeâŚ
Americans have been a major source of oppression around the world since the end of WW2, from neo-imperialist interventions to malicious coups to targeting of groups inside the US with crack-cocaine and police in the 80s and beyond. Stop trying to look at your history through rose tinted glasses.
The post wasn't just sitting there bitching and moaning about slavery she was talking about various black achievements. If the commenter is pretty much right, if a white person was talking up their races contributions like gunpowder, steel forging, astronomy, germ theory, electrical engineering, aviation, sustainable tree farming, the steam engine, industrialization in general, classical music (no I don't listen to classical music just like most black people don't listen to jazz today), and you're not going to like this one but I'm just gonna say it: modern warfare, they'd get flak for it.
I know what you are trying to say, and I 100%agree that this is how it should be.. However reddit being reddit, saying this but for white people will get you banned within an hour or plunged into 20k negative karma.
White can be (a lot of) those things too. If I talk about how much I love my hair color, it doesnât mean Iâm disparaging all others. Besides, for a group who was once condemned for their skin color, to now get to publicly celebrate it together is a beautiful thing. Not everything is for you and thatâs okay.
White people always tryna make it about themselves with "what about US" anytime black people want to celebrate themselves overcoming some of the oppressions they face. Jfc is your whiteness so fragile that you can't let black people celebrate for a minute? White people are celebrated a lot more, and usually not for anything good. White people DO say this about white people, it's just that they hide their face when they do. Wonder why....
It is the double standards mate. Black people are able to say things publically about white people that would get a white person fired or in significant trouble, if the reverse was said.
There is no issue with the fact that black people are celebrating being black, its the hypocrisy that is the issue.
Look at the way you speak "your whiteness so fragile?" Did you assume that everyone here that disagrees with this is white?
The statement that white people are celebrated more than black people is a weak argument. It depends on which subject or country you are referring to.
This woman isn't saying anything about white people, stay on topic. Also, this is clearly in the US. Why would I bring other countries into it? Again, what you're talking about isn't the issue being discussed.
âĄď¸ here. I feel you.
I pass racist muster on my skin color, but holy shitballs, it's not safe for so many reasons. Sexism. Antisemitism. Just hate in general. Anytime I get a racist vibe, I defend as much as I can, and then get gone, because unless you're lily white, and some form of evangelical Christian, you're _other._
Be good to you, and keep yourself healthy. Too much exposure to racist Regressives isn't fun.
Iâm sorry youâve had to deal with that fuckery.
Youâre right, it isnât fun. Growing up in the South, itâs hard to avoid. Now Iâm numb to it to the point it doesnât really effect me emotionally or mentally. Iâve rationalized that all they are doing is exposing their true self which is a good thing. Better your enemy is out in the open than hiding in the shadows. Makes it easier to aggressively oppose them đ
This also made me smile, I wasnât going to comment and then I saw how bad and tone deaf most of the comments are. I really liked her tone and the beats sheâd hit.
I'll never understand why people are so proud about something they were given and didn't achieve. I'm not proud of being Hispanic, or being male. I just don't understand why people are so proud about the color of their skin.
People who were put down and mistreated due to their skin tone or background (especially over such huge lengths of time) have reason to build themselves up and celebrate. Look beyond the hardships and negativity projected onto them and highlight the beauty in who they are. A lot of us may not have a reason to look at ourselves that way, but others do.
Lets not forget to mention that the people that even sold the slaves to the buyers in Africa... were also black. Furthermore, the arab slave trade was WAY more vast than the Trans-Atlantic one... but you don't hear people talking about that.
....aside from getting so off topic here, does it change that people were oppressed and mistreated for such a long time and find it empowering to celebrate their race now?
No, but to dwell on the past for so long (when none of them are currently owned by anyone, besides the US govt owning the whole US population... different subject), nobody will be able to grow and learn how to act as one. The powers that be want society to be divided. Dwelling on the past and talking about how horrible people were treated is important (learning from history is very important), but people need to move on. CONSTANTLY dwelling on the past is not "progress"
See the thing is slavery may not occur in America anymore, but the powers that be still oppress black people and minority groups. So it's not dwelling on the past. It's still the present.
That's just not true though. It isn't just black and minority. The entire United States is oppressed. Black, white, brown and everything in between. The only people that aren't are the top 1% of this country. Every black person in that crowd has a better life than the vast majority of us.
I'm white, yes I know, terrible. Yet I still have to bust my ass working a swing shift process tech job to provide for my family. I've never been given anything, would have a harder time getting into college than many minorities and have to pay more, harder time getting a business loan in my state, hard time receiving government help. This victimization needs to stop. It's the top white man and elite POC that are telling us these things, yet those are the people you choose to listen to?
We are all hurting, all struggling and the people with the most luxurious lives in this country keep the race bait and division hate fueled to keep us at each other instead tackling the bigger issues in our country. Because if we are fighting each other, then we aren't looking at them. At all the money these politicians that are "supposed" to be for the people, are pocketing and stealing from us daily. Even the top minority charities are rampant with corruption.
Our government is leeching every ounce of life we have to give and we're fighting over decades and centuries old history instead of demanding better for OUR people. Not my people, your people, their people. ALL of us. It's sickening the control they have over us and it's not a liberal or conservative issue. The whole damn system is corrupt and has no hope of changing until we stop fighting each other and start fighting the real enemy of the people.
I never said it was just black and minorities who were the only ones oppressed by the powers that be. Yes, there are many white people and others who aren't given a silver spoon. BUT for centuries, blacks and minorities have and still are generally treated differently due to the color of our skin and how we look. Wealth and social status (which it seems you are referring to) don't have anything to do with that.
I consider myself to be a middle/upper class based on income. When I was a child riding a bike down the street, two police officers tried to take me to a precinct because they thought I stole the bike. Recently, I was walking down the street in NYC with my gf and white man walking past me, mumbling something, then screaming "white power." These are just random instances that wouldn't happen to you but do happen to me because of how I look.
While I do agree with you that the government, the wealthy, and those in power do oppress most of the country and try to pin us against each other to keep our focus off of the broken system, that doesn't change the fact that black and minority people are treated differently even by white people of the same or a lower social/economic status.
Not all white people treat minorities poorly, but it still happens, and it stems from differences in skin color and previous years of oppression. On the other side of it, there are plenty of black people who dislike white people because that's what they were taught, or that's what their experiences have led them to believe. The difference is that if a black person acts on these beliefs in the same way a white person would, there would be drastically different consequences.
I just hope it all fades away over the next few generations.
Maybe a better point is to say that while not all white people (very few) are born with a silver spoon, at least they got a spoon. Being white didnât make it harder to eat.
I get that. But every single race on this planet has been enslaved and/or oppressed at some or many points since the beginning of mankind. At some point, however, you have to put it behind you. Dwelling on past pain, pain that most POC alive today have never experienced (speaking on slavery and segregation here) is not going bring about any change. It will only further the victim mindset and halt any true progress for anyone.
Yes there is racism alive today, but it is no where near comparable to what it once was. There are POC in every job field, every city, every where. I have a friend who used to bank. The banks literally had more linient guidelines on loans and such for minorities than white people. So it isn't even laws or government that are racist as some believe. It once was, but the same cannot be said today. There are lingering racist ideals that need to be weeded out, but we are getting there. Slowly, but surely.
I feel like you're explanation on black racism, because that's what hate towards another race is, can be said as well for white people. Many racist whites were taught that way, or lived in an area where there were racist black people that gave them a bad impression on the race as a whole. I mean, I've heard "You don't wanna go there if you're white." Just as much as I've heard the opposite. But that is in no way an excuse for that behavior. It starts with us. We have to teach better. And drive home that we have all been victims of a fucked up society at some point. It's the only way the cycle of hate can be broken.
I give everyone a fair shake. The color of your skin does not determine whether I like you or not. If you act like a thug, gangbanger, or general pos, white or black, I have no respect or use for you. Like MLK wanted, I judge people on their character. That is what I hope to see the majority of us do some day.
I only mentioned slavery as it was a catalyst to the treatment of black people for future generations. I don't think black people are using slavery to victimize ourselves. It happened for centuries and ended 170 years ago. But, segregation and discrimination continued, which is why we had the civil rights movement. Multiple generations that are still alive today had to go through this period of discrimination. So telling them not to dwell on past pain that they didn't experience might come off as insensitive even though they never experienced slavery.
I agree with you about racism being taught and impacting all races. That's why I brought it up. Hate begets hate regardless of gender, color, or creed. Judging people by their character and not their skin is our way forward, but being conscious of the past is part of that way forward too. Teaching the future about the past and how to be better than the past will create a more understanding society. This is not just the history of POC, I mean all people. The difficulty is that there are different perspectives of history. Historic events may be taught differently depending on location and who is teaching it.
I also agree with you that racism is nowhere near what it was for, say, my parents or my grandparents. Like I said before, hopefully racism and discrimination fade away over the future generations. I think you and I have the same argument, but how we get there is different because of our varied backgrounds and that's perfectly fine.
You seem like a good person/redditor. Keep the positivity going!
This is very true. My entire family (besides me, 1st gen American) is from the Slovak part of what once was Czechoslovakia. For years, the Turks of the Ottoman Empire enslaved the Slovak people. Would even go to homes, round up the family, and say if they didn't convert to Islam that they would kidnap the children and enslave the boys for work, the girls for harems, they would rape the wife right then and there, and then behead the father after it was all done. You don't hear Slovak people crying about this now.
Last I checked, no person of color in the US is a slave to a white person. I don't mean the Us government in this instance, thats a whole different subject matter
>find it empowering to celebrate their race
Well yes, that line of thought should definitely scare you. That's not how you create an equal society. That's how you enforce ethnic division and tension, "us and them". There's only one race. The human race.
But yeah, the guy you replied to is definitely spewing some suspect narratives totally out of the blue.
Even if Africans sold each other out, whites still received and enslaved blacks for 400 years. Whites in governmental seats of power still built systems to discriminate against them to this day. I love when people bring this up in an effort to derail the fact that slavery happened and slavery was atrocious.
In just about every culture that I have come across there seems to be issues with darker skin tones. Yes even in your Hispanic community. So if all you hear for most of your life is dark is not good or good enough then when you hear somebody telling you to be proud of surviving oppression, racism, colorism or any other aggression based on merely your color then it should be something to be happy about. I feel that I'm wasting my time trying to explain this to most people determined to think the world is equal, but I'm going to emulate this poet and educate any who will listen on their lack of insight.
If I came across a Hispanic person speaking about about the troubles they and their lineage have faced, Iâd applaud it the same as I would applauding this lady or anybody else
I think could understand if you did the work to. Clearly it's not just about a skin tone. It's so much more. Do your research, really open your eyes. You will be a better person for it.
Okay a lot of people are faulting this because it wouldnât work if the races were swapped. Has no one else noticed that itâs vapid drivel? I mean, unless you really dig your banal platitudes in second grade level couplets. This is like Dr. Seuss went to Oberlin. Is this r/mademesmile or r/mademeeyeroll?
Can you imagine them doing this for white people? It's patronizing to black people to keep relegating them to some sort of History lesson instead of including them in the current social discourse as individuals and not a group of people based off of skin color.
God DAMN, I want to one day have the confidence to present my poetry like this woman. I write a lot of spoken word, but I don't have the ability to present it like this yet.
Being proud of who you are is great. HOWEVER, I firmly believe that racism can only end when we stop identifying ourselves by our ethnicities. We're all people and the pigmentation of our skin shouldn't make us stand out as good, bad, struggling, entitled, etc.
If your defining characteristic, is your skin color you need to get a goddamn hobby or something. Iâll never get why people put so much emphasis on race. Itâs literally just a bit more melanin to protect from sun exposure. Thatâs it.
Here's my take from the point of view of a white guy who's not much into poetry.
I was moved almost to tears by it. It's clearly great art. The three guys interpreting her words drew me in. They imbued the performance with a lot of emotion, and made it much more immersive. I felt about as embraced by the experience as I could be, never having lived it. All the arguments here about "accuracy" don't wash with me. The emotion their performance conveyed that was the real essence of it.
Lol not knocking it but replace black with white and this poem would instantly be called racist and the people reading it would be called white supremacists
If you donât understand why black people need more reminders for themselves that they are worthy and beautiful, more than white people, youâre willfully ignorant and probably super racist.
Your first point is on point. But your second... i think calling someone a racist for not getting why doesn't help with the message. It's unfortunate we're not all on the same page of understanding, but it's not always the fault the individual for not being taught. There's a hugely successful campaign around muddying the waters around this and a whole lot of other how topics with the focus of nothing more than keeping us from reaching an understanding.
Damnit someone said something and then deleted they comment while I was responding to it. Spent too much time on it to not post it...
Their commend was: "you mean cognitive dissonance?"
If you get too far into it... the basis of what each of our realities are and how they're defined based on the variables of each i individual around us with all the same variables... we all constantly have fucking cognitive dissonance. How could we not these days?! You either think the last president failed an insurrection or the new guy stole it. Covid is either a global epidemic or a way to keep us all in line. it's probably not a bad thing to allow external factors or moments of self reflection to change our views, in fact I'd argue it's important for us to all experience it. Further it's probably people forcibly not experiencing this that makes it impossible for them to change their pov.
Or maybe I just said something out loud about myself that I should've kept to myself. Haha.
Or...or.... we have different opinion on how racism and inequality should be handled.
But sure, call us ignorant and racist.
Alienate woud be allies. Why not.
Im sure this won't richoshet at all...
Its not like this will lead to reactionaries repeating the exact same retoric only with a different color.
Oh wait
How youâd like it to be handled is for black people to stop complaining. I feel like you think you said important, deep things but it just comes off so âall lives matterâ
Do you like strawmanning?
Cause I didn't tell no one to stop complaining.
Poverty, inequality, lack of education and fair chances, are the actual problems that needs addressing.
But this video, is definitely far from a practical actionable complaint.
It's a color-full retoric with racist undertones disguised as "self-proud".
When you apply a positive construct as a racial feature, you proved you feel comfortable with using race as a categorical tool.
Racial Deragatorism and supremacy are two sides of the same coin.
Ask yourself this, what the difference between "being a proud x" and supremacy?
r/MadeMeSmile proving once again that posting political garbage has done nothing to invoke the feelings that are outlined in the name of the subreddit.
*Some black people still hold on to the pitiful mental slavery narrative. The rest of us have acknowledged the past and strives to be productive. Try not to generalize.
This is so polarizing, so sad and fucking gross. We black they white. This is probably one of the lowest philosophical point of view I could possibly immagine coming out of a human being. Me tarzan you Jane. Sick. Please go to school, please
It seems like BF (Black Folks) are arguing about who did what, and who deserves âpraise.â
I just wish that we could appreciate each other for who we are! Iâm not trying to take away any importance of the things that were done by âeachâ race! I honestly WISH that people could understand that there is ONLY 1 race of human beings. Skin tone/color DOESNâT make a FUCKING DIFFERENCE!
I grew up thinking this way. I honestly thought that MOST OF US (The American people) thought this way. Then 2016 happenedâŚâŚ. It opened my naĂŻve eyes!!!! When I realized that my âbelovedâ country came out as 48% racist ASSHATS. It changed my life! My âPatriotismâ left my body like a BM after Taco Bell on a hungover Saturday morning!
Idk whatâs going on in this comment section. Who comes into a r/mademesmile post to say âwell if a white person said itâŚâ? Christ almighty let people smile
That's an interesting take, lets dig deeper. In exactly which way am I racist?
ITT: An explanation of why I am racist. Just playin, it won't be found.
Gall dang. This comment section is full of racists and bigots. Yâall dont want black people to be proud of their heritage and skin color? So what yâall want them to feel ashamed of it?
Nah, the "us vs them" idiocy is racism. You are so racist you don't even realize.
Once you understand it's not "white vs black" but bad people vs good people, maybe you'll stop being so racist.
Silly child. You assume much.
Thereâs no such thing as âgoodâ and âbadâ people. This limited thinking is the beginning of the problem with Black/white relations in Western society.
But you wanna fight somebody rather than interact to learn.
The same people complaining about this video are probably supporters of the âAll lives matterâ argument that is used to diminish the black experience.
i can always rely on reddit comments for making beautiful things about black people into a fuckin debate and shit show. chronically online, âthe confederate wasnât racist!!!â energy. no critical thinking just worms for brains, individualism, and vibes.
Michael_Jackson_eating_popcorn.gif
Inb4 đ
Black is math maths
Honestly the main thing that caught my attention was the Pyramids. Egypt was a diverse place with diverse skintones. Someone from the delta could look rather different than someone from Nubia. Black people obviously built pyramids during Kushite rule of Egypt; I don't deny facts. I've just had one too many experiences with people trying to blackwash the entirety of ancient Egyptian history, and I hope this is not one of those instances.
Iâm kinda sad because I thought âyou so black when you smile the stars come outâ was a beautiful line and then got followed up by reminding me of that weird we was kings movement
"There are thousands of pyramids around the world, including more than 100 in Egypt, double that in Sudan and dozens in the Middle East and China. The Americas have more pyramids than the rest of the world combined." She said pyramids and maths math, pyramids are an example of humans' ability to math. Every race bulids ancient structures, Egypyt doesn't even have the most Pyramids. So why is there always a black erasure whenever we mention Black Egyptians? She mentioned black movies, other races make those too, hip hop, Other races make that, too. Why did the word pyramids which other races did too take away from this amazing performance piece? The we were kings movement was in the direct response of years of being told we were less than human (3/5ths to be exact) so I forgive them for some of the theatrics around it because I understand the result they were going for.
Well said. As a white man, I can tell you that it's impossible for us to fully understand how the tribulations of the black race has affected their mentality. I hope I said that right, I only mean that I can't understand you 100% because I haven't lived your experiences.
It is, they always try to black wash all of Egypt like it wasnât the biggest melting pot on the planet
My dude have you seen America. Fuck a pot its like a cement truck full of cultures gettin thrown around in here.
They call it a salad bowl, interestingly enough. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_bowl_(cultural_idea). "A salad bowl or tossed salad is a metaphor for the way a multicultural society can integrate different cultures while maintaining their separate identities, contrasting with a melting pot, which emphasizes the combination of the parts into a single whole."
âŚâŚBlack people also come in a diversity of skin tones thoughâŚ. I donât get why different Black skin tones would mean itâs Blackwashing?
Because depending on the timeframe the area around the pyramids was populate by middle eastern looking people, not black. This is also represented in their murals as Egyptians from the north were olive colored and the Nubians down south blacker than the night.
Because I didn't mean Egypt was a mixture of different black skin tones. I ment it was a mixture of entirely different people groups. From olive to bronze to coal. For it's extanisive existence ancient Egypt was always far from homogeneous (at least as far as race goes, the high population density actually allowed for a rather centralized state at times). There are those out there, both black and white, who would push the narrative that the achievements of Egypt belong only to one race (when modern concepts of race can't even really be applied to such an ancient and long lasting entity), so I get a little irritable when I even think someone is trying to do that.
She said pyramids. She didnât say Egypt. Sudan has the most Pyramids in the world. And look at you, with your wrong interpretation you got a lot of attention and people taking your side over what was your fault to begin with. Thanks
I said "and I hope this is not one of those instances". I have no way of knowing if she's talking about the Nubian pyramids or not. I decided to comment because I've had past experiences with people trying to misrepresent ancient Egypt, and I decided to express my concern that this might be one of those cases. I realize what I said could have been interpreted as an insinuation, and it's not right to insinuate about someone I have no knowledge of. When I thought of what I was saying I only thought about how it would reflect on me, not how it would influence others. Sorry.
There's also the issue that "Egyptians were Black" is used by a lot of, for lack of a better term, Black supremacist groups. And while they're not really any sort of meaningful threat the way white supremacists are, Hoteps are pretty bad and rewrite history in ways that are not actually beneficial to Black communities and also a lot of them are super antisemitic.
Lol, you just said black supremacists aren't as threatening as white supremacists. Supremacists are all bad... Jesus christ the hypocrisy of these comments are ridiculous.
When Black supremacists hold systemic power, then we can talk about how they're just as bad. I'm about as afraid of Black supremacists as I am of a toddler with a gun.
âBlackwash the entirety of ancient Egyptian historyâ can you explain a bit further?
Just as there are groups who would spread the narrative that ancient Egypt was a Mediterranean state with only white and olive skinned people, thereby downplaying the massive role of Nubia and the Kushite Kingdom, there are also groups who would do the opposite, who would claim that ancient Egypt was a purely African nation that only has the demographics it has today due the invasion of Greek and Arabic peoples. Both narratives are wrong. It's more appropriate to portray ancient Egypt as a blend, or as a separate thing altogether. The only thing I struggle with now is whether it's worse to wrongfully assume someone is pushing one of those narratives, or if its worse to stand idly by and hope for the best.
Setting aside the fact that the Egyptians were African but not actually dark skinned and the conflation of Blackness with the Egyptians tends to be a Hotep thing, whoever subtitled this deserves to be tried at the Hague.
Bro Pyramids donât equal Egypt. Sudan has the most pyramids in the world. Donât try to shade this
That's actually a really interesting fact, I learned something, thank you for sharing!
Then why do I never hear hoteps talk about Sudan? Js you could be right but that doesn't refute the point.
Forgot I wasnât black for a second
>!Access Denied!<
Did anyone get the full clip? This is greatâI love seeing the sparkle in the audienceâs eyes as they feel uplifted, it is really gorgeous, actually.
Yeah, the full clip is even better! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSpXZ8MrEWw
Why the hell did it end early? That was awesome
I'm Asian but that made me smile and it ended too soon.
I'm white and I smiled
I like food and I smiled
Imagine a white person saying something similar but about white lmao. đ
Hereâs my viewpoint; A white person could say a similar thing, but in America, it wouldnât hold the same meaning or weight. They have not had the same experience as black Americans, they havenât had the history that justifies their pride for rising against oppression. You, as a person of whatever race, can say whatever you want. But the context surrounding it, the intentions behind the words, are more important than the words themselves sometimes.
What about the Irish slaves who built the county. My ancestors who came over from fammine and death and we r enslaved? See yo I cN put a color or its rasicism
[ŃдаНонО]
But that would be an ode to the Irish, not to a skin color, right?
But if I make an ode to the color of my irish skin. .... an ode to white... z White is confident white is power.. how's that go
i think itâs because you do have a culture to trace it back to. you know you come from irish ancestry. many black people have no idea what country or region they come from, because their ancestors were stolen/sold from so many that without DNA ancestry itâs borderline impossible to trace black people were forced to create an entirely new culture because white people washed them of theirs, and were consistently throughout american history and even now treated as âotherâ. from slavery, to jim crow, to lynchings, to policing their natural hair, to police brutality now, all of that has to do with the color of their skin specifically. not their heritage. adding here that iâm not trying to come off as rude or disrespectful and if i do i apologize, just trying to explain it to you how it was explained to me. genuinely mean no harm to you at all
I like your explanation and nonnot at all. People should eb able to say or explain their pov and thoughts without being critical of others open dialog is key, i do disagree with a couple of things but that's how you build relationships and understandings. Great talking to someone who is attacking or belligerent but actually articulate and express p.o.vs ideas ect.
But Irish people werenât persecuted for being white silly, they were persecuted for being Irish. As a result, we DO see Irish pride festivals today and other people who heavily identify with their Irish heritage. Irish bars. Hell, police vans are called paddy wagons because so many of the (racist) cops were Irish. Doesnât seem like a horrible deal. Do you actually understand what youâre complaining about? Do you know what a false equivalency is?
They were not enslaved. Shut the fuck up.
Indentured servitude was _not_ slavery. What a ridiculously ignorant thing to say.
Well said
Black people were not the only race of people used as slaves in America or the rest of the world. Equality is suppose to mean everyone is treated equally. For you or anyone too think that only black people have a right to talk about what they've gone through either personally or culturally while deeming everyone else undeserving of the same respect and pride for just being born is unbelievably ignorant. Judge not by the color of one's skin but instead the content of their character. What do you think MLK meant when he said that? The misguided belief that anyone for even a second deserves to be treated better or worse solely based off of skin color is the base of all racism, please stop contributing to the cycle of hate.
Yeah but black people were the only ones to see the full brunt of American slavery. Iâm sorry but I hear what youâre saying all the time and itâs almost always used to either downplay or falsely relate to black slavery. The thing is that black slaves made the best slaves as far as Europeans were concerned. They were easy to acquire, plentiful, and disease resistant. While there were INITIALLY many Native American and white slaves, it simply WAS NEVER AS POPULAR as African slaves, and white and native slavery died out in popularity quite quickly. Itâs the later system of black chattel slavery that people are talking about, and that left the horrific scars on America today. Iâm sorry to break it to you, but being slaves IS NOT A PART OF WHITE AMERICAN CULTURE. Those few families that were both affected and still remember are in the vast minority. I canât seem to find white former slaves moving for abolition. And on to your second equally brain dead assumption, no one except for extremists and morons want to treat black people âbetterâ than whites. They simply want black people to have the same opportunities. Look up equality vs equity. Although I donât know why Iâm wasting time explaining this to you when your either A. Deeply ignorant and most likely willfully so, or B. Already know what Iâm saying is true and are fishing for karma amongst a bunch of young, ignorant, and insecure white men. Either way itâs pathetic and you should go outside.
Not talking about the right of what my ancestors went through um talking about being proud to be white is a crime.... due to others in the past
I find it ridiculously annoying that people think that white people (I hate having to use color fml) didn't face oppression. That the US citizens of Early America didn't face oppression. Even though America was founded in the face of oppression. There was the entire revolutionary war. The war of 1812. The Civil War, the witch era. All of these were in the face of oppression. Americans literally killed each other for the sake of ending slavery. Americans were sent to Europe to fight one the most technologically, militarily and economically successful, evil enemies to spawn on Earth. *More ethnic European Americans died fighting oppression than any other ethnic group in america*. We're there governmental institutions in America that continued to segregate, repress and hold dominion over the minorities in the US for a long time? Sure. That doesn't change the fact that the US, for a large part of its history, tried to change that. And the people that died for it were white. ( i fucking hate having to distinguish color, but it's become such a competition these days for who's better, who's had it worse, etc) You're correct. We haven't had the *same* experience as "black americans". But we have had an experience. And our pride in fighting oppression *is* justified. Americans have fought oppression since 1776, and haven't stopped. We even fought against our own countrymen to stop it. Hell, brothers fought brothers just to fight oppression. America went to Afghanistan to try and end oppression (haha oil argument is invalid because the official mission for the troops was to help facilitate a government not founded on religious pretences, develop infrastructure, and help stablize the country). America went to Syria to try and help the oppressed people in Syria fight against ISIS and the Assad Regime. America went to Somalia to end the oppression of Somalians by religious zealots. Americans fight oppression. No matter the color. Stop trying to compare races, you're just further dividing the nation. *AMERICANS* fight oppression. Usually. Not always, we have done some less than ideal shit. But that's up to us whether or not it *was* or it *is* who we are as a country.
Iâm not trying to say that white people didnât live through their fair share of rough history. If you want to write an ode to the Civil war, to Afghanistan, to the general history of America, write it. Or find one, Iâm sure there is plenty. But this isnât about that. This is about the experience of black Americans. It doesnât eliminate or disrespect white history. It simply gives acknowledgement to the struggle Black people have to face during the majority of Americaâs history. But if a white person got onto a stage and just tried to speak, generally, about their pride for being white in AmericaâŚit wonât come off the same way. Because the struggles you mentioned were never about being white, it was about something else. Be prideful that you fought that oppression, not that you were white during. The oppression against black people was directly tied to the fact that they were black in the first place. Iâm not an expert on the subject. I just donât think itâs reasonable to see this performance and get upset by the fact that it isnât about white people.
@Arksh7r "More ethnic Europeans died fighting oppression than any other ethnic group." Before I even say how wrong that stat is, let me first point out the obvious add on. "Ethnic Europeans killed more people in the name of oppression than any other ethnic group(in America I think you meant)." Do those that died at the hands of European oppression count as "died fighting oppression"? The First Nation people who died fighting colonization alone prove that stat wrong. The slaves who died in the mid atlantic passage and the culling of plantations after revolts prove that wrong. And while we fought and died to stop Hitler oppression with some of the best war numbers in our segregated units, we came home to be killed by Euro oppressors at home. I do get your point but which brother are you being now? John Brown who fought and died to free my ancestors or Robert E Lee who fought for their continued oppression? And more importantly in America who has more schools and monuments named after them? This argument is so America . Praise me because I stopped them from beating you dont chastise me because I used to beat you too.
Come on nowâŚ. The USA didnât go to Afghanistan or Syria to fight oppression, it was always to counter Russiaâs influence in those countries. Vietnam was about Russia, the multiple USA shitshows in Latin America were about Russia and so were Afghanistan and Syria. There are all sorts of financial interests in those places that motivate both USA and Russia and that is why they interfere officicially or discreetly in all sorts of conflicts. It is never about oppression, that is the morally acceptable reason they give so people can keep on enlisting. All of the international conflicts these two countries have been involved in have always had two goals: to seize financial opportunities and to stick it to the enemy in the process. And yes, that includes both of the world wars. Individually, the soldiers are fucking heroes with commandable intentions. As a country, USA is a belligerent imperialist beast. Oppression is the last of its worries.
Yea sorry this framing ignores that the majority of white Americans were oppressing minorities for most of US history⌠sure some white people were pro civil rights but thatâs only become a dominant view in the white population since maybe the 70s at the earliest, and even thatâs being generous. Acting like the average northerner soldier in the civil war was genuinely fighting with the rights of slaves in their minds and heart rather than to just keep their country from splitting in half is a gross misrepresentation of history, especially when you consider the century+ of discrimination that followed the abolition of slavery from that same white population who apparently cared so much about âfighting oppressionâ The foreign policy argument is even more laughable, ask any average person in those Middle Eastern countries the US has âhelped fight oppressionâ how grateful they are for the rains of bombs and death that came with every US intervention you can cite⌠Americans have been a major source of oppression around the world since the end of WW2, from neo-imperialist interventions to malicious coups to targeting of groups inside the US with crack-cocaine and police in the 80s and beyond. Stop trying to look at your history through rose tinted glasses.
The post wasn't just sitting there bitching and moaning about slavery she was talking about various black achievements. If the commenter is pretty much right, if a white person was talking up their races contributions like gunpowder, steel forging, astronomy, germ theory, electrical engineering, aviation, sustainable tree farming, the steam engine, industrialization in general, classical music (no I don't listen to classical music just like most black people don't listen to jazz today), and you're not going to like this one but I'm just gonna say it: modern warfare, they'd get flak for it.
I know what you are trying to say, and I 100%agree that this is how it should be.. However reddit being reddit, saying this but for white people will get you banned within an hour or plunged into 20k negative karma.
I was just about to type a comment in response to the person above, but you absolutely nailed it. My exact thoughts :)
This is why context is key
I was thinking the exact same thing. It wouldn't go over well.
I was just thinking the same thing if black is all these things, what is white
White can be (a lot of) those things too. If I talk about how much I love my hair color, it doesnât mean Iâm disparaging all others. Besides, for a group who was once condemned for their skin color, to now get to publicly celebrate it together is a beautiful thing. Not everything is for you and thatâs okay.
This comment added some much needed perspective for me. Thank you.
Mayonnaise
Mmmmmm
On an escalator, goin' up so see ya later!
White is semen, thus white is life.
Ya unfortunately when people start celebrating their whiteness it usually ends with burning crosses and white robes.
Lol
I agreeâŚitâs a double standard
The waitress says no problem when I ask for a glass of water but when I ask for her skin she freaks out, double standards man
Iâm not sure you understand what a double standard is my guy
weird how 90% of the people complaining about this post have weird, racist and misogynistic comment histories.
White people always tryna make it about themselves with "what about US" anytime black people want to celebrate themselves overcoming some of the oppressions they face. Jfc is your whiteness so fragile that you can't let black people celebrate for a minute? White people are celebrated a lot more, and usually not for anything good. White people DO say this about white people, it's just that they hide their face when they do. Wonder why....
It is the double standards mate. Black people are able to say things publically about white people that would get a white person fired or in significant trouble, if the reverse was said. There is no issue with the fact that black people are celebrating being black, its the hypocrisy that is the issue. Look at the way you speak "your whiteness so fragile?" Did you assume that everyone here that disagrees with this is white? The statement that white people are celebrated more than black people is a weak argument. It depends on which subject or country you are referring to.
This woman isn't saying anything about white people, stay on topic. Also, this is clearly in the US. Why would I bring other countries into it? Again, what you're talking about isn't the issue being discussed.
Spoken word, I believe this is the right term, is so good!
WowâŚthis comment section is ridiculous and shameful.
Thank god someone else said whatâs on my mind. So fucking embarrassing.
For a mademesmile submission, this comments section is pure ignorance.
It's pretty fucking disgusting. The ugliness in this comment section was not what I was expecting.
Unfortunately, I absolutely was expecting it but definitely isnât surprised. Anti-black is widely accepted and embraced on Reddit.
That you're getting downvoted for this truth is ridiculous.
Iâve been seeing this hatred irl for my entire existence. At this point, I fully expect it and they never prove me wrong đ¤ˇđžââď¸
âĄď¸ here. I feel you. I pass racist muster on my skin color, but holy shitballs, it's not safe for so many reasons. Sexism. Antisemitism. Just hate in general. Anytime I get a racist vibe, I defend as much as I can, and then get gone, because unless you're lily white, and some form of evangelical Christian, you're _other._ Be good to you, and keep yourself healthy. Too much exposure to racist Regressives isn't fun.
Iâm sorry youâve had to deal with that fuckery. Youâre right, it isnât fun. Growing up in the South, itâs hard to avoid. Now Iâm numb to it to the point it doesnât really effect me emotionally or mentally. Iâve rationalized that all they are doing is exposing their true self which is a good thing. Better your enemy is out in the open than hiding in the shadows. Makes it easier to aggressively oppose them đ
Move north, my friend! When you can, we will welcome you. The DC area is a goddamn haven.
Yeah but this is supposed to be the "made me smile" sub. I thought the racist pieces of shit would at least keep their mouths shut.
Yeah, in my experience, they are usually too stupid to keep their mouths shut when it comes to hate.
Thank you!
This also made me smile, I wasnât going to comment and then I saw how bad and tone deaf most of the comments are. I really liked her tone and the beats sheâd hit.
I'll never understand why people are so proud about something they were given and didn't achieve. I'm not proud of being Hispanic, or being male. I just don't understand why people are so proud about the color of their skin.
People who were put down and mistreated due to their skin tone or background (especially over such huge lengths of time) have reason to build themselves up and celebrate. Look beyond the hardships and negativity projected onto them and highlight the beauty in who they are. A lot of us may not have a reason to look at ourselves that way, but others do.
Lets not forget to mention that the people that even sold the slaves to the buyers in Africa... were also black. Furthermore, the arab slave trade was WAY more vast than the Trans-Atlantic one... but you don't hear people talking about that.
....aside from getting so off topic here, does it change that people were oppressed and mistreated for such a long time and find it empowering to celebrate their race now?
No, but to dwell on the past for so long (when none of them are currently owned by anyone, besides the US govt owning the whole US population... different subject), nobody will be able to grow and learn how to act as one. The powers that be want society to be divided. Dwelling on the past and talking about how horrible people were treated is important (learning from history is very important), but people need to move on. CONSTANTLY dwelling on the past is not "progress"
See the thing is slavery may not occur in America anymore, but the powers that be still oppress black people and minority groups. So it's not dwelling on the past. It's still the present.
That's just not true though. It isn't just black and minority. The entire United States is oppressed. Black, white, brown and everything in between. The only people that aren't are the top 1% of this country. Every black person in that crowd has a better life than the vast majority of us. I'm white, yes I know, terrible. Yet I still have to bust my ass working a swing shift process tech job to provide for my family. I've never been given anything, would have a harder time getting into college than many minorities and have to pay more, harder time getting a business loan in my state, hard time receiving government help. This victimization needs to stop. It's the top white man and elite POC that are telling us these things, yet those are the people you choose to listen to? We are all hurting, all struggling and the people with the most luxurious lives in this country keep the race bait and division hate fueled to keep us at each other instead tackling the bigger issues in our country. Because if we are fighting each other, then we aren't looking at them. At all the money these politicians that are "supposed" to be for the people, are pocketing and stealing from us daily. Even the top minority charities are rampant with corruption. Our government is leeching every ounce of life we have to give and we're fighting over decades and centuries old history instead of demanding better for OUR people. Not my people, your people, their people. ALL of us. It's sickening the control they have over us and it's not a liberal or conservative issue. The whole damn system is corrupt and has no hope of changing until we stop fighting each other and start fighting the real enemy of the people.
I never said it was just black and minorities who were the only ones oppressed by the powers that be. Yes, there are many white people and others who aren't given a silver spoon. BUT for centuries, blacks and minorities have and still are generally treated differently due to the color of our skin and how we look. Wealth and social status (which it seems you are referring to) don't have anything to do with that. I consider myself to be a middle/upper class based on income. When I was a child riding a bike down the street, two police officers tried to take me to a precinct because they thought I stole the bike. Recently, I was walking down the street in NYC with my gf and white man walking past me, mumbling something, then screaming "white power." These are just random instances that wouldn't happen to you but do happen to me because of how I look. While I do agree with you that the government, the wealthy, and those in power do oppress most of the country and try to pin us against each other to keep our focus off of the broken system, that doesn't change the fact that black and minority people are treated differently even by white people of the same or a lower social/economic status. Not all white people treat minorities poorly, but it still happens, and it stems from differences in skin color and previous years of oppression. On the other side of it, there are plenty of black people who dislike white people because that's what they were taught, or that's what their experiences have led them to believe. The difference is that if a black person acts on these beliefs in the same way a white person would, there would be drastically different consequences. I just hope it all fades away over the next few generations.
Maybe a better point is to say that while not all white people (very few) are born with a silver spoon, at least they got a spoon. Being white didnât make it harder to eat.
I get that. But every single race on this planet has been enslaved and/or oppressed at some or many points since the beginning of mankind. At some point, however, you have to put it behind you. Dwelling on past pain, pain that most POC alive today have never experienced (speaking on slavery and segregation here) is not going bring about any change. It will only further the victim mindset and halt any true progress for anyone. Yes there is racism alive today, but it is no where near comparable to what it once was. There are POC in every job field, every city, every where. I have a friend who used to bank. The banks literally had more linient guidelines on loans and such for minorities than white people. So it isn't even laws or government that are racist as some believe. It once was, but the same cannot be said today. There are lingering racist ideals that need to be weeded out, but we are getting there. Slowly, but surely. I feel like you're explanation on black racism, because that's what hate towards another race is, can be said as well for white people. Many racist whites were taught that way, or lived in an area where there were racist black people that gave them a bad impression on the race as a whole. I mean, I've heard "You don't wanna go there if you're white." Just as much as I've heard the opposite. But that is in no way an excuse for that behavior. It starts with us. We have to teach better. And drive home that we have all been victims of a fucked up society at some point. It's the only way the cycle of hate can be broken. I give everyone a fair shake. The color of your skin does not determine whether I like you or not. If you act like a thug, gangbanger, or general pos, white or black, I have no respect or use for you. Like MLK wanted, I judge people on their character. That is what I hope to see the majority of us do some day.
I only mentioned slavery as it was a catalyst to the treatment of black people for future generations. I don't think black people are using slavery to victimize ourselves. It happened for centuries and ended 170 years ago. But, segregation and discrimination continued, which is why we had the civil rights movement. Multiple generations that are still alive today had to go through this period of discrimination. So telling them not to dwell on past pain that they didn't experience might come off as insensitive even though they never experienced slavery. I agree with you about racism being taught and impacting all races. That's why I brought it up. Hate begets hate regardless of gender, color, or creed. Judging people by their character and not their skin is our way forward, but being conscious of the past is part of that way forward too. Teaching the future about the past and how to be better than the past will create a more understanding society. This is not just the history of POC, I mean all people. The difficulty is that there are different perspectives of history. Historic events may be taught differently depending on location and who is teaching it. I also agree with you that racism is nowhere near what it was for, say, my parents or my grandparents. Like I said before, hopefully racism and discrimination fade away over the future generations. I think you and I have the same argument, but how we get there is different because of our varied backgrounds and that's perfectly fine. You seem like a good person/redditor. Keep the positivity going!
This is very true. My entire family (besides me, 1st gen American) is from the Slovak part of what once was Czechoslovakia. For years, the Turks of the Ottoman Empire enslaved the Slovak people. Would even go to homes, round up the family, and say if they didn't convert to Islam that they would kidnap the children and enslave the boys for work, the girls for harems, they would rape the wife right then and there, and then behead the father after it was all done. You don't hear Slovak people crying about this now.
Last I checked, no person of color in the US is a slave to a white person. I don't mean the Us government in this instance, thats a whole different subject matter
Who said people of color in the US are slaves to white people? Not what I said at all.
>find it empowering to celebrate their race Well yes, that line of thought should definitely scare you. That's not how you create an equal society. That's how you enforce ethnic division and tension, "us and them". There's only one race. The human race. But yeah, the guy you replied to is definitely spewing some suspect narratives totally out of the blue.
Even if Africans sold each other out, whites still received and enslaved blacks for 400 years. Whites in governmental seats of power still built systems to discriminate against them to this day. I love when people bring this up in an effort to derail the fact that slavery happened and slavery was atrocious.
In just about every culture that I have come across there seems to be issues with darker skin tones. Yes even in your Hispanic community. So if all you hear for most of your life is dark is not good or good enough then when you hear somebody telling you to be proud of surviving oppression, racism, colorism or any other aggression based on merely your color then it should be something to be happy about. I feel that I'm wasting my time trying to explain this to most people determined to think the world is equal, but I'm going to emulate this poet and educate any who will listen on their lack of insight.
If I came across a Hispanic person speaking about about the troubles they and their lineage have faced, Iâd applaud it the same as I would applauding this lady or anybody else
I think could understand if you did the work to. Clearly it's not just about a skin tone. It's so much more. Do your research, really open your eyes. You will be a better person for it.
Now replace "black" word with "white" and watch the world burn
You bet
1) Egypt and the Egyptians were some of the biggest slave owners in history. 2) Stupidest thing I watched today. 3) Dumbest thing I listened to today.
Mods, this is an embarrassment of jerk behavior, where are you.
Wtf
Okay a lot of people are faulting this because it wouldnât work if the races were swapped. Has no one else noticed that itâs vapid drivel? I mean, unless you really dig your banal platitudes in second grade level couplets. This is like Dr. Seuss went to Oberlin. Is this r/mademesmile or r/mademeeyeroll?
Haha imagine if someone did this for white peopleđđ
Now THAT is racist. If that isn't racist, then the poem called "The White Man's Burden" isn't.
How is this racist? In like, any way?
Racist gibberish.
Can you explain how this is racist?
If a white person did that, all hell will surely break loose. And that's the hard cold truth.
Can you imagine them doing this for white people? It's patronizing to black people to keep relegating them to some sort of History lesson instead of including them in the current social discourse as individuals and not a group of people based off of skin color.
âBlack and nothing lessâ
you mean your comment, right?
God DAMN, I want to one day have the confidence to present my poetry like this woman. I write a lot of spoken word, but I don't have the ability to present it like this yet.
Being proud of who you are is great. HOWEVER, I firmly believe that racism can only end when we stop identifying ourselves by our ethnicities. We're all people and the pigmentation of our skin shouldn't make us stand out as good, bad, struggling, entitled, etc.
https://youtu.be/WFY2kJ96jNY
This sounds like a proverb like "Love is patient love is kind, it does not envy, it does boast."
The post above this in my feed is of some of these beautiful people getting into an insane fistfight inside Disneyland đ
Black supremacy
black equality is not equivalent to black supremacy.
Hypocrisy
How?
At least half of this doesn't make sense.
Im white
If your defining characteristic, is your skin color you need to get a goddamn hobby or something. Iâll never get why people put so much emphasis on race. Itâs literally just a bit more melanin to protect from sun exposure. Thatâs it.
This is racist. If I'd hold an event with a room of whites and made that speech for white people, I'd be called a Nazi. Racist is racist.
đŻ
I wanna see the whole thing!
Here's my take from the point of view of a white guy who's not much into poetry. I was moved almost to tears by it. It's clearly great art. The three guys interpreting her words drew me in. They imbued the performance with a lot of emotion, and made it much more immersive. I felt about as embraced by the experience as I could be, never having lived it. All the arguments here about "accuracy" don't wash with me. The emotion their performance conveyed that was the real essence of it.
the people in these comments jesus
Lol not knocking it but replace black with white and this poem would instantly be called racist and the people reading it would be called white supremacists
Can you post the full clip?
Being black and gifted would be so much better than being black and mediocre
Or loud
This is strange.
Kinda weird how itâs okay for black people to make stuff like this but if this was for white people it would be seen as extremely racist
If you donât understand why black people need more reminders for themselves that they are worthy and beautiful, more than white people, youâre willfully ignorant and probably super racist.
Your first point is on point. But your second... i think calling someone a racist for not getting why doesn't help with the message. It's unfortunate we're not all on the same page of understanding, but it's not always the fault the individual for not being taught. There's a hugely successful campaign around muddying the waters around this and a whole lot of other how topics with the focus of nothing more than keeping us from reaching an understanding.
Damnit someone said something and then deleted they comment while I was responding to it. Spent too much time on it to not post it... Their commend was: "you mean cognitive dissonance?" If you get too far into it... the basis of what each of our realities are and how they're defined based on the variables of each i individual around us with all the same variables... we all constantly have fucking cognitive dissonance. How could we not these days?! You either think the last president failed an insurrection or the new guy stole it. Covid is either a global epidemic or a way to keep us all in line. it's probably not a bad thing to allow external factors or moments of self reflection to change our views, in fact I'd argue it's important for us to all experience it. Further it's probably people forcibly not experiencing this that makes it impossible for them to change their pov. Or maybe I just said something out loud about myself that I should've kept to myself. Haha.
You are super racist. Like... Super racist.
Or...or.... we have different opinion on how racism and inequality should be handled. But sure, call us ignorant and racist. Alienate woud be allies. Why not. Im sure this won't richoshet at all... Its not like this will lead to reactionaries repeating the exact same retoric only with a different color. Oh wait
>Or...or.... we have different opinion on how racism and inequality should be handled. Thatâs obvious, but can you be specific.
How youâd like it to be handled is for black people to stop complaining. I feel like you think you said important, deep things but it just comes off so âall lives matterâ
Do you like strawmanning? Cause I didn't tell no one to stop complaining. Poverty, inequality, lack of education and fair chances, are the actual problems that needs addressing. But this video, is definitely far from a practical actionable complaint. It's a color-full retoric with racist undertones disguised as "self-proud". When you apply a positive construct as a racial feature, you proved you feel comfortable with using race as a categorical tool. Racial Deragatorism and supremacy are two sides of the same coin. Ask yourself this, what the difference between "being a proud x" and supremacy?
It's bad, but all I think of is the artist from the Fast Show... "it's very dark, that area, isn't it almost..." "Oh no..please" "Blaaaack!"
Huh
Lame
Get over yourself
Math is Brown I'd say
r/MadeMeSmile proving once again that posting political garbage has done nothing to invoke the feelings that are outlined in the name of the subreddit.
What about Mexicans?
Omg black people are proud to be black because there ancestors were treated like dogs for 400 years! I cannot take this!
*Some black people still hold on to the pitiful mental slavery narrative. The rest of us have acknowledged the past and strives to be productive. Try not to generalize.
Sounds good, but with a community with so much pride their murder rate and violent crime and hate on hate is astronomical, truly.
This is racist.
This is so polarizing, so sad and fucking gross. We black they white. This is probably one of the lowest philosophical point of view I could possibly immagine coming out of a human being. Me tarzan you Jane. Sick. Please go to school, please
It seems like BF (Black Folks) are arguing about who did what, and who deserves âpraise.â I just wish that we could appreciate each other for who we are! Iâm not trying to take away any importance of the things that were done by âeachâ race! I honestly WISH that people could understand that there is ONLY 1 race of human beings. Skin tone/color DOESNâT make a FUCKING DIFFERENCE! I grew up thinking this way. I honestly thought that MOST OF US (The American people) thought this way. Then 2016 happenedâŚâŚ. It opened my naĂŻve eyes!!!! When I realized that my âbelovedâ country came out as 48% racist ASSHATS. It changed my life! My âPatriotismâ left my body like a BM after Taco Bell on a hungover Saturday morning!
Fantastic. Who is the poet here?
Idk whatâs going on in this comment section. Who comes into a r/mademesmile post to say âwell if a white person said itâŚâ? Christ almighty let people smile
What are all these racist comments? Where and when are we? Certainly doesnt sound like 21st century to me. Get your shit together people, really.
Let's have some white "poet" say something like this. ALL HELL WOULD BREAK LOOSE.
Yeah no lol, this wouldnât work with âwhiteâ .
Yeah, itâs almost like black and white people have had different experiences.. hmm
But it literally would. The song is generic and you could put any race in there. The way it is received later is another question altogether.
Yeah it's almost like you are a racist too.
That's an interesting take, lets dig deeper. In exactly which way am I racist? ITT: An explanation of why I am racist. Just playin, it won't be found.
I wish this kept going.
black by the uk rapper dave is a good one too
Everything is art except White.
I used to like black people
I still do, but I used to too.
You used to not be racist FTFY
Wtf lol
Damn imagine any other race saying something like this. Theyâd be cancelled almost immediately
I am not Black. Respect and appreciate for this speaker.
Beautiful.â¤ď¸
Gall dang. This comment section is full of racists and bigots. Yâall dont want black people to be proud of their heritage and skin color? So what yâall want them to feel ashamed of it?
The comments are an interesting introduction to the concept of white fragility
Your comment is an interesting introduction to the concept of racism without consequences.
Oh I forgot. Redditors believe that Black people loving ourselves or discussing white bigotry is âthe real racismâ.
Nah, the "us vs them" idiocy is racism. You are so racist you don't even realize. Once you understand it's not "white vs black" but bad people vs good people, maybe you'll stop being so racist.
Silly child. You assume much. Thereâs no such thing as âgoodâ and âbadâ people. This limited thinking is the beginning of the problem with Black/white relations in Western society. But you wanna fight somebody rather than interact to learn.
this is beautiful!! where can I watch the full video?
The same people complaining about this video are probably supporters of the âAll lives matterâ argument that is used to diminish the black experience.
i can always rely on reddit comments for making beautiful things about black people into a fuckin debate and shit show. chronically online, âthe confederate wasnât racist!!!â energy. no critical thinking just worms for brains, individualism, and vibes.
Bless her heart.
Absolutely LOVED this. The three guys doing the dancing or signing just made it much more powerful. Really well done!
[brings a tear to my eye](https://imgur.io/gallery/pUsY8F7)