|
Post by Blaque on Mar 23, 2007 19:52:48 GMT -5
Candie, I have a question. As a Black woman, not a day goes by that I don't think about the struggle of my people. The struggles from our past, and the struggles that some of us still face today. Do you realize or think about the fact that things are easier for white people than they are for minorities? Or it is a "luxury" that you don't acknowledge or even appreciate.
|
|
|
Post by dolphinfan on Mar 25, 2007 10:29:37 GMT -5
That is an excellent question,blaque
|
|
|
Post by vanillacandie on Mar 30, 2007 21:11:44 GMT -5
I hope you're not disappointed in me, but I honestly don't feel that I have some innate advantage because I'm white. There are plenty of times that I see someone drive by in a really nice car, or I'm driving through a really nice neighborhood, that I feel envious of what others have - and plenty of them are black. Really, I think it's all about money. Some of us have it, and some of us don't. Life pretty much sucks without it, white or black. And believe me, there's nothing luxurious about my life.
By the way, and I'm sure I'm about to open Pandora's Box here, but what exactly are the struggles you/your people face today? And what things are easier for white people? I'm looking for specifics that can only be tied to race - not any socioeconomic level, because all colors span that spectrum.
|
|
|
Post by Blaque on Apr 1, 2007 12:08:50 GMT -5
Let me preface this by saying that I am not the kind of person who plays the role of victim. But I would have to say that in general, life is harder for Black people because in some cases people will judge us and deny us the same things that they would give to you for no other reason than our skin color.
There have been research that tells us that qualified job applicants with traditional "Black names" aren't given the chance to interview for jobs while lesser qualified whites are called for interviews.
There are people who don't want to sell homes to Black people because of prejudice and preconceived notions about Black people.
And then there is the whole racial profiling and "driving while Black" thing...Black people driving nice cars are pulled over often times for no apparent reason. I use to date this guy who was half white...he had blue eyes and curly light brown hair. He NEVER drove the speed limit. He use to get pulled over and let go all the time. He knew the cops thought he was white. If he looked Black he would have had more tickets than he could count.
When a Black man walks down the street or into a store, if he looks a certain way he is targeted and in some cases followed. People automatically associate Blacks with a certain look as criminals or at the very least, suspicious. You could walk into a store with sweat pants and messy hair and no one would bat an eye. But it's not the same for us.
Do you think the atrocities associated with Katrina would have happened if that hurricane had hit in an all white neighborhood? Do you think that we would have ever seen white people begging, pleading for help...for food and water? Hell no. There is no way that America would have let blond blue eyed Americans die like animals because they didn't have food, water and shelter. Help would have been there if those were white people.
And I won't even go into to the "luxury" you white women have with Black men.
I could give you more examples. There are things that happen in every day life that wouldn't happen to
|
|
sweetpie
B.E. Staff Sergeant
Posts: 2,081
|
Post by sweetpie on Apr 1, 2007 17:34:37 GMT -5
What you are saying is partially correct yes, some of us have it, some of us don't (money) but whatever WE do to obtain things in life is not respected by others even Oprah still has to deal with BS. Blaque is correct in her contention, to walk into a store with the intention to spend your hard earned money and have to deal with being accosted by someone that THINKS you are there to steal, chips away at one's dignity. It doesn't feel good when one's life is devalued on a constant basis. Everyday life in America is a constant reminder of what we are not. Turn on the t.v. and you see your kind being equated to BS on a constant basis. This to me is another loaded subject and it takes everything in me not to keep going on. But let me tell you this what AA's experience is not as a result of imaginings it is a constant thrust upon us everywhere we turn from the most minute insignificant thing to the largest racial improprieties. In other words, it is hard explain when one doesn't live it. No matter what is going on in the world it is ALWAYS about race whether it is "in your face" or not.
|
|