Deli Shut Down After Owner Doesn't Understand Racism:

originally posted by: Spider879
That maybe true yet there are many German American social clubs and societies that promote the culture of their ancestors home land, it in no way take away from their sense of Americanness but rather add to it, for without it I wouldn't know what a Hamburger is or a Frankfurter even good beer and in some cases use of language as is spoken in America today.

No one has any problem with social clubs. At least I don't. No one called Germans along with everyone else who looked white European American.

White privileges is simply being given the benefit of doubt it do not say you can't suffer or have no problems and everything is just peachy..why you think there are so many wrongful deaths of African American at the hands of overzealous trigger happy cops..because they are presumed guilty just by being Black, do this test with a Black friend, go to Mid town Manhattan have your friend dressed in the exact fashion as you hail a cab, next having him hail a cab..see what happens the results of that simple test will underscore what white privileges all about.

It's a far more complicated situation than that and you know it. There are more white people killed by cops, I guess we are just so privileged the media doesn't make a peep about it. Even then it's far more complicated.

Again do you understand that BET came about because MTV simply refused to air any Black entertainers outside of Michael Jackson and Prince right??.. while at the same time on the streets the underground of Hiphop arts and artist was the thing,BET developed out of a need, and gave MTV a good run for their money because they ignored the urban street.
Miss Black America pageant came about for very similar reasons, execs in the pageantry industry simply were not interested so Black folks created their own now it's an institution ,same with Black or African American publications time was if there wasn't a riot or if it bleeds it leads style story, mainstream publication would be interested in the social life of African Americans or Black folks, I mean when was the last time you picked an issue of Jet,Ebony or Black Enterprise ..gonna take a wild guess and say neverrrrr!!! and why?? because it holds no meaning for you! and if you ran a magazine or History Ch. you would lacked that same interest and you be equally convinced that your readership/viewership had very little interest in either the people or content, would you even bother consider giving them space?.
And I don't go around calling folks racist for having an opinion.

I have no problem with BET. My problem is if someone made a WET to cater to white people it would be racist. There is a disgusting double standard, but it's not really just a racial problem it exists with many other things as well.

First off everyone knows he was taking a piss, white ppl celebrate their heritage every day it is called the norm, you see it in the movies, books,example the History ch. is all about celebrating white folks history and contribution once in a blue moon they will throw others a bone.

This country was founded by Europeans. Much like British History shows aren't going to have much to do with Asian history. When you see that as "White" history and not "Our" history you are part of the problem. You don't need to share my skin color to share the American history with me.

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

I love when a Jamaican friend would be called African American because she's from Jamaica, when she has ZERO African connection, at all, on either side of her family.

Because the chances are she may have zero African connection,as Jamaica is a nation of many people
the national motto is out of many one people.

but the majority of the inhabitants are of multi African descendants, there are folks of Indian, Irish,Chinese,Spanish,English and Scottish & German Lebanese and Syrian ancestries..they tended to have extended families into other ethnic groups.

a reply to: Spider879

And yet if you have darker skin color you are African American ... without any African connection. The term is a failure. You're American, not African American, and your skin color happens to be black.

When you start defining yourself as African American it's creating division, us and them. There are Americans, and non-Americans. Nothing wrong with either. Some of us Americans happen to be black, some white.

It's the same crap that has caused problem in America for hundreds of years. I'm Irish American and you aren't. Well I am Polish American and you aren't. Well I am Chinese American and you aren't.

There are very few cases I can think of where it is not a division creating distinction (Filipino American is one that seems to be an exception to the rule, but many are recent immigrants and the Philippines was a US territory).

originally posted by: Restricted
Blacks and Hispanics are allowed to celebrate their heritage. Why aren't whites allowed the same freedom?

We do celebrate white history - it's called history.
Black history and others came about because their history was not being taught and was essentially being hidden and covered up.

originally posted by: stargatetravels

originally posted by: Restricted
Blacks and Hispanics are allowed to celebrate their heritage. Why aren't whites allowed the same freedom?

We do celebrate white history - it's called history.
Black history and others came about because their history was not being taught and was essentially being hidden and covered up.

The solution is not Black history month, it's including all relevant Black contributions to US history.

There is no Black history and White history, there is US history.

originally posted by: buddha
Never never ever let white forget they are TOTALY Racist.

um! white people went to war to end slavery.
white people run under ground slave escapes.

If not for white people we would Still have Slaves!!!
but the black will NEVER "say thank you!".

Excuse YOU ! why do you think so many AAs name their kids after Lincoln and why do you think we remembered men like John Brown..see if you studied our social history you would know these things instead of guessing.

John Brown.
And African American had more than a passing role in making this nation so where is YOUR! thank U.

originally posted by: Spider879
And African American had more than a passing role in making this nation so where is YOUR! thank U.

Never going to come. Just like I will not thank White people as a whole. Any particular individual will/would definitely get my thanks though.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Too bad it seems we are going in reverse. We went from White people overly concerned with color to Black people overly concerned.

How about we move more towards character, and less about skin color. White and Black should be descriptive, not defining.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: stargatetravels

originally posted by: Restricted
Blacks and Hispanics are allowed to celebrate their heritage. Why aren't whites allowed the same freedom?

We do celebrate white history - it's called history.
Black history and others came about because their history was not being taught and was essentially being hidden and covered up.

The solution is not Black history month, it's including all relevant Black contributions to US history.

There is no Black history and White history, there is US history.

There was a time when it wasn't included or grossly misrepresented held by many to be of little value, it started with this man below, a son of slaves began the push to make a difference, some had to battle very hard for decades to have that little in the curriculum

Carter G. Woodson was born December 19, 1875, the son of former enslaved Africans, James and Eliza Riddle Woodson. His father was known to aid Union soldiers during the Civil War

Convinced that the role of his own people in American history and in the history of other cultures was being ignored or misrepresented among scholars, Woodson realized the need for research into the neglected past of African Americans. In 1915, Woodson, along with Alexander L. Jackson, published The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861. Carter also published the first survey of free black slaveowners in the United States.
jacjackie4308.blogspot.jp...

These things now includes institutions came about out of necessity not hate or trying to be separatist such is the case with HBCU historically Black universities and colleges , they were bared from entering most "White" campuses so they had to create their own,today the faculty and student body is integrated with all type of students, but lets not forget how they came to be in the first place.

a reply to: Spider879

I am really not interested in "there was a time". I care about now and moving forward. Get rid of Black history month and include it all in the regular history. It's divisive. Race tensions seem to be at all time highs, because everything we do fosters division and us vs them mentalities. We need to move towards inclusiveness.

You are either American or not. If you are then ALL of American history, whether a White or Black person did it is your birthright.

Carter Woodson, his contribution is MY birthright. I don't care if your skin is dark as night, the Mayflower is YOUR birthright if you are an American.

Or we can keep going creating a powderkeg waiting to explode.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Yet skin color is all that matters. White cop shoots a black man it's heinous, no one cares about character though, only skin color. Black cop shoots a white man no one cares.

Black kid assaulted in white neighborhood we march and riot. There's many neighborhoods I can't walk down because I am white. No one cares. The division needs to end.

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

Too bad it seems we are going in reverse. We went from White people overly concerned with color to Black people overly concerned.

How about we move more towards character, and less about skin color. White and Black should be descriptive, not defining

Sigh! OccamsRazor04 ma friend do you realised that's exactly what I am trying to get you and others away from.. that's why I am in favor of the term African American as it relies less on just teint of skin, " Black" history or Black anything simply reduces a person to a color and I feel that's why many are taking issue with the term because "Black " seemed exclusive , but at the same time still reject the term African American..if that store keeper had put in his window European American history month no one would care and probably done correctly non whites would join in for the celebration like we do for every other celebrations, it is up to white folks to call themselves European Americans as a collective if they so wished I have no problem with that or as some do by their ancestors home lands such as Irish American, Italian American etc..for it's all good I don't think such terms are divisive..the bi-polar Black or White to me is much more so.

a reply to: Spider879

Well my problem is that it takes away from them being simply American.

Either way I definitely have felt our goals are similar, just different views on how to get there.

I hope someday MLK's dream becomes reality. I want condemnation when a cop murders a person not because the color of their skin, but because it was wrong.

I want support of a white cop who kills a black thug from the black community when it's justified.

I want a person walking the streets not to be worried the color of their skin makes them a target.

MLK was not a great African American. He was a great American. I want White people to view him as THEIR history.

George Washington and Samuel Adams. I want Black people to view them as THEIR history. We are all American. Unless you are an illegal immigrant

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

And With that I can say nuff respect :

a reply to: Spider879

Asked directly if she identified herself as an African-American, Ms Dolezal said: "I actually don't like the term African-American, I prefer black, and I would say that if I was asked I would say that... I do consider myself to be black."

www.bbc.com...

I don't get it. What's really being taught is that pride in light complexion ancestry is bad. As a whitey, I'm composed of ancestors from the following, as per decades of often tough genealogical research through multiple generations doing the research:

Ireland, England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Italy, and Greece. The bulk of my white-ass heritage comes from the Irish, Russian, Norwegian, German & French ancestors. Telling me we learn enough about white folk in history is BS. I learned more about Ancient Egyptians & Ancient Chinese dynasties in school than I ever did about Europeans beyond crossing the pond.

The bottom line should be to not invalidate someone's heritage at all. If it's bad to do to the minorities, it's also as unacceptable to do to descendants of Europeans. Perhaps a course of study dedicated to the people of each continent would be a better alternative, you know, WORLD FREAKING HISTORY instead a couple of old empires & some founding fathers era crap.

Also, it's also worth noting that I used to work in the tourism industry, and met many black Europeans. They never identified as black, they were French/British/whatever, and could never figure out why we focus so much on skin here. As far as they were concerned, they were of the culture of the country they were born in, not some traded ancestor back in whatever year. That made me think about cultural identity, and who's got it down. I think it's a little obvious if we compare 2 continents respective former African inhabitants. If that notion smarts, or even offends, maybe you might want to think about why other blacks in other countries feel that way in the first place.

And while I'm still stewing on the subject of heritage acknowledgement inequality, I'd like to point out one other thing that is highly insulting coming from people who like to preach the perils of black ancestry & history -- difficult to impossible traceability. This is always thrown around as someone's "ace up the sleeve" argument, because us caucasians just couldn't possibly understand how hard it is to trace a family history. Before anyone opens their mouth about it, try tracing my Russian line. Just friggin' try it, buddy.

My grandmother went to Poland decades ago to try to trace that line, to find out exactly where her grandparents came from. All she knew was they were in Poland briefly before hopping on the boat to the US, after leaving Russia in the 1890's. She came back with exactly that, no new family information at all. Decades later, it took me almost 10 years to trace that couple back to a small town outside Moscow, their last known address. I have NOTHING else to go on. NOTHING. I have no idea if that was where that family line originated, or if they came from much farther away than that. I can't even be 100% certain they were even Russian by birth, those records don't exist.

Keep that in mind before someone spouts off about how hard it is for a black American to trace their roots. Those black American roots in most family lines certainly go back farther than the 1890's. Never try to tell me how hard it is to trace your AA/black American family history, I know exactly how hard that is, and probably better than most AAs/black Americans do.

a reply to: Nyiah

Try being part Native American and tracing your herritage.

I got as far as my grandparent's grandparents only because my grandparents were alive at the time and knew their grandparent's names.

originally posted by: IslandOfMisfitToys
a reply to: Nyiah

Try being part Native American and tracing your herritage.

I got as far as my grandparent's grandparents only because my grandparents were alive at the time and knew their grandparent's names.

Indeed, Native heritage can be virtually impossible to trace. My sister-in-law's grandmother was a full-blooded Seminole. She couldn't trace her grandmother's line past her grandmother, there are no records at all, just some vague family recollections from the late grandmother. That has always left her feeling blind to that line of the family (her words) and somewhat disconnected from it. It's not like she was taken & raised by whites, or in an orphanage, she just never had much to go on herself (the grandmother) outside of oral history, which proved to be not that thorough.

It's quite amazing how many people claim to have native American ancestry despite natives being only 0.08% of the population.....

It's quite amazing how many people claim to have native American ancestry despite natives being only 0.08% of the population.....

That deli owner understands racism very well.

He got a massive dose of racism because he dared to have a white heritage event.

The current leaders in racist behavior in America would never let that happen.