White Attendance @ HBCU's (motives)

[byron2008]

The uppity negro female? First of all, I didn't know that you were black (the picture of the chick from Mean Girls doesn't really help your case in the assumption that I believed you were black), not that it would have made any difference to the way I responded to your post anyway. But is becoming abundantly clear that this kind of language just goes to show how deeply the mindset of perpetual persecution is ingrained in your psyche, even when said in jest. Guess what? I was born in the 1980's. I wasn't a slave driver, my ancestors came to this country in 1921 from Ireland. I guess that we didn't face any kind of discrimination either, right? And thanks for letting me know that "mulatto" isn't an acceptable term, which is the exact reason why I used it, to show that this silly political correctness has gone too far. Maybe we should go back in time and edit every speech given by black leaders who called themselves "negroes" too? And what exactly has changed that would make either of the words offensive now when they were perfectly acceptable thirty or forty years ago? How did words like "Oriental", "negro" and "mulatto" suddenly become offensive? I would really like to know why you feel that way. As a mulatta yourself, I'm surprised that you're not more understanding of my position. I've lived in Brazil, where people of mixed Portuguese/African ancestry proudly call themselves mulattos, and "white" Brazilians call them mulattos as well, without any tinge of racism or prejudice. I wonder what the difference is between here and there? Maybe it's because they are more worried about surviving day to day and don't have the luxury to go to law school (or any secondary school for that matter) and female dog about how bad they have it.

[Jamie Stringer]

The uppity negro female? First of all, I didn't know that you were black (the picture of the chick from Mean Girls doesn't really help your case in the assumption that I believed you were black), not that it would have made any difference to the way I responded to your post anyway. But is becoming abundantly clear that this kind of language just goes to show how deeply the mindset of perpetual persecution is ingrained in your psyche, even when said in jest. Guess what? I was born in the 1980's. I wasn't a slave driver, my ancestors came to this country in 1921 from Ireland. I guess that we didn't face any kind of discrimination either, right? And thanks for letting me know that "mulatto" isn't an acceptable term, which is the exact reason why I used it, to show that this silly political correctness has gone too far. Maybe we should go back in time and edit every speech given by black leaders who called themselves "negroes" too? And what exactly has changed that would make either of the words offensive now when they were perfectly acceptable thirty or forty years ago? How did words like "Oriental", "negro" and "mulatto" suddenly become offensive? I would really like to know why you feel that way. As a mulatta yourself, I'm surprised that you're not more understanding of my position. I've lived in Brazil, where people of mixed Portuguese/African ancestry proudly call themselves mulattos, and "white" Brazilians call them mulattos as well, without any tinge of racism or prejudice. I wonder what the difference is between here and there? Maybe it's because they are more worried about surviving day to day and don't have the luxury to go to law school (or any secondary school for that matter) and female dog about how bad they have it.

Of course, because as a biracial female, I should only have avatars and usernames of other African Americans so as to avoid confusion.  In any event, my comment was mostly to be sarcastic but also to point out that maybe you shouldn't be quick to claim that people are just being unnecessarily "politically correct" (which I'm not even sure why that's a pejorative, but I'll roll with it for now) without realizing that just possibly the term is offensive. 

Then again, perhaps your intent is to inflame because after you were advised that the word was in poor taste, you used it again but directed at me.  Normally that would be cause to cuss someone out, but I'll try to rise above it.  In any event, "Oriental" refers to things, not people. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulatto

The bolded is really just a poor argument altogether.  Because something was acceptable 30-40 years before in some parts of society (generally the majority), it doesn't mean it's OK or ever was OK.  I mean, you do realize that 40 years ago is still touching the civil rights movements of the 60s, right?  Times when people of color of various groups were routinely denied privileges afforded to majority populations?  I'm sure you're not saying that is right.

Your commentary about Brazil just shows how out of touch you are with different segments of the US. 

Given this conversation, I'm not sure why you'd want to go to an HBCU.  But good luck anyway.

[dashrashi]

I would hope that if he went to a HBCU, he would get called out, and perhaps even beat up a few times. Ideally by the white people there that DO have their heads on straight, so he can't blame it on black people not understanding him.

Hell, I'd beat him up for that "mulatta" bull.

[byron2008]

Right... I'm the uncultured one? I should be beat up for saying "mulatto", yet no one can explain why the meaning of an inoffensive word has suddenly become offensive? So now the new fashion is to say "biracial", and, who knows, a generation from now saying "biracial" could be construed as being offensive too. And, yes, I was advised by my local KKK leaders that "mulatto" was in poor taste, how'd you know? The fact that I have lived in a country that has the largest black population in the entire world shows that I am unfamiliar with the "various segments" of the US? What does one thing have to do with the other? I have lived in the North, South, and West of the United States, I have also lived outside of the country in a place with a far greater black population than any other country in the world, but I am "out of touch". If only I had known that I could have just turned to Wikipedia for my answers to centuries-old questions! MLK and Malcolm referred to blacks as "negroes", but now "negro" is an offensive term, just as "mulatto" is, but nobody can explain WHY or HOW said terms became "offensive". I asked you why. When did the shift occur? Where, when, and how did inoffensive terms used by everyone suddenly become offensive? Do you have an actual answer, or will you just avoid the question by repeating that it wasn't OK then or now? Maybe you should go down to Brazil or any other Latin American country and explain to all of them that calling blacks "negro", which literally translates to "black", is offensive.

[LawDog3]

No, you seem pretty exasperated. The all caps, the bolding, the "I AM DOWN" followed by lord knows how many exclamation points (seven?), "For the absolute last time," etc.

Don't be disingenuous.

Ok. How about this...the guy obviously can't read or refuses to, and he can't comprehend simple logic...or he's a flame. But I really am not exasperated...I have little investment in whether the guy "gets it" or not, but I take some pleasure in pointing out how stupid some people look. That's not exasperation. Exasperation arises from a personal, emotional investment. The guy called ME of all people an "Uncle Tom", but nothing with me is personal on this site.

Anyways, be careful not to swing from his nuts...right now, you look like a swinger. 

[Jamie Stringer]

Yeah, you could have turned to Wikipedia because it mentions that the term "mulatto" is endearing in some countries but offensive in others (the US).  Had you bothered to look at the etymology of the word, you'd have seen where the word mulatto comes from the Spanish word for mule -- as in mixed race people were animal-like.  The other link about the word negro talked about a lexicon shift in the US that happened in the late 1960s in worldwide classification of race and ethnicity.  My feeling is that it was eschewed as part of the Black Power movement.  But if you're seriously interested beyond the cursory Google search I did for you, pick up a f-ing book.  It's not my job to educate you. 

The idiotic comment I was talking about regarding Brazil and the US was the following:

Maybe it's because they are more worried about surviving day to day and don't have the luxury to go to law school (or any secondary school for that matter) and female dog about how bad they have it.

Seriously??  Yeah, we are all just bitching about how bad we have it here when in reality we are all pampered future law students  ^100 

In any event, I'm so done with this conversation.  You're either deliberately obtuse or just unfortunately so.

[AgreeToDisagree]

I would hope that if he went to a HBCU, he would get called out, and perhaps even beat up a few times. Ideally by the white people there that DO have their heads on straight, so he can't blame it on black people not understanding him.

Hell, I'd beat him up for that "mulatta" bull.

Preeeach!!! Chuuuuchhh!!!! Tabernacle!!!!

[AgreeToDisagree]

No, you seem pretty exasperated. The all caps, the bolding, the "I AM DOWN" followed by lord knows how many exclamation points (seven?), "For the absolute last time," etc.

Don't be disingenuous.

Ok. How about this...the guy obviously can't read or refuses to, and he can't comprehend simple logic...or he's a flame. But I really am not exasperated...I have little investment in whether the guy "gets it" or not, but I take some pleasure in pointing out how stupid some people look. That's not exasperation. Exasperation arises from a personal, emotional investment. The guy called ME of all people an "Uncle Tom", but nothing with me is personal on this site.



Anyways, be careful not to swing from his nuts...right now, you look like a swinger. 

LawDog: You're right your points are beyond the scope of my mental thought process (I'm a mere mortal remember)? Also, Mr. LawDog, you did and do sound exasperated, internally I felt the same way. Using all caps frequently...I mean..as I read your post, I could visualize fumes radiating off your forehead. Also, why would you need to tell a black person or anyone "I AM DOWN!!" if you were secure inside your own skin that comment wouldn't be necessary. You're an Uncle Tom, you just don't know it yet. Perhaps five years from now, your nascent Uncle Tom behavior will reach it's full development (you're just in the embryo stage now).
Futhermore, I suppose anyone who does not subscribe to your fan club is considered to be my personal nut swinger. LawDog, don't help send the boilerplate disposition of angry black men into perpetuity. I mean, you're the self proclaimed President Obama clone, you never see him exasperated, you never saw fumes radiating off his forehead. Lastly, listen I'm not the enemy brotha', I don't know how I'm ever going to get that through to you. Dog, relax, step out side, get some fresh air, drink a glass of water, have a beer on me...goodness.

[AgreeToDisagree]

I have also lived outside of the country in a place with a far greater black population than any other country in the world,

In that case, let me give you your black card back. My mistake.

[byron2008]

Either edit the civil rights' preachers' comments as being racist and discriminatory or spend a year overseas in a country where black people face real prejudice and discrimination. Learn how to speak Spanish or Portuguese. Even better, learn how to speak the language of the African tribes that fought against and captured members of rival  tribes and subsequently sold them to European slave drivers for arms. Then speak to me about racism and prejudice and the meaning of words. While you're at it, explain to me how your people have had it worse than the millions of Native Americans of this land who have been systematically slaughtered. The black card is pathetic.