Posted by
Rosemary on Saturday, March 22, 2008 2:27:16 AM
The 'typical black man', in my experiences, is a hard-working, Church-going, God-fearing, fun-loving, family-centered, gracious man. Those are the men I have known. I could not, nor would I, try to define the behavior and thoughts of a whole race. Neither should anyone else try to define anyone by their race. Here in my side of reality, we call that prejudiced.
Prejudice: Main Entry: 1prej·u·dice.
Pronunciation: \'pre-j?-d?s\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin praejudicium previous judgment, damage, from prae- + judicium judgment — more at JUDICIAL.
Date: 13th century
1: injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one's rights; especially: detriment to one's legal rights or claims.
2a (1): preconceived judgment or opinion (2): an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b: an instance of such judgment or opinion c: an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.
synonyms see PREDILECTION.
Learn more about "prejudice" and related topics at Britannica.com.
Hopefully we can agree that anyone's personal definition of any word deminishes the value of said word. Take for example colors. How could I explain any color to a person who is blind and never saw? Everyone has their own perception of what a particular word means. Take me. I started to look up the word, 'Racism'. I used google, and I could not find the above definition. Was I surprised? You bet!
All this time I have believed racism to have the meaning of the definition above. Even I am open to learning something new! (lol)
So what is my point? Why do I say, 'the typical black man'? Because apparently some people cannot see that what Obama said about his grandmother is rather prejudiced. How can I tell? Is his grandmother 'typical'? NO! This man is over 40 years old. That means his grandmother was one of those people who put up with all the white hypocrites and bigots of her time (1940's-50's) when it wasn't 'cool' to have interracial marriages. As a matter of fact, in some states it was illegal!
Could this be part of her anxiety? Perhaps. I honestly have no idea, since I prefer to see a black man when I am walking down the street late at night. Why? Because they are familiar to me. They have protected me, nurtured me, and loved me. I thank all of you (and you know who are) for all of your kindness and love. I just wish I could be a better proponent to speak on this (and other) topics.
Being Mohawk Indian and Armenian, I don't even have a country I can go back to! Besides that, I'm not going anywhere. THIS IS MY COUNTRY TOO. I love this land, and I love our people. If y'all want to seperate yourselves from each other, you are stupid. You will miss ever having an opportunity to meet me. (*_*)
I hope and I pray that someday soon we can all just sit down at the same table for dinner and fellowship, and who was the most harmed by who is NOT a topic of discussion anymore. Until we move past THAT, there is no healing. Trust me, been there and done that. I speak of what I know, and it is the truth. God bless us all. If we don't accept His blessing, we certainly are damned. Not by God, not by the white man, but by our own hatred. Remember that the next time you take communion...
Hat tip to
Big Dog for the idea for the title.
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