If I Was An African American.................

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

Awww... well at least SUMWONLOVESME...

Rimshot!

I hope Steve sees this so he will know that I am far more learned than I was when I woke up this morning!

[Mortimer]

Originally Posted by brianwspencer

You know I do everything I do, make every post I make, speak every word I speak, pen every song I pen, while thinking of you.

Man you need to take that orange blossom test.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by mortimerdexterfoxworthy

Man you need to take that orange blossom test.

He already passed that test with flying colors.

[Grits]

No Brian, I believe what you've stated is correct. There are no two people more racists than Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton--though Oprah is getting close.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by brianwspencer

Jackson and Sharpton are both deplorable (and don't worry Grits, I'm putting myself out there for an ass-handing, even though I'm as bleeding heart as it gets.)

They both act as if many of the words out of their mouth are not racist just the same as Imus's comments and any of the other non-Black people they go after. Someone needs to teach them a lesson in short order that racism comes from people of every color. Their being Black does not preclude them from being racists. Heck, there are Blacks out there who are racists when it comes to other Blacks. See the brown paper bag test.

From
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/31/Co...bag_test.shtml

In his 1996 book The Future of the Race, Henry Louis Gates Jr., chairman of the Afro-American studies department at Harvard, described his encounter with the brown paper bag when he came to Yale in the late 1960s, when skin-tone bias was brazenly practiced: "Some of the brothers who came from New Orleans held a "bag party.' As a classmate explained it to me, a bag party was a New Orleans custom wherein a brown paper bag was stuck on the door.

"Anyone darker than the bag was denied entrance. That was one cultural legacy that would be put to rest in a hurry - we all made sure of that. But in a manner of speaking, it was replaced by an opposite test whereby those who were deemed "not black enough' ideologically were to be shunned. I was not sure this was an improvement."

Gates was overly optimistic. The brown paper bag test remains in black culture in various incarnations, as the Applebee's case and the EEOC's statistics confirm. We separate ourselves by skin tone almost as much as we ever did. If, say, you check out the "desired" female beauties in rap videos, you will find redbones galore.

If Sharpton and Jackson didn't do what they did, someone else would. Same goes for Henry Gates. They carve out a place for themselves and, like most people, achieve some good and some not so good.

And just because the 'high-tone' test is black/black doesn't mean it's correct and doesn't mean it's fair game for non-blacks to point the finger at. And, racism is very much active among Latinos. Cubans, Perto Ricans, Colombians, .... they do not all like each other universally.

I disagree with the premise of the thread. It may be well meant but it read to me like "discredit the messenger and screw the message."

Some things are really a matter of what you think is right and what you think is wrong. If my kids were not grown and gone, we'd have talked about this over dinner and would have gotten quickly past the 'Jesse's a pig and Sharpton's a thief' part and gotten them to think about and talk about the subject.

Personally I think it's fine not to like someone or a group of people. But if that person walks down a street alone and passes a group of 20 people just like me, he has the right to walk safely past, without comment. What Imus did didn't approach this but I don't think it's arguable that his actions were not harmful in some way.

If this Imus situation gets kids and young adults talking about race in modulated tones, it's a good thing it happened.

[GPK]

*GPK walks in the room....and turns around and tiptoes right back out....*

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Bababooyee

LOL!

Oh man, this place is cracking me up today.

Hey!

How's the Unit coming along?

[Cajungator26]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,124818,00.html

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by SentToStud

If Sharpton and Jackson didn't do what they did, someone else would. Same goes for Henry Gates. They carve out a place for themselves and, like most people, achieve some good and some not so good.

And they would then, by proxy, say the same racist things Sharpton and Jackson do. It has nothing to do with the messenger. You act like a racist, while of course wholeheartedly pretending you're not, you are still a racist.

Jackson and Sharpton are racists, plain and simple. There is a litany of quotes attributed to them that would qualify. It's so obvious I won't even waste my time googling them for you.

[hi_im_god]

(Disclaimer - If you are an intelligent person you will see my point in this thread. If you are not you will see this as some racisist slam against African Americans. If you see this as some slam, insult, etc, I suggest you pm me with your racial slurs. Otherwise, lets talk intelligently here ok?)

nice inoculation. if anyone has a problem with your post they are obviously stupid. no intelligent person can miss your point. and to top it off they are likely to pm you with racial slurs. excellent work.

African Americans deserve better then this. As a whole, you have who speaking on your behalf? Sharpton? Jackson? PLEASE! Rappers? Etc etc, IT IS TIME FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND GET someone to speak on their behalf who can REPRESENT! Represent those folks in the south, say Alabama and Georgia bustin tail for pennies on the dollar. Scrappin. How bout their kids in those schools in the south? WHERE IS THE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV JACKSON AND THE
RRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVV SHARPTON when it comes to those black kids in the south of hard workin families who go without in their schools?

have you thought of becoming a spokeman for the african american community yourself? they could learn a lot from you.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the reasons racism is still around.

And it will be around for hundreds of years after Jesse Jackson is gone.

I face racisim all the time. People are always jealous of my spectacularly good looks. I ought not apologize for the fact that I am better looking than everyone else.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Grits

No Brian, I believe what you've stated is correct. There are no two people more racists than Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton--though Oprah is getting close.

You obviously have never met my grandpa.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

Originally Posted by brianwspencer

And they would then, by proxy, say the same racist things Sharpton and Jackson do. It has nothing to do with the messenger. You act like a racist, while of course wholeheartedly pretending you're not, you are still a racist.

Jackson and Sharpton are racists, plain and simple. There is a litany of quotes attributed to them that would qualify. It's so obvious I won't even waste my time googling them for you.

post of the day

[Antitrust32]

race issue is such a touchy subject, i guess i'll throw in my 2 cents.

First off i guess, I dont consider myself racist at all. I will admit being weary of a certain "race" right now because of terrorism, but lets not get into that right now. I do like to joke about all races, religion, gender, sexual orientation, because I like jokes and I like laughing and I understand that those jokes are just said to make people laugh and not to offend, which is what I believe Imus was doing... he just went overboard and it wasnt funny.

I am watching Cold Pizza right now and they are talking about race and crime in sports, and the USA today cover. Anyways, this is going to belong in the politics thread but I'll say it here. I really feel bad for the African Americans and how they are portrayed in the media as thugs (the NFL guys). If you look at the USA today cover, there are (I think) 51 pictures of people who have committed crimes lately from the NFL and 49 of those people are black. Now, for a young African American boy, who has committed no crimes, looks at this cover and thinks, man, those guys look like me and they are criminals.. maybe than I am just a criminal. It can really hurt the psyche of a certain race.

Alright, so I know people will say.. well those 49 black men committed crimes so we shouldnt feel bad so I guess I'll dig a little further. Growing up, I heard a lot of prejudice remarks (aka.. blacks cause everything wrong...etc) and it just bugs me so much. Why cant prejudice people understand the history of African Americans, I mean it wasnt til the 1860's till they were even FREE in this country, they were owned and put to work for nothing.. as degrading as anything can be for a human. It wasnt until the late 1960's that "equal rights" came into place. African American had to go to seperate schools, use seperate bathrooms, I am sure denied jobs left and right. The 1960's were not long ago people, and equality still hasnt happened. It just bothers me so much that some people arent given the chance to succeed from day one, and then the media has to put it in their face all the time. (and I am not talking about the NFL players.. they should have known better and not messed up the chance to have great careers, I am talking about the young intercity African Americans who are born to a poor family and given terrible educations with the city schools and harrassed by the media and the cops.)

An African American friend of mine from Housten, who played football at Arizona when I was there, told me so many stories of growing up, he'd just be walking down the street minding his own business and he'd be harrassed by cops, searched, belittled, etc, just cause he's a black man walking down the street. Its not fair and its not right.

To fix it we need to start from the root. We need to put more effort into the poor areas of the country, to help these kids get a really good education and realize there is more too life and they have the chance to be whoever they want to be. American is not equal, and if you think about the history and all that African Americans have had to go through in America, its never been equal and a change really needs to come. Everyone needs to stop looking at skin color and start caring about the lives of our fellow Americans.

[byalip]

Let's take a trip down Memory Lane.

Name 2 of the first people to show up in New Orleans and advocate for crisis intervention.

a. George Bush
b. Michael "You're Doing A Heckuva Job"
c. Al Sharpton
d. Jesse Jackson

And please, I've seen the word racism freely bandied about. Consider that black leaders BY NECESSITY have to promote causes that further the black community and fight for equality against the systematic exclusion of blacks. That is most DEFINITELY NOT racism.

I'm just asking you all to reconsider the meaning of racism and what it might entail to eradicate it. If you think the steps that are necessary to erase racism are indeed racist, then you have some basic issues that need correcting.

Good day to you all.

[estreetposse]

If Pacman throws $81K in dollar bills over this thread, will you give it back or run away with it so he can bust a cap in your a$$??

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by estreetposse

If Pacman throws $81K in dollar bills over this thread, will you give it back or run away with it so he can bust a cap in your a$$??

Pacman is a bad man and belongs in jail. I am glad he was kicked out of the NFL for a year with the support of his peers.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by byalip

Let's take a trip down Memory Lane.

Name 2 of the first people to show up in New Orleans and advocate for crisis intervention.

a. George Bush
b. Michael "You're Doing A Heckuva Job"
c. Al Sharpton
d. Jesse Jackson

And please, I've seen the word racism freely bandied about. Consider that black leaders BY NECESSITY have to promote causes that further the black community and fight for equality against the systematic exclusion of blacks. That is most DEFINITELY NOT racism.

I'm just asking you all to reconsider the meaning of racism and what it might entail to eradicate it. If you think the steps that are necessary to erase racism are indeed racist, then you have some basic issues that need correcting.

Good day to you all.

Finally, a couple posts by folks not afraid to tell the truth...Antitrust and you are dead on correct. I refuse to attempt a philosophical/sociological discussion of racism here for obvious reasons. People want to call Jesse and Sharpton names because they speak out against injustice, I think that speaks for itself. Nobody was harder on Al than I was when he got involved in the Tawana Brawley mess...but while he jumped too fast he was merely taking a young girl's word, and frankly...given my experiences, there was no reason to believe that what she said didn't occur. We can debate whether racism can even occur without power...that would really get the troops in an uproar but it's too deep a discussion for me to bother with right now. I just wish that some of the folks who think Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the problems would have been with me in the 60's and early 70's and experienced the hate I did for merely demanding an end to racial violence and the degrading of an entire race...frankly, I admire black leaders for their restraint...Dr King's legacy lives on through them! I'm afraid I'd be far more aggressive if I were them!

[byalip]

Originally Posted by somerfrost

Finally, a couple posts by folks not afraid to tell the truth...Antitrust and you are dead on correct. I refuse to attempt a philosophical/sociological discussion of racism here for obvious reasons. People want to call Jesse and Sharpton names because they speak out against injustice, I think that speaks for itself. Nobody was harder on Al than I was when he got involved in the Tawana Brawley mess...but while he jumped too fast he was merely taking a young girl's word, and frankly...given my experiences, there was no reason to believe that what she said didn't occur. We can debate whether racism can even occur without power...that would really get the troops in an uproar but it's too deep a discussion for me to bother with right now. I just wish that some of the folks who think Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the problems would have been with me in the 60's and early 70's and experienced the hate I did for merely demanding an end to racial violence and the degrading of an entire race...frankly, I admire black leaders for their restraint...Dr King's legacy lives on through them! I'm afraid I'd be far more aggressive if I were them!

THAT was the sick, salient fact about the whole matter. It was entirely plausible.

Originally Posted by somerfrost

Finally, a couple posts by folks not afraid to tell the truth...Antitrust and you are dead on correct. I refuse to attempt a philosophical/sociological discussion of racism here for obvious reasons. People want to call Jesse and Sharpton names because they speak out against injustice, I think that speaks for itself. Nobody was harder on Al than I was when he got involved in the Tawana Brawley mess...but while he jumped too fast he was merely taking a young girl's word, and frankly...given my experiences, there was no reason to believe that what she said didn't occur. We can debate whether racism can even occur without power...that would really get the troops in an uproar but it's too deep a discussion for me to bother with right now. I just wish that some of the folks who think Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the problems would have been with me in the 60's and early 70's and experienced the hate I did for merely demanding an end to racial violence and the degrading of an entire race...frankly, I admire black leaders for their restraint...Dr King's legacy lives on through them! I'm afraid I'd be far more aggressive if I were them!

I personally will give Jackson a break. He apologized for his Jaime insult of Jews and I think he really meant it. He is not the model of moral consistency by any means.

Sharpton has taken it to a new level. Of all the people who should now what it is like to be slandered and libeled it is him based on his past. And now he uses the same tactics to gain approval ratings from his constituents. Imo he is not helping his cause at all to hate. I dont think Jackson hates. Those of you who defend Sharpton need to look closely at his past. His trials and tribulations are no moral grounds for retribution. He has destroyed some innocent peoples lives with words. He knows this. And yes I believe he is antisemtic. He comes as close to a Christian Farakan as any black leader in the US. Speaking out against injustice does give one the right to weild injustice for a cause. He is more interested in himself than "his people", his words. Because his false accusations have led more racial incidents to be looked upon as overblown. When one makes false accusations, it ruins your cause. And he does not care because he is more interested in his own power.