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HelpRe: Ok, but ETA
in reply to a message by queenv
Yes, my father is from India! :)
I can understand that. I'm assuming the reason you hold different opinions about opinions on African-American culture versus any other is because they faced the worst oppression. I have to ruminate on this some more, so I might edit this tomorrow after I've fully processed it. The one thing I'm not positive about is black people facing the worst oppression, though you're probably right; I just don't know enough about racial oppression to be sure. I'll do some more research.
I have to admit, I am now wishing I was closer with my half-black cousins so I could ask them how they feel about this. Until I moved to Charlotte, I'd met maybe 10 African-Americans in my life, so I've never actually really seen racism and how it affects people. I've heard my father's stories, being Indian, and that's it. Where I used to live, people were very quietly racist (so much so that I didn't realize they were at all until recently) and not open about it.
Okay, it's taken me so long to type this that I've thought about it more. When I think of "Sir" as being a black culture name, I feel very differently about it. Because I was thinking about how much I hate it when people laugh at my father's name, and that's exactly what I'm doing. I would be horrified if I saw someone mocking a Mexican or Russian name, so why is this different? I think it's an example of severe internalized racism, especially for someone who has been passionately against racism for as long as she can remember. I still think it's fine to have a gut reaction of "I like/do not like this name" but not fine to think "this is a bad name/foolish name/etc", purely because one is based on simple, reactive, aesthetic style and another is based on judgement. Good job, you got me thinking and got me to change my opinions. This has been a really interesting discussion so far.
"She dances to the songs in her head, speaks to the rhythm of her heart, and loves from the depth of her soul." - Dean Jackson
I can understand that. I'm assuming the reason you hold different opinions about opinions on African-American culture versus any other is because they faced the worst oppression. I have to ruminate on this some more, so I might edit this tomorrow after I've fully processed it. The one thing I'm not positive about is black people facing the worst oppression, though you're probably right; I just don't know enough about racial oppression to be sure. I'll do some more research.
I have to admit, I am now wishing I was closer with my half-black cousins so I could ask them how they feel about this. Until I moved to Charlotte, I'd met maybe 10 African-Americans in my life, so I've never actually really seen racism and how it affects people. I've heard my father's stories, being Indian, and that's it. Where I used to live, people were very quietly racist (so much so that I didn't realize they were at all until recently) and not open about it.
Okay, it's taken me so long to type this that I've thought about it more. When I think of "Sir" as being a black culture name, I feel very differently about it. Because I was thinking about how much I hate it when people laugh at my father's name, and that's exactly what I'm doing. I would be horrified if I saw someone mocking a Mexican or Russian name, so why is this different? I think it's an example of severe internalized racism, especially for someone who has been passionately against racism for as long as she can remember. I still think it's fine to have a gut reaction of "I like/do not like this name" but not fine to think "this is a bad name/foolish name/etc", purely because one is based on simple, reactive, aesthetic style and another is based on judgement. Good job, you got me thinking and got me to change my opinions. This has been a really interesting discussion so far.
"She dances to the songs in her head, speaks to the rhythm of her heart, and loves from the depth of her soul." - Dean Jackson
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