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HelpRe: Never mind (m)
in reply to a message by Katie
Yes, that's it in a nutshell.
Imagine if you were part of a larger culture that had enslaved, then had disenfranchised, your ancestors. Imagine if your ancestors had had to always show deference to the dominant culture. Imagine if the dominant culture had prevented your ancestors from being anything but the poorest sharecroppers or domestic servants. Imagine if a member of the dominant culture could have killed any of your ancestors with impunity, but if one of your ancestors had killed a member of the dominant culture they would have been lynched without trial. Imagine if one of your male ancestors had done as much as whistled at a woman of the dominant culture, he would have been tortured and then killed. Imagine if the dominant culture found your ancestors so repulsive that they refused to share restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants, theaters, and hotels with them, and made that into law.
Imagine that the names your ancestors had used were a part of this culture, the one that did this to your ancestors. If your ancestors had not been captured in Africa and brought to America as slaves, you would not today be naming your kids William, George, Mary, Sarah. So as a symbol of breaking free of the oppression, as a symbol of not tolerating it any longer, you create a separate naming culture.
And then imagine members of the dominant culture laughing at your names. Imagine that they say the names are ridiculous. Imagine that the first words that come out of their mouths when they see one are "ghetto" and "trashy". (Not saying anyone in this thread used those words, but it's very common.) Just imagine them judging them at all, even if occasionally the judgment is a positive one.
Imagine if you were part of a larger culture that had enslaved, then had disenfranchised, your ancestors. Imagine if your ancestors had had to always show deference to the dominant culture. Imagine if the dominant culture had prevented your ancestors from being anything but the poorest sharecroppers or domestic servants. Imagine if a member of the dominant culture could have killed any of your ancestors with impunity, but if one of your ancestors had killed a member of the dominant culture they would have been lynched without trial. Imagine if one of your male ancestors had done as much as whistled at a woman of the dominant culture, he would have been tortured and then killed. Imagine if the dominant culture found your ancestors so repulsive that they refused to share restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants, theaters, and hotels with them, and made that into law.
Imagine that the names your ancestors had used were a part of this culture, the one that did this to your ancestors. If your ancestors had not been captured in Africa and brought to America as slaves, you would not today be naming your kids William, George, Mary, Sarah. So as a symbol of breaking free of the oppression, as a symbol of not tolerating it any longer, you create a separate naming culture.
And then imagine members of the dominant culture laughing at your names. Imagine that they say the names are ridiculous. Imagine that the first words that come out of their mouths when they see one are "ghetto" and "trashy". (Not saying anyone in this thread used those words, but it's very common.) Just imagine them judging them at all, even if occasionally the judgment is a positive one.
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