Originally Posted by VIP Legend

I don't think its racist but I also think that this pic should not have been posted on AOL. Also, I believe that black people prefer to be called "black" and not "African-American". I know white people think that "African American" is less offensive because it sounds benign but that is due to the whites deeply ingrained negative view of the word "black". The night is black, the day is white. A pigeon is perceived as a pest, a rat with wings but when that same pigeon is white, it is a symbol of peace, pure and virgin. They (whites) erroneously believe that black people prefer to be called "African-American" because it does not explicitly connote blackness. In fact, "African-American" is more offensive to them because they were uprooted from Africa to be brought to the Americas as slaves. They have no connection with Africa any longer (thanks to whites) yet are still labeled as "African-Americans" - suggesting that they are not true Americans. This is the same as the term "Asian Americans" although in the case of Asians, many of them still do have a connection with their motherlands. America is a country built on lies and the tears of Indians. What America stands for is great but, in practice, it is far from reality. America has had the worst history of racism, slavery. Think about it, slavery was only outlawed a couple generations ago. White people were so torn between whether slavery was right or wrong they killed their own brothers and fathers to keep slavery alive (Civil War). It will get better as we grow together and there is hope in the newer generations.

Originally Posted by blkonblkcpe

I'm really learning a lot with this thread simply because Sharpton and Jackson have started so much shit that as a white man I'm very paranoid about being offensive to others.

Originally Posted by murderotica

I think that shit is hilarious.


Honestly, this the most predominant kind of racism today. At least that I see and experience. Black people are so ready to make race an issue, that it causes everyone else to subvert confrontation and problems altogether.
Reverse racism ftmfl.

Originally Posted by some comments

Unfortunately, yes. People who use the argument that "evening the playing field is being unfair" see "racism" as "bad" and since (of course), they're "good," they can't be "racist," right? And round and round we go...


Indeed. This cartoon -- all by itself -- says more in six frames than most books on the topic. Demonstrating, yet again, that most of this stuff is WAY less complicated than folks keep trying to make it, huh?

Originally Posted by VIP Legend

I don't think its racist but I also think that this pic should not have been posted on AOL. Also, I believe that black people prefer to be called "black" and not "African-American". I know white people think that "African American" is less offensive because it sounds benign but that is due to the whites deeply ingrained negative view of the word "black". The night is black, the day is white. A pigeon is perceived as a pest, a rat with wings but when that same pigeon is white, it is a symbol of peace, pure and virgin. They (whites) erroneously believe that black people prefer to be called "African-American" because it does not explicitly connote blackness. In fact, "African-American" is more offensive to them because they were uprooted from Africa to be brought to the Americas as slaves. They have no connection with Africa any longer (thanks to whites) yet are still labeled as "African-Americans" - suggesting that they are not true Americans. This is the same as the term "Asian Americans" although in the case of Asians, many of them still do have a connection with their motherlands. America is a country built on lies and the tears of Indians. What America stands for is great but, in practice, it is far from reality. America has had the worst history of racism, slavery. Think about it, slavery was only outlawed a couple generations ago. White people were so torn between whether slavery was right or wrong they killed their own brothers and fathers to keep slavery alive (Civil War). It will get better as we grow together and there is hope in the newer generations.

Originally Posted by Wheelhop

It's not that white guys think of "black" as a negative word, it is more that we do not want to directly refer to someone by their skin color. Obviously "African American" has an implicit connotation to skin color and a direct connotation to race, and it is more of a "pussyfoot around the issue" kind of option. To the masses it seems more "politically correct" because it's not as simple as referring to skin color in a single syllable.

Personally I try not to worry about what I say and let my actions speak for themselves. If a black guy and a white guy are on the same page it won't matter how they refer to each other's race, and the more you worry about it, the more you are promoting the problem. If you are saying "African American" to some black dudes they will probably recognize that you are acknowledging race difference and are catering to what you perceive his wishes to be so as not to offend him. I'd think the better option is not to think of the race difference in the first place, until you can do that there will never be an equality in your mind.

Originally Posted by B+O

I wish there was a "pound up" smiley.



In the last couple years I've come to realize it doesn't matter what someone calls me because they're still referring to my race. When we can move past that being a defining factor for recognition and performance, there will be peace.