American or African American?

We should call people by their colour on a pantone color scale. Being serious now, the whole African - American being the politically correct term is bullshit. They could be African - English or Jamaican - American for all you know. Then again its better than other things...

Good to know that I'm not completely insane and that others see the same bullshit that I see in this - I was scared for a moment that maybe I had lost it...

Good to know that I'm not completely insane and that others see the same bullpomegranate that I see in this - I was scared for a moment that maybe I had lost it...

Look at it this way.

There are some black people who hold all white people accountable for the actions of some white people. Most of those "some" people are dead at this point. Slavery ended in the 1850s, segregation ended in the 1960s, and many white people in America were either not in America or not yet born at the time Martin Luther King's civil rights movement pushed the major rights stuff through. I personally came to America in 1990, but to people like Jesse Jackson I am "whitey" and "oppressor," though I had nothing to do with anything that happened to blacks in this country.

Is that really so different than a white guy looking at a black guy and concluding he, (along with all blacks,) is a criminal, lazy or dishonest because some black people are these things?

Black people are not victims, and they're not innocent any more than any other group of people in America. Anyone -- white, black, Hispanic or Asian -- can be racist. Statements to the contrary are self-serving political propaganda.

The problem I tend to have is when minorities who are normally complaining about how they are not treated like everyone else start insulating themselves. For example, when you hear a sound byte from Joe So-and-so, "spokesman for the black community" or "for the Latin community" etc. Why are they special? Why do they get their own community if they want to be treated like everyone else? I see stuff all the time for Black Pride, Brown Pride, Purple Pride... why can't it just be American Pride?

The point is, the only way we will truly get rid of any traces of racism in this country is to stop using these special denominators and teach our kids to not even see that skin color/facial features are a reason to single someone out. I've seen this in young children -- they will have no idea that someone who doesn't look like them is in any way different unless someone tells them that they are different. To them, they are all just kids.

The problem I tend to have is when minorities who are normally complaining about how they are not treated like everyone else start insulating themselves. For example, when you hear a sound byte from Joe So-and-so, "spokesman for the black community" or "for the Latin community" etc. Why are they special? Why do they get their own community if they want to be treated like everyone else? I see stuff all the time for Black Pride, Brown Pride, Purple Pride... why can't it just be American Pride?

The point is, the only way we will truly get rid of any traces of racism in this country is to stop using these special denominators and teach our kids to not even see that skin color/facial features are a reason to single someone out. I've seen this in young children -- they will have no idea that someone who doesn't look like them is in any way different unless someone tells them that they are different. To them, they are all just kids.

QFT'd, and I like your sig