Why Are Minorities "Proud" of their Heritage and does that Pride Cause Problems?

My middle name starts with a Mc. It was my maternal grandfather's name. He didn't have a son to carry on the name, but was fiercely proud that his family had retained the Mc ("Mick") when they came over from Ireland and faced tons of discrimination. There were many who dropped the Mc entirely.

So my mom honored him and that heritage by giving me that name as my middle name....

and my oldest son was given that Mick name as his middle name as well.

I don't think we're going to start any problems though. I don't see how it's any different for any of the other cultures that make up the mix we have in the United States. I would argue it's what makes us Americans, ultimately.

 

I am mc mark and I approve this message

 

Whose progress?
Not black progress
Not woman's progress [I don't think]

Celebration is kind of like the Wind beneath the wings. . .lifting us up
so . . .exactly WHOSE PROGRESS is being hindered and how?

The only way I can think of how. . is because some folx are resentful of it and work against progress.

Do you consider celebration to be similar to 'poor sportsmanship'?
TD celebrations etc???

Rocket River

 

Two things: Demanding that people acquiesce to the "deep down we're all the same" bull**** is an exercise in flattening the world, making it uniform, and it will never happen. If what we are "deep down" really mattered there'd never be war, there'd never be divorce, there'd never be anything bad. There's also the idea that, since you're different from me and we both have to be here, you are required to abandon that difference, to say you're just like me, but while having none of the advantages that I have.

The best option is to cultivate the ability to recognizes, even appreciate, difference without feeling the need to assign rank to those differences. That, unfortunately, requires a person to set aside their own ego. Most people believe what they believe because of what it affirms to them about their own identity. So, when these people want you to abandon your identity, and proclaim "we're all the same," what they really want is for you to abandon the thing that makes you different from them. Even if you don't recognize their "superiority" and try to imitate it, they insist that you abandon your "inferior" position. It's one thing for Morgan Freeman to do it ... he's already established himself as an influential entity. He can afford to be an individual with an individual stance that removes race from the equation.

In this context, since it's all become about black and white, white people who are afraid of difference want black people to voluntarily remove the last roadblocks to assimilation. The white (and not all white people ... just the ones who identify themselves with the powerful people) people say, essentially, "Since we can't get rid of you (or our fear of you), we're going to try to absorb you."

So, here's a practice that Svpernaut and other whitebread-ofey-honky-ass-crackers can try to cultivate: Recognize difference without fearing it, without devaluing it in comparison to your own imagined selves, and without feeling the desperate need to assimilate it.

It'll make your life a lot less scary.

 

For whatever reason, I always read your name as "M.C. mark" and not "McMark".

 

Progress in race relations will only happen when we ALL respect and understand who we are. Realize that there are MANY different Americas, and that each version of it that has honest and just intentions is just as valuable as the other.

Know that a white man can't speak first hand to the experiences of a black man, nor can a black man do the same for a white man - But still be able to respect that experience. Try our damnedest to understand it, and not try to change of marginalize it.

Don't question another's pride in their heritage, rather question our own knowledge of it. Learn about and enjoy it. Then look upon it with admiration rather than suspicion. Maybe then we could share a portion of that pride as Americans.

The Super Bowl means nothing to someone who doesn't understand and cares nothing about football. So what does someone else's heritage mean to you? Or me? Us?

 

HHHHMMMM
So . . I can have better financial economic situation OR better race relations.

Sorry, I prefer better financial economic situation

Basically .. you are asking minorities . . once again
to SACRIFICE so the majority can have better race relations
Better Race Relations mean SUPPRESSING YOUR MINORITYNESS
so the Majority can be comfortable and not feel left out

IS that about the jest of this??

Rocket River

 

I bolded part of this. Great stuff. It sums it all up very nicely.

 

I would rep you for this but can't.

Any ways pretty much all of this. You're asking minorities not to be 'Proud' or recognize their race when there are still members of the majority that still are discriminated against. No, I'm not saying 'Whoa is me!' but there are still cases of racism so it works both ways here.

I'm sure it would be better if everyone just realized we are all part of the human race and that the color of our skin is merely one tiny little thing that is transcribed onto our DNA.

Unfortunately I don't see this happening unless visitors from another planet show us how similar we are to each other by contrast.

 

Casting doubt on your claimed credentials is different than claiming what your background is. It's the internet, sexy lady.

I'm saying your posts are coming from a pretty damn ignorant perspective... one that doesn't make any lover of history look good. By giving personal examples, you do make the subject about you in some part.

But if you're playing devil's advocate for other like minded people, good for you.

You're right. I guess being on the D&D long enough has made me cynical enough of people's intentions. Some members seem to love picking a niche topic, beat it to death, and then proclaim they're 'spreading news to the ignorant masses' when other members get tired of the same schtick.

 

You give yourself away in your posts... it is very obvious. While I appreciate the patience of some of the posters on here attempting to engage in dialogue with you, they are wasting their time, just like they waste time with giddy up.

 

With the RG3 controversy, it isn't so much pride, as it is being embarassed. Nothing wrong with a black person taking pride in Brack Obama. Nothing wrong with them taking pride in MLK. There's something wrong with being embarassed that somebody of your race is a "sellout" or "uncle tom" for being successful in life and loving beyond race.

 

And there are millions of people who work very hard but are not successful. May I ask but do you believe the primary reason that people are poor because they don't work hard?

Sure people mix ethnically but that doesn't mean that people give up on their ethnicity. I know a lot of people in the local Irish music scene and most of them are not 100% Irish yet they choose to identify and take pride in that part of there heritage rather than say their English, German or other part. There may be a time when the human race is so mixed that no one can distinguish anyone's ethnicity but I suspect that is a long long way off.

No need to apologize. This is what debate and discuss is about.

 

Yup.... thank you for proving my point.

You are ignorant.

You tell the single mother working full time and trying to support and raise her child that she is "doesn't work hard".

You tell the millions of Americans working two jobs that they just "don't work hard enough".

You tell the millions of folks working at or near minimum wage for 50 hours a week that they "don't work hard enough".

You tell the taxi drivers that work 60-70 hour weeks for very little that they "don't work hard enough."

 

And the debate, as far as I'm concerned, stops here.

Very ignorant post.

 

This isn't going to do any good, but would you pause to question your beliefs if I told you that you are dead wrong about this?

 

This is the same poster that said for thousands of years the wealthy have become wealthy through working harder..... not sure what history the self entitled "buff" read... but pretty sure the pyramids were built by the poor, the roads from Rome were built by the poor..... the Great Wall was built by the poor... the US railroads were built by the poor.... the Hoover Dam was built by the poor... and slaves and share croppers...... ALL of them just didn't work hard enough.... the REAL heavy lifting and hard work was done by the aristocracy and wealthy families.

 

Some do, some don't. Same as plenty of middle class people.

Too many people assume poor people are poor because they didn't try hard enough. Obviously true from some, but it discounts everyone that did try hard.