African-Americans have made important contributions to American society. Today we have a president who is black in a country that is 88% non-black. That in itself points to how open the U.S. has become to selecting its top leaders.
And the dominance of African-Americans in the realms of professional sports, music, and entertainment is evident to both Americans and those in other countries.
In fact, it could be said without overstatement that America's love affair with African-Americans is both broad and deep. Young people in particular (and older people as well) love and idolize African-Americans, who have become heroes (and heroines) for them, from Obama to Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Mohammed Ali, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Jamie Fox, Will Smith, and rappers (whose names escape me).
Not bad for a group that is only 12% of the total population of the U.S..
* * * * *
President Obama stated before his inauguration that he wished America could have a truly open discussion of race.
I'm not sure if everyone really wants that.
Nothing is black or white. There are degrees of gray in between.
"People of color" is a term that can be used to lump various races together simply on the basis of their not being Caucasian.
So in the midst of our celebration of the achievements of black Americans and the finger-pointing at the institutions that have ostensibly and continue to be responsible for the inequalities that remain in our society, we also need to look at the flip side, the shadowy aspect that very few people, white, black, Hispanic, or Asian, will comment on, at least publicly.
I think what bothers me the most is the downplaying of violent crime statistics, whether nationally or locally (Seattle).
Secondly, I observe here frequently locally the lack of respect especially younger African-Americans (I explicitly do not include African or Caribbean immigrants here) towards other racial or ethnic groups. The example that comes to mind is speaking loudly in public. Consideration for others' comfort level with very loud, aggressive voices and sounds (pop music) IS not a trifling matter.
It seems, along with the general African-Americanization of mainstream American culture, that younger people of other races and backgrounds (whites, Asians...) are indeed influenced, in this aspect, by the cultural acceptance of very loud voices, laughter, shouting, even screaming in African-American culture.
So I have observed non-African-American teen-agers or college students apparently imitating their black peers--on buses, walking on the sidewalk, etc.--carrying on "conversations" while talking at the top of their voices.
Not everyone around these people enjoys--or, if they don't, can ignore--, this behavior.
Talking loudly is not only a matter of self-cultivation: Allowing other people to carry on conversations without having to resort to shouting as well as a matter of mutual privacy.
"95% of the people around you has any interest in hearing or in being forced to hear what you are saying (on your cellphone, to the person next to you...). No more than then they would be if (another person and) I were having a conversation. In fact they may be, frankly, irritated."
"Spare us, if you can, your gems of wit...insight...opinions on the state of affairs of the world..." (I realize modesty is not part of the vocabulary of most Americans in the 21st century).
It is a form of disrespect for others and verbal (= psychological) aggression.
It is also a form of either intentional or inadvertent attention-getting and at that, extremely rude.
And the dominance of African-Americans in the realms of professional sports, music, and entertainment is evident to both Americans and those in other countries.
In fact, it could be said without overstatement that America's love affair with African-Americans is both broad and deep. Young people in particular (and older people as well) love and idolize African-Americans, who have become heroes (and heroines) for them, from Obama to Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Mohammed Ali, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Jamie Fox, Will Smith, and rappers (whose names escape me).
Not bad for a group that is only 12% of the total population of the U.S..
* * * * *
President Obama stated before his inauguration that he wished America could have a truly open discussion of race.
I'm not sure if everyone really wants that.
Nothing is black or white. There are degrees of gray in between.
"People of color" is a term that can be used to lump various races together simply on the basis of their not being Caucasian.
So in the midst of our celebration of the achievements of black Americans and the finger-pointing at the institutions that have ostensibly and continue to be responsible for the inequalities that remain in our society, we also need to look at the flip side, the shadowy aspect that very few people, white, black, Hispanic, or Asian, will comment on, at least publicly.
I think what bothers me the most is the downplaying of violent crime statistics, whether nationally or locally (Seattle).
Secondly, I observe here frequently locally the lack of respect especially younger African-Americans (I explicitly do not include African or Caribbean immigrants here) towards other racial or ethnic groups. The example that comes to mind is speaking loudly in public. Consideration for others' comfort level with very loud, aggressive voices and sounds (pop music) IS not a trifling matter.
It seems, along with the general African-Americanization of mainstream American culture, that younger people of other races and backgrounds (whites, Asians...) are indeed influenced, in this aspect, by the cultural acceptance of very loud voices, laughter, shouting, even screaming in African-American culture.
So I have observed non-African-American teen-agers or college students apparently imitating their black peers--on buses, walking on the sidewalk, etc.--carrying on "conversations" while talking at the top of their voices.
Not everyone around these people enjoys--or, if they don't, can ignore--, this behavior.
Talking loudly is not only a matter of self-cultivation: Allowing other people to carry on conversations without having to resort to shouting as well as a matter of mutual privacy.
"95% of the people around you has any interest in hearing or in being forced to hear what you are saying (on your cellphone, to the person next to you...). No more than then they would be if (another person and) I were having a conversation. In fact they may be, frankly, irritated."
"Spare us, if you can, your gems of wit...insight...opinions on the state of affairs of the world..." (I realize modesty is not part of the vocabulary of most Americans in the 21st century).
It is a form of disrespect for others and verbal (= psychological) aggression.
It is also a form of either intentional or inadvertent attention-getting and at that, extremely rude.
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