Disclaimer:I'm Black,now the deep psychological question: What makes Black South

1. 86

   gmwilliamsposted 10 years ago

   Disclaimer:I'm Black,now the deep psychological question: What makes Black Southerners, the Black
   
   Southern diaspora & descendants STILL value strict conformity,obedience,extreme religiosity, self-hatred,& submissiveness in contrast to Black Caribbeans,the Black Caribbean diaspora & descendants in the USA who STRESS independence,assertiveness,self-pride, & an in your face attitude?Among my Southern relatives,there's a very strong religiosity,unquestioning obedience, & conformity.In contrast my Caribbean relatives are proactive, assertive, & REFUSE to be submissive.The first still POSSESS a slave/victimology consciousness/psychology/mindset while the other REFUSE to succumb to such.
   
   

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2. 96

   peeplesposted 10 years ago

   Disclaimer-I am not just white and I was raised in many, many black foster homes. Though a disclaimer isn't really needed but given what I am about to say I don't want anyone to confuse it with racism, just simple observation.
   Here in the south it seems that being "ghetto" or "from the hood" is deemed acceptable and almost desirable to teens. It seems to be a horrible cycle of blaming white people for their inability to do better for themselves instead of taking control and getting themselves out of the "hood". Where as in many other parts of the country, blacks who grow up in the hood strive to do better for themselves and their future children. It is an easy way out to blame others for their own failures and to stay stuck in the religious ways while at the same time claiming they are left behind.
   Granted, in the south there really is a good bit of racism, adults control their own lives and can choose to overcome the issues. Instead they find comfort in the victim mentality. I think lower education can have a great deal to do with it. It's hard to do better for yourself or see outside of the box if you aren't educated.
   I have a very good friend who is a mid 50's black woman. She pushed through a crappy life here in the south to become a well off black woman. She raised her children with manners, self respect, and love for all. The result? Fellow black people treated her poorly and claimed she was raising "white kids". Instead of just seeing them as educated young men they were called white as an insult. It seems those still living in the victim mentality simply aren't happy with their fellow blacks unless they are also living the hood life. Very sad.
   It's hard being a minority in the south, which is even more of a reason for them to refuse to have such an unrealistic view of their own lives.

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   1. 61

      Kiss andTalesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      In answering your post , it is sad when people or other humans are separated from society based on color, in the US we are a mixed people who have many mixed backgrounds, we are not all white or we are not all black or any other race as pure.

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3. 79

   Say Yes To Lifeposted 10 years ago

   Though I was born and raised in Oakland CA, my ancestry is from the Caribbean (Haiti).  Caribbeans come across as well-mannered, disciplined, and highly educated to the point of being snobs, but there's a reason those countries are poor, with Haiti being the most impoverished in the Western Hemisphere.  According to my experience, this image is a brittle veneer covering a vault of dysfunction.  The reason I don't discuss my family is because the saga is rated NC17.
   The major difference between African American ghetto types and Caribbeans is that African Americans are more blunt and open about their dysfunction; they don't hide it. True, not all Caribbeans are like that, but neither are all African Americans.
   What can be done about it?  When people lose their culture, or are betrayed by it, they need to turn to another.  I've been helped by studying different nationalities and religions.  Perhaps blacks can learn about the ways of the countries their ancestors came from (mine are possibly from Zaire; I understand most African Americans come from Nigeria).  Take on what's good about your ancestral ways of life, omit the negative, and search other modes, such as the Native Americans, who were very sympathetic towards the black slaves.  I have personally always been a great admirer of Mexicans.  Case in point: black slaves used to escape to escape to Florida, living among the Seminole tribes there.  When that was taken over, they escape to Mexico.  The reason some Mexicans have curly hair is because they mixed with blacks.

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