Do Americans really not know what 'Africans' look like?? - Page 2

Dis Guy · (#26 (**permalink**))

Quote:

I'm actually proud of the flow of that thread because it reminds me how MANY African Americans are now traveling and are able to correct others who do not travel nor read anything outside of "urban" fiction.

yea thank goodness for that,

like i said on some other post about AA going to Italy to look for Italian men, .....anything to take those people outta that 'universe' is a welcome development!

travelling vouchers anyone!

Incognito · (#27 (**permalink**))

Their really are some barbie dolls in black skin out there, it really is all about glamour and flicking long hair.

LadyDay · (#28 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by adrianerik

These responses are a bit naive. I assume that you are a BNV regular. And the other, you are a moderator.

Are you telling me that the tones of these WHY DO AFRICANS OR WHY DO JAMAICAN MEN or WHY DO NIGERIANS threads do not generally submit themselves to a spate of generalizations that far outnumber the "assumed" SOME in these threads...many of them which you close or terminate?

Secondly, a matter of weights. ONE confused person might be a PERSONAL tragedy for that person. If there was ONE confused black person out of a population of 700 million people that is not a tragedy. It sounds good. It's ridiculous. If you want to rationalize your own reasons for joining the world of generalizing...fine. But, please, don't school me to your own personal rationalizations.

This thread is crass generalization. It has done exactly what crass generalization threads do...create more generalizations.

Start a thread that says: AMERICANS: WHAT DO AFRICANS LOOK LIKE? That would educate you. That might even be a good thread.

But sister, I used to write propaganda. That was my job. (that was Mumia's job, abeit short, here in Philly, for the Panthers.)

Every organization had them. And the first step was to eliminate the words of analysis (some, lesser, more, a greater percentage) in favor of generalizations

The second was to make people prove a negative.

DOES OBAMA REALLY NOT LIKE CARIBBEANS?

And when your lead in is: DO AMERICANS REALLY NOT KNOW WHAT AFRICANS LOOK LIKE. "REALLY NOT KNOW" That assumes an affirmation was already made somewhere.

Where?

And it asks to prove a negative.

If one black man out of a population of a million rapes a woman do you allow a thread that says DO BLACK MEN REALLY NOT RESPECT WOMEN?

Now, what I've seen by many posters is their laziness to research and having titillating ears that tingle with the slightest hint of gossip or slap against another, (the 'another' may vary) not with a desire to learn, but with a desire to keep the ears tingling.

The thread becomes a witch hunt for everyone to find that "ONE" (tragedy) who REALLY DOES NOT KNOW.

There is a poster on this site who asked "what do you expect from that site"

The problem is, the originator of this thread could have just as easily have taken the posts on that exact same site and said MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ON SITE TAKE ISSUE WITH comment of "what do Africans look like". That's the real case if you care to go by how many, etc.

Then again, we wouldn't have this generalized thread, would we?

There wouldn't be the witch hunt (for that asshole we heard on the train...or that braggart who was on television...or that...or that...or that)

But I forgot the rationalization is that if this thread finds just "1" we have exposed a tragedy. And this moderator seems to agree with that.

(that opens up a can of worms....doesn't it?)

Fine, I respect the powers-to-be.

But, please, don't 'school me' on nonsense.

I categorically reject 99% of most generalizations...nothing personal. Most serve no purpose.

you do realise that i was in agreement with melissa on the basis that it is to be assumed it applies to some not all.

you obviously have some issues. glad you have gotten them off your chest

lmao that my 3 words gets an essay response.

anyway back to topic
and so what if I am a moderator.

adrianerik · (#29 (**permalink**))

I know that you guy's job is difficult.

To a degree, you all have done a good job with BNV, compared to how it was with the old site, maybe five years ago. I know that it's tough.

To be moderator and poster means you have to measure your swings from subjectivity to objectivity. Isn't that true? Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong.

In my personal experience...I've seen you guys monitor 'generalized' threads. The two most recent ones had to do with Nigerian money scams and why do Jamaican men cheat.

In both of them you moderators did not assume that 'some' would be the predominant pre-disposition of the posters.

So, is your agreement with Melissa, subjective...or objective...the policy of BNV?

I'm sorry that this observation of mine constitutes an 'issue'...in your mind. (by the way, do you have a degree in behaviour psych? Or is this just a 'subjective' opinion?)

peace

Because you don't know me.

Gmahogany777 · (#30 (**permalink**))

@Adrian, generalizing about AA's is totally acceptable on this Board. Generalizing about someCarribean bLacks is semi ok, sometimes. Generalizing about Continental Africans is a definite no no.

Kunjufu · (#31 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by adrianerik

I know that you guy's job is difficult.

To a degree, you all have done a good job with BNV, compared to how it was with the old site, maybe five years ago. I know that it's tough.

To be moderator and poster means you have to measure your swings from subjectivity to objectivity. Isn't that true? Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong.

In my personal experience...I've seen you guys monitor 'generalized' threads. The two most recent ones had to do with Nigerian money scams and why do Jamaican men cheat.

In both of them you moderators did not assume that 'some' would be the predominant pre-disposition of the posters.

So, is your agreement with Melissa, subjective...or objective...the policy of BNV?

I'm sorry that this observation of mine constitutes an 'issue'...in your mind. (by the way, do you have a degree in behaviour psych? Or is this just a 'subjective' opinion?)

peace

Because you don't know me.

Adrian: totally fair point and one that has been raised before about our moderation of BNV... You raising this criticism is not an 'issue' for me.. it just means that I've got to rethink how BNV guidance is applied more equally across the piece!!!

And in answer to GMahogany>..disrespect of ANYONE is not acceptable... just to be clear... moderating is not as YOU know an exact science so we will get it wromg or not appear as equal as some would like...but that does not mean we have a policy of allowing one abuse over another it just means we are human and we sometimes get it wrong..

alabamagirl · (#32 (**permalink**))

Those comments shocked the hell out of me and I know how many African Americans are and I'm one myself.

astmartins · (#33 (**permalink**))

Generalizing about Continental Africans is a definite no no.

Well given the caricatures all over our screen of Continental Africans what do you expect??..Besides Africa is our focal point ....give or take....love or hate....its the one place that ties us all together our common link though this can be suspect sometimes the way some Diasporans carry on.
I hope you not taking your 'beef' with @VB on the Obama Thread to score some brownie points being a catalyst start another relentless war of words rather than concentrate on the issues at hand
Gross misrepresentations of Continental Africans on BNV might not be the norm but then Africa is a Continent not a State or Country so lets break this down I have seen enough derogaratory and inflammatory threads started and directed at one particular group of Africans..NIGERIA!!!..

Besides BNV was created to encapsulate and celebrate everything African though as they found out we still very much tribal..

@VB
It is what it is...but we press on regardless..the degeneration of enough black people's mental fortitude has been swallowing whole every garbage that has been fed to them by the western press leading to a form of laziness an innate inability to analyse and research...as someone mentioned its called an Agenda...Propaganda at worse..Remember Nazi Germany??

DSP · (#34 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gmahogany777

@Adrian, generalizing about AA's is totally acceptable on this Board. Generalizing about someCarribean bLacks is semi ok, sometimes. Generalizing about Continental Africans is a definite no no.

on a serious note, the quiet multitude of positive intelligent African Americans are kind of invisible. They tend to be more humble and in the background. I live around alot of them so I know they exist, alot others of us don't see them often because the ignorant are usually the loudest and make themselves known and many of us are afraid to go outside of our ethnic circles.

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#35 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black-pride

..I've been told I look jamaican..LOL
(I didn't really ake offense)

..However, there are some instances where can look at sum1 and tell where they come from...

Actually, you can see a resemblance with many Jamaicans and Nigerians for the simple fact that both respective lands were British colonies and have a shared ancestry. You will find similar resemblances between some American southerners in Mississippi & Alabama with Southern Afrikans.

DSP · (#36 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shemsi en Tehuti

Actually, you can see a resemblance with many Jamaicans and Nigerians for the simple fact that both respective lands were British colonies and have a shared ancestry. You will find similar resemblances between some American southerners in Mississippi & Alabama with Southern Afrikans.

Huh?
What southern Africans?

...just asking because dna results for southern black Americans and Caribbean people dont match any clans 'native' to southern Africa. Farthest south I've seen/heard and read slave records are Angola and Congo which are central Africa.

safetyblitz · (#37 (**permalink**))

Well to defend the Americans who don't know what an African looks like........

The only thing many AAs see on television are images of poor and destitute Africans who are dying of AIDS, hunger and/or wars OR from the Tarzan movies (which we soon figure out by the time we are 10 that if a non African will not walk alone in our neighborhoods, we know he is not going to walk through a jungle alone...). So there is a hard slant on Africa in the US.

With that said many AAs do not have internet access at home (if they have a PC) and do not have access to cable television. So no other visions of Africa (including the books in the inner city library) are current or completely true.

I mean the same can be said of many of the European based diaspora who watch BET, some of our entertainers or are visited by Americans and instantly judge us based on what they see.

Especially when they find out that 99.99999999 % of us are not entertainers and that half of us live below poverty and are hidden from public view. I honestly think that many of you finally saw our poor when katrina uncovered a lot of AA poor in this country.