A Dream

[John]

I have a dream.

" . . . we will be able to work together; to pray together; to struggle together; to go to jail together; to stand up for Freedom together - knowing that we will be Free some day . . ."  MLK

" . . . and not only that: Let Freedom ring . . ."

[kola]

my 2 favorite blacks: MLK and Muhammed Ali.

KOla

[John]

I don't think of folks as black and white, etc., I think more along the lines of for more Freedom or not.

[Kat Kanning]

Are you saying that you wish the political forums were still here?

[BaRbArIaN]

I missed why they took them off, what is someone claiming political opinions on a BB are taxable or something?

[EJinCT]

my 2 favorite blacks...

A perfect example of why, as much, if not more, emphasis needs to be placed on raising human consciousness, as the changing of external physical circumstances.

I don't think of folks as black and white, etc., I think more along the lines of for more Freedom or not.

Free your mind and your ass will follow. 

[kola]

I do not think there is nothing wrong with acknowledging different nationalities and calling them black white brown or red.

For some reason, some people have been conditioned  and think that using these names is racist or disrespectful.

Same goes for using "the italian guy"..."the german lady" etc.

way too many ethnic oversensitivity issues..it makes it hard to please everyone with this "politically correct" new age era.

Kola

[MaineShark]

I do not think there is nothing wrong with acknowledging different nationalities and calling them black white brown or red.

For some reason, some people have been conditioned  and think that using these names is racist or disrespectful.

It depends how they are used.  Referring to skin color in the same way as one refers to hair color is not racist.

"my 2 favorite blacks: MLK and Muhammed Ali" certainly sounds like you are meaning something along the lines of "I like them... for black guys," which is most definitely racist.

Joe

[Lex]

I don't understand what the big deal is here. Humans naturally tend to categorize things. It's impossible not categories black people into a black category and white people into a white category. What's wrong with saying you like so and so in the black category?

There is a drawer in kolas head labeled black people in which is a box labeled favorite people. He has the same drawer and box for white people. When he needs to get something out of storage it's faster to look for stuff when you have smaller more categorized boxes as opposed to huge uncategorized boxes. We have to attach attributes to our memories to be able to remember people, things and ideas. Using race to remember someone is a pretty useful thing. If you happen to have two friends, one black and one white, both named Joe and you're talking to someone about them, wouldn't it make sense to say Joe black or Joe white instead of Joe who often wears long sleeve shirts or Joe who talks fast, etc. Even color blind people can distinguish between a white person and a black person but speed of talking and other attributes are much more subjective since for someone from NY the falk talking Joe may be a slow talker, etc.

Anyways, I just don't think there is anything wrong with calling someone black or white.

[MaineShark]

As I said, it depends upon the usage.  If it is simply a category, along the lines of "redhead" or "blue eyes" or "has facial piercings," then it isn't an issue.

If he's assigning values to those categories, that's different.  The phraseology he used could easily imply that.

Hopefully, he will be able to clarify.

I would typically say that someone who believes in race is a racist.  However, a non-racist can still refer to someone's appearance, as a descriptor.  It's only when that description starts to take on connotations of being a separate race that issues arise.  The ability for both to make very similar statements - from vastly different motivations - can make identification difficult.

Joe

[Lex]

If he's assigning values to those categories, that's different.

Skin color is a value. Unless you have some other definition for value?

[MaineShark]

If he's assigning values to those categories, that's different.

Skin color is a value. Unless you have some other definition for value?

Uh, this is not a mathematical variable in a algebra....

Value: (noun)
...
3: relative worth, utility, or importance

Joe

[sandm000]

My two favorite white guys:  MacGyver and Charles Nelson Reilly.

= not racist. .: my two favorite black guys is also not racist.

The only problem I have is that Kola has used substantive adjective, which, while not gramatically incorrect, it irks me personally.  Especially, as you can see here, because some people decide to put in whatever noun they want...

Where you, Kola, have put blacks, to mean black guys, they have substituted villians or freaks or some other negatively connotated word.

So, all you need to do is reduce the ambiguity in your sentences.  Then no one should have any problems.

[MaineShark]

The only problem I have is that Kola has used substantive adjective, which, while not gramatically incorrect, it irks me personally.  Especially, as you can see here, because some people decide to put in whatever noun they want...

Where you, Kola, have put blacks, to mean black guys, they have substituted villians or freaks or some other negatively connotated word.

So, all you need to do is reduce the ambiguity in your sentences.  Then no one should have any problems.

Indeed.  Which is why I said that it could be interpreted numerous ways.

It also tends to imply that the given descriptor is a primary category, because it is used without qualification.  When you say, "black guys," you are referring to "black" being a sub-category of "guys."

When someone uses a category label without any other descriptor, it is often assumed to be a primary category for that individual.  If that were the case, the "blacks" and "whites" could not both be sub-categories of "human."

Joe

[Lex]

A black navy seal doesn't have to put black makeup on his face for night time operations while a white one does. Which means he has to cary less stuff and doesn't have to worry about forgeting or running out of the paste.

In this situation being black is more valuable than being white. The black man will always have this advantage, it is unique to his skin color.