Africa. Misconceptions and anything else important.

[Pianomahnn]

I was reading through the thread on the flag of Georgia, and came upon someone's reply that included the two words. "Africa's Government." Obviously, I need to do some explaining.

Africa is a continent. And, like any other, contains many seperate nations, all with different governments. One would not say, "The European Government," would they? No, they would refer to the country which they speak of. Now, this sparked a new idea in my mind.

Has anyone ever heard of Egypt? A great nation that flourished in Africa. Hmmm...they don't look to black to me. I am getting to the point, that refering to one's own self as an African American is far too grand a generalization. If you're so caught up in your heritage, why not find out where your ancestry lies? I don't think you came from Egypt. And that's in Africa. I know not much about where slaves originated. I can only assume they were near the ocean, because travelling a few thousand miles through Africa wouldn't be "economical." So, perhaps they came from Nigeria, maybe the Ivory Coast, or even possibly they came from the other side in Kenya or Mozambique.

I'm pissed. Perhaps the next time someone calls themself an African American, I will ask them about their, "homeland." Let's really see how much they know about their heritage.

From now on, you all can refer to me as a Irish-French-Italian-German-Polish-Swedish-Native-American. Lets see how that goes...because if American born people can call themselves something they are not, than so can I!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

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I live on freedom. So should you.

Freedom Lives Within (http://www.pianomahnn.com)

[morgana]

<font color="lime">i prefer the term "other", thank you. as in:

(basic questionaire) please select one:

caucasion
african american
hispanic
native american
norwegian
latvian
other</font>

[Dog Breath]

Thanks for not mentioning my name.

And yes I would say European government if I was making a blanket statement. But right you are. It is like saying America (covers a lot of soil.)

African American doesn't piss me off as much as "Native American" Fuck I was born here too. So I am a native. Calling the American Indians "Natives" implies we aren't. It isn't like they grew here like plants and have their genetic roots here. They migrated here too.
Let me clarify...this is not a racial slur. It is all about semantics. Instead of African American or Native American, why not just American?

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Woof.
Scratching at the eyes of societal normalcy.
<IMG SRC="http://sites.netscape.net/mydogbreath/htribe.gif" border=0>

[This message has been edited by Dog Breath (edited 01-31-2001).]

[Pianomahnn]

That, American title is what I spouted off many times earlier. It won't happen because no matter how equal people want to be, they won't settle for just plain American.

I posted a topic about that same thing at an MSNBC BB, and got some good feedback from everyone but an American who didn't want it. Instead, he assaulted me and said he wanted to be called an African American.

It isn't the white people stopping this from happening...

------------------
I live on freedom. So should you.

Freedom Lives Within (http://www.pianomahnn.com)

[Horgasm]

I can somewhat relate to this subject. My father was Irish. By Irish I mean born and lived in Ireland for
19 years. He moved here in 1964 and has lived here since. When people ask him what nationality he his
he answers I’M AMERICAN. When Someone asks his about his ethnic background he answers I’M
IRISH.
I think fine line between Nationality and ethnicity is being garbled.

na·tion·al·i·ty
The status of belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization.

eth·nic·i·ty
Ethnic character, background, or affiliation

Therefore I believe while peoples backgrounds can differ every US citizen is AMERICAN!! !



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About time to DRINK SOME
BURKINA FASO.. .

[Pianomahnn]

Horgasm, you and I should become friends. We could kick some ass.

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I live on freedom. So should you.

Freedom Lives Within (http://www.pianomahnn.com)

[blank22]

Excellent point made by Horgasm.


As far as African Americans go. When their ancestors were brought over here to be slaves, they were not permitted to learn how to read or write, so they had no way of keeping track of what regions of Africa they were from. All that was known is that they were primarily from Africa, hence the generaliztion of the term "African Americans". Most black people today have no clue what region of Africa there ancestors were from, because of lack of records kept by the slaves who werent allowed to read or write (obviously the slave owners didn't give a shit what regions they were from, so of course they didn't document it), so they have other choice than to call themselves African Americans.

My ethnicity is Irish, however because I was born and raised in America, if I was to go to Ireland and proclaim that I was "Irish", I would be quickly ridiculed. Why? Because I'm American. Same goes for black people who were born and raised in America that call themselves African American. If they were to go to Africa and proclaim that they were "African" because of the color of their skin, they too would be quickly ridiculed. Why? Because they are American.

A good friend of mine who is originally from Nigeria, and moved to the US about five years ago, absolutely hates the mindset of today's African Americans. He feels that instead of being grateful for the great country they live in, they would rather compare themselves with people from a continent that they know nothing about, because they have similar skin colors. He also told me that most Africans would kill to be in the position that today's African Americans are in here in America. Which is why most Africans can't stand the ignorance of most African Americans.

All this coming from a true African, living in one of the most racist states (GA) in the US.