Do you think Black History Month is a tad racist?

[Rupert_Baehr]

Who's 'crying over spilt milk'?

 

Given Audra's excellent post, I think you would be a beneficiary from participation:

 

Ordinarliy, BF, I would hesitate to argue with you.

 

I'll make an exception this time. - And I don't agree with Audra, either!

 

Civilisation (the human race) started in Africa. Northern Europe developed far more rapidly - and if you want the reason for that, consider the bloody Christians, with their Priests and Monks who started schools, Universities, hospitals etc.

 

They didn't go into Africa. Had they done so, what would Africa be like now?

 

If you want to have a 'Black History month' - go ahead. It won't do any harm.

 

I grew up in a place where there were only people like me. - A small island. (OK, when I was about 10 we had an influx of Calabrians (imported as agricultural workers) and they were 'different' - but it was worthwhile (50 odd years ago, but I can still swear fluently enough in Calabrian to strip paint off wood, - Thanks, Rita.

 

Perhaps because I grew up in a place where there were NO (not one) black people, I didn't learn to be prejudiced. - I was 18 when I first saw a dark-skinned person and by the time I was 21, I was in an environment where you had to rely on the guy next to you to keep you alive - and some of them were black guys.

 

I'm retired. Retired military. As is my wife. (Sorry, Harleyman, we are retired officers and most of our neighbours are retired officers, too.) We haven't been here very long (though we were here in February) and we do have a few friends. My best friend is a retired Colonel from USACE and his wife is my wife's best friend. They are black. They are not our friends because they are black, nor are they our friends in spite of being black.

 

They are our friends because they are really good people and we get on well with them.

 

I accept that there IS racial prejudice, but - perhaps because I grew up in a place where it was non-existent - I don't really understand it.

 

I can appreciate that if one person of a particular ethnicity (and milky-white angles are 'of an ethnicity' too) was faced with a group of [particularly aggressive] people of another ethnic group, that might be a problem.

 

It's never been a problem for me.

 

If black people really think they need a black history month' - Go for it! (Do I give a damn?)

 

BUT: If there are pink people who feel that the black people are trying to drive a seperatory wedge between themselves and the pink people, who is to blame?

 

I've argued vociferously on this forum AGAINST multi-culturalism.

 

IMO, we should live together. But if one group wants to have a day, or a week, or a month which separates them from the rest - that's their choice.

[Halibut]

Maybe there isnt that much to know.

I mean, look at africa. All those people live there and practicaly nothing possitive comes from a single one of em. They dont invent anything for the great good of mankind, they dont achieve anything for the greater good of mankind, they just soak up aid like a sponge then in their best Oliva voice they say,

"Please buana, can i have some more?"

Sad but true

 

Sad that you parade your ignorance so proudly.

[Suffragette1]

In answer to the OP, Black History month is not remotely racist. It is all about raising awareness of the positive contributions that blacks have made throughout the ages which were until recently hidden from history. Of course now the curriculum is far more inckusive than it was when I was at school and black history is mainstream, quite rightly so too. However, for those of us who are no longer in education, we have the opportunity to actually learn fa few acts about black history through having a month dedicated to it. We never studied Mary Seacole at school, for example, but we learned about Florence Nightingale. That is just one example of many.

[MrFloppy]

Sad that you parade your ignorance so proudly.

 

Ignorant?

Nah, i dont think so.

[MrFloppy]

Would you think the same of "History of World War II Month"?

 

Black history month = a race thing

White history month = a race thing

History of World War II Month = Someone clutching at straws.

[boyfriday]

Ordinarliy, BF, I would hesitate to argue with you.

 

I'll make an exception this time. - And I don't agree with Audra, either!

It's never stopped you in the past Rupert

Civilisation (the human race) started in Africa. Northern Europe developed far more rapidly - and if you want the reason for that, consider the bloody Christians, with their Priests and Monks who started schools, Universities, hospitals etc.

 

They didn't go into Africa. Had they done so, what would Africa be like now?

 

If you want to have a 'Black History month' - go ahead. It won't do any harm.

 

I grew up in a place where there were only people like me. - A small island. (OK, when I was about 10 we had an influx of Calabrians (imported as agricultural workers) and they were 'different' - but it was worthwhile (50 odd years ago, but I can still swear fluently enough in Calabrian to strip paint off wood, - Thanks, Rita.

 

Perhaps because I grew up in a place where there were NO (not one) black people, I didn't learn to be prejudiced. - I was 18 when I first saw a dark-skinned person and by the time I was 21, I was in an environment where you had to rely on the guy next to you to keep you alive - and some of them were black guys.

 

I'm retired. Retired military. As is my wife. (Sorry, Harleyman, we are retired officers and most of our neighbours are retired officers, too.) We haven't been here very long (though we were here in February) and we do have a few friends. My best friend is a retired Colonel from USACE and his wife is my wife's best friend. They are black. They are not our friends because they are black, nor are they our friends in spite of being black.

 

They are our friends because they are really good people and we get on well with them.

 

I accept that there IS racial prejudice, but - perhaps because I grew up in a place where it was non-existent - I don't really understand it.

 

I can appreciate that if one person of a particular ethnicity (and milky-white angles are 'of an ethnicity' too) was faced with a group of [particularly aggressive] people of another ethnic group, that might be a problem.

 

It's never been a problem for me.

 

If black people really think they need a black history month' - Go for it! (Do I give a damn?)

 

BUT: If there are pink people who feel that the black people are trying to drive a seperatory wedge between themselves and the pink people, who is to blame?

 

I've argued vociferously on this forum AGAINST multi-culturalism.

 

IMO, we should live together. But if one group wants to have a day, or a week, or a month which separates them from the rest - that's their choice.

 

I agree with most of what you say here, but I think Audra's post is the more compelling, because black history isn't necessarily about championing the black race-it's an academic exercise, highlighting the facts of a culture's history that have been unknown, misunderstood or mis-represented.

 

I don't believe after such an examination, black people will be rejoicing from the rooftops, because to put it simply there is much in black history that blacks have no reason to be proud of, just as whites don't in white history. Having said all that I don't see anything wrong in studying the history of blacks or whites.

 

To be honest I would have preferred and supported a 'Muslim history month', because I know even less about them and I'm convinced it would help our mutual understanding.

 

I've no idea what black history month intends to highlight, it isn't something I will be taking much regard of..but is it racist? No.

 

Does it offer a potential learning experience for people who who might have not seized the opportunity otherwise? Yes.

[boyfriday]

In answer to the OP, Black History month is not remotely racist. It is all about raising awareness of the positive contributions that blacks have made throughout the ages which were until recently hidden from history.

 

Hopefully Suffy it will also raise awareness of the negative contributions also, I don't believe it's the job of historians to whitewash (pardon the pun) things that happened in our collective pasts and shaped how people developed.

[Conrod]

Sad that you parade your ignorance so proudly.

What an incredible surprise, Halibut insulting a poster rather than making a useful contribution to a thread.

 

Come on , you can do better. You're reasonably well-read, fairly articulate, I'm sure you can concentrate long enough to come up with a post worth reading that will add some positive interest to a thread like this.

[MrFloppy]

Well, the study of the history of a significantly large race seems fair enough - the point being that that history is often ignored without the month. It isn't "a race thing" in the obviously derogatory way you mean it, it is study. Just like the story of WWII month. There is of course a certain mentality with certain preconceived notions that will never be able to see this.

 

Hey, dont judge me Mod Boy.

[Halibut]

What an incredible surprise, Halibut insulting a poster rather than making a useful contribution to a thread.

 

Come on , you can do better. You're reasonably well-read, fairly articulate, I'm sure you can concentrate long enough to come up with a post worth reading that will add some positive interest to a thread like this.

 

Do you not agree that Floppy's post was one profoundly rooted in ignorance?