 |
| Picture courtesy of Google |
The idea that colorism is only regional in the United States is laughable. As if it is so impossible for colorism to majorly exist in more than the much talked about Southern region of the United States and not the others. And considering the fact that we have allowed our popular culture to shape our views in very destructive ways we should all know that it is everywhere. Southern people ain't got nothing on America as a whole.
I have seen colorism in all of the regions from many ethnic groups (as designed) and it at times seems unbelievable when you experience it even though you know it exists. Spending the second half of my formative years growing up in Northern Louisiana put me in a position to experience colorism often but not so often that it was able to damage my views on the issue. It was frustrating to hear older people, boys, girls and even family members discuss the lighter skin/darker skin issue in a way that gave it more importance than it should have had.
Colorism is something that I hate more than I hate racism because it is coming from not only the people that benefit from racism but it is also coming from the people that experience being negatively affected by racism everyday. Black people destroying themselves with the very thing that their ancestors fought against is the definition of sad. Wouldn't they be so proud that their sacrifice has brought about our slow and (at this point) certain destruction?
We feed the monster, our current societal power structure, with our lives by choosing to support anything or anyone that tries to make this okay. It is not okay for a person's self-worth to be defined by their skin color and for that skin color to be seen as anything other than God's plan for a beautiful and diverse society.
What do you think? Is colorism and it's damage different from what racism creates? Is colorism among black people self-hatred in practice?
I think it should be addressed as racism, because it’s no different. These people are identifying themselves as racially superior because of the color of their skin. Very sad that it has to come from our own communities, and even a little embarrassing; it shows how afflicted they are by the white stereotypes and insecure about their racial identity. They are essentially saying “I’m closer to being white than you are or less -insert ethnic group here-, so that makes me better than you.” It really is mostly embarrassing. "I'm lighter than you, so I'm a better Mexican, or for peoples of African descent; my dad is Puerto Rican, so I’m not even black. When I hear that last one, I always wonder what that poor child’s mother thinks of him/her being ashamed of her African ancestry. That said, calling these people out for what they are might only make them feel even more superior, entitled to say; I can be racist against people of my own ethnic persuasion because my skin color means I better etc. I’ve seen it and it’s sad n’ sick.
ReplyDeleteWhile it wouldn’t be as prevalent if not for the dreadfully corrupt agenda of the media and generally white supremacist attitude of our society, I do believe a lot of it is natural human behavior. But again, our evolution beyond needing to group and stereotype has been stinted by capitalism and its profiteering from racism as well as sexism. It is important for the discussion of race to be addressed in a serious context, but the masses have been almost totally desensitized and succumb to the ignorance. This is almost inevitable as it is promoted by everything from lyrics and music videos, cable TV and the box office hits, to CNN and Vogue magazine. When I address someone who has made an incorrect comment –such as the aforementioned- I usually get a mocking response or the person doesn’t recognize their remark as racist. Racism is insidious and institutionalized, and that’s when it is most dangerous, when it’s not blatant and fabricated as art or entertainment.
I wonder what you thought of Beyoncé’s black face editorial in Parisian fashion book L’Official. A light skinned black woman painting her face a dark brown, and contrasting her light skin to the darker hue. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, but regardless of Beyoncé being a black woman or having African ancestry, black women are still degraded and ridiculed for having dark skin. I don’t know, and you’re a much better writer that I am. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
@TheEditor
ReplyDeleteGreat comment.
"I wonder what you thought of Beyoncé’s black face editorial in Parisian fashion book L’Official."
I think that it was ignorant, plain and simple. Beyonce (needs to embrace common sense) and her husband are no different than any of the other lost black people with wealth or advantages in life that believe they somehow transcended their blackness in a way that makes them "different". There are so many examples of black people that thought their advantage excluded them from the discrimination that we regular black people have to contend with daily (Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson, Beyonce, JayZ, P
Diddy). Just look at the ridiculous Carol's Daughter garbage with Steve Stoute talking about "the tanning" of America to emphasis multicultural over black. All to lessen people's desire to identify with that which white privilege despises.
I think that it was ignorant, plain and simple. Beyonce (needs to embrace common sense) and her husband are no different than any of the other lost black people with wealth or advantages in life that believe they somehow transcended their blackness in a way that makes them "different". There are so many examples of black people that thought their advantage excluded them from the discrimination that we regular black people have to contend with daily (Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson, Beyonce, JayZ, P
DeleteDiddy). Just look at the ridiculous Carol's Daughter garbage with Steve Stoute talking about "the tanning" of America to emphasis multicultural over black. All to lessen people's desire to identify with that which white privilege despises
************************************************************
I gave up when Black People started laying on the beach to get sun tanned. I knew then it was all over.
Ben-