I can see how you would say that but you Sir are wrong. The Original Black Panther Party gave a voice to an abused group of people that had been taken advantage of previously. All they knew were that they were wrong. Simply because that's all they saw. No help from police officers for anything. Forced to buy the worst products in the grocery store. (If they were allowed inside) No access to the same school books that others were using, etc. What happened is someone said fuck this! They said we are gonna go to that store and get the GOOD baby formula this time. Knowing it was a dumb thing to want to actually provide the best for your children since you were black, they took guns with them because they knew they would be confronted with all manners of slurs and weapons. At that time if their guns were taken away then they would have had NO WAY of defending themselves against a society that didn't give a fuck about them and was not afraid to show it. So of course they campaigned for gun rights. Had they not taken their guns with them they would not have made it to steps of the courthouse in that famous picture. And gun rights may have been taken away way back then........Think about that. If you really look at the black panther party you find out that they did alot of really good things in their areas, until they were introduced to cocaine. Do you think they grew cocoa plants? No? Do you think they had planes to fly the stuff into their neighborhoods when they just barely had guns to call their own? No? So quit calling them junkies and such. What they ended up being is an experiment that went horribly right. Yet this is all coming back around again. Small minded people are still focused on race. Our gun rights are being questioned daily. If everyone is medicated, lazy, and disassociated though, who is gonna stand up for anyone's rights? I'll tell you who. Some guy we put in power because he looks like the best choice. And he only looks like the best choice because he was able to keep us shielded from the majority of his past fuckups. You don't know that MF personally. Somebody look at the person to your left and say "Stop being stupid."
Boy you need to stop gassing already. You have NO idea what you're talking about. All that hippy love talk you're spewing isn't coming from the heart, only the drugs you're taking. Those creatures did not deserve gun rights, especially when they used those guns to injure FIFTY SIX officers and end the lives of 9 brave servicemen. The Black Panthers were a vile and wicked party, as bad as the KKK and the old school hate mobs who used to run around lynching black folk. Perhaps you should read a more condensed version of their history before you try to depict them as noble and just. So dude. I hate to say it but... Your post has genuinely angered me. The same way I would anger people if I started trying to claim the KKK or the Nazi's were 'just giving a voice to the oppressed.' If I was a policeman working in the late 60's and early 70's then it would be bring me joy to brutalize the black panthers. Any of those lil BP rats suspected of attacking my fellow officers in armed ambushes would be swiftly put to the sword. I AM WHITE AND PROUD. Just as I would expect any man to be proud of his race. If one of my boys came to me and said 'man I don't want to be black anymore I hate it,' I would shake my head in disbelief. Cos fuck, if you're ashamed of who you are then how is that gonna benefit you in anyway? I am white and proud and if I ever encounter any 'minorities' disrespecting my race then I deal with them harshly. If I see white folk believing in 'white supremacy' then that disgusts me also. I have brothers and friends of every creed. We are all humans, little more than glorified monkeys. To believe you are superior because you are a particular shade of color is beyond absurd. And same goes if you're a black or Asian trying to claim special rights in an indigenous white European country. I live in the UK and we get a lot of Muslims trying to claim special privileges and benefits on a regular basis. Those hate preachers who convert innocent kids into 'Islamic warriors' with their vile words are often set free by the human rights courts because they 'have the right to a family life.' In cases like these, we need the lynch mobs back of old to apply correct justice. And as for GUN RIGHTS. Seriously, I can't believe I'm even hearing this shit. Why is it that you yanks think you have the right to own a deadly tool that's sole purpose is to kill. None but trained law enforcers and active military personnel should be carrying guns. Those things are evil. They might be 'pretty' and 'cool' or whatever you gun loving psychopaths like to call them. But the fact is a loaded gun has NO OTHER function except to fire life ending bullets into the flesh of a living being and cause untold destruction. In the UK, guns are highly illegal. Carrying one alone will put you in jail for quite some time. Recently we had an SAS warrior put away for 18 months for owning an unlicensed Glock. We still have some gun crime but NOWHERE NEAR as much (even if you convert the statistics to account for our population difference). Reason being is that it's so hard to get a firearm here and even if you can acquire one it carries such a huge risk that it's rarely worth it. Don't get me wrong, I think you have the right to defend your property. But giving EVERYONE gun isn't gonna make you any more safe. No fucken way. I have multiple blades in my yard, the finest being an exquisitely sharpened katana. If anyone tries to invade my home then their punishment will be more severe.
Being proud of being black is simply compensation for all the negativity (past and present) directed toward blacks. When you're constantly told you're stupid, a criminal, inferior, primitive, worthless etc., it's more understandable to say "no I am proud of my race despite those ugly stereotypes". But keep in mind, the black pride movement lasted from the 70's to the late 80's when blacks were still trying to repair the psychological damage from decades of institutional and systematic white supremacy.
Its the day after thanksgiving. Why are you mad about anything? Maybe your turkey was too dry? Maybe you cant see the truth or the trash in what you just typed. Either way just smile today. At least once. For me. Please Mr stoned?
Making a race a part of that is what causes divisions in the first place. Culture is important, not race.
I'm from the UK. We don't do or care about thanksgiving here. And explain what you mean by 'trash'. Don't just spew out generalizations and not expect an argument in return. I think it's good being proud to be black. It's good to be proud of being any race. What's not okay is people who think they're better than others simply because of their skin color or ethnic heritage. That's just ridiculous.
Everyone is a little racist, but that's because of the world we live in. The effects of segregation, colonialism, and cultural genocide movements such as residential schools for First Nations groups, Japanese internment camps during the war, and systemic focus on Western cultural traditions, values, and forms of knowledge affect how the view of the world is shaped for everyone, especially for those living in North America. Whiteness inherently comes with certain unearned privileges, as does male gender and heterosexuality. These intersections and forms of oppression are all around us, sometimes overtly (by denying groups rights based on certain distinctions), and subtly through kinds of policy and frameworks that are used to discriminate, objectify, or tokenize. One of my favourite reads (as a white guy): Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (Peggy Macintosh). If you haven't read it, go here: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh If you want a more extensive version, do a search in Google Scholar. Good thread though - and great responses so far.
I think what MrStoned means (and if it is, then I agree) is that your race, as much as it is just a social construct, has to do with your identity. Being proud of who you are isn't wrong, and it should be celebrated, though as part of that comes the responsibility in acknowledging the kinds of privilege that come along with those various parts of your identity.
Unless you're being facetious, care to elaborate? Or is an emoticon supposed to suffice for an argument?
Obvious topic started to fuel arguements I mean come on title it racial pride then come in and start talking black and white asking why you cant where your hooded sheet anymore........................What does this have to do with lifestyle or fashion?
[quote name='"Mr Stoned"'] And as for GUN RIGHTS. Seriously, I can't believe I'm even hearing this shit. Why is it that you yanks think you have the right to own a deadly tool that's sole purpose is to kill. None but trained law enforcers and active military personnel should be carrying guns. Those things are evil. They might be 'pretty' and 'cool' or whatever you gun loving psychopaths like to call them. But the fact is a loaded gun has NO OTHER function except to fire life ending bullets into the flesh of a living being and cause untold destruction. In the UK, guns are highly illegal. Carrying one alone will put you in jail for quite some time. Recently we had an SAS warrior put away for 18 months for owning an unlicensed Glock. We still have some gun crime but NOWHERE NEAR as much (even if you convert the statistics to account for our population difference). Reason being is that it's so hard to get a firearm here and even if you can acquire one it carries such a huge risk that it's rarely worth it. Don't get me wrong, I think you have the right to defend your property. But giving EVERYONE gun isn't gonna make you any more safe. No fucken way. I have multiple blades in my yard, the finest being an exquisitely sharpened katana. If anyone tries to invade my home then their punishment will be more severe.[/quote] We "yanks" used our guns to get away from your oppressive government. You are twice as likely to be stabbed in the UK as you are to be shot in the US. Maybe everybody in the UK stab each other because of the knowledge that no one has a gun to defend themselves? "In the UK there was one knife crime commited for every 374 people. In the US, there was one gun crime committed for every 750 people — less than half a gun crime per 374 people (about 0.4987 gun crimes per 374 people, actually)."
Thank you, it's actually kind of funny how he even says in his post that he has a bunch of knives, like that's somehow better or more morally justified than having a gun. In the 80's the UK had tons of gun crime so they banned guns, now they have tons of knife crime, Scotland is actually one of the worst places in the world for knife crime.
White Pride! By saying this I am not advocating racial supremacy, far from it. Victory in diversity I suppose. I did not choose to be of this colour nor can I be judged upon because of the actions of my ancestors. We should embrace diversity, black pride, red pride, yellow pride, white pride, whatever rocks your boat. Edit: I am not entirely serious
Most of the examples of "white privilege" in that article were either flat out untrue, impossible to verify, or just completely irrelevant to a person's life. It says stuff like if I'm white then I can be sure my neighbors will be neutral or pleasant, which is utter crap, I'm white and I've had tons of bad neighbors. Stuff like if you're white you won't be suspected of shoplifting, again completely untrue, it's happened to me personally. Then there's stuff like "I can talk with my mouth full without it reflecting on my race". It's like, how is that even a privilege? The whole article was just so weak I almost hope the author was being sarcastic. There is no such thing as white privilege. If anything whites are the victims of institutionalized racism, such as here in Canada where Natives are a privileged class of people, they are exempt from taxes and recieve many public services that white people do not.
People should feel free to say "white power" if they have something to back it up with. In the US that phrase has certain connotations behind it. While "white" in other countries is more specific. Many of my "white" friends couldn't tell you where their grandfathers came from. At the same time, I have friends who identify as white but show pride of Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, or German culture; and every possible combination. As a black (Senegalese) guy I guess I just don't see what white culture is. Not to step on any toes or anything but white seems, to me at least, as a lack of identifying with specific culture, nationality, w/e.
I can only speak from my perspective here in the US but by simply being born white you inherit a whole different set of privileges than people of Color. For example, a white male with a felony record has the same chance of employment as an African American with a spotless record. White skin might not equate to free handouts directly but the privileges cannot be ignored. There is no "White History Month" because it happens to be every month. White is the norm and anyone outside of that has to either hide what they can about their culture or suffer the consequences.