Why always "black"?

[johnnie]

Whenever something happens in the news about a "white blond girl" or something like that, you usually end up with a few hundred posts here at DU that says something like "If this were a poor black child....blah blah blah". I'm curious why "black" is always the chosen minority. I've never read "if this were a poor mexican girl" or "If this were a poor Native American girl". (or Asian, Middle Eastern, Latino, ect..) What is the reason people jump right to black?

What motivates people to automatically say "black" over any of the other minorities that are being oppressed in this country? I just thought I would ask.

[qanda]

1. It's the shortest?

:shrug:

[Atman]

2. Largely metaphorical

"Black & white."

There are many examples, there are many races. It makes no sense to expect one to list every minority group simply to make a point.

[bryant69]

3. Well a couple of reasons if i guess

I beleive numerically they are our largest Ethnic Minoirty - and they are certainly the most visible. Also, like it or not, their struggle for freedom has been the main civil rights narrative in this nation. Americans might be aware of Chief Joseph or Cesar Chavez, but often not in any great detai.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[bigwillq]

7. I thought that

people from the Spanish countries are now the largest minority group in this country. Don't have any numbers for you so I could be wrong.

[AspenRose]

8. Hispanics are the largest now

at around 14%. Blacks are right behind at around 12%.

I have also noticed it is sometimes more acceptable for a white person to intermarry with an asian, an american indian or a hispanic, but there's something about black that still carries the stigma.

Blacks were seen as inferior and were the slave class in this country. American indians were screwed over, to be sure, and hispanics who have immigrated here of their own free will, as well as those who have always been here have experienced discrimination, which may have been legislated at a state level. But neither have been the target of federally "sanctioned" (for a while anyway) servitude.

[johnnie]

11. That's a fair assessment.

But as I said below, we need to look at the whole situation and not single out people because "there's something about black that still carries the stigma."

But you make a valid point.

[lonestarnot]

4. I didn't say that.

[johnnie]

6. I know

I wasn't specifically pointing to anyone. :)

[zalinda]

5. Because "black" is the most opposite

Blacks have been enslaved, beaten, hung, experimented on and hated for much longer and bitterly than any of the minorities. They are expressing that ALL should be treated equally, even those that we have had the most decisiveness of histories. It really is that simple.

zalinda

[johnnie]

9. Well, I don't really think it is that simple

I think it is ingrained in a lot of people that "black" is the minority of choice. Truth be told, there are a lot of people in this country who don't get a fair shake and they come in many sizes, shapes and colors. If we are ever going to move forward on the fight against racism I think people need to stop and think about what minority they select to use as an example.

[itzamirakul]

22. Johnnie, when African Americans (blacks) fight for and win equal

rights OF ANY KIND,be it voting or desegregation, or Affirmative Action, EVERYONE ELSE benefits from that success, i.e. Native Americans, Mexicans, Latinos, Hispanics, Asians, Eastern Europeans, South Americans, Pacific Islanders, Eskimos,Africans, Middle Easterners, Arabs,Caribbean natives and any other minority, including women and Gays and Lesbians....because every single one of those groups have availed themselves of Civil Rights laws.

But......

When any one of the aforementioned groups fights for rights, IF they win, they win those rights just for their own groups. i.e. How many "blacks" do you know that own gambling casinos?

[johnnie]

24. Good point

Hmm.. now I have to think some more..lol.

I never thought about the casino thing.

[itzamirakul]

39. Without "coming down on YOUR head, Johnnie, this is exactly the point that

many black posters are making when they say that racism is directly in the face of white Americans, yet, for some reason, they don't or won't see it. The fact that you never thought about blacks owning gambling casinos is a case in point.

Of course, Native Americans were robbed of their land, but so were many blacks. Land that was given to blacks here in New York City by law in the late 1700s was later taken from them by a later governor, Peter Stuyvesant and turned into a massive private farm for himself and his son-in-law. Today, that land is in some of the most valuable mid-Manhattan territory and encompasses some of Greenwich Village.

White Americans fight against giving black Americans ANY form of reparations for the years that their ancestors spent in slavery, yet we have no problem supporting todays Israelis. ??????? Perhaps with some form of reparations, black Americans could buy gambling casinos also. Or some other legal business that brings in millions of dollars.

It is extremely difficult for whites to put that set of 2 + 2 together, though.

[AspenRose]

61. Hell, I'd be happy with seeing funding for college education....

"Perhaps with some form of reparations, black Americans could buy gambling casinos also. Or some other legal business that brings in millions of dollars."

Scholarships....4 year, 2 year or even vo-tech....

Not holding my breath waiting for it though....

[Catherine Vincent]

28. Very good point, itsamiracle. :)

[TrueFunkSoldier]

12. Because I think that of all the minority groups...

Blacks tend to be the most maligned, most discriminated against, and most invisible. The number of missing black children is far greater than for any other racial group. That this disparity exists is why people are quick to point out the race factor. I'm not sure if focusing on missing white children or white women is entirely deliberate. I just think that when whites go missing, many of these families are middle class or wealthy; they have the social networks and connections to start massive search campaigns and bring media attention to their search. But I still do think that race matters in that it seems that missing black people are largely ignored, as if they don't exist. I think it's a valid reason to question or even to get angry...

[Mr_Spock]

10. I'll say historical context

perhaps this will change over time...

[question everything]

13. A matter of habit

Hispanics did not have an impact on our society until the past 10 years, or so. Plus, they are not a large minority across the country, but more so in the Southwest.

Mostly, hispanics came here of their own free will and, like all immigrants before them, immediately started getting jobs, starting their own businesses and helping their friends and families that came after them. Even with the illegal immigrants, they would not have succeeded had there not been a network of friends and families ready to help them make a living.

Native Americans are too few and concentrated in their communities.

[IndependentVoice]

14. I don't see the problem

Its being used as a reprentation of the other minorities as well, becasue it is has the more history and is more well known than any other minority in this country. Ask yourself why you would think black first, and you will find the answer.

[johnnie]

16. Well, I kind of did ask myself that

Hence, this thread.

I just thought I would ask opinions on this and maybe get some people thinking about it. Racism is a real problem in our society and in a way I am speaking out against it by throwing this out there. I'm not trying to do anything spectacular, just raising an issue I think is worthy of thought.

[IndependentVoice]

17. There is nothing racist about thinking black before or over any minority

Racism is thinking a group of people superior because of their race, hence there is no racism in thinking black first, only the second hand affects from our history and society.

[johnnie]

18. Honestly..

It's the phrase "rich blond white girl" or something similar that I find to be extremely racist. I understand that it is a reflection or comment on our news media, but to me it is not a valid excuse to throw around those sort of racist remarks. Many of us here know that the media is biased, we don't need to be told over and over in these cases. Most "rich blond white girl's" are people too and it isn't their fault they are white and dead.

[IndependentVoice]

19. I was saying there was nothing racist about thinking black first

not that it there was no problem with all attractive blond crakers that go missing. Yes the media is racist in that they prioritize the "white community" .But the subject was is it racist to think black first, not the problem with all the amber alerts, but the affect it causes.

[krispos42]

67. There is some truth there

I mean, the fictional girl is not just white, it a blonde who's rich. This pushes the reader towards thinking Aryan, which make the contrast with the hypothetical 'poor black girl' greater.

It's not an Italian or French girl with darker skin and black hair, it's not an Irish girl with red or black hair and pale skin, but that Scandinavian blond girl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome

[msongs]

15. your premise is faulty and incorrect...

black is not "always" the chosen minority. there are frequent instances to prove otherwise.

"minorities" are not the only people being oppressed in this country, and white people are not the only oppressors.

in some areas, the "minorities" are in fact the majority.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[lectrobyte]

20. cos most of us can't spell brunette?

[johnnie]

21. .

:spray:

[MamaBear]

23. I'm usually referring to the selective way corporate media

reports. It's my shorthand for saying that in a country the size of the United States, many children are abducted every day, some of them are injured, some never return. I wonder how it is that the corporate media so often choose rich, pretty blonde girls to report on, and to stretch that reporting over days, weeks, months, sometimes years.

Why is it that the story is so seldom about children of color -- Asian, Hispanic, African American, Native American?

Don't these kids count? Doesn't the suffering of their parents count? Aren't the people who hurt them just as heinous as the ones who hurt the blonde kids? Why are rich white kids valued more (by the media) than virtually all other children?

The answer I get to these questions doesn't say anything very good about our culture.

Just my two cents ... BTW, if it matters, I am white.

[johnnie]

26. Thanks for your two cents

Your opinions and questions are very valid.

[Jed Dilligan]

25. That "dragged here as slaves and still treated as lower than shit thing"

would be my guess.

American Indians, whom I'm proud to include in my ancestry, could make an argument that they got an even rawer deal. But I'd rather be exterminated than enslaved any day, wouldn't you?

[IndependentVoice]

30. I have a good amount of native american in me (yes more than 25%)

ever heard of the trail of tears?

[Jed Dilligan]

31. Yes

Point, please?

[IndependentVoice]

32. Just trying to say I think they had it worse

You know they were enslaved before blacks were. It didn't last very long though because they knew the land and how to escape. They have had all their land stolen from them. Do you ever see any native americans? They are the poorest minority in this country.

[Jed Dilligan]

34. Once again

I would rather be murdered than have to work my entire life for white people for free, while LIVING with them, and even giving them my children. But that's just my psychology.

I see Indians, both native Americans and indigenous Latin Americans, quite often because I am somewhat active in tribal life. Another thing you should recognize is that, if you were 25% black (as opposed to 25% Indian) you would be exposed to discrimination on a daily basis. I don't know what you appear to be, but I would venture a guess that your appearance does not provoke people the way a black appearance does.

I have no black ancestry that I know of, but I understand the difference between black and other minorities. You should also consider that a sizable number of "black" people are as genetically Native American as you or I.

[IndependentVoice]

38. Well lets agree to disagree then, I don't want to start a fight and

neither of us is going to give ground.

[Jed Dilligan]

40. It's a stupid argument anyway

Who's worst off? Not a particularly important contest to get into.

[IndependentVoice]

48. good point, it solves nothing

[bigbrother05]

37. Don't think any group/nation would choose genocide.

As a voter registered member of the Cherokee Nation, think the Trail of Tears reference was intended to reflect on your comment "But I'd rather be exterminated than enslaved any day, wouldn't you?"

That great American general and President, Andrew Jackson, finagled a deal with the Carolina Cherokees, then force-marched them to Oklahoma in the dead of winter. The option of extermination or enslavement was not offered, it was imposed. The historic record of our government's treatment of "others", foreign or domestic, is something to be overcome and lived down, not boasted about. To recognize our failings and weaknesses of the past is supposed to allow us to make better, more humane decisions in the future. Unfortunately, our current trend has been moving backward for 6+ years.

[Jed Dilligan]

41. I'd rather die than be a slave,

no matter how horrible the death, but you're probably right, on a collective basis humans will choose slavery.

[bigbrother05]

43. Life gives hope. Death, at best, relief or martyrdom.

[Jed Dilligan]

44. The only hope a slave can have

is to plunge his hands into his "master's" chest and rip out his beating heart.

[bigbrother05]

49. Individuals might take that tact,

But think Gandhi and MLK found a way that spared more of the people they were trying to help.

[Jed Dilligan]

51. But they weren't slaves.

One was a lawyer and the other was a minister. They were free men--oppressed, but free.

[bigbrother05]

53. You are right.

It took the Civil War and Lincoln to free the slaves in America, many blacks fought, but did not do it by themselves. MLK only helped to improve their lives 100 years later.

Gandhi only managed to free his country from British colonial rule without open armed conflict.

Clearly, peaceful resistance and civil disobedience is for wimps.

Like I said, violence might have its place, but there are other ways.

[Jed Dilligan]

58. Like most people on the internet will do,

you've twisted a few words from me into a coarse and common argument. You're obviously just continuing a conversation with others or one that goes on in your own head.

I hope that you never have your freedom taken away from you and learn whereof I speak.

Peace--but not before freedom.

[bigbrother05]

66. Pacifism does not equal appeasement.

Resistance does not have to equal open rebellion, both have their place and each person must decide their own path. We're both on the same side, it's just a matter of degrees. Remember that Alvin York was a CO.

[helderheid]

27. even a poor blond girl. Not much national press for Destiny Norton.

http://www.sltrib.com/justice/ci_4149637

[BlooInBloo]

29. Um, because of American history? Duh.

[Khayembii Communique]

33. This has to do with American social relations

This has more to do with the social relations between blacks and whites in America, which is largely due to American history.

[newyawker99]

35. Hi Khayembii Communique!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[johnnie]

36. Welcome Khayembii Communique

Well, I do understand that part of it, but I just wish we could do a better job at moving forward.

[BlooInBloo]

45. Yah - and it's all of the reverse racism that's holding us back.

Sheesh.

[johnnie]

47. "reverse racism"

What the hell is that? :eyes:

Sheesh

[Khayembii Communique]

69. Reverse Racism doesn't exist!

Thanks for the warm greeting!

Anyways, there is no such thing as "reverse racism". So-called "reverse racism" is really just racism. Mostly what people mean by this is some minority being racist against whites.

This kind of racism can actually be divided into two different categories: actual racism, and the kind of talk from people like the Black Panthers. The former is a problem; the latter really isn't racism, but is considered racist by a lot of middle class and upper class pc whiners when terms like "the white man" are used. It's more of a lack of understanding of the context in which this term is used, and a belief that words are inherently racist, or sexist, or just plain bad, regardless of the context in which they are used.

[FredScuttle]

42. Because it ain't "Kunta Martinez"

[LynneSin]

46. Don't yell at me, I said a white girl from a low income family

probably wouldn't be national media either

[johnnie]

50. I'M NOT YELLIN!

:hi:

[LynneSin]

52. YES YOU ARE!!!!

[ScreamingMeemie]

54. Here's the thing as well.... This happened 10 years ago... not last week.

It was publicized heavily 10 years ago as much as it is today. 10 years ago Clinton was president. We are being hypocritical here. :hi:

[yurbud]

55. most oppressed? For a metaphor, you want the extreme that resonates

[Rosemary2205]

56. Valid point nt.

[yurbud]

57. Jessica Lynch versus Shoshana Johnson?

Overweight black female soldier shot in ankles, taken prisoner, and shown being questioned on national TV, but no White House orchestrated rescue or book deals--I think she had to call her family for bus fare home when the Iraqis released her.

[Sailor for Warner]

59. Because Blacks...

Are the oldest minority group in the country and part of the national consciousness, just a thought.

[RagingInMiami]

60. Because they do seem to continually get the raw end of the deal

For example:

Katrina

Disenfranchised voters

Police profiling

Housing discrimination

Victims of gentrification

Higher imprisonment rates

And most of us can specifically recite cases of black children that had gone missing or murdered in their local area that never received the national attention the white girls get.

[ComerPerro]

62. because its still not ok to be black in this country

granted, I'm a white male, but trust me, I know.

Although white people really hate hispanics (especially Mexicans), blacks still seem to get the most resentment and hatred.

Consider dating, for example.

White/white is preferred, white/asian is ok, white/hispanic is kind of frowned upon, but white/black is seen as reprehensible, still.

[AspenRose]

63. I'll also add

It isn't that unusual to see newly-established immigrants looking down on black people who have been in this country all their lives, either. The larger American culture teaches them from the moment they arrive that blacks are not to be trusted.

Paranoid Korean shopkeepers following black shoppers around comes to mind, as does Vicente Fox's comment about "jobs not even blacks will do."

Black and White Cubans are treated radically different in this country once they arrive, even though they may share the same cultural background.

[johnnie]

64. Ok

This has gotten off topic. I understand racism, and I really don't think that my OP was to ask why racism exists, I just wanted opinions on why only "black" is mention when people feel their is an injustice on the TV news.

[krispos42]

65. Because noboy wants to name every other minority

There is a certain amount of political correctness here, but it's not necessary to name every ethnic minority. If people try to define concepts in too much detail, it just looks bad. Note that the simple rhetoric used by Republicans works better than the more complex explanations used by the Democrats. "Stay the course" versus "over-the-horizon redeployment".

I see this stuff when posting in the "Guns" forum. When you say 'pro-gun people', 'gun-rights', 'liberals', or 'anti-gunners', people know what you mean, except somebody starts picking apart the definitions and you wind up in an argument about terminology instead of about the topic itself. I'd rather write "gun-rights" than "citizens who believe that people have the right to own guns under the Unites State Constitutions and/or believe that most regulation does not in any way, shape, or form prevent gun crime but is a tactic used by citizens to do not believe that people have the right to own guns and/or the existance of said guns cause crime".

[Donald Ian Rankin]

68. Because the civil rights struggle that made "race" an issue

was essentially black vs white.

Also because I think that those are the two largest ethnic groups in America, although I'm not at all certain of that.

[skids]

70. How long since the last Brunette?

I don't keep track of these things. Has there been one of these voyeuristic sensations involving a brunette in recent memory? Perhaps, should one happen, a nice sarcasm peice in the onion detailing how the National Association for the Advancement of Brunettes held a press conference praising Rita Crosby for being more diverse would be in order.

[Alacrat]

71. Media fear factor

Media both locally and nationally is aimed at the White middle class, with a few minority stories thrown in. The fear factor of a crime happening in suburbia, or to a middle class white person draws more viewers. The thought seems to be, it's common for crime to occur in Black neighborhoods and to Black people, so there is no shock value, thus no story, BUT if something happens to a middle class white person, THIS COULD BE YOU! screams from the tv, which is shocking and strikes fear into all of suburbia. Natalie Halloway still gets front page press locally. An entire black family (3 people) went missing a few months ago, they got a paragraph in the metro section. People finally complained, and the family got a week or so worth of press. They still haven't been found, and they haven't been mentioned in weeks. The hispanic population gets plenty of press concerning crimes against them, as do the rest of the minority groups, Blacks do seem to be the exception.