Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences
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Is it me or does it seem like black people are less open to listening to what is considered ‘white music’ ( i.e: punk rock, country, classical music) than white people, who openly support genres like R n’ B, reggae and hip-hop? And it doesn’t just apply to music. It extends into sports. You’ll often see white kids following basketball and idolizing super-stars like Michael Jordan, but you’ll never see a black kid with posters of white hockey players on his bedroom wall. It seems like black people are less likely to admire or glorify white entertainers, espeically if these entertainers are white males. What do others think?
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Name : Bobby V., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : Toronto, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,To me, music is music. If I like it, I like it. I gave up believing that black folks have the monopoly on vocal talent and dancing ability some years ago, and as long as I can understand the lyrics to the song and the beat doesn’t make my head hurt, I will gladly embrace it. So along with my huge collection of R&B I have Eric Clapton, Bread, Norah Jones, Alanis Morrisette, Coorgan and others. I’m big on lyrics, and white folks have written some of the best ‘black’ songs ever.
As far as hockey goes, there are a lot of financial implications that make it difficult for poor blacks to participate in it. One has to first know how to ice skate, have a decent pair of skates, live within a few miles of an ice skating rink and have enough money for all the equipment. It is so much easier to find three or four friends, put on some shorts and gym shoes and play basketball with a makeshift rim. The only thing that can’t be compromised is that the ball has to be airtight and grippable.
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Name : Michael F., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 25, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : unemployed, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,No, it just seems that way. There are a lot of blacks who listen to white music, just as there are whites who listen to black music. How do you know there are no white hockey stars in black kids’ bedrooms? Do you go to every single bedroom in America?
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Name : VirginQueen24852, City : Ft. Payne, State : AL, Country : United States,If black kids don’t like hockey, then why are their black (or partially black) hockey players in the NHL?
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Name : Cynthia31762, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 23, City : Toronto, Ontario, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,First, I don’t think that all blacks are less open to listening to punk rock, classical,or country. I do not believe all whites support R&B, reggae and rap. I find many people of all races who are for and against the genres you mentioned. (I also have an aunt and mother who are avid country fans, my aunt having more than 300 albums.) I have seen children of all races idolize Michael Jordan. I have yet to make the acquaintance of anyone who chooses not to glorify someone based on race or gender. Because I don’t know any whites who listen to reggae, and I constantly hear Bill O’Reilly detesting rap, should I assume that all whites do not support what you call ‘black music.’?
Music is sacred and should not be boxed in because we have an uncontrollable urge to assign race to every aspect of society.
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Name : Anna, Gender : F, Race : Black (Ethiopian)/Indian (East India), Religion : Jewish, Age : 19, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class,You’re right, there are many ‘white’ things that blacks ignore, but there’s white stuff we have adopted, like European clothing, artificially straightened hair, and white languages like English, Spanish and French. But in music, country, classical and punk have not really affects blacks the way black-American music affects Asia, Europe, Africa and South America. Blacks have always preferred African music styles and have evolved them into new styles (like hip-hop, R&B, reggae, samba, etc.) that are now highly commercialized by the white-dominated electronic media. And when it comes to competition, black performers have had to compete against white performers who perform black music and who eventually ‘take over’ the white fans, e.g. Elvis Presley, Eminem, Backstreet Boys, ‘N’ Sync and Britney Spears. White male athletes who seek adoration from black (and white) fans have to earn it by coming up with the best athletic performances and careers.
Regarding ice hockey, unfortunately it’s a sport that few young black athletes have in their communities and schools, so they don’t see themselves making a living at it; consequently the black fan base and participation are small. And hey, don’t be so confused about more white kids having Michael Jordan posters than blacks kids having, say, Wayne Gretzky posters. The reason is simple: Jordan is cuter!
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Name : Bella23333, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Afro-Caribbean, Religion : Christian, Age : 31, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Assistant, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,So how many black kids’ bedrooms have you been in? And how do you know what their parents, friends of the same race, etc. listen to on their radios, or whose CDs they are buying? I would like to read this survey you have apparently taken. Growing up in the inner city of New York, I speak from personal knowledge that lots of kids’ parents couldn’t afford the equipment needed to play hockey or take swimming, tennis and golf lessons. We’re open to communities offering these sports, but have they always been open to us? Think about this: Hip Hop music is basically like punk rock, just with better rhythm.
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Name : anonymous23718, City : Brooklyn, State : NY, Country : United States,Good question. My opinion is that certain types of music have a more universal appeal than others. It also has to do with exposure. If black kids aren’t exposed to punk rock or heavy metal, how will they like it? it isn’t played on the stations they listen to, but hip hop and R&B are played on stations that white people listen to. I have had this discussion quite a few times, and we come up with the same ideas. Certain elements of black culture are often envied and copied. White women tan to get darker skin, they get collagen treatments to have fuller lips. Rock n’ roll was created by black people and stolen by the likes of Elvis and others. Same for Jazz, which is now considered the only classical American music. It seems like while black people were once reviled (and are still pretty disliked and pre-judged), we are seen as great sources of entertainment. White parents don’t want their kids dating us, but they are allowed to listen to our music. Why do you think so many people love Eminem? Because there is finally a white boy doing the music that white kids love so much, and they finally have someone to identify with racially. Being black is seen as being ‘cool’ or ‘down,’ so our music is universal. Everyone wants to be ‘down.’
As for sports, it is again exposure. A predominantly white school is more likely to have a hockey team than a black school. Most schools that are predominantly black barely have money for books, much less a hockey team. Black people look for people to identify with, being numerical minorities. Many of us didn’t care about golf before Tiger Woods because we had no one to identify with. Same for tennis before Venus and Serena. Young black kids look for role models, and when they look to sports, the sports with the most people they can identify with on the surface are basketball and maybe football.
Many black people are raised to see things in color, whereas many white people are raised to be colorblind. Race is always on the forefront of the mind of a black person, whereas it might not be for a white person. So a white person may just vibe to the music or love the sport, while a black person is looking for identifiers.
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Name : Michelle20567, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Jersey City, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : Non Profit, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I listen to all types of music. I will admit to not liking country or hard rock. I like to listen to classical music but im not a big fan. But otherwise I like all types of music from hip hop to J-Pop. I have family members who like to go out and go line dancing. As for hockey it costs to much money. They have to know how to ice skate, have skates and the equipment. The same thing with cheerleaders why do you never see them in the major competitions. Like in the movie Bring it On, it is harder for us to raise the money.
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Name : Nydia, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 16, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,My younger brother is black like me and he likes hockey. I guess no one idolizes white babsketball players because they’re not good enough. How many white kids idolize white b-ball players? Everyone just loves MJ.
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Name : Deenie25806, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Buddhist, Age : 13, City : Richmond, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class,The simple fact is, most blacks are racist. They might have Britney Spears on their wall but da white man is ‘da enemy’. If you disagree, why do you think most interracial crime is committed by blacks? They hate whites so much they can’t admit that white culture could have something good, because it would hurt their pride.
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Name : Jersey-City, City : NJ, State : NA, Country : United States,Rock was NOT created by blacks. It was stolen by blacks. It came from jazz, which was created when black slaves were sent to Europe to learn classical music, and it copied white folk musicians of the south, including bluegrass and white guitar songs of the old west.
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Name : MS, City : Jersey City, State : NJ, Country : United States,‘It seems like black people are less likely to admire or glorify white entertainers, espeically if these entertainers are white males. What do others think?’ Here in the UK there are kids of all nationalities (black, white, chinese, asian etc) idolising football(soccer)players of all races. It isn’t unusual to have a black kid with Micheal Owen on their wall, likewise it isn’t unusual for a white kid to have posters of John Barnes. I suppose it helps that more than half the English teams are International players.
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Name : CLare31964, City : London, England, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom,Why would white males need so much glorifying? People of color tend to notice (more so than whites) that white people are seen in every aspect of life. It is hard to deny that white Americans control America, and have a drastic influence in the world at large. Minorities seem to realize this and are less likely to ‘idolize’ white pop culture because it surrounds them all the time, and they think that perhaps it’s time to see more people who look like them.
Seeing as how people of color tend to be under-represented in sports like hockey and racecar driving, this could very well harm recruitment of minority fans. Sometimes stereotypes as ‘white sports’ and ‘black sports’ tear us further apart. We need to realize that people (regardless of color) have a variety of personalities, likes and dislikes. There is no such thing as a ‘one-race sport.’ I know plenty of people who are into hockey; most of them are black.
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Name : Dominique, Gender : F, Age : 20, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Scientist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,As a German who has never been to the United States, I have no idea what black kids like or dislike, or why they do so. But for classical music I can tell you one thing: most people think it’s complicated. Complicated things are not much fun. You have to get accustomed to classical music in some early part of your life. If not, you’ll hardly ever develop a taste for it when you’re older. In general, most people only like what they know and reject things they haven’t heard of or experienced before. It’s a miracle that anybody ever comes to know and like strange/foreign thing/music/customs.
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Name : JAGoe, Gender : M, Race : European, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 36, City : Berlin, State : NA, Country : Germany, Occupation : computers,
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