[Lynne]

Notice the original poster never said that he said 'excuse me'. Polite people say 'excuse me' when they bump into others. Most people know this and expect it. On the rare occasions that someone bumps into me and doesn't say 'excuse me', I get annoyed too. I don't shout, but I usually mutter 'excuse YOU' under my breath. Frankly, I'M curious as to why (from your report, at least), only black New Yorkers seem to expect others to have good manners.

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

Maybe some of his fans were ignorant, but Elvis always spoke openly of the strong black influence on his music. Not only did blacks start rock, they have remained a presence in rock to this day. Vernon Reid of the '80s metal band Living Colour started an organization called the Black Rock Coalition because he was frustrated at the lack of acceptance for black rock bands by mainstream record companies. They have an interesting website, www.blackrockcoalition.org

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

I think it may be more of a small-town or country Southernism than an African American thing. When I was growing up near Detroit, I never heard anybody use 'stay' this way. But when I first moved to Florida, I noticed it right away, because it sounded so unusual to me, and although African Americans may tend to use it more, it's also quite common among white people, especially older and poorer ones, at least around here.

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

Maybe the government doesn't sit down and plot ways to kill poor black people, but as for 'common sense', I am of the opinion that common sense supports Kanye West's statement that the president doesn't care about black people. New orleans is vulnerable to hurricanes, as are all southern coastal regions. It is more vulnerable than most to flooding because it is mostly below sea level. The levees are vitally important to holding back the lake and river. Now, the current administration is the stupidest in my memory, but they aren't so stupid they don't know that. The city also has enormous pumps to deal with flooding. The corps of engineers asked for money to shore up the levee and were refused. When the levee broke, the pumps were underwater. Also, the impact of the storm was made worse by the terrible coastal erosion in the area due to offshore oil drilling. This administration is shall we say, very friendly with big oil interests and rather indifferent to the environment, to put it mildly. Now, people in new orleans aren't stupid. There are always a few people who choose to gamble that a severe storm will change course, but for the most part, people who can leave don't stay to face a category 4 hurricane. Those who don't leave are those who are too poor to. And the overwhelming majority of the urban poor are black. The government knew that its actions and inactions would make the impact of a severe hurricane worse, and they knew who would bear the brunt of it. Doesn't sound very caring to me. Here in Florida, we had four hurricanes in 2004. Although there was a great deal of property damage, there was very little death. In Florida, poor people can't afford to live in the coastal areas that are most vulnerable. People who can live there can afford to leave. Even inland, the impact of a hurricane can be quite severe--the county I live in is 50 miles from the gulf and 70 miles from the ocean, but it was declared a disaster area after being hit by both Frances and Jeanne--but after each of the storms, FEMA was there the next day. Maybe it was because the population affected was more diverse. Maybe it was because of whose brother our governor is. But FEMA wasn't there for the people of New Orleans who were poor and black.

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

Why are you so indignant about this? There are plenty of scholarships based on limiting criteria of ALL KINDS. Religious organizations offer scholarships to members of their own groups. Women's organizations offer them to women. Some are offered to students in specific fields of study. If you fill out an application for a scholarship for low income minorities and you're not a minority, why should you get one? Would you expect to get a football scholarship if you don't play the sport?

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

Not just black guys. People in general like nicely shaped butts on the opposite, or same, sex, depending on their orientation. It's a sexy part of the body.

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

I think what the lady was saying is is that the child's hair is hard to take care of because it has characteristics of both black and white hair.

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

Two very famous songs written by black men, Berry Gordy's 'Do you love me?' and Chuck Berry's 'Carol' are about men rejected by women because they couldn't dance. Since people write songs about things they expect other people to identify with, I doubt that blacks who can't dance are as rare as some people think. But in both the songs, the men are determined to learn to dance. So maybe it isn't a question of natural gifts, maybe more black people think dancing well is important and make sure to learn.

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Lynne]

I think that in general the only men who look good in purple suits are the Temptations. I'm not sure if the question is narrowly about purple suits, in which case clothing colors flattering personal coloring is the answer, or about racial/ethnic differences in men's attitudes about looking stylish and fashionable. Although in all racial and ethnic groups there are individuals who care a lot about clothes and those who are indifferent, in general men of western european backgrounds don't seem to care as much about being well dressed and stylish as black, italian, or hispanic men. A man who cares about his clothes will carry himself with pride and confidence if he is wearing something unusual and attention getting, while a fashion clueless man will look uncomfortable, especially if his peers think it's strange for a man to be into clothes. Cultural significance also comes into play. A white linen summer suit that looks elegant on a southern gentleman like Tom Wolfe would look silly on a Manhattan investment banker, for instance.

User Detail :  

Name : Lynne, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Author]

Posts