The answer to your question is: 1)because a disproportionate number of African American men are 'at-risk', ,i.e. are forced to live in poor areas, denied access to higher education(think: do a disproportiante number of professional African-American men commit crimes?) and 2)because a disproportionate number of crimes commited by Arican-American men are reported, and get media attention. When a crime is shown on TV and the picture of the assailant is not shown, think about what you assume the person looks like.(I generally think it must be a white male b/c if not they certainly would have shown the picture)
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, You aren't the only one who has noticed this. The reasons are simple and yet have such complex origins and implications: 1) some diseases are lifestyle induced. Blacks have more stress in their lives because of being marginalized members of society and the implications of this. 2) blacks are more likely to have poor diet and exercise habits because healthy habits are less often practiced in rural and poor areas, where many blacks have been relegated. 3) blacks are less likely to have adequate medical insurance and medical education because they have been historically denied educational opportunities that would lead to income levels/job statuses where these would be readily available.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, As a woman who has had mant extended visits to Baton Rouge, I've never really seen anybody be rude to anyone else on a grand scale(try visiting Boston or D.C.).I can only say that you should really take a look at the way you are treated by people across races. If after doing so you still feel you are treated in a unduly rude manner by black women, then maybe it has to do with the way you act toward them and they are responding to that. One doesn't have to be 'rude' for people respond poorly to them; they could be condescending,patronizing,phony, or pretentious. You seem to be a nice person, so it may be that you act in a manner that is not yourself in a way that you don't around whites. A lot of times, even 'liberal' whites will act differently around black people, perhaps without even noticing it. But the other person notices, and many people take offense to this kind behavior and respond accordingly.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Funny, I'm the only black person I know who doesn't like cats. All my suitemates adore them, as do several others in the house; the rest are just indifferent. I've never had a real fondness for animals in general, but I don't like cats particularly because they scratch and don't seem friendly. But that still won't answer your question about why your colleagues don't like cats, so I suggest you ask them. P.S. I'm really curious to know what historical event you think could have possibly happened to make a whole race of people dislike an animal.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I found a few glaring flaws in your response: 1) All blacks in this country are not African-American. Many are African, African-Caribbean or African-Latino. So they comprise many cultures; 2) If you can define 'black' as an ethnicity simply because you cannot separate by country of ancestor origin, wouldn't the same work for 'white'? Many whites today do not know what part of Europe they came from. Some just assume, guess, or make up; 3) The 'white people smell like wet dogs' stereotype IS widely known. It just isn't widely perpetuated by the mass media because whites largely control the mass media. Interesting how quickly you dismissed it, and picked a 'better' example of a 'real' stereotype.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Perhaps you should ask someone you know who is afraid of dogs why it is so. You may find that the answer is personal, having nothing to do with their culture. Incidentally, which do you think is more offensive: to ask a person IF their fear is culturally related, or to quietly assume that it is and judge them on that assumption?
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, First, the response of three people in no way constitutes a racial trend. Second, unless your hippie mom was smoking something while pregnant, you have no excuse for not realizing that the fact that your parents were hippies (something 'out of style') is now humorous. It's just the same as if you mother once had a beehive hairstyle or your father wore leisure suits. It's funny because we don't do it anymore, and the fads of yesteryear are always seen as humorous in contemporary light.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I think the people who are responding to this question are dancing around the issue. Everyone knows who/what is white in America, so you shouldn't bother pretending you're confused about who/what would be included in the culture. And of course race is an artificial construct (so is time), but it permeates society nonetheless. I think the question is really trying to ask why white people in America don't embrace a cultural heritage. Save Native Americans, everyone here came from somewhere else. So why are whites (with the sometime exception of Irish and Italian) the only ones in the country who don't have a cultural origin attached to their identity (a hyphenated name)? And why exactly is white not an ethnicity? Don't whites have all their own counterparts to whatever constitutes black 'ethnic characteristics'? Whites have music, they have slang, they have 'home-cookin', what else do whites need? Cultural heritage identity, I suspect.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I don't want to trivialize your statement, because it seems that you are in some anguish over this, but I feel the need to make it clear that MOST BLACK MEN LOVE(DO NOT HATE)BLACK WOMEN. I didn't understand why you were having such a problem until I read you example. You're taking those few silly fools seriously, when no one else does. I know what your're talking about, because the boys(not men, even though they are of age) are ridiculous about that. Fortunately, I grew up in the South, where you meet enough black men to know that those disrespectful ones are not the majority.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I think you should stop watching Oprah, because the issue is not really as complex as you seem to interpret it. A lot of people do 'unconsicous' racially motivated things. Black people will notice when it's directed toward them. Consider this:Have you ever had the feeling someone didn't like you, even though they were seemly nice and cordial toward you, and the things that they said/did offended you even though the same things from other people wouldn't bother you? That's what it's like. I know the difference between a security detail standing near me that's policing the store in general and one that is following me. In short, if you hold the racist views and 'unconciously' act on them, people will notice and be offended. So the only thing you can do is change your attitude, and your behavior will follow.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I think you are missing the point. The discussion was not about whether the movie 'The Hurrican' was completely accurate. I think it started off being about 'The Green Mile' anyway. It doesn't matter. The pointis, to quote something Maya Angelou said in reference to 'Down in the Delta', the story is a true story, but not a factual story.Perhaps there was no cop with a personal vendetta toward this boxer (although that is really impossible to tell). But there were men, countless, nameless, voiceless men for whom this was, and still is, a reality. This movie was their voice.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, There is a lot more truth in movies like 'Hurricane' and 'The Green Mile' than the two of you seem to be aware of. The statement in Rob's response, '...just when race relations are going great...' is an example of the problem that still exists. Race relations aren't 'going great.' Blacks still face acts of violence, prejudice in the legal system and oppression in the workplace. I don't know what's so 'great' about that, except that perhaps you don't feel it directly affects you. This is why these movies need to be shown.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, First, I think you need to be chastised for your use of incorrect spelling and grammar to record what you thought was being said. Most people in America - black, white, Asian or Hispanic - do not properly ennuciate in spoken dialogue. However, had the women been of your own race, I doubt you would have made such a effort to 'exhibit realism.' As for your question, 'ashy' refers to dry skin. When people's skin gets very dry, it turns sort of flaky and looks kind of like a thin layer of ash on the skin (there's a demonstration with a magnifier on a Curel lotion commercial). In the same way that dandruff is more noticeable in darker-haired people than in lighter-haired people, dry, flaky, 'ashy' skin is more noticeable on darker-skinned people than on lighter-skinned people. No, that does not mean only black people get ashy, and yes, black people do use lotion.) Whether someone's dry skin keeps you from wanting to go out with them is a personal choice, just like any other aesthetic quality.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Personally, I like to be called 'Amanda'.
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, There are so many things wrong with your statement, it's incredible. First, no one person speaks for all blacks in America, Jesse Jackson or otherwise. Jesse Jackson speaks for a cause(tolerance amongst all and advancement among blacks in America) that many blacks, and whites, support. Second, I don't recall him ever making such a blanket statement, and I don't believe he would. Third, I don't think that most anybody who believes they control their own destiny would believe it so blindly as to not recognize the affect others can and do have on one's life. Fourth, most black people don't believe in 'the white man' as some invisible, aggregate source of oppression any more than they believe in Santa Claus, b/c most blacks have experienced racism from whites on such a personal level, on a daily basis, as to render that idea largely inaccurate. Now, did you still have a question?
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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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