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Wayne C.MemberWell, this type of obvious stereotyping and bigotry doesn't usually happen in the workplace these days. At least not to those in professional positions. Those who would do this are usually alot more subtle with it today. Many people think that racism in the workplace is long gone. Well, its not. I've experienced it recently, and I know others that have as well. Your MBA will be worth it, but just be aware that you have more pitfalls to avoid than those of other races. Always network and always be aware of new opportunities. There are ways to work through the challenges at a particular employer, but if these attitudes are part of the culture you'll need to get some experience and leave ASAP. You might have to leave without the accomplishments to put on your resume. You can contact me directly if you wish.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberOh boy. This is a really good question. And possibly a touchy one. 1) First the bad. Do not refer to Blacks or African Americans as 'Coloreds.' We don't like that. Historical reasons and remember, white is a color too. 2)Outside of work, I use the term Black. I only use African American when I want to sound, oh, maybe more professional or whatever. Also if I am around Whites with whom I am not fully comfortable. If you are speaking with a Black friend, I would be surprised if they were offended by your use of the term Black. If the person is not a close friend, I recommend you use the term African-American, even though it is a mouthful for everyday discussions. 3) Current references to those of 'mixed race.' This is the touchy one. Hope I don't offend anyone here. Historically, they would be referred to as Black (or, now, African American. Even, in the past, mulatto. But DONT refer to anyone that way. That's really offensive). I have known quite a few people over the years where one parent was White and the other Black. They all considered themeselves Black. However, this may have been because they had little choice -- society considered them Black (which also basically meant 'tainted' to some parts of society. This is why they had no choice). Recently, many people with one White and one Black parent have begun to refuse to be identified as Black. I am not sure why. Many Blacks whose most recent White ancestors are a couple of generations back feel that these people are 'ashamed' to be Black. I am not saying this is true, I am saying it is the perception. They seem to prefer to be called 'bi-racial.' You might need to ask them what they prefer. But be prepared to defend why you are asking and why it is important.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberThis is true, however, people who live in certain (poor, depressed, however you want to say it) environments are much less likely to go to a library and use a computer to browse the internet than those who are better off. And, without regard to my satisfaction with the situation, blacks are disproportionately represented in these (poorer) environments. So my statement is still true. And frankly, I don't like it being true. But it is.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberActually,if you had a child with a White man, the child would probably look more like you than like him. There is a dominant/recessive issue with racial features, and Negroid features tend to be more dominant than Caucasian. Of course, how heavily mixed with Whites your are (just check your complexion and features -- you'll know)will vary this. I'm an 'average mixture' (if there is such a thing) myself. Mostly Black, but with a little White and Native American a few generations back. So if I had a child with a White woman, I'm pretty sure the child would be pretty fair skinned. Now, Asian features seem to be the most dominate. Have a child with an Asian, and they really won't look like you. By far. I have a couple of friends, and a nephew, who are mixed Asian and Black (all Male). A general description of them would be 'Asian physical features (hair, butt, etc.)with a Black persons complexion. With hair halfway between the typical straightness of an Asians and the curliness of a Black person.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberYou would really need to research the recent (after around 1950) history of the Republican and Democratic parties and the United States in general to understand this. A relatively short explanation is:During the last 50 years, the Republican party has promoted various laws that most of us blacks view as restrictive of our rights as American citizens at best and downright inimical (to put it mildly) to us at worst. You are young enough not to have experienced much of the racial strife in the United States, and actually, I am too. But I have experienced some. And I am old enough to remember the more recent political decisions, the court decisions, the election campaigns, etc. that have taken place. Passage and enforcement of fair housing laws, fair employment laws, education, etc. The Republican party fought them all. The Democratic party supported them. Not that the Democratic party is perfect. Just a little less overtly dangerous to our well-being.
Amazingly, most blacks I know have always been quite conservative on almost any public issue. Yes, the Democats, too (I am one). But being liberal has also come to mean being in favor of anti-discrimination laws. And enforcement of those laws, while being conservative historically means being against those same laws. It's as if believing that all Americans should have the same opportunity of prosperity and should have equal protection under the law is mutually exclusive of having good law enforcement and a low crime rate. I could go on and on, but you should do some additional research on your own. Plus, there are many others who can tell you more than I.
User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberI don't know, but I hope someone who does answers you. I'm curious, too. I was in my late teens before I even heard of lice, so I know it's not prevalent in the black community. What I HAD heard of (from a pretty young age) was ringworm. Is ringworm common in the white community?User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberI suspect that many whites still do not feel they should have to compete with blacks (this tends to primarily happen when the 'minority' is black) for jobs, or even worse, to 'lose' a job to blacks. They don't seem to care as much if the 'minority' is Asian - probably due to the stereotypes of Asians as smart and studious, and blacks as dumb and lazy. The really infuriating thing is that there is still plenty of discrimination, and many subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways of discriminating. Interestingly, I have seen instances at two companies at which I worked in the past where some unqualified blacks were hired. Not just over better-qualified whites - just better-qualified people. It was also obvious they were not well qualified, implying that they had been hired specifically because they were unqualified. For example: If all of the engineers that you hire have B.S. degrees in engineering from accredited schools, but most of your blacks are from a non-accredited school or do not have the same degree, there is obviously something going on. I once worked for a company that was doing this back when I first graduated with my B.S. in engineering. One thing I noticed: These particular blacks could never be assigned to 'high-profile' projects because they just didn't have the 'right background' to do that type of work.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberI'm not sure, but I believe there was a different standard of beauty. Especially since 1970, the standard of beauty in the US has increasingly emphasised thinness and a lack of female curves (except the breasts). There has some change in this recently I believe, but not much. It seems that in less prosperous societies (and the US was less prosperous in 1900 than in 2002, though still prosperous)the additional flesh is seen as attractive -- probably because it is associated with wealth.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberIn the United States, historically, if someone had any 'black blood,' they were considered black. And we accept them. In the past, no one else would. Your friend who looks white but is really mixed would be considered black. In fact, this was coded into most (if not all) states laws. Furthermore, if they had any 'black blood' but looked white and claimed to be white, but were discovered to have a black relative, they were severely persecuted. Terms like 'Mulatto' and 'Octoroon' were terms created by whites in the United States to further classify and divide blacks among themselves. Only recently has someone like your 'mixed' friend had the luxury of claiming they are white when they have a mixed ancestry.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberThree years? I assume he has at least told you about his family. Most blacks (not all) aren't ashamed of their family, especially not in this situation. You should just ask him 'What's up' and ask when you can meet his family. Then you can discuss any issues that may be involved.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberFirst, let me say that there is no way that I can truly understand the horror that you have been through. I have several former girlfriends, and an ex-wife, that had been raped (though none of them had been gang-raped), but no man can truly understand what this means to a woman. But don't generalize your fear to all Black men. Men of any race might do this. I recall an incident told by a White woman -- her best friend and herself had gone to a party with a couple of men they had recently met (White men). Her friend went upstairs with one of the men. It was already late, and she wanted to leave, but they told her that her friend said she would get a ride with one of them. Unfortunately, she didn't insist on talking to her fried personally. The next day, she discovered that several men were upstairs raping her best friend. These aren't Men -- they are Monsters. My point is that Monsters can be of any race -- Black, White, Asian, Indian, etc... And no one race is more likely to produce Monsters than any other. You happened to have run into 6 Black Monsters. But all Black men aren't Monsters, just like all White men aren't. And if you concentrate strictly on avoiding the Black Monsters walking down the street, you might not notice the White or Asian Monster standing right beside you.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberI dont know about muscle structure, but there are some general differences physically. Its been awhile since I read up on these things, but Blacks tend to have a slightly higher muscle density or muscle/fat ratio (given the same overall weight when compared to a White person). There are some skeletal differnces as well. As I recall, Blacks tend to have shorter thighs and longer - well I dont know the medical term, but the part of the leg below the knee. And additional muscle tissue around the butt (quite visible). This combines to allow Blacks to run faster and jump higher. The muscle/fat ratio or muscle density (I'm not sure which) results in Whites being more -- uh, bouyant?? (spellling) so that they can more easily swim. There is a particular hip injury -- kind of a 'micro-fracture' that does not show up on x-ray, but does on MRI. Blacks rarely get this injury due to bone structure and density, but we do. My sister is a physician and saw this only once when her and another ER doctor were arguing concerning giving a patient an MRI. He was a Black male and exhibited symptons of this injury, which of course does not show up on xray. The White doctor assumed the man was faking because 'Blacks don't get that injury.' My sister was more senior and insisted upon the MRI. The fracture showed up. Also, Black women are less likely to suffer from osteoporosis (spelling again) since they don't lose their bone calcium as easily as do White women.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Wayne C.MemberConfuse her how? By teaching her that 'A good man is a good man -- regardless of race?' That we are all human? That you should not let everyone else dictate whom you choose to love? That we are all gods children? That you should judge people individually based on their actions rather than what others say about them? That you should think for yourself? Instead you can teach her these things! As long as the person looks like you, thats great! Even if they are mentally or physically abusive, at least they look like me? Do whatever the group says I should! Hate anyone who is different! You might not think that you are teaching her hate, but you would definitely be putting her on that path -- as you have been put on that path, even though you apparently have resisted following the path to its end. You should date whomever you feel attracted to. You should date whoever is good to you -- regardless of race or national origin, or religion. What matters is your feelings for each other, your mutual outlooks on life, respect for each other and each others views, and how that person treats you and feels about you and your daughter. Dating (or marrying) someone of another ethnicity will not confuse your daughter. Though other ignorant people might. But then, do you want to teach her to do what other ignorant people tell her to do? I hope not.User Detail :
Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, - AuthorPosts