Race/Ethnicity Questions 141-150

THE QUESTION:
R150: What qualities do residents of the United States have that seem to produce such a dislike from other cultures?
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
C. Morand, 31, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

ANSWER 1:
Throughout history, residents of major empires have tended to be offensive when they travel outside their boundaries. The United States is an empire. The main troublesome characteristics are arrogance (“I’m from the empire, and you’re a primitive”) and xenophobia – the fear of that which is different (“It’s not like home. What’s wrong with these people? Isn’t there a MacDonald’s around here someplace?”). Americans tend to assume their customs are good and right, and everything else is distasteful, undeveloped or silly. The British do it, too, having only recently lost their imperial status. The French do as well, though their empire faded long enough ago that they’re starting to come back to reality. Japan isn’t doing so well on this front, either. It’s just an empire thing.
POSTED APRIL 4, 1998
Will H., 48, white, Dallas, TX

FURTHER NOTICE:
It is a generalization to say that Americans think they are superior to other cultures. America is other cultures. If we are superior, it is our diversity and tolerance that make us this way.
POSTED APRIL 4, 1998
PTHOLOGY, 24, male, white, American <PTHOLOGY@AOL.COM>
Detroit, MI

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I think the only edge American culture has over the rest of the world is that it’s a very new culture – only 200 years old or so. (And was built through the genocide of Native Americans, by the way.) The Constitution grew out of what was, then, the current thinking about how a society could best be organized. This contrasts tremendously with European cultures and Asian cultures many thousands of years old. The United States had the benefit of a fresh start, in a sense. I’m a student of finance, and one problem with old cultures is that they’re more rigid and not as adaptable; the traditions are very powerful, even those that have their roots in extremely old customs (e.g. local governments built up around agrarian economies but still in force today). The United States is a very work-focused culture rather than a spiritual-focused or quality-of-life focused one. (For instance, the standard two or three weeks U.S. vacation is far shorter than what many European nations accept.) As trade and transit become more international, one wonders whether the rest of the world will become more U.S.-like, or vice versa.
POSTED APRIL 6, 1998
N.P., 35, African-American male
Philadelphia, PA
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R149: Why is it that when meeting a white person for the first time in a social setting, within five minutes they are asking you what you do for a living? When meeting a black person for the first time, this doesn’t seem to happen.
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
Jas, 42, black <starlites@aol.com>, Pensacola, FL

ANSWER 1:
It’s just a polite conversational subject, generally considered a safe, non-controversial topic – like the weather, but more personal. It’s also a way of gauging your social standing (which is connected to your job and income in this country) and of getting to know you better.
POSTED APRIL 4, 1998
Colette, white <inkwolf@earthlink.net>, Seymour, WI

FURTHER NOTICE:
Maybe it’s a more Southern thing, but I find the same thing when meeting other black people in social situations. I also ask others, black or white, what they do for a living. I find nothing objectionable in it, just that it’s something more to talk about.
POSTED NOV. 16, 1998
Siobhan, black <siobhan_101@hotmail.com>, Baltimore, MD
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R148: What does the word “Chaldean” mean?
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
Rain, Dallas

ANSWER 1:
I urge someone who knows the answer to this question to please respond! Neither myself nor any of my coworkers know the answer, and we are quite curious.
POSTED DEC. 4, 1998
24, San Francisco, CA

FURTHER NOTICE:
Chaldean is a nationality. The people are from Iraq, but from a certain village in Iraq. Some are from Baghdad or Tel Kef. All from Iraq, though. They are Arabic, but to be more specific, they are Chaldean. Chaldean is also the language they speak. Not all Arabs are Chaldeans, but Chaldean is the nationality of some Arabs.
POSTED MARCH 23, 1999
Chaldean, Troy , MI
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R147: Why is it that Arabic people I meet and went to school with talk bad about the United States and how great the Middle East is? If it is so bad here, why stay?
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
Cory C. <rdwgs97@aol.com>
Dearborn, MI

ANSWER 1:
If you have ever been outside your country, away from a place where everyone has the same culture, accent and language, you would understand what those Arabians are going through. I do not think they are “badmouthing” the country, but that they are not pleased with the way they are being treated. I am African, and in the eyes of most of Americans (black and white) I have met, I am “stupid.” I remember telling some Americans my GPA, which is currently a 4.0, and I was asked to prove it by showing my result slip. Can you imagine how that made me feel? Have you ever witnessed Americans laughing at minorities like Haitians and Cubans because of their accents? This country is economically better than the Third World, but there is no place like home.
POSTED APRIL 13, 1998
Ifeyinwa <ifebigh77@hotmail.com>
Miami, FL

FURTHER NOTICE:
I used to date a Jordanian woman who was a student here. I hung out with many foreign students as a result, many of whom criticized the United States while working and earning their degrees here. It comes down to a general resentment of the United States that is quite strong in the Middle East. In these countries, it is often seen as a “sell out” to visit or study in the United States, which is seen as a great enemy. You are sort of seen as a traitor to your country. I think that out of guilt, people often compensate by denigrating the United States while they are here. That way, they don’t feel like they’ve sold out and abandoned their own identity.
POSTED JULY 22, 1998
Dan <danielrand@hotmail.com>, Staten Island, NY
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R146: I am a librarian at the Federal Way Regional Library in Federal Way, WA. Today we were asked how many Muslims there were in Washington State. Could someone help us with this question?
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
Metha R., Federal Way, WA
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R145: Why do most young black teens feel reverse prejudice is a way to solve prejudice? I would like to hear a response to this question from the persons responsible for reverse prejudice, not role-models. Basically, we need young blacks in this discussion.
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
Austin, 19, white male <richj@provide.net>
Belleville, MI

ANSWER 1:
Your words sound more like an accusation than a question. You talk about what “most young black teens feel,” but you don’t know most young black teens, and probably, you haven’t discussed this subject deeply with all the ones you do know. So you’re assuming a lot before you even formulate your question. You might try something like: “There seems to be a lot of reverse prejudice among black teens. Is this widespread? What is the thinking and feeling behind it?” Then too, you may find “reverse prejudice” is a loaded term that may not be universally accepted, or even be understood in the same way from group to group.
POSTED APRIL 4, 1998
Will H., 48, white, Dallas, TX

FURTHER NOTICE:
If I slapped you in the face, how would you react? I realize this is an extreme example, but it’s made to get you to realize a simple point: African Americans have been mistreated in this country hundreds of years. To this day, whites benefit from the color of their skin. It pains me that what people are referring to as reverse racism is really a false interpretation of the anger and frustration blacks feel toward whites because of institutionalized racism. In other words, it is reactionary and to be expected. Not to say that it’s right, but people express their anger and frustration in many ways. While on the surface, it may appear childish and “uncivilized,” one must always consider the root cause of such behaviors.
POSTED JUNE 22, 1998
M.T., 27, black male

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
Why do you assume young blacks even feel this way? I for one (a young black professional female) don’t believe there is such a thing as reverse discrimination. The way I see it is an-eye-for-an-eye, and whites will never, ever know what it feels live to be discriminated against because of race. When whites feel misused, they can complain all they want, but it doesn’t erase the fact that at the end of the day, 99.99 percent of the time they will look out for whites and whites alone.
POSTED JULY 17, 1998
L.W., 24, black female, Detroit, MI
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R144: Why do blacks repeatedly say “you know what I’m saying” (pronounced “you know wam sayin’ “) in a single paragraph?
Chris P., white <kiss123@mediaone.net>
Jacksonville, Fl

ANSWER 1:
Not all African-American people say this. But “you know what I’m saying” is another way of saying “are you with me?” It’s not limited to African-American culture, either. I hear similar words being used during a conversation whether I am speaking English to an English speaker or Japanese to a Japanese speaker, etc., several times in a conversation.
POSTED APRIL 6, 1998
Kara H. African-American, Tsukuba, Japan

FURTHER NOTICE:
I don’t know who you have been talking to, but I would say that it is simply a habit of that person and not a rule of speech for all black people. I have several black friends and can honestly say that I have never heard any of them use that phrase constantly in a conversation. On the other hand, I had a white friend who followed up everything she said with “do you understand.” When I asked her if she thought people didn’t understand her, she said that it was just a habit.
POSTED APRIL 6, 1998
Michelle V. 32, white <MVroman@prodigy.com>
Detroit, MI

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
First, not all black people use the phrase, and second, it is just slang used in much the same way that some people say ‘”OK” several times during conversation.
POSTED APRIL 6, 1998
Lisa, Black, Smyrna, GA
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R143: What is the “correct” way to refer to a black person (knowing they are not all “African American”). What about Asians/Orientals?
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
Martha, white, Birmingham , MI

ANSWER 1:
Regarding Asian/Oriental, the word “Oriental” refers to an item from the Orient, while “Asian” refers to a person from the region (Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc).
POSTED APRIL 10, 1998
Carly, 21, Lawrence, KS

FURTHER NOTICE:
I think it would probably be OK to ask what a person prefers to be called. I am black, which is fine for me. I have a friend who prefers to be called African American. I have some white neighbors who, when discussing other people who happen to be black, still use the term “colored.” I choose not to be offended by this, I think, because I know who I am. However, I know a lot of black people who do choose to take offense at that term. But, in these times of political correctness, I think you should ask individually.
POSTED NOV. 16, 1998
Siobhan <Siobhan_101@hotmail.com>, Baltimore , MD
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R142: After spending a lot of time in university libraries, I noticed that disproportionately more Asians used the elevators, even to go down just one floor. Though I haven’t looked into the matter since then, I’ve always wondered about it.
POSTED APRIL 3, 1998
Ken Welch, 36, white <WelchK@hmt.de>, Yorba Linda, CA
To respond
BACK TO TOP

THE QUESTION:
R141: I recently saw a newspaper photo of an anti-racism demonstration in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in which an African American carried a sign reading “Racists rot and burn in hell.” Isn’t this demagoguery?
POSTED APRIL 1, 1998
Joseph S. 35, white, Tokyo (12-year resident of Japan)
<shaules@rikkyo.ac.jp>
To respond
BACK TO TOP