Raven-Symoné: "I'm not African-American, I am American"

[angelduuh 319]

[vespertine 3]

Good on her. I'm British and we treat race very different from Americans. On the whole, we try not to draw attention to it. We have a large black and Asian community here but you don't hear any of them referring to themselves as African British or Asian British. They are just simply British. They might add "from ____ originally," or "with ____ roots" or something along those lines at the end, but that's about it. We don't use terms like "strong black woman" or tell a black person that they are "a great role model for the black community." To do that would mean drawing attention to their race and that can be percieved as rude at best, racist at worst. It's quite a faux pas to define someone by their race here. That's not to say that those of different races have denied their roots, not at all. But they don't feel a need to bring them up constantly or for that to be the first thing someone sees when they look at them. I know I wouldn't like it if people frequently mentioned that I was white. What's that got to do with anything? Our race is no different to anything else we were born with that we can't help having. We don't define ourselves by our eye or hair colour, so why our race? If you have lived in a country for a good length of time, you are a citizen of that country and if you were born in and lived in that country all your life, you are definitely a citizen of that country. Race and nationality are two completely different things and it doesn't make sense for them to be fused together in an identity.

 

Yes, America has a sad history in regards to race and I understand why there's so much racial tension and white guilt going on there, but they're not the only country to have mistreated non-whites in the past. Yet these other countries have moved on and don't handle race the same way. I think it's high time America moved into the 21st century with its concepts of race and stop using it to define themselves. When you categorise people, it creates division and with devision comes tension and resentment. In this crazy world we live in, we need to stop thinking trivial things like race make us different from each other. Our personalities, beliefs and cultures make us different, not our races.

thank you for blessing this thread :worship2:

[ryhanna 3,507]

Y'all people saying "well white people don't say 'I'm euro-american!'"

 

Could you explain what you think is wrong with that statement though please?  

 

A lot of people have disagreed, but not many people have offered insight into why they really disagree. I'd like to see the opposing viewpoint.

[Alcina Dimitrescu 1,156]

terms like african-american are counter productive to the goal that the people who coined them tried to achieve, i think. They separate instead of integrating

[Retep 0]

Same here! I'm Hispanic, my parents are from Honduras but I was born in the US. I am not Honduran. That is a nationality and I am not a Honduran citizen. That, however does not mean I hate my roots. It is part of who I am, but I do not need to say anything else than "American" when describing myself. I don't buy the concept of "You are where your parents are from" mentality that is so prevalent in the Hispanic community. 

 

I obviously don't know for sure, but part of me thinks its due to the melding of cultures that exists and has existed and become prevalent within American culture. As Raven said, we're supposed to be considered this melting pot. I think a lot of the older generation though see's this as an elimination of who they are and where they come from. This is why there's history months of celebration for different races within the country, it's not a bad thing by any means but it can be harmful when that's all you see yourself in addition to everyone else as and then requiring those individuals to follow that mentality. By no means do I think everyone should think the way I do, I just don't think any one person should impose their labels on others who don't see the necessity in them.

[Valextra 58]

This is interesting because in Sweden, once you get a swedish passport and become a swedish citizen, you're simply swedish.

No one ever says I'm "african-swedish" or "american-swedish". I mean you can still be proud of your roots and let the world know "where you family comes from" but in Sweden we're all human being despite the color of or skin etc.

 

Same in my country, this is why I can't give a proper judgement on this statement since I never deal with those kind of issues but I kind of understand her point of view. 

[Morphine Prince 101,652]

I obviously don't know for sure, but part of me thinks its due to the melding of cultures that exists and has existed and become prevalent within American culture. As Raven said, we're supposed to be considered this melting pot. I think a lot of the older generation though see's this as an elimination of who they are and where they come from. This is why there's history months of celebration for different races within the country, it's not a bad thing by any means but it can be harmful when that's all you see yourself in addition to everyone else as and then requiring those individuals to follow that mentality. By no means do I think everyone should think the way I do, I just don't think any one person should impose their labels on others who don't see the necessity in them.

I completely agree. 

[Cody Draco 2,531]

I completely agree with this Labelling yourself only puts stereotypes on yourself. I prefer to just be "Cody," and people can thus base their opinions on my personality, rather than what they know about me.

 

We share an opinion and a name.

[GagaUnderYou 4,928]

you go glen coco

[Computer 10,973]

I love it because she decides who and what she is and how she is presented, no one else decides that for her.

[Morphine Prince 101,652]

Could you explain what you think is wrong with that statement though please?

 

A lot of people have disagreed, but not many people have offered insight into why they really disagree. I'd like to see the opposing viewpoint.

Here's an insightful YouTube comment from someone who disagrees: 

I have Nigerian parents who had me here, a Nigerian name, and I eat Nigerian food. Am I an American citizen? Yes, because I was born here... but NO I am NIGERIAN through and through and I'm proud of what and who I am, unlike that fat over-privileged and over-fed twat up there with purple hair.

[codymonster 8,304]

We share an opinion and a name.

Flawless name, flawless ideas :legend:

[uo111 5,246]

This is interesting because in Sweden, once you get a swedish passport and become a swedish citizen, you're simply swedish.

No one ever says I'm "african-swedish" or "american-swedish". I mean you can still be proud of your roots and let the world know "where you family comes from" but in Sweden we're all human being despite the color of or skin etc.

I'm gonna have to call BS on this. Islamic immigrants from the middle east tend to hold very strongly to their country of origin, and that is pretty much all of the immigrants to Sweden that aren't from somewhere in Europe.

 

So basically, you have a bunch of white people who if they immigrated to America would certainly call themselves Americans, and a bunch of Muslims who likely don't recognize themselves as Swedish citizens above all else.

 

 

In general response: It's silly that people think that Americans use the term African-American to denote citizenship. In America, the term "African-American" is equivalent to "black". The term African-American is antiquated, and honestly perpetrated by the black community and political correctness more so than anything, but to think it's a negative thing is the same thing as thinking it would be negative to say that you are black.

 

Simply put, the term is rarely if ever used to denote citizenship, and if you are making the claim that no one says they are black in your country, I would assume you don't associate with black people much.

[zexion_armando 241]

When people ask me my race, I say latino. When they ask to specify, then I give them a little more of my history (mixed race, Colombian and white)

When people ask me my nationality, I say American. Because I was born and raised there.

Is it that hard? Should people have to complicate things with their PC labels like African American, which is the worst thing ever.

[Lum 315]

Could you explain what you think is wrong with that statement though please?

 

A lot of people have disagreed, but not many people have offered insight into why they really disagree. I'd like to see the opposing viewpoint.

 

I'll try my best. This issue is SO complicated, especially talking over the internet about it. Here goes...

 

Raven-Symoné is promoting "colorblindness", which is this idea where you see all people the same and you aren't judging someone based on the color of their skin. While the idea makes sense at first glance, the bigger problem with it is that by seeing everyone as "the same", you erase the culture and history that comes with their skin color. (This idea is really common among white people because as white people, you aren't racially oppressed, so you can't understand on a personal level the huge disadvantage a person of color in the United States has and what they go through on a daily basis. White people also have no clue what it's like to have their culture stripped from them and be left to assimilate into a white-dominant society). So, while Raven's intentions make "sense" (her cultural roots have been pulled from right under her and she has no idea where she comes from besides the big ass country of Africa) I don't agree with her disassociating herself from her culture and saying she's a colorless human being, because no matter how hard she tries, she will always be seen as a black woman in society.

(This then opens up a new can of worms, about black women trying to "be white" to fit into society, but I can't get into that right now, no time. As I said, this issue isn't just black+white, it's all a big complicated grey area and everything about it is so complicated and people have tons of different ideas)

 

SIDENOTE: The idea that the US is a "melting pot", I hate that term, because it goes hand-in-hand with this bull**** idea of colorblindness. I prefer the term "tossed salad", because then you get all these different types of ingredients (people) mixing together in a bowl, making something really awesome, but all the ingredients still hold their structure (their culture/history) and nothing is forgotten.

 

 

Does that help you understand what I am coming from, whether or not you agree with my point?