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Cohort and Ethnicity
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January 14th, 2009Class Discussion ExtensionHey! So I was thinking about what Lisa said earlier today, and what Dr. Pitt had to say about Chris and his becoming an Alpha or hanging out at the black cultural center once he finds out about one black ancestor of his. What do you guys think the impact is of a person’s selected cohort? If Chris chooses to surround himself with only black people throughout his life, does this make him ethnically black? I suppose this question has to do with “wiggers” and whether or not you guys think that a white person could be ethnically / socially black or not. If Lisa has always been surrounded by WASPs, then would it be a normal assumption that she is also a WASP too?
Here are some references to specify what exactly I mean (this relates to previous post about Justin Timberlake’s hairstyle etc).
- Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem): For any of you that have seen Eight Mile (those who have not, I suggest it), I think it pretty accurately represents the type of mixed cohort that one can CHOOSE to surround ones self with in downtown Detroit. Even though Eminem is painfully white racially, he chooses to surround himself with black people, he lives in a black neighborhood, works with black coworkers at a stereotypically “black” job etc. (Interesting to note that he DOES date white women…). In my opinion, Eminem could be considered a black man (if you disagree, please consider Michael Jackson’s ethnic identity as well).
- Joshua Packwood: Last year’s valedictorian at (historically black) Morehouse College. Clearly he knows and accepts that he is white, but he still choses to surround himself with black people. What do you think this means about his sense of self? I think perhaps his sense of identity depends almost exclusively on interaction with black people and self-identification as “other.” If you have a moment or two read (or skim) this article, detailing Josh’s own comments about race and his Morehouse experience. At the end of this article, administrators cite that he will have had the “typical” Morehouse experience, just like every other undergrad EXCEPT for ethnicity. Considering his biographical information and other stuff from the article, could he in fact be black ethnically?
I think that both of these men could be considered white African-Americans, as contradictory as that sounds… Is it fair for an ethnic group to exclude members based on phenotype? If a person knows that their race and ethnicity are different, is this a problem? Or does it represent some higher level of self awareness where the person is able to deal with contradictions within their identity?
This is the subject of my Inter-Disciplinary major…so I probably will post more about this eventually, but I am interested to see what you all think especially since our class is so diverse.
Tags: contradiction, ethnicity, race, wiggers
2 Responses to “Cohort and Ethnicity”
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montegoblue
Interesting question, let me tell you a little about myself to see how you and others think that I would fit into the equation of race and ethnicity.
I am white, but I don’t feel that I fit well into mainstream American white society. I am also gay, and even though I do a considerable amount of work on gay rights issues I definitely exist on the fringe of “gay culture”. My level of acceptance in these groups is probably comes from a combination of my feelings towards these groups and the level of tolerance expressed by individuals in these groups for people who might not fit neatly into their pre-conceived notions of what their peers should be. So where do I fit in?
I am a punk, at 39 years old I am probably best described as an old punk. I have the mohawk, the piercings, tattoos, musical tastes and additude to prove it. Most of my friends are punks or skinheads, my partner has a foot tall orange mohawk, this is the group I identify with the most and this is the group which seems to not be concerned at all with who I am, who I sleep with, how I dress, and how I act. So obviously this is how I choose to identify myself.
Interestingly being a punk does not lead all other groups to want to exclude me. My partner and myself have often times noticed that we get a very warm reception from the majority of African Americans that we meet. They tend to look us directly in the eye, they don’t always start off a conversation with a question or statement about our hair and if they do it is almost always a positive statement. They seem to talk to us and deal with us in pretty much the same way they do the friends and family members they happen to be with.
We had noticed this but didn’t really think about until we were visiting some friends in Charleston SC who aren’t punks and they commented on how many African Americans were walking up to talk to us and how rare it was for any black person to start up a conversation with them. This stuck out in our minds a bit and so the next time we were at a bar and an African American we didn’t know struck up a conversation with us we asked why we seemed to get a different response from most African Americans we meet than other white guys. The response? “Look at you, it’s pretty obvious that most white people ain’t got no use for you either. As far as I’m concerned you are just really pale niggers.”
A few months later we were organizing a candle light vigil in support of same sex marriage rights and we contacted all of the local gay friendly churches. One of the churches is a very liberal, primarily black church (approx. 70% African American members) with a black preacher. Knowing that a bit of racial extra racial tension had been injected into the gay marriage debate after the passing of Prop 8 in California we decided to ask this preacher if he would lead us in a prayer at the vigil, mainly because we thought the image of an African American preacher standing up for the rights of same sex couples to marry would make quite a statement. The preacher agreed and said some very thoughtful and moving words at the vigil.
The next day, primarily as a way to thank him for what he did, we attended services at the preacher’s church. We thought this would be a one time thing since neither my partner or myself are particularly religious but we were so warmly accepted by everyone at this church, because everyone there seemed so happy to have us there, because even though the entire church knows we are gay and can see that we look like side show freaks they treat us no different than anyone else, because of these things we have gone back every week.
So here I am, a gay, white, guy who spends a considerable amount of time around African Americans. Am I an African American? I don’t think so. I have been openly accepted by many blacks and choose to associate with a lot of African Americans but I have not tried to assimilate into African American culture in any real way. Am I white? Even though my skin is white it seems that many white people don’t want to associate with me. Am I gay? Yes I am, even though I don’t fit in with typical gay culture very well or at all. So you guys tell me, how do I fit into all of this?
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gilberzj
I’m pretty middle of the road when it comes to all my opinions, and with that said, I believe it is a matter of preference, and I think we all HAVE to remember that. I know as a Black man, sometimes I’ll hear other black people talk down about blacks who hang out/date white people exclusively–like they’re rejecting us. And sometimes I understand, but coming from a background where the first, maybe 6 years of my life I grew up around White people, and then abruptly moved to a black neighborhood, its all a matter of where you grew up. I can’t knock someone else for gravitating to a group they’re comfortable with–it’s probably a no-brainer to them like it is for me to hang with mostly black people
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