Being Deliberately Black For Social Connections?

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ShamelessGit
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18 Jul 2013, 10:40 am

I saw a really buff black guy wearing shiny sports clothes talking on the phone with what I assume was another black person the other day, and I wondered whether it wouldn't have been easier for him just to say what he wanted to say, rather than finding excuses to constantly say, "n***a" all the time. There were some "dawg", "bro", and "man" thrown in there too. I was thinking to myself that it seemed like he was TRYING to fit all the black stereo-types, and I was wondering if anyone actually does that on purpose. And then I thought that maybe black people sometimes feel rejected by society at large, so they act deliberately black in an attempt to fit in better with the black community. NT seem to form connections with people they are more similar with, so maybe when he was constantly saying "n***a," (it sounded affectionate) what he was trying to say was, "I'm black, and you're black too, so we should be friends." Maybe a black person can correct me on this if I'm wrong.



sacrip
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18 Jul 2013, 11:51 am

You're over thinking this. I suppose some self conscious blacks out there might play up "ghetto" speak to come across as more culturally black, but I think this is extremely rare. Black people know they're black, they're reminded every day, and don't feel the need to prove it, in my experience.


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justkillingtime
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18 Jul 2013, 12:45 pm

I think ShamelessGit has a point. I think there are numerous reasons this happens. I've observed it since the 1960s. I like the idea of trying to fit in better with the black community. There could also be an element of being playful with language because it is fun. I hope there are some responses from the black community here.


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TinyDancer
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18 Jul 2013, 1:41 pm

I think it has more to do with outsiders of black culture than it does trying to state that you're part of black culture. It's kind of a way of saying, "I'm putting myself out in order to show you that we're on the same side." As in, risking one's overall impression with people who have political power and money in order to let other black people know that you're on their side first. It's deliberate, but it's not ingenuine.
I say that because I think that without the self-righteous attitudes of certain other social groups, e.g. rich white people, there wouldn't be a compulsion for that kind of display.
The "black community" is pretty awesome. I think especially for someone with social trouble. The black community has a lot of hard times and the people in it gain a lot of wisdom and are more accepting of all kinds of differences.



thewrite1
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03 Aug 2013, 7:39 pm

As a black girl, I've never tried pretending to be stereotypically black to fit in with other black folk, and I absolutely HATE IT when a black person uses 'n***a'...and that is precisely why I used to be called a 'traitor' in high school. I have a few black friends, and only one out of those few uses that word, but I just let it slide because she's a really good friend and I don't want to ruin that over one word. (I mean, she managed to put up with me when I threw a fit, so she has to be a keeper... :lol: )

In general, stereotypically black people sicken me. :x



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04 Aug 2013, 8:14 am

Yes, if you are black and you talk normally, dress normally, and act normally, other black people will call you an uncle tom.



ShamelessGit
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04 Aug 2013, 2:56 pm

Well that's stupid. If they want to be treated normally, then they shouldn't act different just cause they can. I think that's why the jews have a hard time too; the old testament says that jews are supposed to separate themselves from the nonbelievers. People in general are bigots and will treat people badly who are different. That's why autistic people have a hard time too.



thewrite1
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04 Aug 2013, 9:11 pm

minervx wrote:
Yes, if you are black and you talk normally, dress normally, and act normally, other black people will call you an uncle tom.


It's why I have such difficulty writing black characters in my stories; I always have this sinking feeling someone is going to give me crap about the fact that they act like regular, decent people... :(



Vertex
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07 Aug 2013, 9:19 pm

ShamelessGit wrote:
I saw a really buff black guy wearing shiny sports clothes talking on the phone with what I assume was another black person the other day, and I wondered whether it wouldn't have been easier for him just to say what he wanted to say, rather than finding excuses to constantly say, "n***a" all the time. There were some "dawg", "bro", and "man" thrown in there too. I was thinking to myself that it seemed like he was TRYING to fit all the black stereo-types, and I was wondering if anyone actually does that on purpose. And then I thought that maybe black people sometimes feel rejected by society at large, so they act deliberately black in an attempt to fit in better with the black community. NT seem to form connections with people they are more similar with, so maybe when he was constantly saying "n***a," (it sounded affectionate) what he was trying to say was, "I'm black, and you're black too, so we should be friends." Maybe a black person can correct me on this if I'm wrong.
I'm half black, and I've been accused of "not acting black enough." There is a lot of presure for black men to act a certain way. It's a cultural thing. To some people, the N-word is synonymous with "dude." Heck, at school the N-word was even used to refer to white people. I don't really approve of this behavior, but it is quite common.