Being Black

I like the way you put that. It may sound confusing to others, but I know exactly what you mean. You don't have to go around saying,"I have black friends". They're your friends, and it should just be left as that. I have friends of different ethnicities, and I would never label them by their race. They're my friends and thats all that matters. I think people get so caught up in skin color and statistics, they then end up missing out on an opportunity to know a pleasant soul.

As a heterosexual white male, you're not being discriminated against and your equal rights aren't in jeopardy. All of us who belong to an oppressed minority group have the responsibility to stand up for ourselves and other oppressed minorities. What you call "promoting an agenda" is simply demanding equal treatment. I'm not surprised you can't empathize.

There's a lot of bias against heterosexual white males, kind of like a backlash. They will be blamed for sexism and racism first. They will be stepped over just so that a company has a woman or ethnic person in positions to fill their quota. And that's speaking as a woman. All of this just needs to find a balance but it'll take a while. I don't care about this enough to be honest, live and let live.

A white heterosexual man with a criminal background has more of chance getting a job over a black man without one. You can take a look the unemployment rates as well and see which groups are hurting the most. Trust me, white men do not as much as a hard time finding a job as a black male. Many white men over exaggerate because they know of the affirmation laws and stuff so they try to blame the regulations instead of their own flaws to why they may not be getting a job but they still don't have the hurdles that other races face.

Unemployment rates don't tell you if people are unemployed because they were discriminated against, come on. Youve gotta be smarter than that. I'm not saying discrimination doesn't happen, but your example is ridiculous.

But studies that do take different races with the same qualifications and see who gets the job does. There's been plenty of these studies done, you can look them up for yourself.

I don't doubt that, but what you said up there made no sense at all.

Educate yourself further and it will.

You quoted ONLY unemployment rates. You can not possibly draw any conclusions regarding discrimination SOLELY based on unemployment numbers, and you know that.

I stated that's another thing you can look at basically. Its not a coincidence when the recession hit that certain groups got hit harder. If you feel otherwise then tell me why you think they got hit harder? When there aren't many jobs out there and 100 plus people fighting for the same job, who you think has more of a chance?

You were basically saying this:

Timmy has 2 green apples and 1 red apple. You can assume Timmy doesn't like red apples.

Which is wrong. And that's all I was saying. Your logic wasn't working out. I even said that I knew that discrimination happened.

Okay, my logic doesn't work. Then tell me why are certain groups being hit harder with the recession? I'm always open to learning new things.

Are you actually reading what I've been saying? I've said about three times now that discrimination exists. All I was telling you off for was using faulty logic. Faulty logic is what misinforms people and makes them think things about certain groups.

I'm not sure you understand what you are saying. If my logic is faulty and not just faulty but ridiculous, then you must have some idea of your own? You say there is discrimination but then the idea that discrimination plays in unemployment is faulty? How so if discrimination does exist? You're basically stating that discrimination doesn't exist when people try to get a job? Is that what you are saying? It doesn't happen? If so, then what is your idea on what is happening when certain groups getting hit harder with unemployment?

O....M.....G. You lack such basic reasoning skills it is getting to be a bit ridiculous.

WHAT I SAID is that you can't ONLY give someone unemployment numbers if you want to back up claims of discrimination. How does that not make sense to you??? And have you ignored the FOUR times now I've said discrimination DOES exist? I'm just not going to reply anymore. It's sad that I'm 19 and have more logic and basic reasoning skills than someone nearly twice my age.

Why are you so upset being asked what your idea on this is? You haven't really said why it can't be used. You admit there is discrimination so what I'm asking is that you feel it does not come into play when people go for a job? Your apple example is false since it implied there is zero discrimination going on but you state there is discrimination. You don't have any idea of your own to why you feel there is higher unemployment with certain groups of people? That's all I'm asking. I didn't say unemployment was the only thing to back up claims of discrimination, you keep saying that I've said only and never did. The first line in my original comment on this is from an actual study, yes I didn't site it but as I said later on you can look up studies on this, if you're interested.

If you don't cite your work it doesn't count. If you've ever written an academic paper you'll know that. Sorry to burst your bubble

Wow, a forum is an academic paper? You still for some reason can't give me any ideas of your own?

You should treat any debate like an academic paper, if you expect to be taken seriously, which you seem to want to do. I already stated that discrimination does exist (which is an agreement with you, btw). I guess I just wanted to call out your faulty logic

Your issue was with what I said about unemployment anyways, not my first statement. If you feel like calling me out you should have a good reason to do so but you can't tell me any ideas on why this is or why it can't play a role in unemployment?

People are people no matter what the color and everyone needs love and relationships. Relationships are and should be color blind. From my experience, once you get to really know a person, their color ceases to matter much. However, being Black is not only a race, it is a culture. It is good to experience some cultural activities to feel a sense of belonging. Most major cities have cultural activities and restaurants. Seek them out.

O....M.....G. You lack such basic reasoning skills it is getting to be a bit ridiculous.

WHAT I SAID is that you can't ONLY give someone unemployment numbers if you want to back up claims of discrimination. How does that not make sense to you??? And have you ignored the FOUR times now I've said discrimination DOES exist? I'm just not going to reply anymore. It's sad that I'm 19 and have more logic and basic reasoning skills than someone nearly twice my age.

Let me give you another example: You want to prove Timmy hates red apples. But the ONLY information you have is that TImmy has less red apples than green apples. You can't logically draw the conclusion that Timmy hates red apples ONLY based on the information you have.

Speaking as a Banker, I wonder if my own white, Western Culture is getting it wrong.

I see bank accounts from all different races... I see financial statements, and I build financial plans. And as a white female, I find that white people make BY FAR more mistakes than any other culture.

I see Asians... mostly from India, China, Korea, Japan, & the Philiipines... & I notice one bank account with 8 owners. I see one mortgage on a $400,000 six-bedroom house with 8 names on it. One mortgage payment... one cable bill, one hydro bill, gas, water, sewer, internet.... I could go on. They DON'T use credit cards... they pay cash for everything. One person handles the finances... & withdraws heaps of cash from accounts with 6-figure balances & divides the money into envelopes. AFTER depositing payroll cheques from each of those 8 people into the account first.

Of the North-American Born... I lump myself into this group... I see people on welfare. Disability. Pensions.... fixed income people going to food banks, (we don't food stamp in Canada). In these other cultures... if someone in this household loses a job... there are 7 other incomes to keep it going. Someone gets hurt? Same scenario. Everyone else just pitches in to take care of everything.

Having an inside look into how the imigrants tend to handle money... it teaches SO much about our values. This sounds totally racist, I realize... but what I REALLY mean is... it's people BORN in North America. It doesn't matter what colour they are, they all make the same mistakes. We all have the same hang-ups & financial issues. The SAME problems finding work... wether it's lack of skill, criminal records, affirmative action (which has a different name in Canada)... there just AREN'T ANY jobs to be had out there. And more cut every day. Our government & social assistance programs CAN'T keep up with the demand, because extended families aren't helping. They don't think they can.

But imagine if you will... EIGHT incomes... one household to sustain. And tell ME who's coming through this recession/economic downturn ahead? Screw the Employment rate. It's our society that's the problem, not the colour of our skin.

As a heterosexual white male, you're not being discriminated against and your equal rights aren't in jeopardy. All of us who belong to an oppressed minority group have the responsibility to stand up for ourselves and other oppressed minorities. What you call "promoting an agenda" is simply demanding equal treatment. I'm not surprised you can't empathize.

There's a lot of bias against heterosexual white males, kind of like a backlash. They will be blamed for sexism and racism first. They will be stepped over just so that a company has a woman or ethnic person in positions to fill their quota. And that's speaking as a woman. All of this just needs to find a balance but it'll take a while. I don't care about this enough to be honest, live and let live.

A white heterosexual man with a criminal background has more of chance getting a job over a black man without one. You can take a look the unemployment rates as well and see which groups are hurting the most. Trust me, white men do not as much as a hard time finding a job as a black male. Many white men over exaggerate because they know of the affirmation laws and stuff so they try to blame the regulations instead of their own flaws to why they may not be getting a job but they still don't have the hurdles that other races face.

Unemployment rates don't tell you if people are unemployed because they were discriminated against, come on. Youve gotta be smarter than that. I'm not saying discrimination doesn't happen, but your example is ridiculous.

But studies that do take different races with the same qualifications and see who gets the job does. There's been plenty of these studies done, you can look them up for yourself.

I don't doubt that, but what you said up there made no sense at all.

Educate yourself further and it will.

You quoted ONLY unemployment rates. You can not possibly draw any conclusions regarding discrimination SOLELY based on unemployment numbers, and you know that.

I stated that's another thing you can look at basically. Its not a coincidence when the recession hit that certain groups got hit harder. If you feel otherwise then tell me why you think they got hit harder? When there aren't many jobs out there and 100 plus people fighting for the same job, who you think has more of a chance?

You were basically saying this:

Timmy has 2 green apples and 1 red apple. You can assume Timmy doesn't like red apples.

Which is wrong. And that's all I was saying. Your logic wasn't working out. I even said that I knew that discrimination happened.

Okay, my logic doesn't work. Then tell me why are certain groups being hit harder with the recession? I'm always open to learning new things.

Are you actually reading what I've been saying? I've said about three times now that discrimination exists. All I was telling you off for was using faulty logic. Faulty logic is what misinforms people and makes them think things about certain groups.

I'm not sure you understand what you are saying. If my logic is faulty and not just faulty but ridiculous, then you must have some idea of your own? You say there is discrimination but then the idea that discrimination plays in unemployment is faulty? How so if discrimination does exist? You're basically stating that discrimination doesn't exist when people try to get a job? Is that what you are saying? It doesn't happen? If so, then what is your idea on what is happening when certain groups getting hit harder with unemployment?

O....M.....G. You lack such basic reasoning skills it is getting to be a bit ridiculous.

WHAT I SAID is that you can't ONLY give someone unemployment numbers if you want to back up claims of discrimination. How does that not make sense to you??? And have you ignored the FOUR times now I've said discrimination DOES exist? I'm just not going to reply anymore. It's sad that I'm 19 and have more logic and basic reasoning skills than someone nearly twice my age.

Why are you so upset being asked what your idea on this is? You haven't really said why it can't be used. You admit there is discrimination so what I'm asking is that you feel it does not come into play when people go for a job? Your apple example is false since it implied there is zero discrimination going on but you state there is discrimination. You don't have any idea of your own to why you feel there is higher unemployment with certain groups of people? That's all I'm asking. I didn't say unemployment was the only thing to back up claims of discrimination, you keep saying that I've said only and never did. The first line in my original comment on this is from an actual study, yes I didn't site it but as I said later on you can look up studies on this, if you're interested.

If you don't cite your work it doesn't count. If you've ever written an academic paper you'll know that. Sorry to burst your bubble

Wow, a forum is an academic paper? You still for some reason can't give me any ideas of your own?

You should treat any debate like an academic paper, if you expect to be taken seriously, which you seem to want to do. I already stated that discrimination does exist (which is an agreement with you, btw). I guess I just wanted to call out your faulty logic

Your issue was with what I said about unemployment anyways, not my first statement. If you feel like calling me out you should have a good reason to do so but you can't tell me any ideas on why this is or why it can't play a role in unemployment?

My issue is that you claimed unemployment told a story about discrimination. Which it doesn't. You can agree with that, right? If you can, then the conversation should have ended a long time ago.

How do you know it doesn't?

As a heterosexual white male, you're not being discriminated against and your equal rights aren't in jeopardy. All of us who belong to an oppressed minority group have the responsibility to stand up for ourselves and other oppressed minorities. What you call "promoting an agenda" is simply demanding equal treatment. I'm not surprised you can't empathize.

There's a lot of bias against heterosexual white males, kind of like a backlash. They will be blamed for sexism and racism first. They will be stepped over just so that a company has a woman or ethnic person in positions to fill their quota. And that's speaking as a woman. All of this just needs to find a balance but it'll take a while. I don't care about this enough to be honest, live and let live.

A white heterosexual man with a criminal background has more of chance getting a job over a black man without one. You can take a look the unemployment rates as well and see which groups are hurting the most. Trust me, white men do not as much as a hard time finding a job as a black male. Many white men over exaggerate because they know of the affirmation laws and stuff so they try to blame the regulations instead of their own flaws to why they may not be getting a job but they still don't have the hurdles that other races face.

Unemployment rates don't tell you if people are unemployed because they were discriminated against, come on. Youve gotta be smarter than that. I'm not saying discrimination doesn't happen, but your example is ridiculous.

But studies that do take different races with the same qualifications and see who gets the job does. There's been plenty of these studies done, you can look them up for yourself.

I don't doubt that, but what you said up there made no sense at all.

Educate yourself further and it will.

You quoted ONLY unemployment rates. You can not possibly draw any conclusions regarding discrimination SOLELY based on unemployment numbers, and you know that.

I stated that's another thing you can look at basically. Its not a coincidence when the recession hit that certain groups got hit harder. If you feel otherwise then tell me why you think they got hit harder? When there aren't many jobs out there and 100 plus people fighting for the same job, who you think has more of a chance?

You were basically saying this:

Timmy has 2 green apples and 1 red apple. You can assume Timmy doesn't like red apples.

Which is wrong. And that's all I was saying. Your logic wasn't working out. I even said that I knew that discrimination happened.

Okay, my logic doesn't work. Then tell me why are certain groups being hit harder with the recession? I'm always open to learning new things.

Are you actually reading what I've been saying? I've said about three times now that discrimination exists. All I was telling you off for was using faulty logic. Faulty logic is what misinforms people and makes them think things about certain groups.

I'm not sure you understand what you are saying. If my logic is faulty and not just faulty but ridiculous, then you must have some idea of your own? You say there is discrimination but then the idea that discrimination plays in unemployment is faulty? How so if discrimination does exist? You're basically stating that discrimination doesn't exist when people try to get a job? Is that what you are saying? It doesn't happen? If so, then what is your idea on what is happening when certain groups getting hit harder with unemployment?

O....M.....G. You lack such basic reasoning skills it is getting to be a bit ridiculous.

WHAT I SAID is that you can't ONLY give someone unemployment numbers if you want to back up claims of discrimination. How does that not make sense to you??? And have you ignored the FOUR times now I've said discrimination DOES exist? I'm just not going to reply anymore. It's sad that I'm 19 and have more logic and basic reasoning skills than someone nearly twice my age.

Why are you so upset being asked what your idea on this is? You haven't really said why it can't be used. You admit there is discrimination so what I'm asking is that you feel it does not come into play when people go for a job? Your apple example is false since it implied there is zero discrimination going on but you state there is discrimination. You don't have any idea of your own to why you feel there is higher unemployment with certain groups of people? That's all I'm asking. I didn't say unemployment was the only thing to back up claims of discrimination, you keep saying that I've said only and never did. The first line in my original comment on this is from an actual study, yes I didn't site it but as I said later on you can look up studies on this, if you're interested.

If you don't cite your work it doesn't count. If you've ever written an academic paper you'll know that. Sorry to burst your bubble

Wow, a forum is an academic paper? You still for some reason can't give me any ideas of your own?

You should treat any debate like an academic paper, if you expect to be taken seriously, which you seem to want to do. I already stated that discrimination does exist (which is an agreement with you, btw). I guess I just wanted to call out your faulty logic

Your issue was with what I said about unemployment anyways, not my first statement. If you feel like calling me out you should have a good reason to do so but you can't tell me any ideas on why this is or why it can't play a role in unemployment?

My issue is that you claimed unemployment told a story about discrimination. Which it doesn't. You can agree with that, right? If you can, then the conversation should have ended a long time ago.

How do you know it doesn't?

FFFFFUUUUUUUU

I'm just going to copy+paste my Timmy example again. I'd sure hate to have you on a jury! Apparently extra information that was never mentioned is okay to use as evidence... hmm.

You want to prove Timmy hates red apples. But the ONLY information you have is that TImmy has less red apples than green apples. You can't logically draw the conclusion that Timmy hates red apples ONLY based on the information you have.

FFFFFUUUUUUUU

I'm just going to copy+paste my Timmy example again. I'd sure hate to have you on a jury! Apparently extra information that was never mentioned is okay to use as evidence... hmm.

You want to prove Timmy hates red apples. But the ONLY information you have is that TImmy has less red apples than green apples. You can't logically draw the conclusion that Timmy hates red apples ONLY based on the information you have.

She's not going to get it......Sometimes you have to know when to walk away......

As a heterosexual white male, you're not being discriminated against and your equal rights aren't in jeopardy. All of us who belong to an oppressed minority group have the responsibility to stand up for ourselves and other oppressed minorities. What you call "promoting an agenda" is simply demanding equal treatment. I'm not surprised you can't empathize.

There's a lot of bias against heterosexual white males, kind of like a backlash. They will be blamed for sexism and racism first. They will be stepped over just so that a company has a woman or ethnic person in positions to fill their quota. And that's speaking as a woman. All of this just needs to find a balance but it'll take a while. I don't care about this enough to be honest, live and let live.

A white heterosexual man with a criminal background has more of chance getting a job over a black man without one. You can take a look the unemployment rates as well and see which groups are hurting the most. Trust me, white men do not as much as a hard time finding a job as a black male. Many white men over exaggerate because they know of the affirmation laws and stuff so they try to blame the regulations instead of their own flaws to why they may not be getting a job but they still don't have the hurdles that other races face.

Unemployment rates don't tell you if people are unemployed because they were discriminated against, come on. Youve gotta be smarter than that. I'm not saying discrimination doesn't happen, but your example is ridiculous.

But studies that do take different races with the same qualifications and see who gets the job does. There's been plenty of these studies done, you can look them up for yourself.

I don't doubt that, but what you said up there made no sense at all.

Educate yourself further and it will.

You quoted ONLY unemployment rates. You can not possibly draw any conclusions regarding discrimination SOLELY based on unemployment numbers, and you know that.

I stated that's another thing you can look at basically. Its not a coincidence when the recession hit that certain groups got hit harder. If you feel otherwise then tell me why you think they got hit harder? When there aren't many jobs out there and 100 plus people fighting for the same job, who you think has more of a chance?

You were basically saying this:

Timmy has 2 green apples and 1 red apple. You can assume Timmy doesn't like red apples.

Which is wrong. And that's all I was saying. Your logic wasn't working out. I even said that I knew that discrimination happened.

Okay, my logic doesn't work. Then tell me why are certain groups being hit harder with the recession? I'm always open to learning new things.

Are you actually reading what I've been saying? I've said about three times now that discrimination exists. All I was telling you off for was using faulty logic. Faulty logic is what misinforms people and makes them think things about certain groups.

I'm not sure you understand what you are saying. If my logic is faulty and not just faulty but ridiculous, then you must have some idea of your own? You say there is discrimination but then the idea that discrimination plays in unemployment is faulty? How so if discrimination does exist? You're basically stating that discrimination doesn't exist when people try to get a job? Is that what you are saying? It doesn't happen? If so, then what is your idea on what is happening when certain groups getting hit harder with unemployment?

O....M.....G. You lack such basic reasoning skills it is getting to be a bit ridiculous.

WHAT I SAID is that you can't ONLY give someone unemployment numbers if you want to back up claims of discrimination. How does that not make sense to you??? And have you ignored the FOUR times now I've said discrimination DOES exist? I'm just not going to reply anymore. It's sad that I'm 19 and have more logic and basic reasoning skills than someone nearly twice my age.

Why are you so upset being asked what your idea on this is? You haven't really said why it can't be used. You admit there is discrimination so what I'm asking is that you feel it does not come into play when people go for a job? Your apple example is false since it implied there is zero discrimination going on but you state there is discrimination. You don't have any idea of your own to why you feel there is higher unemployment with certain groups of people? That's all I'm asking. I didn't say unemployment was the only thing to back up claims of discrimination, you keep saying that I've said only and never did. The first line in my original comment on this is from an actual study, yes I didn't site it but as I said later on you can look up studies on this, if you're interested.

If you don't cite your work it doesn't count. If you've ever written an academic paper you'll know that. Sorry to burst your bubble

Wow, a forum is an academic paper? You still for some reason can't give me any ideas of your own?

You should treat any debate like an academic paper, if you expect to be taken seriously, which you seem to want to do. I already stated that discrimination does exist (which is an agreement with you, btw). I guess I just wanted to call out your faulty logic

Your issue was with what I said about unemployment anyways, not my first statement. If you feel like calling me out you should have a good reason to do so but you can't tell me any ideas on why this is or why it can't play a role in unemployment?

My issue is that you claimed unemployment told a story about discrimination. Which it doesn't. You can agree with that, right? If you can, then the conversation should have ended a long time ago.

How do you know it doesn't?

FFFFFUUUUUUUU

I'm just going to copy+paste my Timmy example again. I'd sure hate to have you on a jury! Apparently extra information that was never mentioned is okay to use as evidence... hmm.

You want to prove Timmy hates red apples. But the ONLY information you have is that TImmy has less red apples than green apples. You can't logically draw the conclusion that Timmy hates red apples ONLY based on the information you have.

But you stated there is discrimination. If discrimination exist, meaning we do have Timmys that hate red apples (because we know discrimination exist), how does this not play into hiring if a person is applying to a job where Timmy hates red apples. Are you saying that all the Timmys who hates red apples are always unbais when hiring if a person comes across a red apple hating Timmy.

FFFFFUUUUUUUU

I'm just going to copy+paste my Timmy example again. I'd sure hate to have you on a jury! Apparently extra information that was never mentioned is okay to use as evidence... hmm.

You want to prove Timmy hates red apples. But the ONLY information you have is that TImmy has less red apples than green apples. You can't logically draw the conclusion that Timmy hates red apples ONLY based on the information you have.

She's not going to get it......Sometimes you have to know when to walk away......

I know. I guess it's just the little bit of child left in me thinking "she's a grown up, she's gotta know this"

Just because someone's an adult doesn't mean they know how to use their brain. Personally, I hope she's just a troll, being ignorant and stupid for her own entertainment purposes & doesn't REALLY believe in what she's spewing. If she does, it's just a classic example of what's wrong with western civilization.

We don't beat the stupidity out of our kids anymore. I was spanked as a kid. Taught me proper values, I'm proud to say. I'm rubbish with accents. I confuse Chinese with Japanese with Philipino. I can't tell the difference between Hispanic & Native American. Black kinda looks like black... but whether they're from Africa, Jamaica, or South America, I never figured out. I confuse Jewish with Egyptian. I can't tell the difference between an Italian Accent & a Spanish Accent. Muslim, or Seik, or Hindi? Who knows? I certainly don't.

Mostly because... that's right: I NEVER CARED ENOUGH TO PAY ATTENTION. People are just people... move on.

I like the way you put that. It may sound confusing to others, but I know exactly what you mean. You don't have to go around saying,"I have black friends". They're your friends, and it should just be left as that. I have friends of different ethnicities, and I would never label them by their race. They're my friends and thats all that matters. I think people get so caught up in skin color and statistics, they then end up missing out on an opportunity to know a pleasant soul.

I like this^^
Can a man just be a man? A woman just a woman?
Except me for me.
We are all in this race called life.
To make each day better than the day before.
Give our children a future that is better than the life we had.

\m/

I have a couple questions. If a black person in America isn't from Africa are they still "african-american"? What do you then call a black american who lives in Africa? Such silliness. If one parent is white and the other black, which heritage do you claim? It just gets absurd rather quickly. One of the questions that always pisses me off on forms is "what race are you?" I'm human you idiots, that is the only "race" on this planet. Ethnically I'm a mutt. No one looking at me would guess that a large part of my heritage is Portuguese in origin. I just look like the average fat white guy.

I guess that's why I 'v never understood "racism". The concept is just asinine to me, to judge someone based on the color of their skin.

^ This.

You guys are just trying to make the quotations do that weird bow thing, aren't you?

i find that interesting too.

infact i noticed a lot of Americans use the term "African American" as if synonymous with black.To be "politically correct"

I am a black man,born in England.So calling me African American doesn't work for me,lol.As I'm not American.

Infact, i'm not African either since i have never been on the continent.We are also referred to as Afro-carribean because most black people that first came to England came over from the Caribbean.

its also begs the question,how come white people aren't called European Americans,but everyone else has to be categorized.

I run into this a lot. I happen to be a white female but I've always worked in settings that are mainly "minority" and "low income". I don't say these things to label it just is what it is.

I've noticed that when I worked with some black people that they were more focused on their jobs and on a common goal and everyone working together for a common goal.....kind of like the people who were white or indian (from india) or the other dozens of nationalities that I worked with. It wasn't about being black and there was no offense taken if someone called them "black" instead of "African American".

But the last place I worked happened to be a school in an all black neighborhood. In the whole school there were only 5 staff members that were not black (4 white, 1 hispanic). Many of the staff were like the ones I mentioned above....putting the kids first, treating the kids like kids and all that. And then there were others.....Always bringing up being black, labeling what kids did by saying "that's what black kids/folk do", acknowledging violence amongst the students by identifying them as black (another black youth died, another black youth going to jail), stating very openly that if you were not for President Obama that you were a racist because you just didn't like him because he was a black man. And the list goes on and on. It seems like the only "black" way to talk was with ghetto slang and disrespect and if you used proper English you were "acting White".

In my positions as a counselor I have primarily worked with kids/adolescents who are black/African American and Hispanic. I've learned when working with kids if you match their type of speech (slang, context, phrasing), no matter where they are from, that you build rapport faster with them and that's what I did. I had kids tell me that I "am black" because they could trust me and I talked like them. Great educational opportunity about the fact that I am white and that can show them that it doesn't matter what the color of a person's skin is to be able to learn from them!!

But my principal there also did not like white staff members (I was hired by another department in the district and she was not my supervisor) and would make comments that I was scared of the kids and she could tell I had never worked with African American students before and that my position was ineffective because of these things. I was able to tell her about the fights I had personally stopped and she was like "oh". She obviously never looked at my resume or remembered what I had told her about my past job experiences. AND I had data from teachers proving that what I was doing with the students was making a positive difference in their behavior and their grades. But she refused to look at those things. She had made her mind up because of the color of my skin and the color of the skin of the students who went there. She even allowed another staff member to refer to me as "the other one" when trying to figure out who she had spoken to about a concern and they had brought another younger, white, blond staff member into the meeting. I know if I had referred to any of my co-workers like that I would have been written up, fired and probably been on the news.

You just be you!!! Be proud of who you are, your heritage and everything that comes with YOU. But you do not have to act a certain way just to please others. That is a stereotype and it sounds like you are bigger than that!!!