[FairfieldLife] Re: Racism of a different color
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ispiritkin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I agree with the Edg's premise (quoted below) that it is VERY DIFFICULT for a white person to know what it is to be black, but I disagree that a white person cannot possibly know what it is to be hurt, brainwashed, intimidated, forced, challenged, tortured, and negated. Separate point ~~ I can often pick out from a distance the difference between an American black and a foreign black (esp from Africa). Blacks raised in the U.S. have an internal tension and defensiveness that foreign-born-and-raised blacks don't show. That tension shows in their posture and body language. This is such a sad statement about how their environment affects them. (snip) Much of that body language comes from being in prison, and you will see that kind of body language, from any person of any race, who has been in prison. The Black population has a much larger part of their culture in prison, and much of their culture relates to gangster kind of life style, because of the media, and black entertainment, rap music, etc. The drug culture, and the prohibition of drugs also feed the money of this whole equation. Anyone can relate with the 'Black Experience' if they have ever experienced being 'outside the culture' or being 'scapegoated' or prejudiced upon. Many Jewish people can relate to black people, myself included. So, it's to generalized to make that statement. The 'Black Experience' has to do with slavery; simple as that. But we are all slaves to a certain extent, Until we are living, 'Heaven on Earth' as Maharishi explained. Jesus also felt this way. So, there is still work to do; I think Barack is the best 'Dude' for the job.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Racism of a different color
--- R.G. [babajii] wrote: Much of that body language comes from being in prison, Oppression stamps people, and other living beings as well, first with its outer impression -- the initial pain of impact (physical, emotional, psychic, etc.) and then with its inner impression -- its tattoo, its imprint on the inner life, its mark in the marrow.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Racism of a different color
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ispiritkin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Separate point ~~ I can often pick out from a distance the difference between an American black and a foreign black (esp from Africa). Blacks raised in the U.S. have an internal tension and defensiveness that foreign-born-and-raised blacks don't show. That tension shows in their posture and body language. This is such a sad statement about how their environment affects them. Trying my best to stay out of the puerile nigger thang, I don't think your generalization is general enough, ispiritkin. It's Americans, period, who move like they've got a permanent stick up their butts and a shitload of fear on their shoulders. Just ask any European, or someone like me who lives here. You can pick out the Americans from 100 feet away, just by the way they walk and move. My phrase for it is that they are not comfortable in their bodies. They don't have an easy relation- ship with their bodies; they're always in a fight with them, as if they don't trust them, or as if they don't trust the other bodies around them. It's difficult to explain to someone who lives in the U.S. and doesn't get out of it much, but it's something that becomes remarkably apparent when you travel. Because I have dogs and walk them, I liken it to the difference between healthy, happy dogs and how they relate to other dogs and...uh... less happy, less secure dogs who have to snarl at or distrust all other dogs. It's a really bizarre phenomenon to watch in dogs, and even more bizarre in humans, and I get to watch it all the time, because I live in a tourist town that gets its share of American tourists, even with the dollar in the toilet. So that's my only real point -- that *Americans* period don't look or move as if they are comfortable with themselves, or their selves. But for fun I'll add a personal story to your stories of what it might be like to grow up black in America. I had a friend in the Rama trip who was black. Young, hand- some, well-dressed and well-educated, and a certi- fiable genius with computers and AI software. He made more money in a month than most of the people around him made in a year, and was never the least bit ostentatious about it. His vibe was reserved but friendly and outgoing, once he got to know you. Being white, I never quite understood the reserve until we went postering for an upcoming Rama talk one day on and around a Connecticut college campus. We were both taking time off from our Day Jobs to do this, so we were both wearing business suits. So I got to watch the *reactions* of people when we walked into their offices or places of business (only the ones that had posters already displayed and thus were likely to put up one more) to ask them, as politely as possible, if they'd put up one of ours. I would walk in and the people in the office would be all smiles. Koan (his spiritual name) would walk in and the guys would frown and the women would hide their purses. I learned a lot that day about what it must be like to be black in America. We lost touch when I bailed from the Rama trip, but then I ran into him again years later, after he had been living and consulting in Paris. Because at the time I was considering moving to Paris, I asked him what it was like for him to live there. He tried not to, being a guy and all, but he got a little teary, and then recovered enough to say, It's the first place I've ever lived in my life where no one looks at me and immediately thinks 'Nigger.' I've since lived in Paris, and I understand. Being black means nothing in Paris. It isn't a positive and it isn't a negative; it just makes you one more guy or gal on the street.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Racism of a different color
--- TurquoiseB wrote: --- ispiritkin wrote: Separate point ~~ I can often pick out from a distance the difference between an American black and a foreign black (esp from Africa). Blacks raised in the U.S. have an internal tension and defensiveness that foreign-born-and-raised blacks don't show. That tension shows in their posture and body language. This is such a sad statement about how their environment affects them. Trying my best to stay out of the puerile nigger thang, I don't think your generalization is general enough, ispiritkin. It's Americans, period, who move like they've got a permanent stick up their butts and a shitload of fear on their shoulders. Just ask any European, or someone like me who lives here. You can pick out the Americans from 100 feet away, just by the way they walk and move. My phrase for it is that they are not comfortable in their bodies. They don't have an easy relation- ship with their bodies; snip Oh, I do agree -- even the difference between Americans and Canadians in general is striking, but is not quite as striking as in the black race (to my eye). So that's my only real point -- that *Americans* period don't look or move as if they are comfortable with themselves, or their selves. But for fun I'll add a personal story to your stories of what it might be like to grow up black in America. snip I would walk in and the people in the office would be all smiles. Koan (his spiritual name) would walk in and the guys would frown and the women would hide their purses. I learned a lot that day about what it must be like to be black in America. snip I asked him what it was like for him to live there. He tried not to, being a guy and all, but he got a little teary, and then recovered enough to say, It's the first place I've ever lived in my life where no one looks at me and immediately thinks 'Nigger.' I've since lived in Paris, and I understand. Being black means nothing in Paris. It isn't a positive and it isn't a negative; it just makes you one more guy or gal on the street. I don't get out much, so my observations are limited to the midwest mostly. But I talked about this with a black neighbor who has lived in and visited various places in the U.S. and Canada. Strangely enough, he had the same thing to say about South Dakota as your friend did about Paris -- that people in South Dakota (the Black Hills specifically) didn't look at him as black, they just treated him like the next tourist in line who wanted to buy a ticket. People didn't look up from their dinners at restaurants and stare. And they didn't get all nicey-nice, either, like some people do when they are uncomfortable. When he found out I was from North Dakota, he said my attitude fit right in with what he had experienced up in those northern hinterlands. Maybe the similarity has opposite geneses in the two environments. There are so FEW blacks in the Dakotas that most folks there haven't had much to assess, positive or negative. In Paris, there are so many different kinds of people and so many of each kind, that folks have a chance to make lots of assessments, both positive and negative, and all those assessments tend to equal out regarding race. After all that, a person has to use subtler distinctions to judge, because humans always have to find distinctions to judge with. ;)
