Being a Black Man

LOL.
I think his goofy humor is so sexy.

 

Well I raise you a Nell Carter.


Equally talented

 

HAHA.
True, but you can keep her.

 

I think there are men out there defying the stereotype, just look at many of the guys here at the forum. I think it's just that - a stereotype. The challenge is expanding these positive images into more venues so that all people can see them.

 

id rep you if i could. rayer:

 

So would I.

 

Don't you guys get the feeling that, despite some obvious problems, we are by no means as wholly negative as we are made out to be? While I see plenty of thugs, I also see tons of regular guys going about their lives, living, working, studying, loving, raising their children to the best of their ability, even with difficulties with the other parent, etc.

 

the problem is people(all nationalities) only see the bad in others and never take the time to recognize the good traits in people...

 

True. No race is immune to this.

 

I think that no matter what race, ethnicity, religion you are, or whatever country you are from, it is important to recognize that you are first and foremost, a human being. Some are born rich while others are less than rich to dirt poor. There are good and bad in all of these groups. I think back to the Planet Of The Apes films and realize that it didn't matter what race you were in that world, what mattered was that you were human and the you were the menace to their society. I see the honest man trying to make a good living. I see the guys who hustle(through legal and illegal means) and I see the guys who do nothing at all because they have nothing to lose. It comes down to one's choices and the actions they take.

 

That is the key; to be seen. People do not take you seriously if they do not see you and your abilities. We are nobodies until that time arrives. But some do not care about the spotlight and just go about their lives with dignity, pride and honor.

 

True. I think most guys are in this category, just quietly going about their lives. People think the thug thing is universal because that is the only image that is propagated. And we have the behavior of the worst example applied generally to all of us.

 

For as far back as I can remember, being cool like Arthur Fonzarelli, The Fonz was the best way to be. You don't have to do anything but be well dressed and groomed. Be as gentle as a dove and as wise as a serpent. But, today, I think Fonzie, if he saw how guys are right now, he'd say, "HO!"(as in hold it) And "AAAAAYYYYY!" That is not the example that men should lead by. And my Fonz stage, I discovered Doctor Who(Tom Baker's Doctor) and focused on my mind because The Doctor was a thinking man. Later came the film Time After Time with Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen and David Warner. Although, McDowell's H.G. Wells portrayal was memorable as a man out of place in another time in the future where he had hoped to find Utopia but instead finds a world of confusion and violence. This world is more suited to his friend who he discovers is Jack the Ripper(Jack the Ripper was never caught and it worked in the movie). McDowell's H.G. Wells was a gentleman and an intellectual. So I try to be a gentleman. But, as the late Aaliya said to Jet Li in Romeo Must Die, "If a woman is kicking your ass, there's no time to be a gentleman."
In 1994 when I moved to Ft. Lauderdale, I was looking at the singles column and noted that all the women who posted their ads claimed to be very attractive and are seeking a gentleman. I then realized that a gentleman to them is an older, retired millionaire. Not a man(of any age) who is gentlemanly. Which is why people notice what you have as opposed to who you are. More often than that, most people believe that to really be noticed, you have to play a role.
I saw an old episode of a show called Thriller on YouTube. It was a show hosted by Boris Karloff. One episode called Man Of Mystery dealt with a man who has it all and nothing can stop him. A man with a secret. Anyone who tries to expose his secret ends up dead. They don't make shows like that anymore. But, in the end, the secret is revealed and another keeper of that secret is found. I had found that being a nice guy is not enough. You have to have an edge or the ability to live life with passion(whatever that is) and courage because it is viewed as "manly". I just want to live and be me. I may not have a lust for life or a driving passion for all to see, but I am a man. Just not this world's interpretation of what a man is. I am just a man on his own journey. A spec of dust in God's universe.

 

The black man I want to see promoted more in the media is Neil deGrasse Tyson. The world could use more of him.

 

Agreed.

 

Did you catch him on the last Real Time With Bill Maher? He stole the show!

 

I hadn't seen Real Time in a while since the George Takei interview a couple of weeks ago. He was pretty cool, too.

 

Yes, Mr. Sulu has had a great second act. Very cool.

 

Very few groups are other than the dominant social group. Even European non-Anglo ethnic groups are stereotyped and those images become the dominant narrative about them. Italians aren't fond of being considered mobsters, guidos, and the like, either. But we are one of the few groups whose negative image so totally dominates third party perception that it threatens our life chances.

 

I remember meeting a Sicilian couple back in 1995. The man and his wife were vacationing in this country. He was a fisherman and he must've been very good at what he does. I asked him about the Mafia. He shrugged and said, "They don't bother us. They more or less kill each other." They were nice people.

Back in the 80's, I met a man named George. He was from Italy. He spoke and understood English, but when he spoke it sounded broken. He would say to me, "I came to America to get away from Mousilini. He crazy!"

I had met people from almost every country in the world and find that meeting these people is very healthy socially. The problem is that one or more stereotypes about people of any race, ethnicity or religion has enduring effects.
For instance, the slur for Italians is wop. Well, that is defined as an Italian immigrant who entered into the U.S. without documentation, or papers. This person is somewhat ignorant of where this person is in this country and is just as foolish in their own country. So, wop means without papers.