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ghostdog56;6109332 said:This nigga said he lives in Harlem and it is mostly black. So why doesnt he go in the streets and tell these niggas to they face to pull up they pants,stop using the n word,and having babies out of wedlock what is the point of saying it to a white audience when the people you claim to be talking about are right outside your front door? Also can somebody tell me how black Harlem still is because I heard it got gentrified like a mutha I bet he lives in the white section of Harlem.
Ioniz3dSPIRITZ;6106440 said:desertrain10;6106276 said:Ioniz3dSPIRITZ;6104264 said:I have been out of the loop for a minute and I see this thread has really done numbers. It appears that the general consensus around here is that Don Lemon is a coon and Bill O'Reilly is an old racist. I'm neither going to add to these assertions or deconstruct them. However, if both men were critiqued on their opinions alone I don't think any rational person could find what they said any more offensive than what is recited in some of these rap songs. Shouldn't the rappers who constantly put forth lyrics that degrade black women and perpetuate black death be vilified by us as well? Should we not call out the ratchet black women on Love and HipHop and basketball wives who breathe fresh air into old stereotypes? Should we not call out the television show Scandal, in which a black women plays the stereotypical "bed wench" for some white man? Good enough to fuck but never to marry. Are these individuals not moon shine, buck dancing "coons" as well?
I know these are all example from the entertainment industry but based on some of the responses, a lot of you aren't upset at what Don Lemon actually said. You guys upset that he said it on CNN in front a predominately white audience. A lot of us disliked it only perpetuated the negative stereotypes that many whites have about us. But considering the various depictions of us engaging in debauchery already, I doubt what he said had much effect.
I can take this point even further by pointing out the politicians who use our votes to get in office but are quick to dismiss any of our concerns when they get in office. Or what about the preachers who can build a mega million dollar church in the middle of the hood surrounded by abandon houses and buildings. What about the young bastard sons of single mothers who shoot up a neighborhood striking the innocent five year old playing on his bicycle? Are they not coons? Are the not sellouts?
Don Lemon may be a pompous coon but what is put forth by the very same people we embraced is far more harmful to our image as a people than anything he can say.
Smh...
Art is a representation of society. So instead of breaking the mirror, we need to take a look at american soceity as a whole. I can find hints of homophobia, sexism, calls for violence in rock lyrics, "white" shows, movies as well. Thats no coincidence
And not all rap music is bad. I dunno about you but the majority of blk people I know hate mainstream rap music and dont buy the music...
Also there are blks who do are making or want to make wholesome family friendly entertainment they just dont have a platform or the capital because of their skin color. And dont say there isnt an audience. Sundays Best a show on BET is one of their highest rated....
With that said for the average non-black person to hear a popular black news anchor on a respected news network to voice the same sentiments as a Bill O'Rielly is big and his actions should be condemned... further pushes this message that the blame for oppression lies with the oppressed...and the onus on us to change to ‘earn’ basic rights and privileges that are extended to other races, no matter if their shortcomings
Heres some excerpts from an article stopitfive posted that I think u should read it sums up perfectly why some blks took offense to lemons comments:
Don Lemon holds so tightly to the myth of black moral and cultural deficiency that he completely missed the absurdity of prescribing the abandonment of sagging pants and use of "the N word" as an antidote to the governmental divestment from black communities that results in failing school systems and unchecked mass incarceration. Lemon's comfort in delivering half truths illustrates the deep commitment many feel to perpetuating a single narrative on blackness without regard to facts.
Marriage patterns are tied closely to education and income. If Lemon and his cohort dared to look closely at the figures, they'd find poverty is the cause not the consequence. Respectable Black Saviors speak of the prevalence of violence and unwed mothers but never care to learn the stories behind the statistics. Instead of lashing out at white supremacy, the root of structural inequality, they incessantly reference malignant blackness because, frankly, it's easier and they'll always have an audience.
.
http://www.forharriet.com/2013/07/don-lemon-and-middle-class-embrace-of.html
How r we goin to improve social equality in this country if we countinue to focus on the symptoms and not the disease
Your whole argument is based on the notion that we bear absolutely NONE of the blame for our own condition. And instead of trying to fix the problems that we have the power fix, it would be more logical to wait on the greater white establishment to invoke the social equality that we've been fighting for all these years.
Last time I checked blacks make up more than 12% of the population and have over a trillion dollars in spending power. We have the capacity to change ourselves and our communities without any help of the government.
Knives Amilli;6107828 said:fuc_i_look_like;6107456 said:Blacks are only 13% of the US population, yet we're the only group of ppl that the media chooses to constantly scrutinize. Negative studies and stats about Blacks are broadcast on national news segments and the media is always so quick to display this information. But Whites are the majority of the population, but you wont ever see the media reporting on how most serial killers and pedophiles are white men or why the # of white women in prison is growing faster than ever. This tap dancing clown ass nigga did not need to go on national news and spew our dirty laundry and reinforce stereotypes to these crackas.
Well once again, people are uneducated on the unique status of African Americans. All they see is the success stories and gradual acclimation of wealth/status that other minority groups are attaining contrasted with the disproportionate amount of crime, poverty, and lack of educational attainment that exists within the Black community, and we're the second oldest, yet most definitive minority group within the country. If you don't know the details (which most don't), its a really bad look.
But im not naive either. For all this post racial America bullshit, you get the feeling that even if the script were flipped, Blacks would still be hated and resented on some level. Like GTFOH with all of this criticism and studies and consisting harping on the state of Blacks; shit aint all altruistic. Some of it is rooted in pure, passed down disgust of Blacks.
twizza 77;6112008 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ZuguDIViI&feature=youtu.be
Ioniz3dSPIRITZ;6112719 said:@deserttrain10 Again, what does pointing out that every race has it's bad apples have to do with confronting the social ill's of black people. How does that lessen the degree to which our community is suffering. And you said most of our people are family oriented...Do you seriously believe this with 70% of our children being born out of wedlock? This shouldn't even be an argument.
And if structural inequality is the root cause of all our ills why is it that generations before us had a better understanding of community and family? Why didn't the generations that were closer to slavery exhibit the same level of social decadence that you see among blacks today?
Ioniz3dSPIRITZ;6112719 said:@deserttrain10 Again, what does pointing out that every race has it's bad apples have to do with confronting the social ill's of black people. How does that lessen the degree to which our community is suffering. And you said most of our people are family oriented...Do you seriously believe this with 70% of our children being born out of wedlock? This shouldn't even be an argument.
And if structural inequality is the root cause of all our ills why is it that generations before us had a better understanding of community and family? Why didn't the generations that were closer to slavery exhibit the same level of social decadence that you see among blacks today?
stringer bell;6113625 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmdlMlRdt7Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN_CnaVJnq0
stringer bell;6148377 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnAj8NId5vI
CNN's Don Lemon talks about his open letter to Russell Simmons regarding race.