I was browsing online yesterday when I saw, "Best and worst dresses at the inauguration." I don't usually click on drivel like that but, what the heck, I had a few minutes to spare so I clicked on it. The first dress the young lady spoke of was Michelle Obama's. She was positively gushing over it. It was embarrassing to watch. Now, it was a nice enough dress and Mrs. Obama did wear it well. But, it wasn't all that. If it had been a white woman wearing it, I don't think she would have gushed over it. That made me think of something I read a few years ago: There was a black man who wrote a weekly column in a newspaper I subscribed to. Sometimes, he was tough on white people. But he was equally tough on black people. He gave his honest opinion on things without regard to race. He was fair. One column had to do with "Reverse racism." I'm not sure those are the best words for it but I use them for lack of a better word. He said that having a white person gushing over you was as insulting to a black person as being called a ni@@er. I don't remember his exact words but the gist of it was; don't gush over me, look me in the eye and treat me as an equal. Don't patronize me, treat me as an equal. I'm sure that @Arlene Richards has experienced some of that. Maybe she will give us her thoughts about it.
That's what I always thought about the idea that black people were, for some reason, unable to figure out how to get identification, or that they need extra help in going to school or getting a job. Yes, some people may very well need extra help but why are we making assumptions based on skin color?
Are you talking about that red/burgundy dress Michele Obama was wearing when Melania handed her the box from Tiffany's? If so, I thought that was frumpy looking on her but I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to be called. A racist.
I have never fully understood why people with different coloured skin or different shaped eyes are discriminated against .... after all they may look different on the outside .. but aren't we all the same on the inside ... I mentioned on here recently how my granddaughters were, targeted by a neighbour ,asking me not to walk on "his" side of the street because he didn't like ...."To QUOTE HIM". ... SLOPES ...as he referred to anyone from Vietnam .. my granddaughters were little children at the time they are grown up now 25, and 21 That was only one of the , incidents of racists remarks where I was present ....another was while out shopping with my daughter ...my eldest GD had a loud cry ...we were sitting in a food court ...to feed her ,she would have been about 5 months , a security guard came up to us and said in a loud voice ....take "THAT" child back to,it's mother
@Shirley Martin Wow. You completely lost me with your remark : "Now, it was a nice enough dress and Mrs. Obama did wear it well. But, it wasn't all that. If it had been a white woman wearing it, I don't think she would have gushed over it" Huh?? I heard many people - of various races - "gush" over Melania Trump's inaugural ball gown. I think it was a fantastic dress. I don't know where you're trying to go with this thread. You have no way of knowing or being sure what anyone would say about anything. ..........sigh
I think you're misunderstanding her post. If I understand it correctly, and I think I do, she was simply saying that she didn't think Mrs. Obama's dress was all that terrific, and that she believed that people gushed over it because she was black, and that they wouldn't have been so impressed by the dress if a white woman had been wearing it. I don't think she was saying that they would never gush over a dress worn by a white woman. In other words, she was talking about one specific dress worn by one specific woman, not a different dress worn by a different woman.
Can't stand 'gushing' over someone Melania's outfit was the business - no need for gushing over it, which some people have The same goes for Michelle's outfit Any excuse by the media to cause friction
When Barack Obama was first elected President, I was struck by the possibility that at last we have a chance to heal our racial divide, as a Nation. I thought that if anyone can set the tone and make a way, it would be the first black President. That proved not to be the case. The one incident that stands out was his media event, which was called "The Beer Summit". They couldn't even drink the same brand of beer!
They may all be drinking a different beer Joe, but they are all enjoying it regardless of the colour....
The whole idea of patronization because of one's race is as infuriating to me as someone who has his nose lodged in the bosses posterior. Neither instance denotes whether the person truely likes an individual but they feel it necessary to placate someone in order to garner some kind reward be it the "I'm not a racist" facade or financial gain. Years ago I refused to seat Sidney Poitier. Not because he was black, but because he was being an ass. I did the same with Chill Wills a couple of weeks later and for the same reason. The overwhelming thought was that they were celebrities and should be given certain allowances because of their stature. To me, a person's station in life nor color has very little to do with how much I like you or how I will treat them but instead, each person is judged by their personal merit and how they interact with others as well as myself. Fawning over someone because of their color, wealth, gender, station in life, religion or ethnic grouping is just not in the books and is as phony as it looks to be. So far as Melania's dress or Michelle's dress.....dunno, I do not make dresses. I am more interested in the people in the dress than the dress.
@Arlene Richards ,I never meant for it to be about Mrs. Obama's dress at all. It was about people who carry their actions to the extreme with regard to race. I think @Bobby Cole understood what I meant. He stated it clearly in his first paragraph.
I also think it's reverse racism to say something negative about someone who's a different race (black) in this case because you're afraid to be called racist. I didn't like Michele's plain burgundy dress and if Melania had worn it I would have said I didn't like it either. There were many dresses I did like that Michele wore and I've never called the then president anything but his name in 8 years. Never twisted Obama to anything, I can't stand when people do that. Hated it with people doing it to Obama and hate it when it's done with Trump. It's so childish. Also, I do admit to having prejudices and I think everyone who is honest with themselves will admit it too. I'm not racist though in general, unless that person falls into one of my prejudiced categories. I'm pretty tolerant of everyone though and that even includes all the different sexual categories we have now.
I was trying very hard to not reply to this, but must. First, while it seems to be a popular thing, it really hits my 'irk' button- referring to the bolded part, I've heard it cover everything from pornography to illegal drugs. Frankly, prejudice has never made any sense to me. If individuals within a group do wrong, or form groups to do wrong, that's a different story.