Comments on Los Angelista's Guide To The Pursuit Of Happiness: It's Not The Color Of Your Skin, But The Depths Of...

Great post. I'm sending this to my brother who has...

2007-01-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

Great post. I'm sending this to my brother who has decided he doesn't want to be called black anymore (prefers American Muslim, which he is) and wants me to start a national campaign for this on my blog. ;) Sure, it would be nice if we could all just be "Americans", but could that really ever happen? We argued pointlessly over the holiday about this never-ending debate. For me, it's ended (ended a long time ago). The concept of race is BS, but whatcha gonna do? This is how it is.

Plus, I like being able to claim our legacy, jazz and Alvin Ailey and everything that makes black people special. I do my best to ignore the emabrrassing aspects our folks put out there.

Your thoughts are almost identical to my husband's (who happens to be biracial as well) If you two l feel this way, Harold Ford Jr. (Democrat - TN) should really stop saying his grandma was white! And all the black people who claim to have "some Indian in 'em" should stop dwelling on that too. LOL

Thanks for breaking it down. There really needs to be more public discourse about this. :)

Yes, it is sickening. And in Tiger Woods' case, w...

2007-01-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is sickening. And in Tiger Woods' case, which race was the guy talking about, anyway? His mother is Asian.

Which is my point. We're all blended people if you go back far enough in any family. The whole concept of race is absurd and invalid, and distracts us from seeing each other clearly. Our skin color, like eye color, is the least of who we are.

Skittles, Thank you and hope you get something goo...

2007-01-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

Skittles,
Thank you and hope you get something good at the sale.

HISF,
Indeed, the way our culture thinks (or pretends not to think) about these things fundamentally impedes our chances for peace and prosperity. We are all one family, even if we operate a bit dysfunctionally at present. But, as members of that family, we have to all take responsibility and do whatever it takes so that future generations don't get told they're a credit to their race. (The fact that people still say that is pretty sickening, isn't it?)

Jess,
Mentor? Moi? I'm thinking how lucky I am to have had the pleasure. By the way, come back to LA. We miss you.

Liz, Thanks for sharing these articulate and thor...

2007-01-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

Liz,

Thanks for sharing these articulate and thorough thoughts. How lucky am I to have had you as a mentor?! Much love and Happy New Year.

Miss Berg

I have always wondered, too, why children of mixed...

2006-12-31T21:54:00.000-08:00

I have always wondered, too, why children of mixed black and white ancestry are always considered black, no matter what they look like.

I'm sure it's because so much of our culture is devoted to keeping people separate so that the dominant group can remain so. This system does nobody any good.

The truth is, each of us is our own race. We nearly all have relatives of different ethnicities, which makes us all one race -- human. We could advance individually and as a nation if we stopped counting drops of blood to determine which label to apply to each other, and put more energy into building a kinder, more equitable world for our children of all colors.

How appalling to be told that anybody is a credit to his race. I have never in my life heard that said about a caucasian. A lot of folks are still livng under rocks, apparently.

What a well-written and much needed post!!! (Than...

2006-12-31T06:49:00.000-08:00

What a well-written and much needed post!!!

(Thanks for the tip about the purse sale at Penney's!)