My pinky's valued over $300,000...

So the topic of today's post is about "talking black" vs. "talking white." Now, I have to be honest and say I know exactly what people mean when they say someone "sounds black." We like to get all indignant when people say stuff like that, like when Prince Harry said something recently to a black comedian. But what exactly are we getting upset about?


I want to take a detour here and share the first time someone decided to call out how I spoke differently. And newsflash: it wasn't a white person, it was some black kids from my grandma's neighborhood. I was about six or seven and visiting my grandmother in Cleveland. My grandmother lived in a predominantly black neighborhood, and I was outside with some of the neighborhood kids. The conversation went something like this:


Them: Are you here visiting your grandmother?
Me: Yes.
Them: Is (insert myblackfriend's mom's name here) your mom?
Me: Yes
Them: (getting somewhat exapserated) Don't you know how to say, "Yeah?"
Me:


::wait for it::


Me: Yes.


Now, I don't actually remember these kids explicitly saying, "You sound white," but that was certainly the implied message. Because, I didn't use more informal language, something was weird or different about me--and they needed to make me aware of that. Now I know they were just kids, but the fact of the matter is even today in 2009, a black adult can tell another black adult that they sound white, and the "white sounding" black adult is the one that is supposed to feel bad.

Let me shift gears a little bit more. I'm going to link to a video and say that it is NSFW and has what some people might consider offensive language.





So this guy is clearly white, and he "sounds black." There are lots of other white people in the world who talk like this guy, too. How do we explain this? Maybe because it's not your skin color that determines the way that you speak.


I also want to make it clear that I am not saying one way of talking is inherently better than the other way. Some people might argue that we should all talk the "white way" and those are the same people that think everyone in the world should speak English. That's boring. It might be a little harder to understand someone who speaks differently than you, but that's your opportunity to turn your ears on and work your listening skills. You might also learn some new words. And all people, need to lay off the idea that people who's skin is a certain color need to speak a certain way--because that's just wack.


As always, I welcome your comments.

Crouching Tiger, HIdden Dragon

So the other day I was on a message board (don't act like you don't go to message boards. You're reading this random chick's blog, so I know you get around on the internet,) and a woman made a comment that irked me. She was talking about how she was going to have a day of pampering, which included getting her nails done. She was very excited and she exclaimed, "It's going to be a really nice manicure, not on from one of those ghetto Asian places!"


Yippee!


I'm glad to see that ghetto is now not only derogatory for blacks and Jews, but Asians too. We really are moving forward in this country.


Once again we have an example of something that is non-white being synonymous with bad, substandard, run-down etc. Now, it is quite possible that this woman has been to some crappily run nail salons, and that those crappy nail salons have been run by Asian people. but to use the words "ghetto" and "Asian" in such a way that implies they are essentially one and the same is dangerous. She's associating them in her own mind, and in the mind of the readers of her post. It is statements like this that produce results we might not like to see on this test.


Now some people might think I'm overreacting, but I really don't think I am. This woman is most likely very nice, and probably treats most people she encounters (even the Asian ones,) with respect. She wasn't intending to hurt anyone's feelings, and probably made the statement without even giving it a second thought.


And that, my friends, is exactly the problem.