I am uni-racially human. Don't care what the world believes in that regard.
#KULCHA.FIRST. =)
Took me a long time to separate wheat from chaff when it came to ppl's misinformation, but... DNA has set me FREE. I refuse to split my family up along false "racial" lines. That's ridiculous. My mother is not white or black or brown. My dad is not white or black or brown. We are HUMAN first.
#Boricua.Identity in the 21st Century is ONE diamond with many facets.
Sometimes, we are bombarded with erroneous and divisive ideas which cause us to split apart and segregate. "White" Power, "Black" Power and "Brown" Power... what do those terms actually mean? At first, when you are young, the perception is that these "pride" statements actually mean something. Since you might not have an idea as to WHAT your "identity" actually is in the midst of all these other cultural groups (in the U.S.), you might end up thinking: "Hey, I'm different... my family's different. What are we?" You notice the differences between your family and the rest of society and might even begin to question some of those differences. I've fallen into this myself and got out of it myself (along with some help from my friends), so what I am saying DOES come from my own XP.
An interesting situation occurred when I first went to undergrad in the early 90's. I was interested in joining a Kemetic fraternity as I have all ways loved Egyptology and Sumerian Studies. I also had an avid interest in astrology which began in my teen years. I kept getting the run-around from some of the members of the group, who would only allow other African-Americans and Caribbeans who looked "black" into their ranks. Reality was based on SIGHT; how you SAW others politically, not so much genetically or even culturally. Skin tone erroneously trumped all. The reason I was not allowed to join was as I had suspected: my skin was too "white" for an "African" fraternity that walked around with proud rhetoric and "Black Power" gear. They wore ankhs, medallions, kufis and preached not only Kemetic teachings, but Americanised "Islam" (NOI). These particular cats believed in their so-called "Egyptian ancestry" and guarded it rigorously. I was told flat out that I was NOT "Egyptian". Some of the members who were associated with NOI took their "white man is the devil" rhetoric to such extremes that even "Caribbean devils", like I was told I was, could not be included, even IF my ancestry was not European. I've never referred to myself as "Spanish" because I was not and neither did anyone in my immediate family. We never made any announcements as to what our race "was". We were just "Boricua". These fraternity brothers made it a point to single out my so-called "race" in order to let me know that I was not like them. One explained that: "this is not a 'club', it is a brotherhood" and, since I was not a "brother" to them, it ended there. This whole ordeal was quite possibly a blessing as this type of organisation would NOT have had a positive effect on me. Years later, I discovered that the "Egyptians", the "Nubians" and the "Oromo" ARE my ancestors. Genetics laid out for me what I had somewhat known all along. I had EVERY right to my history. But, because I was clueless, I believed in those who SEEMED like they knew what they were talking about. Their rhetoric was flowery and backed up by larger organisations of ppl who believed the same stuff they did. Had I known my genetics then, perhaps that situation would have had a different outcome.
Piri Thomas once wrote a story about two blood brothers who were in a U.S. jail . Both were queued in the jail's cafeteria; one looked "white" and the other looked "black". Since this was before the Civil Rights Era, one brother was bluntly told by an officer that he was in a "whites only" line and had to leave his brother's side to stand on the "coloured only" line. This confused the brothers (both of whom were Puerto Rican) as they were not fully familiar with the odious racism which often occurs on the U.S. mainland particularly towards persons of African, Indigenous and Asian descent.
Not much seems to have changed today as we still segregate ourselves. Many demagogues/filmmakers/documentarians seek out those in the Caribbean who align themselves with their "race" agenda. They seek out the information they all ready BELIEVE to be the truth and sort of gloss over the rest. The stories are often "half-told", but stories the general public consumes and buys as "truth".
Same thing goes for "Brown" power. If you can't see what goes on in L.A. because of the clash between those who oppose undocumented Mexican-AMERICANS and other citizens of the U.S., I don't know what to tell you. Mexican-Americans and African-Americans are going at each other over crumbs. Anti-Mexican-AMERICAN and Anti-African-AMERICAN hatred threatens to poison relations between the two groups. It's sad... and, they are killing each other because of perceived differences, which are NOT "racial", but essentially "cultural". At the end of the day, some folks need to realise that "America"=TWO CONTINENTS, not one country. And, on these TWO continents are many different cultures of ppl. What I have come to understand these days is that there is no "black" race, no "latino" race, no "white" race, etc. There IS racism, but only over perceptions of cultural differences. It is one HUMAN continuum that has been historically mishandled and mislabelled. The perception of differences as being "alien" and even "unequal" , along with TOO MUCH ethnic pride, has created a toxic environment and many do not seem to ever want to address the elements which have created it. Perhaps some are calling attention to ending it. It may also be that no one in the mainstream listens or cares. Nationalistic views don't have to be filtered through emotionalism and outright hatred. We can settle these types of things "out of court".
As one ages, a lot of that stuff becomes nonsensical... unless you are the type to dig your heels in the ground while refusing to evolve. Some demagogues still go around spewing their HATE, indirectly commanding their followings who sort of tell you that because THEY cannot cope with overall UNITY, you must not be able to EITHER. They try to coerce you into "groupthink". They get mad at you when you refuse to go along with their stupidity. They want you to wallow in their personal madness along with them. Too much pride ends up in a bloated sense of ethnic superiority and that may be where a lot of the issues begin. Personally, I've been through this whole thing all ready. None of it feels right. Some ppl think that "groupthink" supersedes one's own GODHEAD doing the thinking. I don't believe it applies to everything. If a group is killing another group for absolutely NO reason, would it be right to say NOTHING and let it continue? Or, would it be wise to speak your individual mind on the matter and let your unique opinion be known?
If there were such a thing as BORICUA POWER, it would probably mean: "we accept ALL" because genetically, we ARE all. Doesn't mean there aren't a few stray cats who upset the balance, it just means that we really should come to terms with our miscegenated identity if we haven't all ready. If anyone tries to sway you with their HATE of someone else, let them believe in their divisions. It obviously suits them at that moment. Just BELIEVE IN YOUR UNITY and never let that go. It's why our heritage is the way that it is. Also, don't be afraid to say you fucked up by thinking that way. We all have the right to come back to the middle. I had some thoughts I had to work through myself, and I did.
#KULCHA.FIRST. =)
Took me a long time to separate wheat from chaff when it came to ppl's misinformation, but... DNA has set me FREE. I refuse to split my family up along false "racial" lines. That's ridiculous. My mother is not white or black or brown. My dad is not white or black or brown. We are HUMAN first.
#Boricua.Identity in the 21st Century is ONE diamond with many facets.
Sometimes, we are bombarded with erroneous and divisive ideas which cause us to split apart and segregate. "White" Power, "Black" Power and "Brown" Power... what do those terms actually mean? At first, when you are young, the perception is that these "pride" statements actually mean something. Since you might not have an idea as to WHAT your "identity" actually is in the midst of all these other cultural groups (in the U.S.), you might end up thinking: "Hey, I'm different... my family's different. What are we?" You notice the differences between your family and the rest of society and might even begin to question some of those differences. I've fallen into this myself and got out of it myself (along with some help from my friends), so what I am saying DOES come from my own XP.
An interesting situation occurred when I first went to undergrad in the early 90's. I was interested in joining a Kemetic fraternity as I have all ways loved Egyptology and Sumerian Studies. I also had an avid interest in astrology which began in my teen years. I kept getting the run-around from some of the members of the group, who would only allow other African-Americans and Caribbeans who looked "black" into their ranks. Reality was based on SIGHT; how you SAW others politically, not so much genetically or even culturally. Skin tone erroneously trumped all. The reason I was not allowed to join was as I had suspected: my skin was too "white" for an "African" fraternity that walked around with proud rhetoric and "Black Power" gear. They wore ankhs, medallions, kufis and preached not only Kemetic teachings, but Americanised "Islam" (NOI). These particular cats believed in their so-called "Egyptian ancestry" and guarded it rigorously. I was told flat out that I was NOT "Egyptian". Some of the members who were associated with NOI took their "white man is the devil" rhetoric to such extremes that even "Caribbean devils", like I was told I was, could not be included, even IF my ancestry was not European. I've never referred to myself as "Spanish" because I was not and neither did anyone in my immediate family. We never made any announcements as to what our race "was". We were just "Boricua". These fraternity brothers made it a point to single out my so-called "race" in order to let me know that I was not like them. One explained that: "this is not a 'club', it is a brotherhood" and, since I was not a "brother" to them, it ended there. This whole ordeal was quite possibly a blessing as this type of organisation would NOT have had a positive effect on me. Years later, I discovered that the "Egyptians", the "Nubians" and the "Oromo" ARE my ancestors. Genetics laid out for me what I had somewhat known all along. I had EVERY right to my history. But, because I was clueless, I believed in those who SEEMED like they knew what they were talking about. Their rhetoric was flowery and backed up by larger organisations of ppl who believed the same stuff they did. Had I known my genetics then, perhaps that situation would have had a different outcome.
Piri Thomas once wrote a story about two blood brothers who were in a U.S. jail . Both were queued in the jail's cafeteria; one looked "white" and the other looked "black". Since this was before the Civil Rights Era, one brother was bluntly told by an officer that he was in a "whites only" line and had to leave his brother's side to stand on the "coloured only" line. This confused the brothers (both of whom were Puerto Rican) as they were not fully familiar with the odious racism which often occurs on the U.S. mainland particularly towards persons of African, Indigenous and Asian descent.
Not much seems to have changed today as we still segregate ourselves. Many demagogues/filmmakers/documentarians seek out those in the Caribbean who align themselves with their "race" agenda. They seek out the information they all ready BELIEVE to be the truth and sort of gloss over the rest. The stories are often "half-told", but stories the general public consumes and buys as "truth".
Same thing goes for "Brown" power. If you can't see what goes on in L.A. because of the clash between those who oppose undocumented Mexican-AMERICANS and other citizens of the U.S., I don't know what to tell you. Mexican-Americans and African-Americans are going at each other over crumbs. Anti-Mexican-AMERICAN and Anti-African-AMERICAN hatred threatens to poison relations between the two groups. It's sad... and, they are killing each other because of perceived differences, which are NOT "racial", but essentially "cultural". At the end of the day, some folks need to realise that "America"=TWO CONTINENTS, not one country. And, on these TWO continents are many different cultures of ppl. What I have come to understand these days is that there is no "black" race, no "latino" race, no "white" race, etc. There IS racism, but only over perceptions of cultural differences. It is one HUMAN continuum that has been historically mishandled and mislabelled. The perception of differences as being "alien" and even "unequal" , along with TOO MUCH ethnic pride, has created a toxic environment and many do not seem to ever want to address the elements which have created it. Perhaps some are calling attention to ending it. It may also be that no one in the mainstream listens or cares. Nationalistic views don't have to be filtered through emotionalism and outright hatred. We can settle these types of things "out of court".
As one ages, a lot of that stuff becomes nonsensical... unless you are the type to dig your heels in the ground while refusing to evolve. Some demagogues still go around spewing their HATE, indirectly commanding their followings who sort of tell you that because THEY cannot cope with overall UNITY, you must not be able to EITHER. They try to coerce you into "groupthink". They get mad at you when you refuse to go along with their stupidity. They want you to wallow in their personal madness along with them. Too much pride ends up in a bloated sense of ethnic superiority and that may be where a lot of the issues begin. Personally, I've been through this whole thing all ready. None of it feels right. Some ppl think that "groupthink" supersedes one's own GODHEAD doing the thinking. I don't believe it applies to everything. If a group is killing another group for absolutely NO reason, would it be right to say NOTHING and let it continue? Or, would it be wise to speak your individual mind on the matter and let your unique opinion be known?
If there were such a thing as BORICUA POWER, it would probably mean: "we accept ALL" because genetically, we ARE all. Doesn't mean there aren't a few stray cats who upset the balance, it just means that we really should come to terms with our miscegenated identity if we haven't all ready. If anyone tries to sway you with their HATE of someone else, let them believe in their divisions. It obviously suits them at that moment. Just BELIEVE IN YOUR UNITY and never let that go. It's why our heritage is the way that it is. Also, don't be afraid to say you fucked up by thinking that way. We all have the right to come back to the middle. I had some thoughts I had to work through myself, and I did.