http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21367799/

Quote :

"Many women with lighter skin frequently are accused of believing they are better than those with darker complexions. Many women with brown or dark-brown complexions complain that they too often are not treated as well socially or professionally as those with fairer skin. “I think they get to slide in a little easier,” Toney, who is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling, said of women with lighter skin. “They are assumed to be passive and nice and sweet. I feel I have to do a little bit more. Number one, I’m black. Number two, I’m dark and I have short hair.”"

Seriously, at what point will black people stop saying they have it so much harder than everyone else. This is just retarded.

10/18/2007 8:42:11 PM

The psychology of pigmentocracy is so twisted and deeply rooted in the psyches of some black folks (and others).

It's a very ugly thing. Luckily, not universal.

[Edited on October 18, 2007 at 8:51 PM. Reason : sss]

10/18/2007 8:47:08 PM

i have brown eyes. Give me a free ride...kkthx.

10/18/2007 9:06:16 PM

sounds like the "paper bag test"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorism

Quote :

"The "brown paper bag test" was a ritual once practiced by certain African-American and Creole fraternities and sororities who discriminated against people who were considered "too dark." These groups would not let anyone into the sorority or fraternity whose skin tone was darker than a paper lunch bag, so as to maintain Mulatto and Creole cultural standards. Spike Lee's film School Daze satirizes this practice."

ahhh...Age : 19
much to learn, you have.

[Edited on October 18, 2007 at 10:14 PM. Reason : ahhh...]

10/18/2007 10:12:16 PM

^I don't think this woman was trying to join a frat. I think she just likes to bitch. Trust me, there are plenty of times every day where I feel like I'm discriminated against because I'm short, but I don't go around complaining about it.

10/18/2007 10:19:15 PM

i'm not saying she's trying to join a frat...i'm saying that something like this has existed long before you and i were born.]

much like what Bridget is saying...this isn't new. it just doesn't have the "paper bag" label

[Edited on October 18, 2007 at 10:24 PM. Reason : ]

10/18/2007 10:23:10 PM

It's not really the same thing though. Organizations like frats (or just organizations in general) are always going to be exclusive with some certain criteria. It doesn't really have anything to do with the stereotype of being "passive and sweet and nice." It's just a group of assholes who are trying to keep homogeneous attributes within their group. Kind of like if I tried to join a certain frat but I wasn't wearing a collared shirt or some bullshit like that. The fact that the woman says "Number one, I’m black. Number two, I’m dark and I have short hair" tells me that she's just looking for an excuse. Not only is she playing the race card, but she's getting away with playing the even more black card. That's just stupid. Not being included in an organization and having a stereotype slapped on you are two completely different things.

10/18/2007 10:35:00 PM

no, it really is the same thing. the reason the whole "paper bag" criteria was introduced oh so long ago for sororities and fraternities was for the same reason that the darker black woman of today was complaining about the criteria set for this party...a lighter black skin back in the day was considered superior and nicer or whathaveyou than the darker black skin...the same complaint that this girl had today about this party.

her complaint was re-hasing an old stereotype that should have never been there in the first place.

[Edited on October 18, 2007 at 10:48 PM. Reason : ]

10/18/2007 10:46:54 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0dRdPMIokU

10/18/2007 10:55:00 PM

I know a couple black people who place a significant value on skin tone.

It was actually pretty shocking to hear them talk about it. Completely new to me.

10/18/2007 11:00:57 PM

indian cultures as well (least from my experience) also place a value on skin tone. again, it's a...

Quote :

"twisted and deeply rooted in the psyches of some black folks (and others)"

...but that's how it is...

10/18/2007 11:05:53 PM

I always found it odd when black people refer to each other as "light skin/dark skin." You're black...I don't hear anyone else saying "check out that mother of pearl chick over there!"

10/18/2007 11:08:47 PM

Black people problems are sooooo two decades ago... brown love is where its at these days.

10/19/2007 1:01:30 AM

Quote :

"no, it really is the same thing. the reason the whole "paper bag" criteria was introduced oh so long ago for sororities and fraternities was for the same reason that the darker black woman of today was complaining about the criteria set for this party...a lighter black skin back in the day was considered superior and nicer or whathaveyou than the darker black skin...the same complaint that this girl had today about this party. her complaint was re-hasing an old stereotype that should have never been there in the first place."

Assuming this is true, then why the hell do they get mad at white people for being racist against black people when they themselves are racist against black people? Something about this whole situation is completely ridiculous.

10/19/2007 4:24:20 AM

you're right...racism, or colorism, is completely ridiculous. no matter which way you slice it.

10/19/2007 8:49:07 AM

Quote :

"Seriously, at what point will black people stop saying they have it so much harder than everyone else. This is just retarded."

i'm tired of the excuses. do something about it. the germans had it harder than everyone at one point, so did the italians, the god damn jews certainly have, the poor always have, the old do. everyone at some point in their life suffers hardship. fucking do something about it instead of complaining and asking for handouts. this goes for every human, not any particular race

10/19/2007 12:50:13 PM

^ All of those people came from cultures with people in their generation that knew true freedom.

Blacks in America came from a culture that only knew slavery. They ARE doing something about it, it's just taking longer because of those cultural issues AND some lingering racism (that seems to have gotten a bit worse recently).

10/19/2007 12:52:48 PM

This attitude is fairly common throughout Latin America. They actually consider the US to be more racist because of the dichotomy of black and white having no middle ground.

10/19/2007 12:53:12 PM

Who the fuck was asking for a handout?

and IMStoned420 - you definitely live up to your stupid handle

10/19/2007 12:55:23 PM

^^^ i just read on cnn that black women aren't voting for obama because they feel like if they don't vote, they'll be saving his life (assassination)

tell me how that's doing anything? that's a fucking pathetic, weak excuse.

there's a lot of lingering racism, don't get me wrong. but fucking stand up to that shit. your racists all vote republican so let's do something about that too

(republican as in neocon, not true republican)

^handouts = affirmative action, preferential treatment, extreme political correctness, and anything the fucking naacp gets involved in. they used to be a very important organization that i believe was necessary. they are nothing more than extremists now

[Edited on October 19, 2007 at 12:56 PM. Reason : asdf]

[Edited on October 19, 2007 at 12:57 PM. Reason : jank]

10/19/2007 12:56:28 PM

What does "extreme political correctness" mean?

And, affirmative action is designed to correct for hundreds of years of injustice specifically targeted towards blacks in America. I don't see why you would call that a handout, which implies it's not deserved. As blacks rise in society, it should be phased out, but considering how the entire community was held back by the gov. and society, it's part of the gov. and society's job to help correct for that.

10/19/2007 1:49:11 PM

Quote :

"What does "extreme political correctness" mean?"

here's an example (just an example)

Quote :

"blacks in America"

OMG "BLACKS"?
"BLACKS"?
THEY'RE CALLED "AFRICAN AMERICANS" YOU RACIST SHITFUCK
[/example]



of course, calling blacks "African Americans" never made sense to me anyway

seeing as how many blacks aren't from Africa, and some whites are

Quote :

"affirmative action.......hundreds of years of injustice specifically targeted towards...."

so

we'll be giving back all the land in the US to the natives when?





[Edited on October 19, 2007 at 2:07 PM. Reason : ]

10/19/2007 2:07:16 PM

^ Ha, we already have more concessions for native americans than blacks, and they have their own lands. I guess that comes with massacring them though.

10/19/2007 2:11:19 PM

Quote :

"Assuming this is true, then why the hell do they get mad at white people for being racist against black people when they themselves are racist against black people? Something about this whole situation is completely ridiculous."

10/19/2007 2:11:53 PM

http://www.feanor.net/z0r/shock/whiteblack.swf

10/19/2007 2:42:17 PM

I think many dichotomies have intrinsic two-way pecking orders

it's only those in the middle that avoid the most pecks

[/bonghit wisdom]

10/19/2007 2:42:37 PM

I'm weirded out that some of you are so oblivious to this reality.

Almost across the board, light-skinned women are considered more desirable than dark-skinned women. How anyone who has watched even thirty seconds of BET could have missed this is beyond me... And the men seem to go in and out of style based on whether or not Wesley Snipes has a movie out...LOL...that was really [OLD]

Anyway, these distinctions are more important in Latin America than they are here. I can't even count the number of times some Colombian or Peruvian has taken fifteen minutes of my life to explain just how European they are--like I really give a shit... I imagine it must suck to be light-skinned and feel rejected by all "sides" so maybe having a hierarchy of darkness and lightness ensures that everyone gets to fit in somewhere?

Anyway, I would encourage people, like the person in the originl article, to share their feelings on the issue. I'd say for the most part people tend to cope fairly well, but in the absence of a dialogue, this can be some nasty, twisted stuff that creates a lot of pain...

Someone I know who worked for this anonymous company was approached by a colleague about possible racism in the HR department. They realized that, asides from the colleague who brought it up, there was only one other black person working with them. Their particular HR lady admitted she didn't hire black people on purpose, was fired immediately, and a dark-skinned black woman was hired in her place. Fast forward a couple years later, and the new HR woman had only hired white people and extremely light-skinned people. She had internalized all this negativity to the point of self-loathing, and then she projected that onto all her dark-skinned peers...and you get the feeling this isn't all that bizarre...

10/19/2007 2:47:57 PM

i'm a white dude getting a phd

let me talk to you about MY problems

I'm NOT driving a BMW

I do NOT have a $500,000 house

and i amd NOT "doing it", presently, with two chicks at the same time

I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore

10/19/2007 4:24:22 PM

Quote :

"we'll be giving back all the land in the US to the natives when?"

10/19/2007 4:28:32 PM

Quote :

"^handouts = affirmative action, preferential treatment, extreme political correctness, and anything the fucking naacp gets involved in. they used to be a very important organization that i believe was necessary. they are nothing more than extremists now "

I didn't ask what handouts were, I asked who the fuck said anything about handouts. That article has nothing to do with handouts. It's like some of you are just so used to your go-to arguments that you use them when completely unnecessary.

10/19/2007 4:53:49 PM

Quote :

"Blacks in America came from a culture that only knew slavery. They ARE doing something about it, it's just taking longer because of those cultural issues AND some lingering racism (that seems to have gotten a bit worse recently)."

Jews in America and the rest of the world came from a culture of slavery...u know...1000's of years ago in Egypt.

10/19/2007 7:30:18 PM

Quote :

"OMG "BLACKS"? "BLACKS"? THEY'RE CALLED "AFRICAN AMERICANS" YOU RACIST SHITFUCK [/example]"

Oh yeah... don't you call me white.... I am European American.....

10/21/2007 2:15:01 PM