Posted on 09/04/2014 8:12:20 AM PDT by lbryce
Research confirms that the “acting white” charge is a real problem that intimidates some black students. Our job is to confront it.
As kids go back to school this week, when it comes to black ones, it’s time to do some myth-busting. This week’s topic: black teens calling their nerdy black peers “white” for liking school. It’s a problem, because too often, black kids who want to fit in end up letting their grades slip.
The social scientists John Ogbu and Signithia Fordham first called attention to this phenomenon in the 1980s. But over the past 10 years, a myth has settled in that the “acting white” idea has been disproven—that black kids do not devalue scholarly achievement as white, and that people who say so are promulgating a falsehood. A recent column by Nia-Malika Henderson is emblematic of this denial. She wrote that when Barack and Michelle Obama criticize the black community for tolerating these “acting white” allegations, “their rhetoric, while seen as refreshing and bold by some, actually seems to confirm a stereotype, that somehow African Americans don’t value academic achievement.”
Obama, though, has been arguing the case for a long time. In the Democratic Convention speech that introduced him to America in 2004, he derided the idea that “a black kid with a book in his hand is acting white.” But this summer a decade later, when Obama brought up the “acting white” problem in his pep talk to black boys kicking off his My Brother’s Keeper initiative, Henderson and other columnists—with the welcome exception of Jonathan Capeheart—dogpiled on him for hanging on to an illusion.
Folks, no. The research confirms that the “acting white” charge is a real problem that intimidates some black students away from doing their schoolwork as diligently as they’d prefer.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
Dats it Yo.
if they were of quick mind, they would retort “you are a nationalist” or better yet a “xenophobic”.
Both are just under Racist as far as a crippling weapon.
Now that’s funny raht dere.
The left wants to rid society of the “default white” (ie, Western Civ) culture.
Blacks need to be reminded that voting is acting white, too.
Don't get a education, dat be actin' White, man
Don't be doin' nuffin' to be actin' like the White Man
Sell some crack, run some hos, you be doin' right, man
If you actin' White, then we gonna fight, man.
I’m dead sexy. Look at me body.
As someone that’s actually taught for years in an all black school, this definitely exists - I’ve heard students say it in front of me in class.
Agreed that the Arabs are every bit as backward as blacks in this country tend to be. And every time you see some bearded Bedouin driving around in a gilded Rolls, it’s living proof that when you give a monkey a lot of money, what you end up with is a rich monkey.
Too many American blacks have the same problem. Less the money.
*ulp*
Blacks are TAUGHT to hate whites, not only in their separate ‘culture’ but in media and the schools.
Therefore, calling each other ‘white’ is an insult.
So, why learn?
It's a characteristic of all humans. Emperors and conquerors build large countries from hundreds of nations. After a while those countries fall apart, as each nation wants to go its own way.
Separatism thrives because it is profitable. Instead of being a local boss you could become a king, with your own court and your own army! Those poor fools will gladly accept your speeches that all their problems are caused by $evil_neighbors, and those problems will disappear as soon as you draw a border on a map.
We all know what black leaders benefit from this situation. But it also benefits the current way of life of [some of] black population. They have self-segregated to such extent that reintegration is a challenge for a few generations. As a mini-society they cannot exist anymore without tacit support of their way of life. When that support weakens riots explode - and politicians from the very top are dropping on their knees, begging forgiveness for asking the blacks to behave. This courtesy is never extended to other social groups - perhaps because those are not likely to set the town on fire. So we have strength on one hand, and benefits that that strength buys. What is there for them not to like?
Any problem that has to do with personal responsibility by either the student, peers, parent, teacher, or even the administration of the school itself, basically gets ignored because it doesn’t fit the liberal line that places most or all blame on factors that would lay outside all of those domains.
Years ago I taught in some of the worst NYC public schools, and along with the “Acting White” problem, there were a few other major problems which I identified, that also get ignored because they don’t fit in with the left’s narrative. Those include:
* The students are trained to believe that all their problems are somebody else’s fault.
* Conversely to the “Acting White” issue, those students performing at the lowest levels and with the worst behavior problems are somehow the role models of their peers in this upside down world.
* The time-tested and proven (by Mayor Giuliani) “broken windows” principle is never applied. In fact, it’s the opposite of this principle, inasmuch as if something does get repaired, then it immediately becomes a target for more vandalism. Also, “mild” behavior problems (such as verbal threats) get virtual ignored, and even more serious problems (assaults not involving serious injury) often result in nothing more than a suspension.
* Teachers spend far more time on trying to maintain discipline than they do on any actual education.
* The above-average students (who would be far below average in most other schools)are deluded with regard to how well they are being prepared for like after high school, and most teachers either ignore or even encourage those unrealistic expectations.
* Getting white students and teachers to appreciate other cultures is by far the greater goal, as opposed to any kind of appreciation for, or assimilation to, the mainstream culture in our country. While most students in these schools have moderate English fluency, almost all of them are illiterate regarding the expressions, idioms, and history that relate the mainstream culture.
And I could go on and on, but you all get the idea.
This is no different then when one black calls another black an “Uncle Tom”. Who should really be offended and pi$$ed off are white people. It just goes to show the country who blacks really hate and who they think that the enemy really is. It is “whitey”. Now let’s reverse the racial roles here. One white person calls another white person an “N lover” for hanging out with black friends. We all know what would happen to the white kid. He would be expelled from school and reported to police for starting a riot by inciting racial hatred. It’s all part of the liberal racial double standard that the greivence industry peddles.
Look up Edward Banfield.
A lot of what he had to say pertained to delayed gratification vs. instant gratification.
BTTT
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