Evasive-Revisionist-Asshole-American

African-American.

BULLSHIT.

Calling black people "African-American" is the ultimate in PC bullshit mind-control whitewashing.

As if it meant the same thing as Mexican-American, or Japanese-American.

As if they are just immigrants from Africa, come to the New World to chase the American Dream.

BULLSHIT!!!

First, they were AFRICANS.

Then, they were KIDNAPPED.

Then, they were CARGO.

Then, they were ENSLAVED BY AMERICANS.

They were used as the labor foundation for the Colonies.

(Free labor creates QUITE a spike in prosperity, don't you know.)

America FED off of the BLOOD of these poor enslaved people, for generations.

Then, eventually, way too late (which seems to be the American Style), people started to wise up a bit, decided maybe enslaving an entire race was kinda, uh, UN-AMERICAN.

And then the slaves were "freed", meaning they were released from literal bondage and delivered into cultural bondage.

And as there was no fleet of ships ready to whisk them back to THEIR OWN DISTANT CONTINENT, these ex-slaves had to put down roots in the very same land where their families had been tortured and murdered.

Generations later, due to the incredibly strong spirits of these African people, and in spite of the culture of repression held in place by the majority of Americans, these ex-slaves had finally risen to a place of true autonomy, economic independence (in a relative sense), true Freedom, insofar as freedom ever exists in America.

The American culture finally decided to embrace these people, these "black" people, as equals.

(Seems to me that if you can succeed as a race among an alien culture that does all it can to ruin you, then you are actually BETTER, not equal, but whatever, right?)

And so, as they had in past years jettisoned the obviously-offensive slang terms for ex-slaves (darky, boy, jigaboo, pickaninny, spade, nigger, etc.), Americans tried new, Progressive terms such as Negro, or Afro-Americans (which was a confusing term, as does the Jewfro qualify one as Afro-?). And the ex-slaves felt offended by these as well. So then "Black" seemed to the term to use, and worked fine for many years, until in their INTENSE compassion and racial sensitivity the PR branch of American culture decided to create a NEW, FINAL, and PERFECT abuse-free term for these descendants of African slaves:

African-American.

And once again, American culture drops a steaming turd.

African-American?

This term is a term of revisionist history, meant to absolve all white guilt related to black enslavement.

To call them African-Americans is to imply that their people chose to come to this country, that they came as free people, and were treated as equals.

To call them African-American implies that their African culture was valued, rather than beaten out of them.

Implies that they were ever considered Americans, even though they had the rights of livestock.

It ignores slavery. Ignores that the wealth of this nation was built on slavery.

Ignores that their entire relationship with America is one of enduring horrific uninvited abuse.

These Africans were kidnapped, tortured and murdered, treated as dangerous dumb animals, worked to death, bred like livestock, kept from any education, and finally set loose in the wild American frontier with no lifeskills, amidst an entrenched culture of discrimination and outright hostility.

They are NOT African-Americans. Not at all. You know who is?

Charlize Theron. Born in South Africa, emigrated to the U.S.

These descendants of slaves, are neither African OR American.

Their African culture was whipped out of them, and American culture never attempted to include them.

They are, Black People.

Why do I say this?

Because it's a simple slang term that refers to them by basic appearance (like you would refer to me as "That guy with the long curly hair and muttonchops"). And it seems to be the way they refer to themselves, which to me is a good indicator of what to call someone.

Like, if I know a guy who refers to himself as Mike, well shit, I'll call him Mike too.

Like calling Caucasians "White People". A simple slang term, that is only offensive if you WANT to take offense; there's no abuse in the term itself.

I know black people aren't actually black, and whites ain't white (except the English).

We COULD go with Brown people and Pinkish-Beige people...but that's just confusing and too wordy.

Or we could call them Kidnapped Africans Who Were Enslaved And Then Were Later Freed And Recognized As Human But Still Discriminated Against For Decades Until Finally Culture Evolved Enough That Bigots Were In The Minority And They Were Treated Mostly As Equals Even Though The Past Was Never Addressed...but again, wordy as fuck.

Really, it's not about the term. It's about being honest with ourselves. And calling these amazingly strong people, this entire race that managed to survive hundreds of years of abuse and repression, terror, debasement, everything, calling them African-Americans...just seems a little too easy on the White conscience. Like they just came over for the Freedom Fries, and stayed for the chunky white women.

I don't say African American. It's a PR term, invented by whites to whitewash white guilt. And worst of all, it's supposed to be used to HONOR black people, as a nonoffensive label they should be proud of. Because of all this, I never use the term African-American.

Also, I don't really know any black people.

 

R