Who cares about physical appearance? I mean, is someone with a cleft-palate less of a man than someone without? Of course they are not, so why would black people be any different?

To go back to the question of multi-racial identity, and whether it is offensive to call somebody with black/white parentage black (or white).

Well....it is a disgusting, yet factual, truth that this goes back to the days of legalized apartheid..er..segregation in the United States.

In other words, all the white heritage in the world didn't change the fact that if you had a semi-permanent tan and "nappy" hair...you were black. End of story.

So you see automatically shunning the white part of a black-white person's heritage was a survivial move; a way to ensure that the child didn't go into a restaurant and try to eat in the whites only section claiming their white heritage and end up getting lynched.

edited 7th Dec '11 7:16:47 AM by TheStarshipMaxima

Everyone cares about physical appearance.

The differences are more extreme than that.

edited 7th Dec '11 7:15:34 AM by TheWesterner

Not really. I don't look at a black person and recoil in disgust, most people are not horrific racists. Now if someone is unkempt and dirty, that's a bit less about physical appearance and a bit more about the person being unhygienic. So, for the most part, beyond the desire to bone someone, physical attractiveness does not come into it.

Physical appearance is huge part of the equation when you first judge someone from afar.

Maybe not most, but I can say a decent sized population is a horrific racist.

Thanks.

edited 7th Dec '11 7:27:12 AM by TheWesterner

I don't think that he is saying that Black people are unattractive, he's just saying that you usually can easily tell if someone is or isn't Black. Which is true, albeit fairly unimportant for most purposes.

OK, yeah. But why should a visceral gut reaction define our judgement of someone. It is entirely irrational to judge people before getting to know them, even though it is natural to respond instantly, but we should not let the prejudices formed colour our future experiences.

I meant physical appearance. All I am saying is that beyond the desire to fuck people, physicality is unimportant. Yeah, there is a physical difference between black people and white people, but why does that matter?

edited 7th Dec '11 7:27:38 AM by YeahBro

Well, if you had to recommend a sunscreen cream, it might be relevant...

But really, I think that we all are in substantial agreement here. No one is saying that different "races" should not be allowed to breed together, nor that they have different degrees of intellectual abilities, or anything like that. So... what are we discussing about, exactly?

edited 7th Dec '11 7:31:36 AM by Carciofus

@Starship: The fact that every half (or even quarter) black person I know self-identifies as black is probably a holdover from that. Having visible black roots usually leads to society looking at you as a black person, for better or worse.

I dunno, I have just been saying that I don't think that race should really matter in this enlightened era. People are people, sub-classifications beyond that are arbitrary.

Physical appearance is an important part of the human condition and it serves a purpose beyond simply banging purposes.

Physical appearance can tell you a lot about someone, about their occupation, their physical fitness, age; a great many things.

Where race comes in, I don't believe in race discrimination, but I do believe in race diffrentiation. I think it is cool that we're different. That an Irish guy will look better with red hair than I will, but I might look better bald than he.

Just saying, we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss physical appearances.

Enlightened Era ?

Sorry, I'm just being a bitter old man again.

edited 7th Dec '11 7:42:59 AM by TheWesterner

What's with self-proclaimed cynics and referring to themselves as old-men? You're taking me back to my high-school days, son.

I'm a self-proclaimed optimist. I just suck at being an optimist.

Well Town, then you have folks who, like me, are 90% fully Black, and yet if you ask them what they are they'll peddle their 0.2% Navajo heritage, or their 3.1% Irish heritage.

Anything, to avoid identifying as Black.

Edit: Who exactly is the Badass Corscian in your avatar? Oh, I get it, it's Mr. Bonaparte. Badass indeed.

edited 7th Dec '11 7:49:49 AM by TheStarshipMaxima

Yeah Bro, stop referring to your whiny and angsty teenage days. It's getting old.

I was terribly afraid of black people as a child. I don't even know why, but I was always reduced to a whimpering, quivering wreck while dealing with them. I seriously thought they would grab and eat me if they had the chance to... thankfully I'm not like that anymore.

I was speaking to Yeah Bro, not to you bro.

edited 7th Dec '11 7:58:44 AM by kay4today

I was never angsty as a child. I've always been happy go lucky.

@kay That's what my mom felt like too, but not as extreme.

@Starship Town and I are avatar bros.

edited 7th Dec '11 7:59:28 AM by TheWesterner

Yep; the full portrait was even better, but unfortunately, it wouldn't have all fit on the screen.

Mind = Blown. I've seen that pic somewhere before; nice choice.

edited 7th Dec '11 8:01:18 AM by tropetown

@Westerner - Holy Shit! It's Napoleon ON A FUCKING BIKE! (Hm, I wonder if I can photoshop one with him sitting on the Enterprise's bridge wearing a gold command tunic with captain's stripes.....)

And go easy on Kay. If we jump on her (him?) too hard, then she might revert to her negro-paranoia.

Kay is a she..... I think.

Here's a different Napoleon on a bike pic.◊

edited 7th Dec '11 8:17:38 AM by TheWesterner

Just gotta pop in to say this:

I'll never forget the day that a stereotypically 'gangsta' Black kid interrupted some know-it-all geek in the middle of a rant on literature to systematically dismantle his whole argument piece-by-piece, topping it all off with a "you dumbass nigga" that proved to be a juxtaposition so sublime, the teacher walked over and high-fived him on the spot.

Legend has it that he lives on, forever, in the halls of the old school, parting the pages of dust-caked copies of Shakespeare and Homer in order to partake of not only the words, but also the smell of good readin'.