IBK’s JOURNAL (Entry 13)
November 19
This is going to be an entry that might be more boring than usual, but it’s an interesting topic to me. Racism.
I watched ‘Dear White People’ awhile back and it made me realise that racism is actually deeper than we think. What particularly caught my interest was when the protagonist explained that black people couldn’t be racist. I was very surprised and thought she didn’t know what she was saying. She explained her reason for saying this, but there were too many words.
So I went to the trusty Internet and Googled “Can black people be racist”. And it turned out that no, they cannot.
If you go by the dictionary meaning where racism is defined simply as the hate/feeling of superiority of a race towards another, then yes, a black man can be racist.
However racism goes beyond that, in the opinion of some people. There has to be a system in place for oppression to occur for racism to not just be prejudice (which is actually what the dictionary meaning really means).
A black man cannot be (fully) racist, because he has no means to oppress another race socioeconomic wise.
It’s an interesting thought really and I oversimplified it, I think, but I feel it is valid. Many people will disagree with the above perhaps in trying to have some degree of self-righteousness of some sort. If it’ll help, perhaps replace ‘racism’ with ‘homophobia’, which is not merely hate but also oppression. Do the same with ‘misogyny’. Tribalism in Nigeria would be a huge problem if there was a system in place to oppress certain tribes. I think Igbo people feel oppressed though, from a few things I’ve heard sha.
I think that definition adding oppression arose because people would try to trivialize the importance of racism by saying a black man can be racist, but darling, black men aren’t being picked over jobs at the expense of white men, and black kids aren’t being shot for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s kind of a bit like Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter. Yes, all lives do matter, but right now, black lives are in danger. ‘All lives matter’ is just a red herring. It’s detracting from and trying to bury the Black Lives Matter movement.
And I’ve also heard many Nigerians say that the basic African American’s wahala is too much. That every small thing, they shout racism. And I also used to feel the same. But then, I got a bit educated.
My favorite analogy to use in cases like this is a white man beating a black man with a whip for many years. Now, the white man is sorry, but the scars and wounds are still there. Is it wrong for the black man to want to ensure such never repeats itself or that the seriousness of the situation shouldn’t be made light of? You can’t blame the black man for having PTSD.
This is why I felt no sympathy for Ellen DeGeneres when she made the Usain Bolt joke. I love Ellen to bits but she pressed a sore spot, even if she didn’t mean to, and the reaction she got from black people is VALID. Sure, she was joking, but if you’re joking and hit somebody where it hurts, then whether or not you were joking should take the background. I’m glad she apologized. That was the right thing to do.
It does make me wonder though if the sins of slavery can or will ever be forgiven, because all you have to do is look at pictures or read stories for you to be saddened by the degree of suffering the black slaves went through. It makes we wonder if they didn’t know better? Didn’t they see it in our eyes that we were human like them and intelligent and could be so much if we worked together?
Why did it have to turn to us vs. them? I wish it’d stop being us against them; however many of them still insist of having high levels of prejudice, so I guess we have to fight back.
I saw a comment that quoted an excerpt from an article along the lines of: “…maybe people supporting Donald Trump is them trying to take back a country they believe is leaving them behind.” And I can’t help but wonder why they think persons of colour trying to catch up to them is them leaving them behind. White privilege people. White privilege.
There’s a possibility all I’ve said might seem high-ended and gives the vibe that the black man can do no wrong. But a black man hating a white man is a bad thing too. All in all, it’d be nice if you could keep it at the back of your mind that the dynamics run deeper than just hating when it comes to racism.
Written by IBK
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21 Comments
Cho
November 20, 07:09Racism is sad and baseless especially because the genes that code for skin colour is just about 10. compared to the billions of genes we have. It is lack of education.
In other news, I’ve been digging into my girlfriend’s past and discovered she has given about 3 or 4 guys blow job and I am very pained. I can’t seem to move past it. I can’t even bother to kiss her for now. Am I wrong to feel this way? The thing just dey pain me I swear. straight dude btw.
Pink Panther
November 20, 07:20This ‘past’ being before she met you, right? Were you a virgin when she met you? Had you never fucked any woman before her? If you have, then yes, you are wrong for feeling this way.
Cho
November 20, 15:23Thanks. Nope I wouldn’t survive in your gaybourhood o! I love high moral standards. I was a Virgin till 26 and only did it when my duck wanted to explode. lol. I am pained. I really am.
ambivalentone
November 20, 16:53And the gaybourhood is not having high moral standards? Well done.??
Delle
November 20, 17:39He just shaded the gay cocommunity, oh he just shaded the gay community.
And moral standards isn’t a sexuality thing, it has more to do with personality.?
ambivalentone
November 20, 18:34oh no. He prolly thinks being gay is wrong and immoral
Cho
November 20, 21:37Hey common man! why would I think so low of anyone’s choice?
I do have questions though…For educational purpose.
Delle
November 21, 10:36Shoot with the questions @Cho
Cho
November 21, 20:10Are people really born gay? has it been proven scientifically? also I read about a guy that started seeking out men to have sex with b cos he and his gf started experimenting with toys into his anus. does this conclude that being gay can also be acquired?
Delle
November 22, 00:20Yes, people can be born gay, Cho. I, for one, have NEVER had the hots for a girl in my life and I had my first crush at age 8, quite a longtime to make the proclamation. As for being proven scientifically, sexuality goes beyond science please.
Now, as for your friend. When you say being gay can be acquired it could translate to conversion, something unnatural which is definitely not so. Some people have their gay sides repressed due to some external factors like lack of exposure, intense homophobia in the immediate surroundings, limited or no room for exploration and what have you. The minute the person gets to excite that part of him, then the person’s gay side manifests like in the case of your friend. These people are called LATE BLOOMERS.
IBK
November 20, 20:14Your duck wanted to explode ??
Dear me.. What you have been doing to that poor duck I don’t want to know
Mandy
November 20, 07:32You are pained becos you were not her first blow job? ???????? This is funny to me, aswear. Thank God you’re straight then. You wouldn’t survive with that kind of sensitivity in the gaybourhood, where every boyfriend you get probably started sucking dick at 15.
Dontdropthathun
November 20, 08:11Idk i just find this so funny????….and its 12 please not 15 (for me at least) ?☕
Pink Panther
November 20, 08:29LMAO! Ptueh!
Drone
November 20, 11:21Well, 10. Js1
Jide
November 24, 13:07I can relate to his situation tho. When I begin to get the hots for some gay boys and I think of how they must have done the same thing with many other boys, I instantly begin to lose interest.
Queen Blue Fox
November 20, 08:02It’s alright to feel jealous at times when you think of moments someone you’re with has shared with others, but don’t let it get out of hand. As long as she is faithful to you and didn’t give any blow jobs to others while you 2 are together then you should be fine. Lol .
On a lighter note, that mouth must have been something for it to be paining you this way. Lol
Pink Panther
November 20, 08:08?????
Mandy
November 20, 07:22When Chimamanda Adichie chastised that irrelevant white man about white men not being able to define racism, I couldn’t understand why people came against her for her comments. She was right. White people cannot define racism, not really. I mean, they of course understand what racism is about, but they can’t really speak to what racism is about. Just as a straight person cannot fully get the scope of how oppressive homophobia is. And how (forgive me) trans women can’t fully grasp the struggle of women. #justsaying
IBK
November 20, 09:57I think what chimamanda was trying to say got lost in translation. She didn’t do a good job of saying it either. She probably meant a white guy doesn’t get to choose what is racist and what isn’t and for good reason too cause that white dude said Donald Trump isn’t racist.
If we allow the oppressors to define what oppression is then we are fucked big time.
Delle
November 20, 15:24This is going to be an entry that might be more boring than usual, but it’s an interesting topic to me. Racism
I’m gonna troll a lil by asking, “were you in anyway apologising to those who tag your entry ‘boring?'”
If you were, then that’s sad. You owe no one an explanation as to how to go about YOUR entries and I’m sure that’s why it’s titled, JAMES’ JOURNAL and not KD’S journal.
On the issue of racism, after Donald Trump’s victory at the elections, I realise it hasn’t died down in the least. It’s still very much predominant amongst the white folks.