[ExI] Class Differences Among Black People

[Lee Corbin]

Olga writes

> [Lee wrote]
> 
>> As explained in the chapter on slavery in Thomas Sowell's
>> "White Liberals and Black Rednecks", England alone
>> deserves the lion's share of the credit for stopping it,
> 
> Thomas Sowell doesn't talk much about white privilege
> (not just in the U.S., but around the world) because in
> his role as a Latter-Day Tom (hey, the name even fits)
> he cannot afford to. (And don't tell me white privilege
> doesn't exist, into today - big time.)

Actually, white privilege, as you say, does exist in every single
country (except Zimbabwe) where there are significant numbers
of whites. It seems to be the natural order, somehow. Even in
Japan, the whiteness of their skins was a point of pride, and
the Japs only grudgingly admitted, when they encountered them,
that Europeans were fairer than themselves. (They still maintained
that their *women*, however, were even whiter than the
Europeans.)

Sowell certainly admits that white privilege exists, but, yes, he
does not dwell upon it at length, to uselessly whine about it.
Instead, he tries to *explain* it, at least insofar as what 
changed in America around 1900.

Who are the three most politically prominent black people to
have obtained high office in the United States?  That would be
Justice Thurgood Marshall, Justice Clarence Thomas, and
Condoleeza Rice, I think. All of them are middle or upper
class (especially as denoted by the linguistic difference of 
pronouncing their g's --- see separate thread).

In his book, Thomas Sowell's huge complaint is that racism
against blacks was almost entirely absent in the north before
1900. Neighborhoods were completely integrated. But then,
huge numbers of blacks from the deep south, sporting their
southern redneck culture (which can be traced back to southern
whites, and further back to the Scots-Irish, Scotch, and Irish
before them, and to Celts going all the way back to Julius
Caesar's time).

His even bigger complaint is that until the last 30 or 40 years,
all the pathologies with redneck culture were being slowly
eradicated.  The Scotch people themselves spontaneously
reformed between 1700 and 1750, though, unfortunately,
the migration to North America occured *before* that happened.
The annoying fact is that black redneck culture has been and
is being *celebrated*  and promulgated by the media, and
by liberals, and is actually making inroads into middle-class
black families. He mentions several times the horror of middle
class parents  seeing their own children corrupted by lower
class peers, greatly abetted by the media, and the media's
celebration of low class among blacks, as if black people
were capable of no better.

> IMO one needs to get a fuller perspective on this issue, Lee - not just from 
> the white perspective, but from the black perspective (and not just dealing 
> with slavery per se, but its after effects).  There are many many books out 
> there that will give you a snootful, like this one called ...
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Toms-Coons-Mulattoes-Mammies-Bucks/dp/082641267X

Well, you see an eyefull just from the first reviewer who says

          this book is a must for all.never mind that folks try to say that tv
          or entertainment doesn't matter.that's b s. cuz the images of
          african-americans from the film world,sports world&music world
          have left a lasting impact.and lets be honest what other race of
          people have been emulated,influential&scorned all at once from
          a visual image?

Most doubtless.  (Another, more serious reviewer says

          This book is an excellent history lesson about African-Americans
          in feature films. Mr. Bogle explores the images that were put out
          in the past, and explains the social thoughts and attitudes that
          brought them about. The title refers mainly to the type of roles
          African-Americans had in films, esp. those that were produced
          in the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's and 1950's.

Okay, so what?  What has this got to do with "white privilege"?

Anyway, my main point here has been that it's a pity that southern
redneck culture with its many attendant problems and pathologies
has been taken over as somehow "authentically" black, and that
many black people who adopt standard English, or who dress
well, or attain any intellectual sophistication are deemed
"inauthentic", or, as was said, are "Uncle Toms".  Now *that*
is racist, if you ask me.

Lee