Is it that hard to respect it?

I was surfing the web, and came across yet ANOTHER news article about Obama and his self identification...I was not intentionally looking for it, it just kind of popped up when I was looking for something else...and well, curiosity as usual, killed the cat, and I looked.

There is one thing about biracial people that annoy me, and that is the lack of disrespect of other's self identification, and the need to rely on celebrities and politicians.

We should already expect and not be too surprised when people think we are black (or white, or whatever, depending on what you look like), and then treat you as such (we all know America will treat you however they want mostly based on your race). I have heard of accounts from other biracial people where some get mistaken for Mexican, Indian or Arabian, and they had to deal with racial issues from that situation. One biracial guy once said, its hell at the airport because he gets mistaken for a middle easterner, and America is still weary about that whole airplane situation (I am more scared of the plane crashing in an accident than I am of a terrorist attack on a plane again).

So because we should expect others not to know our race, we can therefore assume even after they know our race, they won't understand the dynamics of it.

But what irks me, is when biracial people get upset at how other biracial people self identify. I have seen some that prefer to say they are white, and others black, one guy decided he would bleach himself, and get with a white woman to "rid himself of any blackness". A different guy decided he would fully reject his white side, even his white mother.

I have already talked about the difference between self hate and self identity. Its obvious those two self hate, but there are some that do prefer to choose "white" or "black", and honestly to me, they have their reasons, and who am I to say that is wrong? Sometimes I say I am biracial, other times I will say I am black. I do not feel that close to my black side (my dad nor his family were in my life), but when it comes to racial matters, sometimes I feel as though I can identify with them (although not always).

But in articles (such as the most recent one), alot of biracial people want to force the "biracial" label onto Obama. I once said to my mom, biracial people can be the most least understanding of one another...and self identity is the very reason why.

Obama was born in the 1960s, a much different time period than 2009. My mom was in 7th grade when her school was desegregating...and that too was in the 1960s...

But I have noticed in some biracial people a strong desire to want Obama and even Halle Berry to identify strictly as biracial and not black.

One guy once said he finds it wrong for biracial people to identify as black, and says its demeaning, YET, he applauded this one biracial girl when she said she self identifies as white, and hates her black side, because of her father...

Pending on how you were raised, the need for biracial role models could be strong or weak. For me, I never really needed to have someone biracial, seeing a black person, regardless of shade, was satisfactory for me.

My mom bought me a few black barbies along with my majority white barbies. I loved the last black barbie I owned, before I gave up barbies. Oddly enough though, majority of my baby dolls were black, and few were white.

I find there is a great dependency biracial people have on politicians and celebrities. As if they expect them to use their "powers" to bring the problem to light. If black people had to fight as long as they did to get rights, and are still having to fight the battle...I can tell you now, trying to get a celebrity to identify how you want them to, won't do anything.

The biracial battle is not everyone's battle. Some people have bigger worries. And some people don't want to identify as biracial. Just as much as you want to be seen as biracial, someone else may not. Self identity is based on your life, and experiences.

Role models can be a bad thing, looking up to someone can turn into idolizing, and almost always ends badly, because the person puts them too high on the pedestal. Maybe the problem lies in the fact that, we seem to need biracial role models, when we do not. Maybe all this time one is looking at it the wrong way.

Why not have role models that each represent parts of your race?

Maybe the problem is, biracial people want to have a unity of their own the same way blacks have one and whites have one, but why not just be the group that breaks down that unity for an even bigger one?

I am not saying mixing will end hate and racism, it won't, racism will just merely become about what you are mixed with, and the shade you are within your own mix. But what I am saying is, maybe biracial people are going about the whole thing the wrong way.

I guess what I am saying is, we have to respect each biracial person's choice in self identity. We have to realize, that we are different in some ways from mono-racial people, yet we are similar too. Right now, biracial people are too dependent on celebrities and politicians to do things for them, many not even taking the initiative themselves. You cannot rely on celebrities to do it for you, in fact I doubt some of them even care.

I do this blog to relate to race and biracial people. But by no means is it the center of my life. Does it have a bearing on who I am in life? yes, but is it the only thing in my life? no.

If biracials can be black, can blacks be biracial??

I did a post on indirect mixing and direct mixing. I was looking at a blog at Wordpress, called Abagond.

The problem with this blog is that many of its readers seem to be misinformed when it comes to biracial people. The author seems to get the realities of racism spot on, but whenever he does a blog about biracial people, for the most part, he is off, and his readers are even more uneducated about the topic.

Many things, especially the black readers, will say about biracials, is that they "miscegenation has always been around, we are all mixed".

This line is usually used either to discredit the existence of biracials or to somehow make a black person feel better or more special about being black.

This line though is highly inaccurate. What does mixing from 100 years ago have to do with today? If both of your parents are visibly black, then how does that relate to having one parent being white?

Biracials who are strictly raised by their white side only (with no black influence from family), often feel less black, simply because they were deprived of their black culture.

Some ask, if a biracial person can be black, then couldn't a black person be biracial?

No. The answer is no. Biracial people are treated like black people in society, as of right now, mulatto is not an official race. As of right now, biracial is merely a title. But when you are the product of an interracial relationship, you have the choice to self identify with one of your races.

But when you are the product of a mono-racial relationship, you are not able to self identify because you are not directly of multiple races to do so.

I get insulted when I hear black people act as if being biracial is the same thing as being black. Biracials do have a black experience, as they are considered black in society...but being biracial also has an experience of its own.

As I mentioned about having only white members of the family in one's life...that will bring about a different outlook than someone who has either both their parents, or only their black side or being born black in general.

In the end, when I hear people act as if black is the same as biracial, I can't help but wonder...are they this ashamed of being black, that pretending they are biracial will make them happier? Or are they this hateful and fearful of biracials one day having a race of their own, that they will do or say anything to prevent that?

Diverse?

This doesn't so much have to do with being biracial, but more of a racial thing as a whole.

If you look at college campus websites they often boast about being "diverse". I walk around my college campus, and very rarely I will see a white person and a black person speak to each other as if they were actually friends.

I see mostly white, black, and asian. I do see some Indian and Mexican, but not as much. But it seems like everyone sticks with their own.

I have been observing in my history class something weird. I notice quite often when a white person walks in, they often head to the back of the lecture hall, and will sit over there even if its cramped, simply because mostly whites sit there. They often seem more hesitant about sitting with blacks. Even if the area a black person is sitting at has a lot of space, most whites prefer to sit in the more cramped white area in the back. Black people on the other hand, usually do not care where they sit, as long as they get a seat, they will sit by whites, even if the white person doesn't want them there.

My city is one of those cities that is very self segregated and racist. So its really no surprise.

I do not really fit in anywhere at my school. I just do my own thing by myself. Most people in this school came in with "prepackaged" friendships, meaning they brought along their high school friendships and etc and have no care to make new friends.

But its weird, my school boasts being the most diverse campus in the state, yet oddly enough, there is little to no diversity.

It seems like colleges have a different idea of what is "diverse". We all know colleges will say anything to get students. They will boast about some achievement from a decade ago, if they know it will make them look better. And colleges also have the tendency to leave things out, and of course they will say its not their fault, and will say, its yours for assuming something in the first place.

So naturally a college campus will boast about diversity, especially when even though the campus is mostly white, there is a good number of blacks, asians and other groups there too. Colleges stick with the general idea of diversity. When you hear "diverse", you think different cultures and races in one place. But what "diverse" really means is you see different races and/or cultures intermingling with each other.

Its sad to say that my high school was more diverse than this college and whats even sadder, is the fact that this college probably is the most "diverse" of all the colleges in this state.

Do you believe we are black first, biracial second?

There was an article about Obama and how he self identifies as a black man. Many white people refused to respect Obama's wishes. There was a comment that really made a great point.

The author of the comment, talked about how, calling Obama biracial, actually takes him down a peg. She stated that up until Obama, you were black, no one cared to call you biracial. She then proceeded to mention that people are only calling Obama biracial for two reasons, 1. is to throw political correctness in his face, as a way of getting revenge on the whole PC thing. and 2. because it makes many white people feel better about a black man being in office. She then stated that, if Obama is unsuccessful, he will be seen by blacks as biracial, and whites will see him as black. The author of the comment then said something that sounded very good. She stated that biracial people are "black first, and biracial second". She stated, one only becomes biracial to others when those people see fit.

The comment made perfect sense to me. To society, I am black. Biracial, is only considered a personal title in the US, right now. There are some people, who know I am biracial, and see me as biracial. But to most, I am black. When people meet me, they FIRST assume I am black, and after finding out I am biracial, will sometimes SECONDLY say I am biracial.

But essentially most people, even after finding out that I am biracial, treat me like a black person.

I think about history. There were some successful biracial people. They too were black first. And it makes sense you know? Because, being biracial really meant nothing to society, when the black race couldn't even get equal rights.

But I have seen the whole "biracial when one sees fit" all to much. Its one thing for the biracial person to interchange between black and biracial...but its pretty annoying when people in society see you as black one minute, then you do good, and now you are biracial.

I think that is the reason Obama said he identifies as black, because he felt it was wrong how people want to attribute good to "biracial", because that somehow means being half white "saved" him....that and he also probably identified as black for the political advantages (which I seriously don't blame him for doing, I mean, one should take advantage of their opportunities, and in this case, their race).

But, even though I am biracial, I am also black. The society we live in, treats you based on race...some individuals may treat you based on your title, and not your race...but very few.

I just feel its a major insult to assume that somehow being half white saves you. I get insulted by the word nigger just like I do by the word mongrel. A boy once told me, that I am okay because I am half white. I hope to God he was joking when he said that. But one of his good friends, happened to be a racist who hates black people.

You can't help but wonder if some biracial people, simply state they are black, not because of some connection they feel with their black side, but because they are making a statement, that being biracial does not somehow make you better than black people.

We are still a society that likes to claim one someone else's achievements. How many times have you heard the white person who listed all the achievements made by white people, and act as if he had something to do with it?

In the end, we are not just black first because of how we are seen in society to people who do not know we are mixed, but because we are fighting the same battles as black people, and the only way biracial people can get their rights as their own race, is by first getting rights for blacks in general. Will blacks care for our cause later on? No. But do we benefit from helping their cause? Yes, simply because we are just as affected as they are.

Obama-baby???

Ugh, I hate seeing words like "Obamanation", and words like "post-racial society". They both sound idiotic. I just recently came across the word "Obama-baby". Seeing that took me back to a conversation I was having with a black woman once. She asked who I voted for, and I said "independent". 2008, was my first election. I honestly did not know who to vote for...and I remember how I started to understand why my mom has never voted and doesn't care to ever vote either. I decided to go with an independent, simply because I was too scared with the question "What if the person I voted for, turns out to be very horrible??" I remember, it was a tough choice between Obama and McCain for me, I truly despise Sarah Palin, and was almost going to vote Republican (something not in my nature to do), until Palin was announced, her behavior was sickening to me. Anyways, after telling her my story, she was surprised I did not vote for Obama.

Next thing I know, I am being called an "Obama-baby", an obvious reference to the fact that Obama is biracial (or as he sometimes puts it, "black with a white mom").

I have been put off by all the nicknames, and abbreviations, I have found people using during the 2008 election and Obama's presidency. People complain about teens speaking/typing in IM, yet these same adults turn around and talk in abbreviations themselves....

But I really do not like the term "obama-baby". At the time I was called that, I just stared and gave a nervous laugh, im not a confrontational person, but I was definiately uncomfortable. And as I see the word again, I am once again disgusted.

For starters, I hate the term, as I was born BEFORE his election. And on top of that, I just don't like the idea of the President's name being inserted into some word, and then directed at me. I just do not like the hype. Am I biracial? Yes. Did Obama have anything to do with it? NO!

I am so tired of all these "political words". I am tired of hearing all the paranoia, conservatives and liberals have to offer. In fact, I hate politics in general. I have no problem admitting that politics is not the most important thing in my life (seriously, people get offended when you dare say there are more important things in your life than politics).

Race and IQ?

I never understood how some people can actually believe how smart you are is based on your race. Worse, I can't believe people actually fund scientists to "prove" this. It has always been obvious to me, and probably many others, that the biggest contributing factors to why blacks score lower than race, has to do with environment, and parenting.

I was looking at various websites trying to find out about IQ. In some cases, they lumped biracial people with their more dominant gene. In this case, biracial people were lumped with blacks. In other cases, they kept mixed race separate. Apparently one experiment ended up showing that biracial people who were raised by white moms, performed better than blacks and even whites. This was in the 1970s though. Since then, its been said, that biracial people do better than blacks, yet not as good compared to whites.

I have never taken an IQ test before. I was about to once, and was about 2 questions in it, when I realized, that I truly do not care to know my IQ.

I am one of those people who is against standardized testing. I hate the SAT, ACT, the high school standardized testings they make students take each year.

These tests are not neutral. Everyone's level of education is different. Every school is different. How can one take a test that does not take in account, for what they have and have not learned?

I have always felt a person's GPA said more about them than a stupid test score.

But I can't help but wonder, do people only do theses researches, to establish some kind of racial superiority?

Can any good come of it?

We all know the stereotype people that "black people are dumb". An experiment was once done on the subject of Stereotype threat. Blacks did better when they knew they were not being measured, compared to the ones that knew they were. It was explained that black people do worse, because of their fear of the stereotype.

But the only good that could possibly come from these racial IQ testings, is trying to find a way to fight it.

I truly believe smarts does not come from genetics, but from your environment. I am not going to go into a list of what I find wrong with the black community, and society itself, that could cause such a racial gap in IQ.

But, once you know the problem, accept that its a problem, and find a solution for yourself, you can then combat the problem itself.

Which one is it?

So I was bored and decided to go over to Youtube. Somehow I went from listening to Alicia Keys to watching a video where a black dude kept saying over and over that biracial people are black.

He was talking about how biracial people often do not want to be associated with their black side. He stated that, biracials are messed up for relating to their white side. Proclaiming that, biracials use it as an excuse to not embrace being black.

Normally I would shrug this kind of video off, as just some disgruntled dude, needing to vent, considering his video was mostly a response to some hater comments by a biracial person. But I could not help but pay attention to this video, not just because of some of the inaccuracies and accuracies he mentioned, but because I had seen another one of his videos months earlier in which he stated biracial people are NOT black.

But there are just so many things wrong with his video(s), yet some things that are correct.

He was correct in the fact that, we as biracials, should not act as if we are better than blacks. One thing he was correct about was the fact that to white people we are just as black. Just last night, when I was talking about my family and politics, a girl told me that its uncommon for black people to vote Republican (I am not Republican, but my family is). I then had to tell her that I am biracial, and my mom and her family, are white.

That is why I stated in a different post, "biracial" is pretty much a title right now.

But one thing that irked me the most in his vlog was that he said that acting white meant we were trying to appease to white people and deny our blackness.

I was raised in white culture, i like things made by whites and blacks. I hate hip hop and rap, but I love R&B, Disco, Funk, etc. I love pop, rock, classical, new age, but i despise country and heavy metal.

The man who does these videos has the tendency to rag on light skinned blacks and biracials.

What probably annoyed me the most was the uneducated and hateful comments, more than the video itself.

I noticed a conundrum in the comments. Often biracial people are told they are not "black enough". One person in the comments stated exactly what was on my mind.

When a biracial person self identifies as black, they are questioned for being black enough. Yet, when they identify as biracial, they are questioned for possibly denouncing being half black.

So like someone said, about the video maker's contradicting videos, Which one is it???