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[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

Why aren't Jamaicans black? Don't people consider Bob Marley black?

[–]HeyImSancho 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

I think it's more a dig at how Kamala's own father apparently said she's portraying herself far different than she was actually raised; too boot, I've also read that her family owned slaves. Both of these aspects, will cause scrutiny over what she states, or portrays herself as; yet, sometimes, that scrutiny can obviously fall short in many ways.

Having said that though, I lived on a Caribbean island; Kamala's actual light coloring would place her in 'higher class'; at least from what I saw, and experienced. Racism is alive, and well within those communities, as well as Latino communities; always the race away from being called too 'Native', or too 'dark'.

So in Mexico, the skin lightening, sun screen, or whitening aisles have huge selections, while in the Caribbean, hair straightening, and I guess the same lightening aisles were astonishing to see.

[–]2436400138 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Astonishing to see white women who curl their hair, tan, put collagen in their lips and implants in their buttocks. Ever heard of fashion?

[–]HeyImSancho 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

same goes for any race, I don't know your point, as obviously you didn't get mine, I wasn't talking fashion. I was relaying what I actually lived; is there something wrong with that?

I notice in today's world, there's a lot of folks telling others to shut up; do you agree with this strategy? It's part of the greater Command, and Control, or slave narrative playing out.

[–]2436400138 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Your reaction is very curious. I presented an alternative lens on the matter and instead of examining whether your assumptions about Caribbean people are correct you get defensive.

I am a Caribbean person, born and bred. Two types of people, university professors and foreigners, insist on telling us what are the motivations of our actions and don't listen to what we say.

Living in the Caribbean doesn't make you one of us. It doesn't make you an anthropologist. We may welcome you here but you see us through your lens and not ours. In fact, this entire thread is seeing Kamala Harris through an American lens not a Jamaican lens. The British approach to race and slavery was different from the American approach. If you are not white you are black. That does not necessarily mean Negro. Anyway, back to the issue of hair and skin bleaching.

Caribbean people like people anywhere enjoy fashion. We've worn our hair in Afros, Souls, Jerry Curls, S-curls, braiding, extensions, wigs and relaxed hair. We do it because it's cool, fashionable, and sometimes for practicality. Like fashion everywhere it changes over time. We aren't silly people who think that our straightened hair makes us look white. It hasn't even been popular in over twenty years.

As for skin lightening, when I was growing up people did it to relieve hyper-pigmentation from too much sun, scarring, acne and aging. Only recently, has it become a thing with some people to lighten their entire bodies and compared to rest of the population they are a small group. When asked about it they say they do it because they think it's cool and because their friends are doing it. The very same reasons that whites give for tanning. They certainly aren't doing it for social mobility because they are ridiculed and mocked for it.

You are judging us using the lens of the place from which you come. The university professors I mentioned before have their careers and political agendas, just as they do in other countries. A simple answer like fashion won't further their careers, sell their books or result in speaking engagements.

Racism exists in the Caribbean, I'll give you that but it doesn't express itself the way it does in other places. Yes, there was a time that Eurocentric styles made it easier to get office jobs but that was a long time ago. We have moved on and it's a little frustrating that some people won't let us get on with the business of no longer being slaves and instead be free people who can wear our hair or style our bodies any way we want.

African tribes have been wearing wigs and hair extensions as a part of their long tradition. Pretty soon someone is going to tell them it's because of the slave narrative. lol.

So in this case, it's people like you who keep telling us to shut up.

Edit: spelling

[–]HeyImSancho 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Note I said, 'from my experience' in my first post. Likewise everyone else has their experiences. It's been proven that 2 people looking at the same thing, will experience differently.

I appreciate your longer post, as it gives depth, and clarity to your first. It also shows conviction, and sincerity to the topic.

I've experienced on this site, and others, people writing a few words, to 1 line posts that I don't always 'get', by default, for myself usually, I interpret these as a means of, "'gotcha', the rest of the world will know too!!!" It's like some sort of home team playbook thing, 'yeah, I put them in their place'. I've had enough of those, I do refer to them as 'shut up' posts.

Your 1st post, seemed like such to me:

Astonishing to see white women who curl their hair, tan, put collagen in their lips and implants in their buttocks. Ever heard of fashion?

To answer this simply, yes, fashion exists. There are beauty stores, and specialty stores for this. I'm a man, and don't do 'fashion'. I'm an anti-consumer, if such a thing exists. I shop at thrift stores for my clothes, and buy most all I have second hand. My cars are older, and repaired rather than replaced with new. I'm not rich, but at the same time, for common stuff, feel rich by the way I live, and due to the way I live, I can afford those unexpected 'oh shits' in life.

I don't do fashion myself, but do eat, and in reviewing my first post, and looking at your's I see the disconnect. When I'm talking aisles, I'm talking grocery stores; the only stores that for the most part exist in my mindset as necessary. These stores carry 'staples'. It's in these stores that I saw these extreme aisles.

The places I lived also had 'fashion' stores, so to see the 'staple' specialty aisles in grocery stores, well, in my eyes, and with all the warnings of 'don't go here, or there, because of...(by the locals)' My experience still stands. I returned to the US in 09', so perhaps it's all different now.

I will say, when I was there, I saw more racism by non whites to other non whites than I'd ever experienced before.

With this clarification, and knowing you're willing to participate, what next?

EDITED TO ADD FOR CLARITY: (by the locals)

[–]sawboss[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

It looks like you're attempting to debate an SJW. Are you sure you wouldn't rather eat broken glass?

https://files.catbox.moe/krj4wd.jpeg

[–]HeyImSancho 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Sometimes the conversations are beneficial. I was discussing alternatives to the New Green Deal with a hardcore supporter on another site. There are alternatives available that won't 'hit' the poor man first, but instead the corporations. I explained in detail about the creation of renewed mom, and pop cottage industries that could be created. I had other ideas, but........

I was literally told to shut 'my trap you twat', and without addressing any points I raised as possible alternatives to subjugation of people, well, 'your argument is moronic'.

At some point, somewhere I wasn't a 'threat' as such, I guess meaning neo-conservative, and in a friendly, but direct way they proceeded to go on to explain about how all people are stupid, and we need to be told what to do for our 'own good'; we only have 12 years!!!!!!! They really believe that we must submit to all circumstances presented to us, and stated those folks flying around in private jets making speeches on global warming, shouldn't have to fly commercial because of their 'dedication to the cause'.

Just made my head spin, I try to comprehend where folks are coming from; sometimes, meme's like yours hit the nail on the head, LOL.