Thursday, March 27, 2008

Aren't Black Americans AMERICAN? What am I missing?


Dan Springer on FOX has just interviewed a leader of "Blacks on Track", which has decided that Eugene, Oregon needs to be more welcoming to ALL Americans, and so they are giving training on how to speak to Black Americans. Apparently, Oregon has decided it has to be more sensitive to their needs, since there is only a very small percentage of Blacks there in Eugene.
"We need to treat them as if we had a lot of people coming here from China," said the representative from this group. (Z: From CHINA? These are AMERICANS, pal!)
"The exact nature of cultural diversity training is still being worked out. But examples could include alerting visiting athletes to the kinds of restaurant foods, hair care salons or religious services that they might be accustomed to frequenting."
(Z: I hope the religious services don't include Rev Jeremiah Wright!)

“We can tell people about Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen, but if they’re more into pan-Asian, we can let them know that Ring of Fire is right down the street,” Fincher said. “We’re just highlighting what the community has to offer, not creating anything new.”
"Green said he hopes no one will feel patronized or insulted by being asked to consider issues of cultural diversity. “Everyone should be in a position in life to learn,” he said. “No one has the market cornered on intelligence.”
(Z: Well, not to be too unkind here, Mr. Green, but it's clear that you don't.)
You know, I love soul food, but I love burgers and steaks and pasta and burritos, chop suey and shish kebob, too!...and I'm thinking Black Americans do, too. How's about just sucking it up and eating Eugene, Oregon food for a while.....is that going to slow track stars down?
We all want to be kind to our fellow man, but can you teach kindness/diversity/sensitivity? Really? Doesn't this make for more division? "You are this, we're that...we eat this, you eat that.." And, does welcoming Black American athletes to town really equate with welcoming Chinese athletes from BEIJING?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope everyone in Eugene is well versed in ebonics, lest anyone be offended.

[Pulling out hair]

Karen Townsend said...

My husband and I saw this report and at first my husband thought he had the city wrong. He said, "Where is this?" and when I confirmed it was Oregon he was a flabbergasted as I was. It's so absurd, it would be funny if it didn't show such breathtaking ignorance.

People are people. As a matter of fact, if they were from China they would want the complete American experience, food and all. Just as my husband does when he's in a foreign land. That's why people travel, if it's not strictly business.

Idiots. Only in America.

Z said...

Sad, isn't it, mustang. How utterly insulting to the Black community. I'd be cringing if I were Black.

Karen....excellent point. Except my husband and I took a boat from Vienna to Budapest once and 12 of the 30 or so people aboard happened to be Japanese. We got on that boat at 8:30 AM and, at lunch time, while we were served fabulous Hungarian sausages, peppers, etc., the Japanese brought out BOXED SUSHI LUNCHES! Where they found that at 8:30 AM in VIENNA, I don't know.

BUt, yes...foreigners want to try the flavors of a new country USUALLY. And, for Pete's sake....BLACK AMERICANS are AMERICANS, not foreigners!!

it's so stupid.

Anonymous said...

Hi All.
I have a friend (a conservative) who has a daughter (a tree hugger, and all around lefty loon) who lives in Eugene. My friend tells me that when she visits her daughter she feels as though she landed smack dab in the 60's.
VW buses and all!

Those people have meetings to decide what they should protest! You see, image is everything. Ha.

Obviously the liberal mind has suffered a case of arrested development, and decided if one's skin color is black it warrants treating that person like a five year old.

Wow, just the way to make friends and influence people!

Of course to be serious for a moment, this kind of approach is racist, but the clueless lefty brigade never misses a chance to feel good about themselves. And isn't that really what they've always been about?

Pris

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Oregon.

Sniff sniff.

Democrat.

Anonymous said...

This is INFURIATING! If I was a business owner in Oregon I would tell them to shove their "diversity" training straight up their a---- with a square-nosed shovel!

I wrote a piece about race relations at my blog. It's entitled "Things We Can Help, Things We Can't."

I noticed that JINGOIST'S Corner not on your sidebar? :-)

Morgan

Anonymous said...

Send 'em to AFRICA. I'm effng SICK, FED UP and TIRED of "THEM."

In fact I'm sick and tired of ALL people who make an "issue" of who they are and a Holy Show of how they've been treated historically.

I'm sick and tired of "special interest groups" and "identity politics."

I'm sick and tired of people making DEMANDS instead of OFFERING to do whatever they CAN to make this a more pleasant world.

I'm sick and tired of NEGATIVITY, of GLOOM and DOOM, of NAYSAYING.

I'm sick and tired of HYPOCRISY, and I am consumed with RAGE at the high level of ANGER too many people allow themselves to indulge in ALL THE TIME.

I'm sick and tired of BEING sick and tired.

And now I'm going to hunt through my archives to find my ancient copy of REBECCA of SUNNYBROOK FARM or ANNE of GREEN GABLES and retreat into a semblance of SANITY and DECENCY.

Have a nice day!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

~ FreeThinke

Brooke said...

**SPUTTER**

Wha....? How to SPEAK to black Americans?!?

HOW ABOUT ENGLISH?!?

Z said...

Pris..right! "make friends and influence...VOTES"

Morgan! I am SO sorry. It's a privilege to have your Townhall JINGOIST'S CORNER on my blogroll now! Thanks for blogrolling me....who knew!? I'm going to read your piece today...sounds good; you're always good.
"square nosed shovel" ..yoweeee!

Well, Free Thinker; you never hide how you REALLY feel, do you. It's refreshing, friend....I must admit. I watch Leave if To Beaver when I feel like you do! Or I Love Lucy! it does help.

I can't agree with "SEND THEM TO AFRICA", but there are some people who might merit that trip. (America would, Especially BLACK AMERICA, if Jesse Jackson, Sharpton, Rangel.....SHIP, AHOY!!... oh, yes)

Brooke. Can ya STAND it?

Anonymous said...

Z I read your great response to my rant at the Corner. I really enjoyed it and responded about what it's like here in the south. Thanks!

Morgan

Z said...

Morgan, MY pleasure. You write so well and you need to be READ MORE! at Jingoist's Corner at TOWNHALL (on my blogroll)..shameless plug for my buddy!

Z said...

Johnny Mac, I could NOT agree with you more, and that's exactly the point of my tirade. Are we not ALL AMERICAN? Since when are they to be treated like Chinese from BEIJING, right?

THEY are the ones who should be outraged, but they're the ones promoting Blacks on Track. Think of it.

glad to have you hear. z