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LORETTA KEMSLEY

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Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particuliar care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice or Representation. Abigail Adams
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Member Since: 1/2009  Last Seen: 5/16/2012

Mayate and the White Man mistaken for a Black Teen

Seeded on Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:47 PM EDT
Read ArticleArticle Source: Salon.com
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Seeded by Loretta Kemsley
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As much as I despise the hundreds of years of racial conflict between Whites and Blacks....my reaction to minorities being racist toward one another is soul twisting, feral, almost visceral. When I hear a White person say "@!$%#" I am pissed, but I say "is THAT the BEST you can do?" and laugh because they obviously don't have the IQ or ammo to insult me in any other way. That said; I feel as if someone that stupid is BENEATH me so I let it roll right off of my back.

However, when I hear a person of color hurl it at another person of color it makes me want to beat their ass and weep for them and their horrible dysfunction at the same time. I can NOT let it just roll off of my back. It leaves a lasting wound that festers, scabs, and then breaks open anew each time it happens AGAIN.

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Loretta Kemsley

From the article:

Maybe it is unreasonable for me, a black woman, to expect that any other minority group would welcome me without any type of prejudice. That would be assuming that because they have skin that is not White, they have gone through the same types of struggles and identify with me. And, in turn, that means that I am forging a bond purely based on pigment and what it brings with it. Is that a weak bond at best? Am I silly for believing that minorities SHOULD be able to identify with each other, feel empathy, and not have any prejudices?

I remember clearly where I was and how I learned what Mayate meant.

I didn't know what mayate meant, so I looked it up:

The literal definition of mayate is a dung beatle but it is a derogatory term used by Mexicans for a dark skinned person.

  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:49 PM EDT
Auteur 1536

However, when I hear a person of color hurl it at another person of color it makes me want to beat their ass and weep for them and their horrible dysfunction at the same time.

I feel the same way. It's like, you don't like it when a white person calls an African American person the "n" word so why should an African American be allowed to call another African American the "n" word?

  • 2 votes
#1.1 - Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:05 PM EDT
Reply
spiritdance

Since I can't step into minority skin, I can't claim to fully understand, but I do know that my precious grandsons, who are white and Filipino, face hurtful comments and attitudes as much from the Filipinos we know as they do from the whites. Additionally, since my son-in-law joined our family, I have gotten a shocking view of the disdainful attitudes many of his Filipino acquantances and relatives (but not him, thankfully) hold toward Blacks and Hispanics. As someone who has worked hard all my adult life to guard against the racist attitudes I was exposed to as a child, I find this perplexing and heartbreaking. In contrast, the adults in our immediate family have all made a concerted effort to teach my grandsons that such attitudes are not only wrong and hurtful to those they are aimed at, but harmful as well to the capacity of those who hold them to realize their full growth as human beings. No one who must devalue others to value him or herself can ever hope to truly reach his/her full potential.

  • 1 vote
Reply#2 - Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:41 PM EDT
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