Post by goddessoflight on Jul 1, 2007 12:11:18 GMT -5
If anyone responds, I will jump in later...However I do think based on the definition of imperialism...this definition needs a modifier to be accurate...
im·pe·ri·al·ism [im-peer-ee-uh-liz-uhm]
–noun 1. the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.
2. advocacy of imperial interests.
3. an imperial system of government.
4. imperial government.
5. British. the policy of so uniting the separate parts of an empire with separate governments as to secure for certain purposes a single state.
black american imperialism
============================
www.moralhealth.com/blog/_archives/2007/6/5/3000816.html
Black American Imperialism
by Laurence Thomas
For many blacks in the United States, the idea of black American imperialism is pretty much an oxymoron. You know how the argument goes: "How on earth can black Americans be imperialistic, given that (a) they and their descendents
were victims of slavery and were accorded second-class citizenship, at best and (b) their present standing remains that of second-class citizenship".
Alas, it is a truth—perhaps a surprising one—that the wrongs of slavery and social injustice do not at all prevent blacks Americans from being ever so imperialistic.
Examples are always helpful. One of the most stunning things is that black Americans suppose that their view of blacks applies to blacks throughout the world. Now, there can be no doubt that the struggle for equality on the part of blacks in the United States has had a most lugubrious effect upon the social standing of blacks throughout the world. But from this very poignant truth,
what most certainly does not follow by any stretch of the imagination is that how black Americans conceive of things for blacks applies tout court to blacks throughout the world. To think that it does is nothing but sheer arrogance.
Rap music is a very classic example of the imperialistic influence of black Americans. It is owing to its standing in the United States that rap music has come to have considerable standing in many, many countries throughout the world.
I do not claim that influence is a bad thing or even that influence in the area of rap is a bad thing. Just so, rap is a rather pristine example of the considerable influence of black Americans—an influence that many blacks in the United States are far too quick to deny.
I share the view that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. And that is a reason to bear history in mind. Bearing history in mind is one thing; ignoring fundamental changes is an entirely different thing. And it is disingenuous of blacks in the United States to do the latter.
For all of their so-called identification with Africa, what has to be said is that American blacks have proven themselves to be radically uninformed with regard to the richness of Africa and with regard to the ways in which they (black Americans) are different from the peoples of Africa.
I deliberately used the word "peoples". For it is very clear to the blacks who live on the continent of Africa that there are as many peoples in Africa black as there are in many peoples in Europe who are white.
This point profoundly speaks to the imperialism of American blacks, who are so busy insisting that all American-born blacks are the same that they go on to insist that blacks all over the world are the same. Ask a black in France where she or he is from, and that black will give you the name of a country.
It would not occur to her or him to respond: Africa. It is quite simple: Blacks are African like whites are European. In other words, the differences are real.
Here is another indication of black imperialism. Black Americans insist that gospel music is simply a reflection of their "African roots". Sounds nice in theory; however, this view has little basis in reality. And it is simply foolish to say that music itself has some special significance among Africans, since music has been a deep aspect of people's lives all over the world.
Although some of the most powerful and majestic singing I have ever heard came from blacks in Cape Town (South Africa), one could not mistake that music for American black gospel music even if one tried; nor did it sound like soul
music or the blues.
I have always supposed that American black gospel music was forged out of the experience of slavery in precisely the way that the tonality that we sometimes attach to the black voice in America was likewise forged out of the experience of slavery. I have supposed this ecause just as we do not find an obvious
analogue to black gospel music in Africa, we also do not find among blacks elsewhere an obvious analogue to the tonality that we often associate with the black American voice. Listen to a black born and raised in France or England or Germany, and the black will sound like any other person raised in these
countries. This is so although blacks in these countries are considerably closer to the continent of Africa than American blacks are and although many are first-generation citizens of the countries in question.
But once more, blinded by their own imperialism, American blacks insist on a view that has no basis in reality.
Some of this may be driven by the desire on the part of American blacks to shake off the past of slavery. That, however, is not excuse to distort the reality of the lives of other blacks. Besides, nothing will ever change that past and the impact that it had.
My experience as a professor is that American blacks actually have little respect for blacks from other countries. Our view of things is that we have a "lock" on what it is to be black; and that anyone who is black who fails to fit that image needs to adjust her or his behavior.
And perhaps the truest indication of imperialism on the part of the black Americans is the term "African-American" has hardly resulted in the acquisition of genuine knowledge about the peoples of Africa.
We seem to think that our wearing a headpiece or a piece of clothing suffices to show that our identification with Africa is profound and strong. Never mind that there are many peoples in Africa; never mind that we have next to no idea of the significance of what we are wearing.
In using the term "African-American", there is a deep, deep sense in which we are rendering Africa more banal, precisely because the term ignores the rich and substantial differences that are a part of the tapestry of black peoples. I say this because in addition to blacks now having a more myopic view of African peoples, the insistence on the part of blacks that the term "African-American" be used is contributing to whites having a more myopic view of African peoples.
That is imperialism for you. It is the art of employing the language of moral progress, all the while doing more harm than good, where the aim is none other than to feeds one's own ego. If indeed America is an imperialistic nation, then black Americans are indeed just that: Americans.
im·pe·ri·al·ism [im-peer-ee-uh-liz-uhm]
–noun 1. the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.
2. advocacy of imperial interests.
3. an imperial system of government.
4. imperial government.
5. British. the policy of so uniting the separate parts of an empire with separate governments as to secure for certain purposes a single state.
black american imperialism
============================
www.moralhealth.com/blog/_archives/2007/6/5/3000816.html
Black American Imperialism
by Laurence Thomas
For many blacks in the United States, the idea of black American imperialism is pretty much an oxymoron. You know how the argument goes: "How on earth can black Americans be imperialistic, given that (a) they and their descendents
were victims of slavery and were accorded second-class citizenship, at best and (b) their present standing remains that of second-class citizenship".
Alas, it is a truth—perhaps a surprising one—that the wrongs of slavery and social injustice do not at all prevent blacks Americans from being ever so imperialistic.
Examples are always helpful. One of the most stunning things is that black Americans suppose that their view of blacks applies to blacks throughout the world. Now, there can be no doubt that the struggle for equality on the part of blacks in the United States has had a most lugubrious effect upon the social standing of blacks throughout the world. But from this very poignant truth,
what most certainly does not follow by any stretch of the imagination is that how black Americans conceive of things for blacks applies tout court to blacks throughout the world. To think that it does is nothing but sheer arrogance.
Rap music is a very classic example of the imperialistic influence of black Americans. It is owing to its standing in the United States that rap music has come to have considerable standing in many, many countries throughout the world.
I do not claim that influence is a bad thing or even that influence in the area of rap is a bad thing. Just so, rap is a rather pristine example of the considerable influence of black Americans—an influence that many blacks in the United States are far too quick to deny.
I share the view that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. And that is a reason to bear history in mind. Bearing history in mind is one thing; ignoring fundamental changes is an entirely different thing. And it is disingenuous of blacks in the United States to do the latter.
For all of their so-called identification with Africa, what has to be said is that American blacks have proven themselves to be radically uninformed with regard to the richness of Africa and with regard to the ways in which they (black Americans) are different from the peoples of Africa.
I deliberately used the word "peoples". For it is very clear to the blacks who live on the continent of Africa that there are as many peoples in Africa black as there are in many peoples in Europe who are white.
This point profoundly speaks to the imperialism of American blacks, who are so busy insisting that all American-born blacks are the same that they go on to insist that blacks all over the world are the same. Ask a black in France where she or he is from, and that black will give you the name of a country.
It would not occur to her or him to respond: Africa. It is quite simple: Blacks are African like whites are European. In other words, the differences are real.
Here is another indication of black imperialism. Black Americans insist that gospel music is simply a reflection of their "African roots". Sounds nice in theory; however, this view has little basis in reality. And it is simply foolish to say that music itself has some special significance among Africans, since music has been a deep aspect of people's lives all over the world.
Although some of the most powerful and majestic singing I have ever heard came from blacks in Cape Town (South Africa), one could not mistake that music for American black gospel music even if one tried; nor did it sound like soul
music or the blues.
I have always supposed that American black gospel music was forged out of the experience of slavery in precisely the way that the tonality that we sometimes attach to the black voice in America was likewise forged out of the experience of slavery. I have supposed this ecause just as we do not find an obvious
analogue to black gospel music in Africa, we also do not find among blacks elsewhere an obvious analogue to the tonality that we often associate with the black American voice. Listen to a black born and raised in France or England or Germany, and the black will sound like any other person raised in these
countries. This is so although blacks in these countries are considerably closer to the continent of Africa than American blacks are and although many are first-generation citizens of the countries in question.
But once more, blinded by their own imperialism, American blacks insist on a view that has no basis in reality.
Some of this may be driven by the desire on the part of American blacks to shake off the past of slavery. That, however, is not excuse to distort the reality of the lives of other blacks. Besides, nothing will ever change that past and the impact that it had.
My experience as a professor is that American blacks actually have little respect for blacks from other countries. Our view of things is that we have a "lock" on what it is to be black; and that anyone who is black who fails to fit that image needs to adjust her or his behavior.
And perhaps the truest indication of imperialism on the part of the black Americans is the term "African-American" has hardly resulted in the acquisition of genuine knowledge about the peoples of Africa.
We seem to think that our wearing a headpiece or a piece of clothing suffices to show that our identification with Africa is profound and strong. Never mind that there are many peoples in Africa; never mind that we have next to no idea of the significance of what we are wearing.
In using the term "African-American", there is a deep, deep sense in which we are rendering Africa more banal, precisely because the term ignores the rich and substantial differences that are a part of the tapestry of black peoples. I say this because in addition to blacks now having a more myopic view of African peoples, the insistence on the part of blacks that the term "African-American" be used is contributing to whites having a more myopic view of African peoples.
That is imperialism for you. It is the art of employing the language of moral progress, all the while doing more harm than good, where the aim is none other than to feeds one's own ego. If indeed America is an imperialistic nation, then black Americans are indeed just that: Americans.
