In my previous post, which was more an anecdotal account of a black friend's constant insistence on tainting everything "black", it seems that I was basing my conclusions about the Obamas' gift-giving behavior on only that one person.
No, there are several incidents, and several people, and it might be interesting to post them.
1. An anthropology Ph.D. candidate and black former friend (again from Jamaica) wrote his thesis about sickle-cell anemia and how it has been targeted as a black disease. His convoluted point was that sickle-cell anemia became a way to divide the races, and to determine white hegemony.
There was an incident where this friend was talking about a recent visit to the hospital, and he was immediately asked to have a sickle-cell anemia test. His point on telling this story was how racist this was. Mine was, " How strange, if blacks have a higher incidence of sickle cell anemia, then what is wrong with screening for it as a preventative method?".
Needless to say, I didn't say this, since a previous argument about the "blackness" of Cleopatra, which I disagreed with, was met with disdain and suspicion. Already, people of Ethiopian background are "suspect" with Caribbean, Canadian and American blacks.
2. An acquaintance was always extremely sensitive about the police. He felt that he would be inevitably singled out by the police, although he confessed that he had never been stopped by them. I found his fears very strange since he drove a very smart Volvo, which is an unconventional car for a black man to drive. And the cops obviously thought so too, since they stopped him zero times. Also, his whining and fearful behavior disappointed me.
3. A black friend who married a white woman would constantly talk about colonization, white discrimination, racism etc. I used to wonder how his wife could stand it. I heard recently that they had divorced.
4. Black filmmakers, artists and designers always, always, turn to black issues and black themes when doing their work. "Issues" doesn't mean black culture (however that's defined), but black grievances against whites. I have, to date, not met a single black filmmaker, artist or designer who hasn't worked in this manner. Maybe I should look more, but I doubt it will change much.
And the list goes on.
Blackness is a way of life. As I wrote in my previous post, it consists of surrounding one's whole life around this racial premise, usually with negative connotations towards whites, and disinterest in anything else. It also means that anything to do with whites, the nemeses of blacks, is suspect or even harmful. Black culture thus insulates itself from mainstream, white culture, making interactions with whites difficult or strained. Usually the onus for positive interaction lies on the whites.
