Percentage of White Americans in NBA

[PierceMVP08]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Very well said.  TP

[GreenFaith1819]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

Amen, brother.

Bahku..you are absolutely right, but it does matter IMO from the standpoint of people discussing the issue in this thread.

I say this because the people here who have posted wanted to discuss the issue in an intelligent manner.

From what I've seen so far in this thread, nothing here offends me and I posted earlier just based off of my own thoughts and opinions.

The only way we can shed light on misconceptions, perceived or otherwise is to talk or type about it in an intelligent manner.

In the long run, to me God made us all different shades and colors. Isn't He awesome?

[Bahku]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

[PierceMVP08]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

This idea you speak of is perfect in theory, but in practice it would not work.  We can say that we don't see differences and that we don't care, and while that may be the case for you and I, it is not for the world as a whole.  People will still be discriminated against for things that are out of their control, and that would only be worst if we did not talk about it.  To pretend like this does not and would not happen is laughable. 

And to put things in a different light, I would not prefer a world where we were all the same.  It is the differences that make this world very enjoyable.  I am of Guatemalan heritage and I am 100% proud of it.  There is nothing wrong with me taking pride in it, and I feel joy in sharing my culture with people of other backgrounds just as I take pleasure in learning about others.  You look at differences as a bad thing, but if we can begin to appreciate our difference and celebrate them, that would be a whole lot better.

[Bahku]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

This idea you speak of is perfect in theory, but in practice it would not work.  We can say that we don't see differences and that we don't care, and while that may be the case for you and I, it is not for the world as a whole.  People will still be discriminated against for things that are out of their control, and that would only be worst if we did not talk about it.  To pretend like this does not and would not happen is laughable. 

And to put things in a different light, I would not prefer a world where we were all the same.  It is the differences that make this world very enjoyable.  I am of Guatemalan heritage and I am 100% proud of it.  There is nothing wrong with me taking pride in it, and I feel joy in sharing my culture with people of other backgrounds just as I take pleasure in learning about others.  You look at differences as a bad thing, but if we can begin to appreciate our difference and celebrate them, that would be a whole lot better.

I'll leave this discussion, manily because if I remain, I will be making a point against my own ... by making a discussion of it.

However, while I grant you that it's unrealistic, I will continue to pray for a "colorblind" world, and a world where humans are judged by the contents of their hearts, and the kind of people they are, not by how they appear to others.

[Amonkey]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

I think that it's funny that we say that about race, but when it comes to heritage, like Italian, Irish, Jewish and so on, then it's okay to be proud and it's part of our history.  My example was illustrating how where a nation where people do see each other as equal in the eyes of the people but in reality it's far from the truth.  The truth is I really don't know which one is better.  I think in the States we have segregrated ourselves way too much.  However in Brazil, we never really went a racism.  What we have in Brazil is classism (if that is a word).  Basically, people get discriminated based on their social class.  If you are poor then you don't get the same opportunities as middle, upper class.  However, that goes along the underline factor that the majority of the poor people are black.  Gang members in the slums don't get scrutinized because a majority of them are black.  They get scrutinized because they are poor.  I do agree that we have discussed race a lot and we can move on.  I think the next step up from racism is social class differences.  Now I honestly don't know what to say about Brazilians.  We have somehow skipped the racism portion and just moved over to the social classism, meanwhile I feel like Americans have been stuck in the racism issue.

PS. You do make a good point, but like our Guatemalan friend said on previous post, I think it's too much wishful thinking.

PPS. My Guatemalan friend, what part of Guatemala is your family from?  My girlfriend is a Peace Corps volunteer there and I have had the great pleasure of visiting your great country.  I really do mean a great country.  I was expecting something like Brazil but I found a beautiful country with great landscape and a strong culture.  I am in love with the Mayan people.

[jdub1660]

From a white guy's stand point, the Derek Fisher comment could tick me off. But then Larry goes and basically agrees with the concept. I agree to one point - Basketball is a black man's game, but only in perspective to popularity NOT talent. I would consider Euros white guys. And most Americans don't refer to Basketball because they do have their idols in baseball and football AND the past couple generations are going to have parents who push those other sports onto their kids b/c they themselves idolized Ruth, Young, etc. With Euros considered "white", then I'd say white guys shoot better, and "black" guys can dunk better. It's all about what you're raised into.
Basketball is a black man's game b/c when you think bball, you think black guys like Jordan and Kobe. You think football, you think Peyton and Favre. Baseball is Rodriguez and Clemens. I get tortured at work for being white and LOVING basketball. It's been like that all my life
(but to share a little with you) I grew up in bad neighborhoods with 80% black friends till highschool, and I started playing 21 with my best friend and his cousin. Both black. Go figure, but I stay on my stand that it's what you grow up into. Blake Griffin vs Andre Blatche? Who do you wanna play against?

[guava_wrench]

Sadly, a lot of people make assumptions about white players and their skill set. I remember early in Hinrich's career when people thought he was just a outside shooter who couldn't play defense. Uh, Hinrich can definitely play defense.

Three major factors for the representation in sports: self-identity, expectations of others, and supporting infrastructure. I think these are all more significant than any conception of race.

The facts we know are that we all evolved from common ancestors and that we haven't had enough reproductive isolation for our species to be split. We have had, on the other hand, enough reproductive isolation for clear differences to arise. The Mbenga pygmies are incredibly underrepresented in basketball, and only gene flow from other human populations is likely to change that within a reasonable number of generations. There could be certain populations that do have better genes for certain traits, but it is silly to talk about black and white populations from a genetic standpoint since there is too much variation within those groups for any of that to make sense. It would also be wrong to assume that similarity in skin color means having a recent shared ancestor. This is all quite a mess, so the three factors I mentioned above seem more relevant to investigate.

To be fair to fans of genetic arguments, professional athletes are outliers. There may be many women who can crush me in a sprint, but lifelong training has yet to allow women to catch up to men in 100 meter dash times at the Olympics. Non-social influences can affect outcomes significantly.

Regarding the slave argument, it is possible that their was selection for physical traits in procuring slaves. I am not familiar with the evidence for forced slave breeding, but I am not particularly knowledgeable on that subject and I am skeptical that jumping, for example, would have been a trait selected for.

Hard post to write sensibly. It may have some problematic sentences here or there. I've spent to long rewriting this.

[guava_wrench]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

I think that it's funny that we say that about race, but when it comes to heritage, like Italian, Irish, Jewish and so on, then it's okay to be proud and it's part of our history.  My example was illustrating how where a nation where people do see each other as equal in the eyes of the people but in reality it's far from the truth.  The truth is I really don't know which one is better.  I think in the States we have segregrated ourselves way too much.  However in Brazil, we never really went a racism.  What we have in Brazil is classism (if that is a word).  Basically, people get discriminated based on their social class.  If you are poor then you don't get the same opportunities as middle, upper class.  However, that goes along the underline factor that the majority of the poor people are black.  Gang members in the slums don't get scrutinized because a majority of them are black.  They get scrutinized because they are poor.  I do agree that we have discussed race a lot and we can move on.  I think the next step up from racism is social class differences.  Now I honestly don't know what to say about Brazilians.  We have somehow skipped the racism portion and just moved over to the social classism, meanwhile I feel like Americans have been stuck in the racism issue.

PS. You do make a good point, but like our Guatemalan friend said on previous post, I think it's too much wishful thinking.

PPS. My Guatemalan friend, what part of Guatemala is your family from?  My girlfriend is a Peace Corps volunteer there and I have had the great pleasure of visiting your great country.  I really do mean a great country.  I was expecting something like Brazil but I found a beautiful country with great landscape and a strong culture.  I am in love with the Mayan people.

In Brazil, is there a correlation between skin pigmentation and class?

I am not a fan of the whole "proud to be Irish-American", "proud to be Italian-American" nonsense. I stick with the human identity. I'm not into building group walls. Being proud of one's ethnicity makes no sense to me since I it seems to similar to being proud to not be a member of other ethnic groups. Unless there is a social need to make a heritage salient, such as fighting legitimate oppression, it seems way to divisive to me.

[MaxwellSmart86]

Well, JJ Reddick did one helluva job guarding Ray Allen in last year's playoffs....but Personally, the ONLY Color in the NBA that I care about is: GREEN..!!

 

[Bahku]

Well-said, GW ... I agree. (TP)

[moiso]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

I think that it's funny that we say that about race, but when it comes to heritage, like Italian, Irish, Jewish and so on, then it's okay to be proud and it's part of our history.  My example was illustrating how where a nation where people do see each other as equal in the eyes of the people but in reality it's far from the truth.  The truth is I really don't know which one is better.  I think in the States we have segregrated ourselves way too much.  However in Brazil, we never really went a racism.  What we have in Brazil is classism (if that is a word).  Basically, people get discriminated based on their social class.  If you are poor then you don't get the same opportunities as middle, upper class.  However, that goes along the underline factor that the majority of the poor people are black.  Gang members in the slums don't get scrutinized because a majority of them are black.  They get scrutinized because they are poor.  I do agree that we have discussed race a lot and we can move on.  I think the next step up from racism is social class differences.  Now I honestly don't know what to say about Brazilians.  We have somehow skipped the racism portion and just moved over to the social classism, meanwhile I feel like Americans have been stuck in the racism issue.

PS. You do make a good point, but like our Guatemalan friend said on previous post, I think it's too much wishful thinking.

PPS. My Guatemalan friend, what part of Guatemala is your family from?  My girlfriend is a Peace Corps volunteer there and I have had the great pleasure of visiting your great country.  I really do mean a great country.  I was expecting something like Brazil but I found a beautiful country with great landscape and a strong culture.  I am in love with the Mayan people.

In Brazil, is there a correlation between skin pigmentation and class?

I am not a fan of the whole "proud to be Irish-American", "proud to be Italian-American" nonsense. I stick with the human identity. I'm not into building group walls. Being proud of one's ethnicity makes no sense to me since I it seems to similar to being proud to not be a member of other ethnic groups. Unless there is a social need to make a heritage salient, such as fighting legitimate oppression, it seems way to divisive to me.

George Carlin did a great piece on this topic.  He basically said that you should be proud of your achievements but it's ridiculous to be proud of something that happened because of "accident of birth".

[Kiorrik]

My 2 cents:

I hate this topic. It's not discussable because it concerns us all, and no one seems to be able to separate their feelings from such discussions.

Maybe black people are more athletic. Maybe that, in turn, means white people might be more intelligent. Seriously though; I don't know - and I don't care. But the fact of the matter is that there's a lot less "whiteys" out there right now and I'm pretty much okay with that. I don't need a separate league for white people, so I can "associate" better with them. I want top-notch basketball. I want awesome moves. And if that's done better by "the brothers", I'm all for it.

No offense intended to anyone of course, just thought I'd state that.

[Eja117]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

I think that it's funny that we say that about race, but when it comes to heritage, like Italian, Irish, Jewish and so on, then it's okay to be proud and it's part of our history.  My example was illustrating how where a nation where people do see each other as equal in the eyes of the people but in reality it's far from the truth.  The truth is I really don't know which one is better.  I think in the States we have segregrated ourselves way too much.  However in Brazil, we never really went a racism.  What we have in Brazil is classism (if that is a word).  Basically, people get discriminated based on their social class.  If you are poor then you don't get the same opportunities as middle, upper class.  However, that goes along the underline factor that the majority of the poor people are black.  Gang members in the slums don't get scrutinized because a majority of them are black.  They get scrutinized because they are poor.  I do agree that we have discussed race a lot and we can move on.  I think the next step up from racism is social class differences.  Now I honestly don't know what to say about Brazilians.  We have somehow skipped the racism portion and just moved over to the social classism, meanwhile I feel like Americans have been stuck in the racism issue.

PS. You do make a good point, but like our Guatemalan friend said on previous post, I think it's too much wishful thinking.

PPS. My Guatemalan friend, what part of Guatemala is your family from?  My girlfriend is a Peace Corps volunteer there and I have had the great pleasure of visiting your great country.  I really do mean a great country.  I was expecting something like Brazil but I found a beautiful country with great landscape and a strong culture.  I am in love with the Mayan people.

In Brazil, is there a correlation between skin pigmentation and class?

I am not a fan of the whole "proud to be Irish-American", "proud to be Italian-American" nonsense. I stick with the human identity. I'm not into building group walls. Being proud of one's ethnicity makes no sense to me since I it seems to similar to being proud to not be a member of other ethnic groups. Unless there is a social need to make a heritage salient, such as fighting legitimate oppression, it seems way to divisive to me.

George Carlin did a great piece on this topic.  He basically said that you should be proud of your achievements but it's ridiculous to be proud of something that happened because of "accident of birth".

...which is exactly how I feel about the Queen of England, however I am hypocritical when it comes to the whole sons of great players thing, where any QB with the last name "Manning" gets an extra point in my book, and if I were at the University of Washington right now I'd be more fired up about a QB named "Montana", than a slightly higher ranked QB named "Smith" and don't even say "Well what if he's the son of former Heisman winner Troy Smith"?  Not the same thing

And you better believe I was happy when BC got Billy Flutie. Nephew-power!

[Amonkey]

Why does this matter at all? The only way we're ever going to get past this white/black crap is to stop shedding light on it and making it an issue. I'm truly offended whenever I am asked to fill out an online questionnaire or form that asks for race. I know there are reasons of "traget-marketing" that people want to know about, but we have to stop placing these labels on people and making discussions out of issues that should not matter.

I don't care what percentage of whites or blacks or purples there are in the NBA ... the players got there because they are great basketball players, and the color of their skin should have nothing to do with anything. Sorry, I know people think we'll work these things out by talking about them, but when it comes to bigotry and racism, the only way they will ever become a non-issue, is if we stop talking about them ... period.

Every time we make race a point of discussion, we are magnifying the problem and pointing a spotlight on our differences ... it doesn't matter what our skin color is, what matters is the content of our hearts, and that we are all human beings. Whenever I see a topic with the words "white" or "black" in it, I cringe, because it means one more opportunity to point out our differences.

Please, can we stop caring about color once-and-for-all? IT DOES NOT MATTER!

While I agree with you that it doesn't matter, I don't think healthy conversations like this are harmful.  You say that we shouldn't talk about it, but ignorance of race is not the solution either.  I come from Brazil and one thing that I have noticed, and many Brazilians once we leave Brazil notice, is that while we are living in Brazil, we really don't see racism.  In Brazil, we don't have no hyphens.  There are no African-Brazilian, or Italian-Brazilian or Japanese-Brazilian.  We are all Brazilian.  We really don't get to see discussions about racism like we have over here.  However, once you leave Brazil that is when you notice all the racism that is going there.  You see that the kids that are getting shot are black.  That the poverty line affects mostly black people, that we only see white people on TV.  However, when you live in a "colorblind" society these things don't matter and it doesn't bother you.  I think it's better to be aware of the world then living in a world of ignorance.

Ignorance of race?!? Excuse me? I don't think anyone on the face of this earth is ignorant of race and the difference between skin color, but if we were, then it would be a better world. Ignorance may sound like a bad thing to you, but until we do have that careless attitude about our differences, it will continue to be a problem.

The color of our skin or eyes or our weight or ugliness or beauty or sex or background should not be an issue ... it does not matter, and should not matter, and until people stop making it matter, we will always have problems. You do not know what race I am, because I have not told you, and because it does not matter ... but if I did, you would have a different concept of me in your mind.

A blog is the perfect illustration, because we can all discuss things without that knowledge of each other, and because we don't have that knowledge, it is a much more objective place. So why should it matter in any other part of life? It shouldn't, and the only reason it does, is because we make a point of discussing the difference.

Oh, how I disagree ... because this world would be a better place if we were ignorant of race.

I think that it's funny that we say that about race, but when it comes to heritage, like Italian, Irish, Jewish and so on, then it's okay to be proud and it's part of our history.  My example was illustrating how where a nation where people do see each other as equal in the eyes of the people but in reality it's far from the truth.  The truth is I really don't know which one is better.  I think in the States we have segregrated ourselves way too much.  However in Brazil, we never really went a racism.  What we have in Brazil is classism (if that is a word).  Basically, people get discriminated based on their social class.  If you are poor then you don't get the same opportunities as middle, upper class.  However, that goes along the underline factor that the majority of the poor people are black.  Gang members in the slums don't get scrutinized because a majority of them are black.  They get scrutinized because they are poor.  I do agree that we have discussed race a lot and we can move on.  I think the next step up from racism is social class differences.  Now I honestly don't know what to say about Brazilians.  We have somehow skipped the racism portion and just moved over to the social classism, meanwhile I feel like Americans have been stuck in the racism issue.

PS. You do make a good point, but like our Guatemalan friend said on previous post, I think it's too much wishful thinking.

PPS. My Guatemalan friend, what part of Guatemala is your family from?  My girlfriend is a Peace Corps volunteer there and I have had the great pleasure of visiting your great country.  I really do mean a great country.  I was expecting something like Brazil but I found a beautiful country with great landscape and a strong culture.  I am in love with the Mayan people.

In Brazil, is there a correlation between skin pigmentation and class?

I am not a fan of the whole "proud to be Irish-American", "proud to be Italian-American" nonsense. I stick with the human identity. I'm not into building group walls. Being proud of one's ethnicity makes no sense to me since I it seems to similar to being proud to not be a member of other ethnic groups. Unless there is a social need to make a heritage salient, such as fighting legitimate oppression, it seems way to divisive to me.

There is a correlation, but people just accept it.  Keep in my mind that Brazil has the 3rd or 4th largest population of black people in the world, meaning Brazil has more black people than most African countries.  However, ever since the Portuguese came and started mixing with the indigenous, the people have been intermarrying.  There was a study that said that Brazil, a country with a population of 190 million people, 80% of the population has 10% or more African ancestry in them.  The bottom line is that we get a lot of "brown" people.  In matter of fact, in Brazil we don't have just "black or white".  We have brown (for example, guys like Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Obama wouldn't be considered black, they'd be considered "moreno"). Then there are the people that are just really tanned.

Basically we all are intermixed and the color line has been truly blurred.  If you look at a spectrum, or if you go from a poor neighborhood to a rich neighborhood, you can def see the people getting whiter.  It's unfortunate and those are the type of things you don't really notice while you are there.