African-Americans in Army

[¡Viva la Libertad!]

I'm sorry if this topic seems rather random at first, but I think it's a great injustice that after all of the oppression, the centuries, of oppression that black people had to go through in the United States, up to the ending of slavery (in its official sense) in 1865, and then to go through decades of similar if not even worse oppression — and then during the Second World War they were finally treated with an ounce more of respect by fighting in SEPARATE MILITARY POSTS for the U.S. ("Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave"). Anyway, it just pisses me off that they were drafted to fight in the wars fighting for the country that hated them. What a load of shit! :angry:
Reminds me of a quote by Muhammad Ali, on his opposition to serving in Vietnam:


"I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ... They never called me nigger."

[rouchambeau]

wat.

[MT5678]

"No gook ever called me nigger".

African-American protest statement.

[toater]

two words.



















Colin. Powell.

Still oppressed?

[LOTFW]

This is Sooooooo ancient history. Black Americans joining the Army rarely think about Ali and the 60s.

Thousands of U.S. draftees aren't dying anywhere in the world. Occasionally these boys run into a relative who tells them they're part of the white man's world and not "serving the race", if they have such views, but for the most part their families embrace them with the same pride as the general population.

[w0lf]

That's a great quote. You can relate it to all Americans on the topic of the Vietnam war. Viet Cong never did anything to the Americans.

[Jazzratt]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30, 2007 04:12 pm
two words.



















Colin. Powell.

Still oppressed?
Yes. Structural racist oppression still exists, just because not every single black person is picking cotton doesn't mean they're treated equally.

[Dr Mindbender]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30, 2007 04:12 pm
two words.



















Colin. Powell.

Still oppressed?
out of how many white politicians? :rolleyes:

[toater]

i was refering to his service history, which is outstandin. (even if he did lose his sidearm in vietnam)

[Ander]

Originally posted by [email protected] 02, 2007 05:33 pm
i was refering to his service history, which is outstandin. (even if he did lose his sidearm in vietnam)
Your "point" has no relevancy to the original post. If anything, it just reinforces the argument that black men do fight wars for the white man.

The following quote by Dick Gregory sums up the Vietnam War and can do about the same for any other war since if you replace a colour and a geographical location: "What we're doing in Vietnam is using the black man to kill the yellow man so the white man can keep the land he took from the red man."

Ideally what black people should do is follow a Black Panthers line and refuse to fight in any war of aggression initiated by the white capitalist elites. Unfortunately the military, especially in the US, is good at targeting and drawing in the lower classes, which are often made up largely by non-white people.

[toater]

sorry Jello, I should have clarified, I agree entirely with the original post. Ive always been of the opinion that (for the british army at least) that poverty and joining the army are closely linked. My old man joined up after being given the choice of prison for 6 months for vagrancy or 3 years in the army. Perhaps the prevelance of black men and women in the american army is an excellent indicator of the class position of young blacks in American society. Its the same in Britain, with the number of Scottish and northern men currently serving. A positive outlook is to say that this is a legacy issue of social policy from the 1950s/60s, although I think perhaps it is an ongoing social condition.

As an aside, its interesting to note the lack of ethnic minorities in the british army, suggesting a common feeling of disenfranchisation amoung ethnic groups.

p.s. I was making the point that Colin Powell has achieved an outstanding service through hard work and some very laudable acts of bravery in his earlier years.

[counterblast]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30, 2007 04:12 pm
two words.



















Colin. Powell.

Still oppressed?
Oh because a prominent black man who benefits mostly wealthy, white politicians/businessmen is liberating to the black race... :rolleyes:

I suppose by those warped standards, you consider Aunt Jemima to be the mother of black liberation?

[LOTFW]

I suppose by those warped standards, you consider Aunt Jemima to be the mother of black liberation?

Aunt Jemima can't be the leader of any liberation. She waffles on all the issues.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[Comrade Rage]

Originally posted by [email protected] 04, 2007 01:57 pm

I suppose by those warped standards, you consider Aunt Jemima to be the mother of black liberation?

Aunt Jemima can't be the leader of any liberation. She waffles on all the issues.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Ah, I get it. :)

[MT5678]

I don't. Who is Jemima?

[manic expression]

Originally posted by [email protected] 06, 2007 12:23 am
I don't. Who is Jemima?
[img]http://www.americansweets.co.uk/ekmps/shops/statesidecandy/images/auntP20jemimaP20pancakeP20mix%5Bekm%5D400x300%5Bek m%5D.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' class='attach' />

[Herman]

I suddenly ache for pancakes...

[counterblast]

Originally posted by manic expression+December 06, 2007 12:28 am--> (manic expression @ December 06, 2007 12:28 am)
[email protected] 06, 2007 12:23 am
I don't. Who is Jemima?
[img]http://www.americansweets.co.uk/ekmps/shops/statesidecandy/images/auntP20jemimaP20pancakeP20mix%5Bekm%5D400x300%5Bek m%5D.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' class='attach' /> [/b]
I just love how Quaker Oats (the parent company) have changed her appearance so dramatically, from a poor, chubby uneducated slave woman in a head rag to a thin, single mother with pearl earrings and permed hair, which suggests she might have money to spend on herself.

[img]http://blog.lib.umn.edu/perry032/impossible/jemima-day-11-01-1945-083.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' class='attach' />

Obviously sales were far more important to Quaker Oats than discontinuing a divisive symbol of America's racist history.

[LOTFW]

I don't need to defend cappies, but remember that ALL marketing images get make overs to make them more modern.

Alvin and the Chipmonks will release a movie soon and the characters will hardly look the way they did in the '60s.

You can see the change you're referring to on nearly every package that has a person depicted.

[counterblast]

Originally posted by [email protected] 06, 2007 02:55 am
I don't need to defend cappies, but remember that ALL marketing images get make overs to make them more modern.

Alvin and the Chipmonks will release a movie soon and the characters will hardly look the way they did in the '60s.

You can see the change you're referring to on nearly every package that has a person depicted.
Damage control and random modernization are a bit different. This wasn't some random decision to make Aunt Jemima more attractive, it was planned.

Aunt Jemima's image was changed with the intention of winning over black consumers bittered by Aunt Jemima's legacy. Not surprisingly, they chose to do it one month after Martin Luther King, Jr was shot when racial tensions in America were at their peak (several riots and lynchings had broken out from Memphis to Los Angeles). By this time, the most offensive word to call an African-American (besides the ubiquitous and demeaning word "nigger") was "rag-head", a term derived from popular middle-class white America icon Aunt Jemima, and used to embody the subservient, uneducated black woman she represented.