Anonymous wrote:

You are DEFINITELY white. LOL...Why do you even care about this issue? You aren't black, you aren't African-American....and you aren't a factor in this discussion. Please note that the days of whites telling blacks what we're allowed to call ourselves are long over. You are about 60 years too late in the making.

NP here - but it appears the only person who is telling others what they call themselves is you. You have a problen with 2nd or 3rd generation descendants of African immigrants referring to themselves as African American. Or rather, you say, "well, they can self-identify as AA, but that's not the correct usage of the term."

The only problem is, the "authority" (not that I consider Wikipedia an authority on anything, but you brought it up) directly contradicts your statement: "African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa."

So now you've resorted to dismissing other posters' statements with, "You must be white so your opinion doesn't matter." The lack of intellectual integrity is stunning.

Anonymous wrote:Fine, I'll just call everyone black, because who knows whose ancestor is what.

Dumbest stuff ever.

Anonymous wrote:Fine, I'll just call everyone black, because who knows whose ancestor is what.

Dumbest stuff ever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we stop with the chain-dragging debate? I want to get back to the question of where it says or what authority there is that black Americans whose African ancestors came from the Caribbean are not African American. I've seen that sentiment repeated several times on this thread as if it is the gospel truth, but no one has said where that particular definition comes from.

I think someone provided a link to a wikipedia entry in a previous poster. The whole idea is crazy.

- A pround AA woman (whose parents were born in Jamaica)

Yes, I read the wikipedia definition - it actually said that AA is a US citizen/resident with at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. So by that definition, Obama is AA, I am AA (Bahamian ancestry) and you are AA. But there has been a lot of insistence that this is not the case, so I want to know what the source of that insistence is.

Anonymous wrote:

You are DEFINITELY white. LOL...Why do you even care about this issue? You aren't black, you aren't African-American....and you aren't a factor in this discussion. Please note that the days of whites telling blacks what we're allowed to call ourselves are long over. You are about 60 years too late in the making.

NP here - but it appears the only person who is telling others what they call themselves is you. You have a problen with 2nd or 3rd generation descendants of African immigrants referring to themselves as African American. Or rather, you say, "well, they can self-identify as AA, but that's not the correct usage of the term."

The only problem is, the "authority" (not that I consider Wikipedia an authority on anything, but you brought it up) directly contradicts your statement: "African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa."

So now you've resorted to dismissing other posters' statements with, "You must be white so your opinion doesn't matter." The lack of intellectual integrity is stunning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we stop with the chain-dragging debate? I want to get back to the question of where it says or what authority there is that black Americans whose African ancestors came from the Caribbean are not African American. I've seen that sentiment repeated several times on this thread as if it is the gospel truth, but no one has said where that particular definition comes from.

I think someone provided a link to a wikipedia entry in a previous poster. The whole idea is crazy.

- A pround AA woman (whose parents were born in Jamaica)

Anonymous wrote:Can we stop with the chain-dragging debate? I want to get back to the question of where it says or what authority there is that black Americans whose African ancestors came from the Caribbean are not African American. I've seen that sentiment repeated several times on this thread as if it is the gospel truth, but no one has said where that particular definition comes from.

You are DEFINITELY white. LOL...Why do you even care about this issue? You aren't black, you aren't African-American....and you aren't a factor in this discussion. Please note that the days of whites telling blacks what we're allowed to call ourselves are long over. You are about 60 years too late in the making.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Don't forget all of the internet scams, either.

In general, Blacks from other countries who got to immigrate here instead of being dragged in chains TOTALLY look down upon "African-Americans" and do not want to be associated with us in any way.

Well actually, YOU weren't dragged in chains to America either. Neither were your parents so let's not be laying claim to things we didn't have to endure.

You are DEFINITELY white. LOL...Why do you even care about this issue? You aren't black, you aren't African-American....and you aren't a factor in this discussion. Please note that the days of whites telling blacks what we're allowed to call ourselves are long over. You are about 60 years too late in the making.

I am black (Jamaican) and I agree with this poster. You were not dragged here in chains - stop obsessing about crap that happenned hundreds of years ago.

I did not make that comment, but that's not what the poster said. S/he said "Blacks from other countries who got to immigrate here instead of being dragged in chains". Where does she claim that she was dragged here? She's just making the distinction between those who came to the US voluntarily vs involuntarily. You and the pp read WAY too much into that person's statement.
self-identify as you please. But getting defensiveness and/or sulky helps no one.

Wow, I'm glad that at least one person got it. I wrote "dragged in chains" originally, OBVIOUSLY alluding to my ancestors. Most of you who have posted above are ignoring the spirit of what was written to nitpick...

Oh no you don't, you worded your post exactly how you wanted it to come across, as if you endured the chain dragging, you got caught and then got defensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Don't forget all of the internet scams, either.

In general, Blacks from other countries who got to immigrate here instead of being dragged in chains TOTALLY look down upon "African-Americans" and do not want to be associated with us in any way.

Well actually, YOU weren't dragged in chains to America either. Neither were your parents so let's not be laying claim to things we didn't have to endure.

You are DEFINITELY white. LOL...Why do you even care about this issue? You aren't black, you aren't African-American....and you aren't a factor in this discussion. Please note that the days of whites telling blacks what we're allowed to call ourselves are long over. You are about 60 years too late in the making.

I am black (Jamaican) and I agree with this poster. You were not dragged here in chains - stop obsessing about crap that happenned hundreds of years ago.

I did not make that comment, but that's not what the poster said. S/he said "Blacks from other countries who got to immigrate here instead of being dragged in chains". Where does she claim that she was dragged here? She's just making the distinction between those who came to the US voluntarily vs involuntarily. You and the pp read WAY too much into that person's statement.
self-identify as you please. But getting defensiveness and/or sulky helps no one.

Wow, I'm glad that at least one person got it. I wrote "dragged in chains" originally, OBVIOUSLY alluding to my ancestors. Most of you who have posted above are ignoring the spirit of what was written to nitpick...

Oh no you don't, you worded your post exactly how you wanted it to come across, as if you endured the chain dragging, you got caught and then got defensive.