Ebony vs. Ivory

Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney "Ebony and Ivory"



LOL! This is probably the gayest video that I could have found regarding today's topic but hey...what can I say? it fits...not to mention it's funny as shit...

As of yesterday, my roommate and I are not really on speaking terms. As I've already mentioned, I have three roommates total and I share a bedroom with one of them in our apartment. Two of us are black and are from Bmore, one is Greek, and the other one is a whitebred chic from Darien, CT. The other black chic that is from Bmore I have previously addressed in my entries as Miss. Ruckus and from this point on, I'll address the Darien, CT chic as "The Snowbunny". The Greek chic and Miss. Ruckus share a room together and me and The Snowbunny share a room together.

N e ways, as with most of my previous roommates there is always a time when I or another black person have to clarify racial ambiguities. This is bound to happen whenever people from vastly different backgrounds have to live side by side. I know that before coming to Pittsburgh, I had very little exposure to Asians. So when I got here as a freshman, I was unintentially offending my Asian roommate (who is currently a very good friend of mine). She, likewise, said many things that would be offensive to many black people to me. But despite our ignorances, we were still able to get along because we both knew that lack of exposure to a race does not necessarily equal a person who is prejudice and racist. Both of us are good people who have a general love for all people.

For instance, I have never had a problem or dislike toward Asians but at the same time I did not know that it was offensive to address them as Oriental. I also learned that you have to be careful in the way that you distinguish them. It is highly offensive to confuse a Chinese person with a Japanese person because they have a volitile history with each other. My Asian roommate never had a problem or dislike toward Blacks but at the same time she did not know it was offensive to ask me to teach her how to speak ebonics and dress ghetto. Til this day, we have a good sense of humor about our political incorrectness.

I have had roommates from various different backgrounds and races in the past. However, my first couple of years of college I had my own room in a three bedroom apartment. Therefore, if I ever did live with a racist or someone who was very prejudice, I would not have paid much attention to it. Some roommates I had very little contact with because we really did not have to share the same space. In contrast, the 2008 year is the first year where I am a smaller apartment and have to share a room and common living space. My roommate from last semester was white but I still never had to see her because she was rarely ever around since she was in a sorority. This semester, I have to share a space with The Snowbunny who I am slowly but surely gradually wanting to kill because of the way she approaches race.

Don't get me wrong, The Snowbunny is a very friendly girl. But in my experience with dealing with whites, I have learned that when they are over-friendly it usually means they are scared of you and they want to appease your good side to prevent from getting beat up. Which is exercising a stereotype within itself because black people just do not go around beating people's ass for no reason. Having the strength to stand up for yourself does not mean you are an irrationally angry and violent person.

Initially when I first met The Snowbunny, I knew that she was very culturally unaware. But I would not have gone as far as to brand her as a racist. Unfortunately, the more and more I talked to her, the more I realized that she has a very skewed view of black people. Many of her comments I let slide because even though they were a little off, there were not explicit enough for me to assume anything too deep.

For instance, she once came to me and Miss. Ruckus and asked "Don't you think that everyone is inherently racist?" Miss. Ruckus replied no after looking at her sideways. I told her no and then commented "Black people are not inherently racist. We know that it is not very smart to associate with people who do not like us. After all, we never lynched anyone or put them in slavery unless they owed us money." After this short conversation, of course I was thinking that only someone who considered themselves to be racist would ask that type of question. But because she never explicitly said "I am a racist" it would be wrong for me to assume despite my intuition.

She has made a couple of comments that were of that nature. She asked me about why black men are less inclined to marry which is in fact, statistically correct. I said poor men are less inclined to marry because marriage is an extra burden. How is someone going to provide for a family if they can barely provide for themselves or have not reached their own individual station in life? It just so happens that race and class in America are closely related since the majority of the poor folk are minorities. Her response: "Do you think that some things just might be genetic?". I told her no and then switched the conversation. A part of me did not even want to find out what was going through her head to even ask that question. But once again, she never said "I think that some people act a certain a way because of genetics" so I let it go.

It was not until me and The Snowbunny were sitting down one day watching Top Chef. On the new season, there are two Indian chefs. As we were watching, The Snowbunny kept making negative comments about each of these women. She felt very strongly about how she did not want them to win and how they should be sent home. There didn't seem to be any real reason behind it other than the fact they were Indian. So I came staight out and asked her "So I take it you don't like Indians." Her response: "Yea but I think it's because of all the things that I have heard my dad say about them.". With that comment, it is no doubt that she is at least racists toward Indians. And even if she is not racist toward Blacks, I do not like racist people in general...regardless who they are hating. Even still, I let it roll off my back.

The icing on the cake for me was when she started asking me questions about people who sell drugs. I explained to her that most people who sell drugs have started out very poor and are not exposed to good education systems or family situations that would allow them to better their lives. Some people have to drop out of school to hustle because they need rent money, need to eat, and/or support a family. Her response: "I don't understand that logic. Why don't they all just go live in homeless shelters?" And she said it sarcastically and was very adament about how all poor people should be content with being homeless. Not to mention the fact that homeless shelters can't even take care of the homeless that are out their right now. I was so offended that I nearly wanted to choke the shit out of her. I mean really, she might as well of said "Let's put them all in concentration camps".

With that, I would like to reinterate...here is proof as to why just because we have a Black President-elect race is still a pertinent issue. Until Blacks get out the ghetto and until whites open their eyes, we will always be fighting the war of Ebony vs. Ivory.