OK, first off, much love to the Destee community for everything. I've got to let off some more steam, and if anyone else has dealt with this, I totally feel you.
I was talking with my mom and we got to talking about politics in America and the social upheaval in the 60s and so on and so forth. In Jamaica in the 70s there was political upheaval between Michael Manley and Edward Seaga in the 70s. And this is why we did not go back to Jamaica. Now, I bring this up because we were just talking about the old days in Jamaica (we kids were all born in Canada), and how there is much more of a social culture in Jamaica versus here in Canada. People talk to each other there whereas people are more isolated here.
Now, we all grew up Christian, but were told never to read about Black history, culture etc (I'm serious). All of the proud history was British and fighting in the war and so on. Much of my older generation's mentality was that if you were Black or African, you worshipped voodoo or something and you needed to be saved (through Jesus) and all of that.
Now my mum (some of my Aunts have do this too) have justified this view by saying that god lifts up his children, and the reason America is so strong at the moment is because there are so many Christians, or that it was founded on Christian principles. I think it is so rich because it got free, illegal labour for 400 years. But some of my older generation say that I'm just looking at the human and not the spiritual aspects and so on. And I bring up Christianity because there is an underlying current of racial inferiority there (certainly with the generation I grew up with).
I'm told to forget our oppression and history and culture, or at least not think about it. But that I should just move on and "enjoy" life. But my enjoyment of life has to do with being real with my history and everything we as a people are. I can't be comfortable with the belief that Black people are in the position we are in because of some spiritual deficiency, or anything else. Now here's my question. What are other people's experiences of cultural / spiritual values of an older generation that are fundamentally different from your own?
-- tim
I was talking with my mom and we got to talking about politics in America and the social upheaval in the 60s and so on and so forth. In Jamaica in the 70s there was political upheaval between Michael Manley and Edward Seaga in the 70s. And this is why we did not go back to Jamaica. Now, I bring this up because we were just talking about the old days in Jamaica (we kids were all born in Canada), and how there is much more of a social culture in Jamaica versus here in Canada. People talk to each other there whereas people are more isolated here.
Now, we all grew up Christian, but were told never to read about Black history, culture etc (I'm serious). All of the proud history was British and fighting in the war and so on. Much of my older generation's mentality was that if you were Black or African, you worshipped voodoo or something and you needed to be saved (through Jesus) and all of that.
Now my mum (some of my Aunts have do this too) have justified this view by saying that god lifts up his children, and the reason America is so strong at the moment is because there are so many Christians, or that it was founded on Christian principles. I think it is so rich because it got free, illegal labour for 400 years. But some of my older generation say that I'm just looking at the human and not the spiritual aspects and so on. And I bring up Christianity because there is an underlying current of racial inferiority there (certainly with the generation I grew up with).
I'm told to forget our oppression and history and culture, or at least not think about it. But that I should just move on and "enjoy" life. But my enjoyment of life has to do with being real with my history and everything we as a people are. I can't be comfortable with the belief that Black people are in the position we are in because of some spiritual deficiency, or anything else. Now here's my question. What are other people's experiences of cultural / spiritual values of an older generation that are fundamentally different from your own?
-- tim