I don't think anyone is saying that. We are not simply talking environment here. We are talking about our immediate realities. I was born here, so was my mother, so was her mother. I don't consider myself American, but I must factor America into my thinking somehow becuase it is in fact my ever present reality. It must be a factor. We cannot simply ignore its significance and pretend we live in a bubble.SAMURAI36 said:From whence doest the notion that living somewhere makes your mindset reflective of that environment derive?
In my mind's eye, this "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" mindset is western, in and of itself.
I have lived in a gang-infested neighborhood....Does that make me a gang member?
We are not our environments, though sadly we remain ever so controlled by them. Black people in this society have long since been plagued with a having a very provential mentality.
Most of us can only speak English (and we do even that rather poorly), while the rest of the world is bi-lingual at the very least, or multi-lingual at most. Most people in this world, have traveled to other places, while we as Black people barely want to take a trip to the Bahamas (another largely Black society) for vacation......And even when we do, we do so as "tourists" rather than as explorers or potential citizens.
I agree that we are ignorant to many things, mainly because we are in America and the culture is this way. We do not go to schools the effectively teach us multiple languages. But even if we do travel, we are just guests and visitors, even if we feel connected to the indigenous people there. Most of us would be far more comfortable in our "western-style" places of living than in Africa--which, by the way, has been "westernized" itself. Why does this have to be positive or negative? It is simply human nature to be comfortable with what one is used to.
While I hear the juxtaposition or conundrum that you and Brother KENTE present, I am also aware of the old Islamic addage: "if the mountain does not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain".
Funny you should mention this, but it actually goes "If you can't bring Muhammad to the mountain, bring the mountain to Muhammad," which is just the opposite of what you assert. Using this example, if Muhammad is in America, bring the mountain to him there. Why try to move Muhammad from where he lives?
The only reason I know about these things, is because I took whatever opportunitie that presented themselves to go and learn about them.
And we should always learn, but we cannot change our pasts. If you grew up in America, your memories will be of western things. While McDonald's may be a negative aspect of American culture, being fond of the western-style house where I grew up and feeling comfortable with my neigherhood does not make me a lover of Rome. It makes me human.
I know of numerous Africans who are willing to take people with them when they go home, for the sake of experiencing their home with them.
That may be a moving experience, but what will it change about the present reality of Black people in the Americas?
We as Black people tend to think that this is it for us; either that, or we are sitting around waiting on the "Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot" to come transport us off to some form of "Heaven" or another. We have got to get out of that "Promised Land" mentality.
This is it for us at present. In other words, we are here, masses of our people our hear, most of them read the Bible, for better or for worse. This is our condition. What do we do? Do we all go back to Africa? And being that Africa is a continent with hundreds of tribes, languages, and cultures within it, which one do we pick?
I watched a special during Black History Month where Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traced some famous people's DNA back to the tribes of their ancestors. Oprah was disappointed to find that her roots most likely trace back to Liberia. She has established a girl's leadership academy in South Africa and feels a special connection to the people there. So at the end of the day, it is freeing to know from whence we came, but how will that effect where we will go and where we are?
It is unnatural for a baby to try to re-enter the womb, but we want to know who our mother and father is.