In My Opinion

Today is a day of many thoughts. This certainly doesn't differ from any other day except for the fact that I felt like writing. I have gotten so far away from writing, I honestly had doubt that I would be able to do it. Poo-poo to that negative thought. If there is pen and pad, or fingers and keys, writing can and will be done!! My topic today just simply stems from a video I watched a few mornings ago via Facebook. It doesn't really relate to the video itself (it's great though!!). It is in regard to the comments that were being made about it. First of all, a bit about the video. It is a small display of an African dance class in which most of the participants are non-black. I was hard pressed to find a term to describe them because I truly do not want to come off as "politically incorrect" and refuse to simply define people by their skin tone. I have no idea where this video was shot and for all I know they could very well be African people simply doing a dance from their culture. Sadly, most people can't wrap their heads around the fact that Africa has a melting pot of all skin tones. Okay, now that being said the comments made about this video were so over the top and off topic that I felt disheartened, but at the same time inspired to comment myself. (Inspiration comes in all forms) I picked a few of the comments to display here:
***I am not sure if this violates some unknown blogosphere rule, but I did copy and paste from the website***
comment #1:asia slaved africans for centuries longer than white people,also africans slaved their own peole as well,you would have a better chance % wise for a black to be related to a slave trader than you would been white,you dont know your own history,youve just been thought to blame the white race for everything an thats what you do,its not your fault your racist youve been indoctrinated that way since you were a child,try read a book
Grammatical errors aside, this person had a lot to say in response to someone that commented negatively about a "white" girl performing an African dance. My comment is just this: How on Earth did this video inspire this conversation about slavery? I may not be the most learned person when it comes to the history of slavery, but this video did not invoke any sort of anger. Does that make me ignorant? Should I be angered to see someone who does not share my skin tone, nor cultural background doing the dances of Native Africans? All I saw when I watched this video was a young lady moving like only she knows how. The only anger I felt was that I wish my body moved like hers. If I am wrong to not feel a certain type of way about this video, then so be it. I will be happily wrong from here on out.
comment #2:Africans had a strong Army. White people didn't come to Africa and take S***. They bought the slaves that Africans had enslaved themselves.
Yet again, the slavery topic. (yawn) Don't get me wrong, I am not in any way, shape, or form dismissing slavery. It was and still is an extremely important part of my history. I simply don't feel the need to analyze it everyday. The enslavement of African people here in the United States is the reason that I am here. My ancestors were considered less than human and forced to work land that they could never own. Times have changed, but some wounds can't be healed. I felt a bit incensed by this comment simply because whoever this is needs a new history lesson. It was just sad to read.
comment #3:I know more about the steps shes doing than YOU do. Shes mixing different steps, this is not an entire traditional dance its more modernized but she did GOOD. Yall aint give 2shits bout no african dance until someone non-black does it and its "SHE KILLED IT, THAT WAS TIGHT, THAT WAS SEXY" Im just pointing out the big ass elephant in the room, that doesn't make me a racist or a hater, it's the TRUTH. I appreciate ppl embracing different cultures but blacks RARELY embrace their own culture today but its now become of interest all of a sudden, and you wanna act like you don't know why? And YES "white" people CAN dance. WHY is that such a surprise to people anyways? A lot of yall are racist in your own ways as well.
Now this comment made me wish I knew this young lady personally. This is the kind of person that just makes my blood boil. Before I really go off topic, let me explain. This is the person that generalizes and stereotypes. In her mind she could never be a racist or a "hater". She learned some things about a few different cultures and now she's an "expert". If you have virgin ears please excuse my next comment. Know-it-alls make my ass itch!!!! Again, I go back to the fact that I have no idea what nationality, background, or race describes the people in this video. With that being said, I applaud them for doing a fantastic job and hope to see more. To the young lady that commented, I feel sad for her that she doesn't know how African dance has inspired many people in this country. It is being done EVERYWHERE by EVERYONE. How did she come to the conclusion that "blacks RARELY embrace their own culture"? She knows something that I don't apparently. I witness my people embracing their culture daily. Sad. If I knew her personally I would invite her to the next African-American festival I would attend and then she could truly see how much we embrace our culture. But, would it be enough for her to open her mind???

Rant and rave concluded. I enjoyed this video and included a link. Enjoy. http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhIMep5z9YCUH0gOoL