Skin Color Games

Interesting topic and question.  I did suffer from anemia when I was young.  In those days, my brother had to walk me to our small town doctor’s office (Mom babysat his nurse’s daughter) so they could take blood from my finger to do an assessment.  I was taking iron supplements–and the most dreaded thing of all, having to eat liver.

Later, as a teenager and a young adult the doctors would take one look at my complexion and ask if I was anemic because my skin was just very pale.  I never tested anemic after my childhood, but the people in the medical profession that I came in contact with would always ask.

My older sister later in life tried to do something about her sort of leathery skin.  She’s lived and worked outdoors her entire life, mostly on a horse.  I like the way she looks because it shows just who she is.

My younger sister was the envy of both of us.  Rather than burning immediately in the sun as I did or turning a sort of “dirty” brown as my older sister did, she developed a gorgeous “olive” complexion (as they called it then).

I just stuck my nose in a book all my life when I could.  Growing up on a farm, I loved the animals and the freedom to roam.  But…..I hated helping with the farming–especially the corn fields, the most bug attacting fields you can find.  I would help irrigate and came back covered in welts from bug bites.  My brother and sisters almost never had a problem with that. 

They said it was my complexion and blood type–or so I was told by several people.

Yes, why would you want really white skin?

The only things that matter any longer (and actually the only that have ever mattered) are competence and character. Those form the basis upon which a person should be judged and nothing more.

I don’t care about those other attributes that the incompetent, dull, and immoral use to judge others. Can we please move on now?

I don’t think people are as enamoured of tanning since the health hazards have become more known.  Everyone used to buy suntan lotion to get brown; now they buy sunscreen to NOT get brown lol  Plus, I think it was always more a youthful exercise.  Most grownups are too busy to sit in the sun or in a tanning booth!  And maybe now we’re also too smart, now that we know more about the effects 

We often speak in terms of color, but I think perhaps it just became a shorthand form of communication – I don’t think people are always using color as the identification of someone “different”.  I’ve observed many people identifying people by facial features, rather than color, because color is not always a distinquishing feature.  Plenty of caucasians are brown (many Greeks, many hispanics, many arabs – all caucasians) and plenty of black people are light skinned. 

Often people will note that the “most attractive” non-caucasians (eg, in Holllywood) have light skin.  But they also are more likely to have caucasian facial features.  That’s rarely mentioned, but it should be part of what people find offensive, not just that people are pushing “lighter color” as “most attractive”.  IMO, there should be various standards of beauty, not just one, which many (even of that same race) could never meet.

Your white is beautiful Pat – it’s who you are.  Don’t risk the burn 

I don`t care what someone`s skin color is, as long as they bleed red,white and blue.

Pat, this is a fascinating story.  Of course, ever since Thee One became president, we have a spanking new post-racial America, where skin color is no longer a factor and nobody notices . . . Oh well . . .

I think one of the most interesting conundrums in racial identities is the case of Texas bluesman (and rocker) Johnnny Winter, born an albino (as was his brother, Edgar), to Caucasian parents.  Nevertheless, even though he could be termed double-white, Johnny developed into one of the first white bluesmen with an authentic-sounding black vocal and guitar style.  He was striking: thin as a rail, with long white hair, his white skin festooned with tattoos.  Johnny Winter exemplified the possibilities of  post-racial blues-rock music.

I read this too Pat and I just don’t understand it but then again there’s a lot I don’t understand at this point.

OT: My Boy Oliver here, the one that tattooed my head with paw prints a week or two ago passed away this weekend after a brief but ferocious illness. He was more than I deserved and I’m devastated. Now I’m going to catch up on this site and keep my mind working like crazy.

Peace…….Seymour

Excellent commentary, oowawa. Johnny and Edgar are “one” of a kind as it were.

It seems that the world has a love/hate relationship with skin color.  Those who are white want to be darker. Those who are darker want to be lighter.  Those who are dark think whites are racist. Those who are white think darks are racist.  People forget that the industrialized world came into being in Northern countries, and now that the rest of the world is catching up, they want to blame the whites for not giving them a chance. My question is – who gave the whites the chance?
Since the beginning of history, man has conquered foreign lands, gained riches by doing so and ended up creating a better world.  The color of your skin is what you are judged by, like it or not.  All the talk about being judged by the content of your character and not the color of your skin is just that. It will take something that is far beyond our reach to change that. As long as man is on this earth, I can’t see that changing.
As a footnote, I was raised in a time where people minded their own business, and concentrated on making their own life better.  If I spent my time wanting what other people have instead of taking care of me and mine, I would never have anything but discontent.,

Seymour:

I am so sorry for your loss. Having 3 dogs and 10 cats, I can understand the import of his departure.

Ferd.

in browsing around the web I saw this headline from Salon.
Should Obama have more black advisors around him?
No, he should have more QUALIFIED people around him, no matter what skin color.
I am so tired of this nonsense. The job market sucks and many job seekers will have to face the fact that companies only care about Can you do the job you are paid to do?
They do not pay for skin color, sexual preference only Can you do the job you are paid to do. If not do not waste the companies time.
That may sound harsh but it is reality.

WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE,MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS

PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE CHATTERING PEOPLE RULE

clairtx:

This is due to the emphasis of format over content and style over substance. Our society (everywhere) is out of control. They equate the external with good. Wrap up feces with a pretty package and a nice bow and people will stand in line for it. It smells like shit but sure is pretty.

LOL Pat  
In desperation I tried that nasty goop you can slather on your body promising to dye your skin tan. I turned orange—jail jumpsuit orange!  
Been there done than. Had to scrub scrub scrub LOL  
And as for Vaseline (owned by Unilever), would NEVER use their products. I make my own entire mineral make up, soap, and beauty products from all natural ingredients! Why use mineral oil anywhere on your body?  
   
Added extra is that natural products work regardless of the color of skin  

When I was young, we used to sit out in the sun (even at lunch time in high school), covered with babyoil mixed with iodine. Years later, I  had to have a cancer spot removed from my face.  Now my doctor and I continue to monitor  facial “rough patches”.

My kids and grandkids do wear sunscreen, but they are in the sun almost constantly as they are very sports involved and tropical beach admirers. Although they are part Italian and only two of them have light eyes/blonde hair like me, I worry that sunscreen isn’t enough…

((((Seymour))))))) Hugs……

More hugs.

Something you don’t think about when you think about skin color …
I was surprised to see that someone on our orphanage blog posted pictures taken of the children there last year. One of the children was an albino Chinese boy who was finally adopted as a “special needs” child. He was older and was shown at the orphanage helping the caretakers with younger children. Luckily he was adopted shortly afterwards. 

Mineral make up is an awesome natural sun stopper.  
Not that I am saying to switch  
   
Titanium Dioxide also has waterproof and SPF properties while providing a Matte look.  
Mica has some transparent properties and allows the makeup to go on smoothly.  
Iron Oxides give the makeup its pigment.  
Zinc Oxide is known for its healing properties in problem skin such as rosacea and acne; it has the ability to stay on even while sweating and swimming, as well as offers protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays.  
Women can swim and look beautiful at the same time!  
Without GOOP!  Can be applied to kids too.

And while snow-white Johnny Winter is singing black music . . .

And . . .

Last OT:

Thank you so much my friends. I knew I would find great comfort in knowing I’m among animal lovers here. Our kitties are talkin and  roaming wondering where their canine brother is. It’s excruciating but the joy and love these wonderful family members bring to us is worth every tear and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank you again my friends. Hugs back JustMe, Big Hugs.
 
Seymour, Oliver’s Human……… *sigh*   
 

Don’t blame Unilever because Indians prefer lighter skin.  They arent really marketing the virtues of whiter skin, they are marketing what people want. Who am I to tell people what to want?

As an aside, light skinned Indians with long flowing dark hair and almond eyes are some of the most attractive humans on the planet as far as I am concerned – something about the contrast between the skin and hair is really beautiful. If I could buy a skin cream that made me into one, I would do it – if I were dumb enough to think such a product existed.

I think India needs more “truth in advertising”. I am always shocked when I leave the USA that large scale retail ad campaigns can straight up lie.

As far as facebook, meh, if you believe people look like what they post they look like I have a bridge for sale. Just mail me the check and I will send you the title.

Well…Michael Jackson had it both ways….wonder which one he liked better….just askin’

“Say What You Will…It Feels So Good”

Yes, sometimes, in this post-racial world we live in, racial identities can get confusing . . .

Unfortunately, high intelligence and competence are sometimes highly regarded only in the abstract. These people are at the high end of any curve, and the majority below them do not always favor working for or with them.

Remember this one?

Your furry friends will be your best asset in these times, Seymour. When two of our treasured cats went on, we allowed the other cats and dogs to investigate the loss. We were careful but it was wrenching and necessary. They understood.

Your loss is noted.

This is something I never have quite understood.  As you know sis there are several races in our immiate family.  My very white arms (inherited from our father I suspect) love to hug the White, Asian, Black, Hispanic and American Indian grandchildren that I adore.  It is so beautiful to watch them all together.   Cousins having a blast playing together not knowing or caring that their skin is alittle different.   Our future is with them.

When the world can live without thinking what we all look like and look at what we offer from inside, it will be a better place!!!
~~Beauty is NOT skin deep~~
~~Beauty is in the eye of the beholder~~

If you have a tanning lotion accident, you just need to learn to accessorize for artful compensation:

LOL oowawa OMG!

In India, pale skin is associated with the Brahmin caste who were always shaded from the sun, and lighter of skin than the lower castes. The lower castes, including the untouchables, being not so shaded from the sun and doing all the outside work, had darker skins. In India, pale skin is a sign of high social status, the sort one is born with.  Darker skin is associated with the lower castes, which is not socially desirable. It used to be that the caste system governed Indian life to the nth degree. It determined where you worked and what you worked at, where you lived, whom you could marry, and how you were treated by the rest of society. It was something you were born into and died in, without change, or hope of change. The British arrived and did their best to eliminate the caste system. They did a pretty good job, giving government jobs to people of all castes. But the social caste system is still somewhat in place, and old habits die hard. Hence the skin lightening creams that are prevalent in India still. They have more to do with the caste system than racism. After all, the people doing this in India are all the same race, just different shades of it. And the lighter your skin under that system, the higher your social status. And it has been that way for thousands of years. Good luck changing it!!

Unilever isn’t forcang anybody to use that product.  Anybody who doesn’t like or approve of it shouldn’t use it.  So what is the problem?

So sorry Seymour. One of my dogs is getting on in years and I’m terrified of losing him. I’ve had him since the day he was born.

My heart goes out to you.

My skin color is kind of a non-descript and ugly taupe.

Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO

As it should be.

Just a few words, but a powerful expression.  Thank you . . .

Candymarl:

I am so sorry. What Katmoon and I did was stay with those who we knew were going to pass and spent the quality time with them. It is so, so difficult. Just love them–they know.

Oh, Seymour, I am thinking of you.  Dreadful to go through.  Last night Ferd and others were talking about their caring for their pets. It was a very good bunch of comments.

We will start HERE in The USA in November and continue!

When I was in college and needed money for essentials like something to eat, I found I could sell my blood every couple of months for $7/pint, meager as it was.  Eventually they turned me down because I was anemic.

Kind of like this, Stan?

oowawa, this is like freaking me out. I just pulled out my old albums Saturday night and one of my most treasured is “Autumn” on “They Only Come Out At Night”. Ahhh, memories of my own Endless Summer of “72″ living with the folks at the beach and I was sick in love. I don’t really care if Edgar is chartreuse.

Nice cartoon.  Interesting subject, but what is the subject?  Is it about skin color and the new app, or is it about something much bigger. 
If it is about just skin color, then the app is a good thing.  It can allow people to see how they would look with a tan or different kinds of makeup.  It might even be used to allow people to see how they would look with different kinds of hair color before spending all kinds of money and effort, only to find out that it is not right for them at this time.
If we want to make it about prejudicial attitudes, then we have to start with the fact that we all have them to one extent or another.  It can be what color clothes one wears in a specific neighborhood to skin and hair color, to religion, nationality, attitudes of men toward women and women toward men, straight versus gay and gay versus straight.  Or, us versus them, whoever “us” is and “them” are. 
To have a conversation we would have to remove the benefits (personal and political) inherent in having these attitudes and labeling ourselves and the other as being good versus bad.  It would have to be about how to have better understanding, communication (speaking, listening, and understanding of what is being communicated) in all relationships without labeling.  Our president, could have done much to get this started, but instead, he has only used prejudice attitudes by creating “them” versus “us” in what he does. If you are in favor of big spending then you are for the poor.  If you are against big spending you are against the poor, and we know that poor is a code word for the minorities as if there are no wealthy minority people and all wealthy people are white.

We will start HERE in The USA in November and continue! 

Several years ago we had to have one of our beloved Danes put down due to illness and age.  It was as it always is, a horrible experience, especially when you know it’s coming.
We had the vet come to our home and as the vet injected her, a tear slipped down our Chelsea’s face.  The vet says that dogs don’t cry, but I am not so sure.  It haunts me still.

-

LOL, oowawa….

My grandmother used to say I was ‘yellow’ and would force my mother to
put rouge on my cheeks before we went out in public.  Not very confidence
building for a little girl….a bit of suntan always did improve my olive skin
and made me look healthier – a boon for any thin child.

Thankfully, as I grew older I was able to turn my minuses into pluses and
held my own with any other young woman.  Personality and  a bit of grey matter sure goes a long way – with people who matter….

Great comment FLDemFem, and I think we have something like that going on here among blacks.  A friend confided in me that he had more status among his peers because he passed the “brown paper bag test.”  I said, “Huh?”  He replied that every Black with color the same as or lighter than a brown paper bag has a much easier time in our society with both other Blacks and Whites. 

LMAO Oowawa.  That’s hysterical.  Brings it all back, but I wasn’t hat clever.

The vet says that dogs don’t cry, but I am not so sure.  It haunts me still.
=======================
I’m not sure, either. That’s why Kat and I do everything ourselves. I am so sorry for the loss of Chelsea, elizabethrc.

Thanks Sis.  You are so right.  Our “United Nations” family says it all when it comes to skin color.  It just does not matter.  When the kids get into fights, it has nothing to do with skin hue.

Thanks for stopping by to visit me here at NQ!

Cute post, Pat.

I have to laugh, I’m being sarcastic, but if anybody wants to lighten their skin (or stop being viewed as a woman) just become a conservative. It’s magic, like poof, the melanin fairy strikes again! Suddenly you’re a wealthy white male, and probably a racist too.

Thank you candymarl, this is certainly not the first but each seems like the toughest. Each one comes home to sleep on our laps surrounded by us all when possible……Oliver was a young 9 years old and that time went by so fast. Too fast.

LMAO Oowawa.  That’s hysterical.  Brings it all back, but I wasn’t that clever.

Absolutely Ferd. It doesn’t matter what’s on calendar, my better half, who I very much hope joins this community, and I change the schedule what ever that is for our furry family and yes, this is so difficult but very much a loving and quality time for all.  
 
 

Mama Kay, I think you have taught your children to appreciate variety in skin color and and racial and ethnic backgrounds of others.  You are a real model for breaking down prejudice.  I think there are others like Angelena Jolie who are also helping to show that children of all ethnic/racial backgrounds deserve to be loved and nurtured.  These children are more likely to grow up with respect for people regardless of race or skin color.  I think this is likely to be the case as well with people who adopt or have children who are physically or mentally challenged.  Their siblings are more likely to be accepting and less judgmental of other human beings.

candymarl, I’m so with Ferd and Kat on this. Just love that Sweetheart with all your might and we know you do without reservation…..
 

I too am the “whiter than white” type and I not only landed in the hospital trying to get a tan when I was 8 years old, I damn near died. Now I cannot go out in the sun even wearing SP 30 for more than a short time. Even then I start to get nauseous after about 10-15 minutes.

I find it amusing that we can’t “talk” about people’s skin color when no one seemed to find it “wrong” to talk about mine my whole life.

Moby Dick, I was told my skin was like the belly of a dead fish washed up on the beach. 

When one of my girlfriends militant AA sons went on a tirade about the problems of a “black” man like him I told him that he wasn’t black, he was a nice “milk-chocolaty brown with golden tones in his skin just like his Momma.” You know, the shade that white America spends a fortune, or risks melanoma to achieve.

The kid huffed and puffed and then mumbled something about it not being “right” for me to talk about the color of his skin. I replied that he had no problem with talking about mine. He stomped off in a rage. My girlfriend was chortling with glee since she felt the same way and he, being her son, paid no attention to what she said.

By the way, the young man is now a middle-aged man and one of the best people I know. Someone a mother can be proud of. He does still call me his “token” white friend but it’s in fun, not fury.

elizabeth,
 
In these times when the relationship is at its purest, I have to lovingly beg to differ with the vet on this one. I wiped Oliver’s last tear. Don’t be haunted Sweetheart, this is a part of life and by your very statement alone tells us all that your heart is unending. Chelsea will be a part of that heart forever……
 

Unilever isn’t forcang anybody to use that product.  Anybody who doesn’t like or approve of it shouldn’t use it.  So what is the problem?
================
You mean like selling candy to kids? Come on, these companies are selling crap. 

“We” can Ferd, it’s “them” doing most of the name-calling that can’t.

Love, Love, Love that song!  Whatever one thinks of MJ and the charges brought against him (and I don’t believe them after speaking to the jury foreman in the Santa Barbara trial and reading tons of material on the trial), you must admit, he wrote the most wonderful songs about world peace and taking care of the planet.
Also, remember, MJ said it “don’t matter if you’re black or white”.

Off topic, Chealsea Clinton must be a fan, too, since I saw the supposed playlist for her wedding reception and she has tons of Michael’s songs picked out to play at her reception.

I think Michael would have liked NOT to have had vitiligo, which is what caused him to lose his black pigmentation and which his son Prince also has.  It’s a pretty terrible disease.

I was two tone for awhile, because I had so many damned freckles I always, summer, winter, or spring, looked like I had slept behind a screen door and was forever tattooed by the UVs. Speckled as a guinea fowl. My mom was the same, she never lost her freckles. I finally lost my freckles and became a paleface white man.  The species must evolve.

-

A Russian milestone: 1st
black elected to office

Daily Caller,
by KRISTINA NARIZHNAYA   

Original Article

7/25/2010

People in this Russian town used to stare at Jean Gregoire Sagbo because they had never seen a black man. Now they say they see in him something equally rare — an honest politician. Sagbo last month became the first black to be elected to office in Russia. In a country where racism is entrenched and often violent, Sagbo’s election as one of Novozavidovo’s 10 municipal councilors is a milestone. But among the town’s 10,000 people, the 48-year-old from the West African country of Benin is viewed simply a Russian who cares about his hometown….

So sorry for your loss Seymour. Here’s a story a friend sent me when I too lost one of my friends.

[blockquote]
A man and his dog were walking along a road.

The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for many years.

He continued walking and wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. It looked like fine marble..

 When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, ‘Excuse me, where are we?’
‘This is Heaven, sir,’ the man answered.

‘Wow! Would you happen to have some water?’ the man asked.

‘Of course, sir. Come right in, and I’ll have some ice water brought right up.’

The man at the desk gestured, and the gate began to open.
 
The traveler asked,  ‘Can my friend,’ gesturing toward his dog, ‘come in, too?’[/blockquote] cont.

So sorry that you lost your friend Seymour. Below is a story a friend sent me when I lost one of my beloved furry friends. I hope it comforts you some as it did me.

A man and his dog were walking along a road.  
 
The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for many years.  
 
He continued walking and wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. It looked like fine marble..  
 
 When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.  
He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.  
When he was close enough, he called out, ‘Excuse me, where are we?’  
‘This is Heaven, sir,’ the man answered.  
 
‘Wow! Would you happen to have some water?’ the man asked.  
 
‘Of course, sir. Come right in, and I’ll have some ice water brought right up.’  
 
The man at the desk gestured, and the gate began to open.  
   
The traveler asked,  ‘Can my friend,’ gesturing toward his dog, ‘come in, too?’

cont. below

oowawa, I’m laughing so hard right now. LMAO!! Thank you, thank you, thank you…..now what is that?

-

YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT THIS WHITE HOUSE IS MISSING

By Maureen Dowd
The New York Times
July 25, 2010

The Obama White House is too white.

It has Barack Obama, raised in the Hawaiian hood and Indonesia, and Valerie Jarrett, who spent her early years in Iran.

But unlike Bill Clinton, who never needed help fathoming Southern black culture, Obama lacks advisers who are descended from the central African-American experience, ones who understand “the slave thing,” as a top black Democrat dryly puts it.

The first black president should expand beyond his campaign security blanket, the smug cordon of overprotective white guys surrounding him — a long political tradition underscored by Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 when she complained about the “smart-ass white boys” from Walter Mondale’s campaign who tried to boss her around.

Otherwise, this administration will keep tripping over race rather than inspiring on race.

The West Wing white guys who pushed to ditch Shirley Sherrod before Glenn Beck could pounce not only didn’t bother to Google, they weren’t familiar enough with civil rights history to recognize the name Sherrod. And they didn’t return the calls and e-mail of prominent blacks who tried to alert them that something was wrong.

Charles Sherrod, Shirley’s husband, was a Freedom Rider who, along with the civil rights hero John Lewis, was a key member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee of the ‘60s.

As Lewis, the longtime Georgia congressman, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he knew immediately that something was amiss with the distorted video clip of Sherrod talking to the N.A.A.C.P.

“I’ve known these two individuals — the husband for more than 50 years and the wife for at least 35, 40 — and there’s not a racist hair on their heads or anyplace else on their bodies,” Lewis said.

We may not have a “nation of cowards” on race, as Attorney General Eric Holder contended, but we may have a West Wing of cowards on race.

CONTINUED BELOW

-

The president appears completely comfortable in his own skin, but it seems he feels that he and Michelle are such a huge change for the nation to absorb that he can be overly cautious about pushing for other societal changes for blacks and gays. At some level, he acts like the election was enough; he shouldn’t have to deal with race further. But he does.

His closest advisers — some of the same ones who urged him not to make the race speech after the Rev. Jeremiah Wright issue exploded — are so terrified that Fox and the Tea Party will paint Obama as doing more for blacks that they tiptoe around and do less. “Who knew that the first black president would make it even harder on black people?” asked a top black Democratic official.

It’s the same impulse that caused Obama campaign workers to refuse to let Muslim women with head scarves sit in camera range during a rally. It’s the same impulse that has left the president light-years behind W. on development help for Africa. In their rush to counteract attempts to paint Obama as a radical/Muslim/socialist, Obama staffers can behave in insensitive ways themselves.

“I don’t think a single black person was consulted before Shirley Sherrod was fired — I mean c’mon, “ said Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, a black lawmaker so temperate that he agreed with an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal on Friday by Senator James Webb of Virginia, which urged that “government-directed diversity programs should end.”

“The president’s getting hurt real bad,” Clyburn told me. “He needs some black people around him.” He said Obama’s inner circle keeps “screwing up” on race: “Some people over there are not sensitive at all about race. They really feel that the extent to which he allows himself to talk about race would tend to pigeonhole him or cost him support, when a lot of people saw his election as a way to get the issue behind us. I don’t think people elected him to disengage on race. Just the opposite.”

Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s House delegate, agreed: “The president needs some advisers or friends who have a greater sense of the pulse of the African-American community, or who at least have been around the mulberry bush.”
And why does the N.A.A.C.P. exist if not to help clear a smeared champion of civil rights who gave a stirring speech about racial reconciliation at an N.A.A.C.P. banquet? Its president, Ben Jealous, shamefully following the administration’s rush to judgment, tweeted Monday night that Shirley Sherrod was a racist without even calling his Georgia chapter president or reviewing the N.A.A.C.P.’s own video of the speech.

It was Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist, who, after hearing the entire speech, pushed to get it out and helped clear Sherrod’s reputation on CNN.
The president shouldn’t give Sherrod her old job back. He should give her a new job: Director of Black Outreach. This White House needs one.

now what is that?
Testing for one of the many Barbie dolls to hit the stores….. I hear this one was a reject!

You mean like selling candy to kids? Come on, these companies are selling crap. 

Until we find out later how much damage this crap causes just like slimming pills etc! Sure you can add a whole list here Ferd!

And this one too, oowawa;

I remember this one from my younger years…

it seems he feels that he and Michelle are such a huge change for the nation to absorb that he can be overly cautious about pushing for other societal changes for blacks and gays.

Not that MoDo has any credibility to begin with but just how does she think she can know what’s inside Baby Doc’s head?  There are many people who believe, based on his actions, that he’s merely an opportunist and a user.  Sensitive, he is not.  It’s only through his actions, rather than his words,  anyone can know what his agenda is.

O/T
Migrants sell up and flee Arizona ahead of crackdown
PHOENIX (Reuters) – Nicaraguan mother Lorena Aguilar hawks a television set and a few clothes on the baking sidewalk outside her west Phoenix apartment block.
A few paces up the street, her undocumented Mexican neighbor Wendi Villasenor touts a kitchen table, some chairs and a few dishes as her family scrambles to get out of Arizona ahead of a looming crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Lightners, brightners and bleaching creams have been used by black women forever. It’s been interesting watching how marketing has changed over the years. When I was a kid, my grandmother used a product, literally called Black to White. It had the image of a woman on the lid who was half black and half white. Now the products taut evening out skin color. This is an issue with skin that contains melanin.–hyperpigmentation causing permanent discoloration and uneven skin tone.

Methinks your toon and presentation about skin color has opened the door to a much broader discussion about discrimination at many levels: race,ethnicity, skin color, attractiveness, political affiliation, nationality, and on and on. I think the diversity of topics and comments introduced above attests to that.

On the attractiveness issue, note the influence of business interests on what we are expected to believe are the models of good looks and health.  The big promotions these days are for products that allegedly enhance your physical beauty (reduce wrinkles, smooth your skin, make it whiter, give you a whiter brighter smile, give you six-pack abs, slim you down, provide you the best nutrition, make you live longer and healthier, etc.).

The news stands at grocery stores are filled with magazines that tout super-slim bodies wearing the bare essentials, with perfect skin and no belly fat.  Then, take a look at the average person walking down the street or the average kids at school.   Most do not resemble in any way the models of perfection held up for us to emulate.

What are children and young adults eapected to believe as they grow up?  Kids with their smart phones, access to Facebook and YouTube, and TV are so bombarded with promotions and peer pressures that it is perhaps not difficult to see how parental and school influences on the young are losing ground to the popular media and peer culture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm09iOIjM1M

Then there was this one in the ’50′s…”Pinky” starring Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters…great cast.

Couldn’t get this to work before so maybe it’ll work this way.

There is and it’s been going on for as long as there has been a free black society in the US. Read up on the quadroon balls of New Orleans and the social ranking by skin color that occurred throughout black society. Here is the link to a Google search for “quadroon balls”, it has some very interesting links and great stories at those links. Here is a part of one at a link about French Creoles…
The first quadroon ball to introduce Frenchmen to available young ladies was held in 1805. It became a tradition for the mother to chaperone her daughter to the ball; the Frenchmen, after making his pick, negotiated with the young woman’s mother as to how he was going to support her daughter, and then given permission to claim her as his mistress. Many of these balls it is believed were held at 717 Orleans in the Quadroon Ballroom which today is part of a hotel.

None of the young ladies were slaves, by the way, all were free women.

Color preference used to be based on whatever applied to the leisure class.  During slavery and prior to the industrial age, pale skin meant you were sitting on the veranda rather than having to work in the fields.  Later, as the leisure class meant traveling and sitting on the beach, tan skin came to mean you had plenty of time to be at large. 

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Seymour,

Our JustMe lost her black cat yesterday. 

Bubbles was 20 years old!!

I feel for both of you deeply, as I have had my share of pet losses in my life.

One NEVER forgets, hold your memories close and let them comfort you
both, now and forever.

I believe in reincarnation and I know my pets will be among those who will
welcome me on the other side, when the time comes for me to join them…

I watched American Masters on PBS last week and saw one of my favorites…

How about a little “white soul” from Meryl who doesn’t seem to give a fig about wrinkles…

I watched American Masters on PBS last week and saw one of my favorites… 
 
How about a little “white soul” from Meryl who doesn’t seem to give a fig about wrinkles… 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx-TSSFLBjw

I don’t know what I’m missing getting this to like directly from youtube…but anyway…

Here u go Annie

oowawa, thanks for the reminder. he is from beaumont and played often in louisana. it is called blue eyed soul. i used to date one of the band members. talk about talent.

Under my clothing my skin is white, my arms and hands are “farmer tan” ((suntan brown up to end of short sleeve shirt).  I’ve been asked if I golf a lot….no, it’s from intensive gardening, and at my age I have never broken a bone (sun=Vitamin D). Also never had melanona.  I use a medication which includes Zinc Oxide for my facial rosacea.  The sun does not penetrate the medication and I sweat profusely, so my face does not tan.  I never cared for “beach bathing” or “body slathering.   

seymour, i am so sorry for your loss. i lost one of my beloved cats last november. i was thinking about her just this morning as it is about this time last year she became ill.

i believe our furry children are gifts from God and i cannot understand ANYONE who would mistreat an animal. i have two cats now and they are doing fine. one of them grieved so much with her passing, i had to take him to the vet to get him back eating again.

make that “link”…

While at work waiting for a co-worker to finish printing, I asked her if she had just had a permanent as her dark hair was so tightly curled…..we both laughed as soon as I asked the question…..she was part Af.American and some part Japanese…and her hair was natural.  I never thought of her as being Af. American or any thing else!  

i have relatives who originally came from the middle east. growing up my aunt was always telling her daughter to stay out of the sun. i can only imagine  she grew up with this implanted in her mind forever. i though she had and has beautiful skin.

Oh, didn’t know about that one, Annie.  Thanks!

I’ve been called “Racist” so often, I’m starting to believe it’s OK.

UGH?

Good point, Annie.  And if you were a “redneck,” which indicated you had been working out in the hot sun, you were obviously not a member of the leisure class . . .

I say it for them so they don’t have to say it to me!!!

When the word is used incorrectly, you have every right to reject it. Those who are using it incorrectly are at fault and are dullards.

Breeze and JustMe,
 
I was just catching up on yesterdays “Dumbo and the Polls” and read about it. My heart goes out to you “JustMe” with another big hug and another. Ironic is it not that I haven’t been on the site for a couple of weeks and we have your gut wrenching loss of Bubbles yesterday? I had no idea. Bull in a china shop they always called me. Please forgive me JustMe; my heart is on my sleeve with you, Bubbles and Oliver all over it. I so much agree Breeze as to reincarnation and that we will be with united once again. How could such a powerful flow of spiritual and soulful energy just stop? It can’t. 
 
TrustMe? My sincerest apologies and heartfelt condolences…..
 
Seymour
 

Breeze and JustMe,
 
I was just catching up on yesterdays “Dumbo and the Polls” and read about it. My heart goes out to you “JustMe” with another big hug and another. Ironic is it not that I haven’t been on the site for a couple of weeks and we have your gut wrenching loss of Bubbles yesterday? I had no idea. Bull in a china shop they always called me. Please forgive me JustMe; my heart is on my sleeve with you, Bubbles and Oliver all over it. I so much agree Breeze as to reincarnation and that we will be united once again. How could such a powerful flow of spiritual and soulful energy just stop? It can’t. 
 
TrustMe? My sincerest apologies and heartfelt condolences…..
 
Seymour
 
 

I am so very sorry… I’m sure if I knew I would be truly impressed with everything you did. And I am sure I would have done the same thing. Never, ever let anything diminish all the love, warmth, affection, food, shelter, loving care etc. you bestowed for all of those 9 years onto your dear Oliver.

In a way that is teribly painful for us, circumstances with domesticated animals will, at times, have to be left to them. I feel these are times that nature is telling us that it will always know more than we do.

I hope this makes sense to you. Let us all know how you are all doing.

God take care of the sweet baby. Take care and love on the remaining babies in his honor.

Do I remember correctly that Indians are Caucasians?

Great ‘toon, Pat.  And, very timely as well.  Today (Sundayy) on a “variety” CNN program there was a discussion as to why there are more “white” news/Sunday shows anchors than there are “black”: none!  I have noticed this, too, and wondered that CNN has more Af. Am. “reporters”, but no actual prime time “anchors”.  Why?  One reply was that, generally, viewers like to get their news from non-Af. Am.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any Af. Americans on FOX, MSNBC, and etc., whilc CNN has probably 8-10….but none are anchors or have their own programs permanently….as substitutes, yes. 

I’ve wondered why this is so for one network vs. the rest:  does CNN promote weekend programs to obtain, or  have, more Af. Am viewers on weekends; or, are they working for an image of being bi-ratial, or is their rating so low they can pay less $$ to Af. Am.?  Also,  they have not renewed contracts of several (predonimately) women this year who have been at the network for several years, only to replace them with younger women?  While I haven’t counted, it also appears that networks have more women (young) in front of the cameras?…..???
Jut questioning….?????

Thanks for your timely ‘toons, Pat….keep ‘em coming!….

I do not believe the person in the mirror is me. I hold my old friends and myself in my mind’s eye. All are there for safekeeping.

Thank you stodghie and I’m sorry for your loss in November. They are gifts from God. Our Feline family is unique to our Canine family in their senses, perceptions and behaviors but both are keen and both are irreplaceable. Different adorable personalities if you will. We’re all grieving over here as the kitties continue looking for their brother but as the day progresses the gentler it becomes.
 
Not nice to say but after so many rescues and seeing abusive abandonments’, I’ve always wanted to catch someone in an act of harm against an animal during the event instead of after. That person would never forget that encounter, I would have saved an animal and I would probably feel great for having done so.
 
God bless you stodghie and love those kitties like there might not be a tomorrow. Seymour 
  

Yep, “French-Fried Barbie” did not do well in the marketing trials . . .

No apologies Seymour, needed that’s what friends are for to shoulder each other. I would never have it any other way!  HUGS right back at YOU!!!!

No apologies Seymour needed, that’s what friends are for to shoulder each other. I would never have it any other way!  HUGS right back at YOU!!!!  

Thank you guest, very much.

No sympathy for a poor white boy who was sent to San Quentin, mostly for what could be called youthful indiscretions, because he didn’t have money for a lawyer? Oh well, Johnny Cash helped turn his life around and his songs about it made him a legend and a very rich man.  A true American success story.

BTW, The Beach Boys and The Grateful Dead covered the song.

Everyone who stays out of the sun, no matter the color, will most likely have beautiful skin so she was right!

During WWII, we had to paint on our stockings…As long as you didn’t go for painting on the seam too, it usually went fairly well.

During WWII, we had to paint on our stockings…As long as we didn’t go for painting on the seam too, it usually went fairly well.

I have an old pair of taupe colored shoes and I’m trying very hard to picture the color on someone’s skin….. *DONT_KNOW*  or

Have you seen this Pat.You ran this story a week or so ago!

Iran stoning case lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei’s relatives arrested

The lawyer defending Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani himself faces re-arrest as his wife and brother-in-law are held by Iran authorities

Thank you, Ferd.  This breed doesn’t live long and I’ve owned Danes for 54 years, but it never gets easier. 
If it’s true, as some have said, that our pets will all be waiting for us in Heaven, I’m gonna be in big trouble….but happy as a clam.

Skin lightening creams are a big seller in China – without the caste system. And remember the white makeup of Geishas in Japan.

Not sure what we can conclude from all this but, as a blonde, count me in the pale group – not as white as redheads though. I’ve given up trying to get a tan – I just try to expose as little as possible – not because of burning but because I just look so pasty.

I have been told that the same – lighter is better standard – is in Cuba and Brazil, People try to say these countries are color-neutral.

Let’s just throw this in too.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20011175-10391704.html

I agree, sowsear. The person in the mirror is too old to be me.

Oh no–I hadn’t seen this.  I was still worrying about that woman.  They only said they wouldn’t stone her–they didn’t say what they were going to do to her instead.  Geesh–let’s all be thankful we don’t live in Iran!

Thank you Seymour and I wish for you only happy memories of your dear Oliver.  The one good thing about pain is that memory dims and softens the loss over time, though not completely., and that’s probably a good thing.   

This story is  a tribute to a cat. I thought that Justme- Seymore- ferd – katmoon  and all the animal lovers here would like it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/weekinreview/25burns.html?pagewanted=2&ref=general&src=me

WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE,MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS

PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE CHATTERING PEOPLE RULE

Hey that “old person” shows up in my mirror too. Is she a physic senior escapee from the Ghost Whisperer do ya think?