by Jaye Green

Created on: April 14, 2009

Segregation no longer exists in the United States.There may be
'preference' but there is no barrier preventingentrance to any
public venue.

One will find persons who chose to live among'their own', hence
the enclaves in large cities,and one might find particular landlords
havepreferences, so will select one group overanotherwhen renting,
but there is no 'WhitesOnly' mandate.

Before the election of Barack Obama, persons whorequired an
excuse for failure would attempt to usetheir race.

Hence, the chap with the do rag on his head andhis entire backside
sticking out of his pants willclaim he was not hired because he was
black.

However, when there are a few dozen employees whose skin
contains more melanin than does his,the excuse falls rather flat.

What I have found among Black Americans,(coming from a Third
World Country where Blackshold major positions, from Prime
Minister toGovernor General to Police Commissioner) isa form of
mental slavery in which viewing oneself as oppressed or segregated
from the realmsof power operates as the 'default'.

In writing an article about troubleshooting abusiness I used the name
Keisha for thereceptionist.

Black Americans found this 'offensive' as 'noblack woman would hold
that position in amajor firm'.

The fact that everyone in the article was Black,from the Consultant
who was remarking on thebehaviour of Keisha, to the C.E.O. who had
hiredthe Consultant, (and Keisha) was beyond thepurview of Black
Americans.

That Black American readers would instantly respondto the article in the
belief that everyone was white isdue to the intellectual prison they have
built forthemselves.

In areas in which it seems that everyone is White,the question is,did
a person of another colourseek entrance?

An aspect very rarely examined by Americans isthe existence of class
differences.

In societies which were colonised by the English Class has always been
the discriminating factor.Americans are unaware that their society doeshave a very real class bias.

It is not colour qua colour, it is class, sometimesrepresented by economic
status, sometimes bylineage, sometimes by behaviour.

A black man holding status, who comports himselfwith a level of dignity
will be treated far better thanthe white man without status who has little
familiaritywith proper decorum.

That more whites may hold (or pretend to hold) status,that more whites
may be economically successful, isdwarfed by the fact that more whites
will behave at acertain level than blacks who will go to their 'default'as if it's some kind of 'power' to behave as a gangstarapper.

In my country, often Black Americans are discouragedfrom the better
hotels not because of their skin colourbut because of their behaviour.

While happily accommodating persons from every cornerof the Caribbean
and Africa, as well as thosewho residein England without pause, the Black
Americanis suspect because of his likelihood to behave inappropriately.

Using obscene and threatening language, having an'attitude', and occasionally
going to destructive meansto press a point, has made many Hoteliers chary ofthe Black American.

Trashing a room on leaving is not unknown, getting intoloud arguments with
each other is common. Trying tointimidate white guests has been practiced.

It is a Black American 'thing' as persons from SouthAfrica to Morocco do not
behave in that fashion.

The segregation Black Americans may think theyexperience is due more to
their assumed 'culture'than complexion.

And this 'impediment' is quite easily corrected.

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