"Blacks create and move on. Whites document and then recycle."- Miles Davis

[jwonder]

In Miles Davis era, I agree. But in this era, a lot of blacks want to be white. Excuse me, want to be accepted.

 

[SunZoo]

Not that this is the metaphysics thread or anything but if you look at the Earth as a conscious being made up of moving parts (like we are, micro/macro) I would say that black people are the physical manifestation of the feminine/yin/dark/subconscious aspects of the planets consciousness. We lay the foundation for everything and the male/yang/light/conscious aspects of the planet observes and propagates.

 

[Free White & 21]

It makes you wonder how much of their "culture" is really their culture. It may stem from their bleak climates, I dunno, great question.

Other countries and races were doing their own thing separate from white folk.

White folk starting migrating and interacting with other cultures.

What I don't get is what happens every time they meet someone else.

They take things that either entertain or is useful (for themselves) and leave out the origin in it's entirety.

People can argue that other races did this as well. But no where near on the same scale.

The most fundamental part of their culture is thievery. From the visigoths to fractional reserve banking - stealing shyt for 2000 years

 

[Admiral Ackbar]

Miles is right, but it's the tip of the iceberg. White people have the capital and clout to commodify culture. Fad starts, they're working on copyrights, royalties, contracts, etc. They temper it and make it consumable for the masses, market that shyt, get rich, and then kill the fad before it dies.

And the fad dies when a minority group comes up with the next big thing. They sit back and see how they can make money off of it, and the cycle starts all over again.

 

[David_TheMan]

MIles was wrong, blacks don't create and move on, they would create and be kicked out and have the door locked on them.
There is a big difference.

 

[Poitier]

Miles is right, but it's the tip of the iceberg. White people have the capital and clout to commodify culture. Fad starts, they're working on copyrights, royalties, contracts, etc. They temper it and make it consumable for the masses, market that shyt, get rich, and then kill the fad before it dies.

And the fad dies when a minority group comes up with the next big thing. They sit back and see how they can make money off of it, and the cycle starts all over again.

in the modern world....sure....but this behavior is observed even in ancient times.

 

[Poitier]

Quotes like this is so stupid. Basicaly puts each group into a category assuming their all the same

When discussing human behavior, there are exceptions to every rule...doesn't negate the rule.

 

[Samori Toure]

It's definitely a factor. Generally the reason there's so much outside influence and adaptation of other cultures within white culture is their access to different societies experienced through the prism of exploitation and conquest. You take what you like out of the people you oppress and be entertained and profit off of it. Access to the world and its cultures allow you to incorporate more of them, its just common sense.

Pre-Colonialism (or maybe pre-Renaissance) there's really not much indication that white culture didn't develop on a more or less expected trajectory, at least for a peripheral region with a shytty climate. There's whole books written about this "Great Divergence" between Europe and the rest of the world in terms of material profit and technology, but essentially cultural proclivities for profit, war-making, and exploration due to a variety of environmental factors combined with some happenstance institutional constructs led Europe to be able to access and exploit the New World, India, Africa, and the East Indies in a way that just wouldn't happen anywhere else. However, obviously this domination of the rest of the world had nothing to do with some sort of inherent superiority of white people, or something inherently "superior" about their culture or values. It was just environmental happenstance. Which also is why white culture is the way it is: not because white people are inherently "cultureless", but because the opportunities afforded to them to coopt and exploit have been far greater than anyone else.

Actually I would say that the Arabs were probably the fore runners of the co-opting and exploiting; in fact the Europeans only learned about the stuff that you mentioned because of the fact that the Arabs were co-opting and exploiting them. White people didn't sail any damn oceans going anywhere, before first learning navigation skills from the Arabs who utilized those skills to find their way through vast barren deserts to carry on trade and later yet to evangelize Islam. In fact Europeans knew nothing of India, Africa and beyond, except what they learned from the Arabs. In addition to navigation the Arabs advanced the concepts of accounting, banking, commercial law, and modern science. The Arabs picked up those seemingly isolated concepts and knowledge because trade and later religion bought them into contact with so many different cultures. The Arabs love of literacy later helped to spread those concepts.

What I find interesting is that but for the Arabs evangelistic zeal; White people and European societies would have remained in a similar state to many Sub-Saharan African societies.

 

[Danie84]

Miles speaketh the gospel DECADES ago, still resonating til this day

 

[Poitier]

White people and European societies would have remained in a similar state to many Sub-Saharan African societies.

Sub-Saharan African societies were more advanced even.

 

[Samori Toure]

Sub-Saharan African societies were more advanced even.

I used the word "many". Some of those societies were very advance like the Egyptian, Cush, Kongo, Zimbabwe, Ife, Oyo, Benin, Mossi, Kanem-Bornu, Mali, Ghana, Songhai and some others. Some of them were not as advanced, but then again some of them had to pay tribute to some of the larger kingdoms; so their ability to advance may have been stunted.

 

[VegasCAC]

Actually I would say that the Arabs were probably the fore runners of the co-opting and exploiting; in fact the Europeans only learned about the stuff that you mentioned because of the fact that the Arabs were co-opting and exploiting them. White people didn't sail any damn oceans going anywhere, before first learning navigation skills from the Arabs who utilized those skills to find their way through vast barren deserts to carry on trade and later yet to evangelize Islam. In fact Europeans knew nothing of India, Africa and beyond, except what they learned from the Arabs. In addition to navigation the Arabs advanced the concepts of accounting, banking, commercial law, and modern science. The Arabs picked up those seemingly isolated concepts and knowledge because trade and later religion bought them into contact with so many different cultures. The Arabs love of literacy later helped to spread those concepts.

What I find interesting is that but for the Arabs evangelistic zeal; White people and European societies would have remained in a similar state to many Sub-Saharan African societies.

By no means did Europeans ever have a monopoly on exploitation historically, but I was explaining why white culture has been the way it has since colonialism: access to so many of them with an exploitative relationship.

Without Arab cultural products Europe would probably still be a cultural periphery and East Asia would rule the world. Which at this point is happening anyway

 

[Bawon Samedi]

By no means did Europeans ever have a monopoly on exploitation historically, but I was explaining why white culture has been the way it has since colonialism: access to so many of them with an exploitative relationship.

Without Arab cultural products Europe would probably still be a cultural periphery and East Asia would rule the world. Which at this point is happening anyway

The American military is still decades ahead of everyone including China. East Asia still has A LOT to go to catch up to the West especially America.

 

[Samori Toure]

By no means did Europeans ever have a monopoly on exploitation historically, but I was explaining why white culture has been the way it has since colonialism: access to so many of them with an exploitative relationship.

Without Arab cultural products Europe would probably still be a cultural periphery and East Asia would rule the world. Which at this point is happening anyway

I understood your points.

And no kidding about the East Asians. The Chinese are reclaiming their place in the World.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

I understood your points.

And no kidding about the East Asians. The Chinese are reclaiming their place in the World.

And what place was that? For most their history they decided to isolate themselves to a point it hurt them i.e not industrializing early.