1st I think he was talking about Black American culture which obviously has assimilated into American Culture. Black Culture is many things as thread shows. As for you point, you are 100% correct, most people do view themselves culturally but a Frechmen and German still know their skin is of a lighter shade, that can't be denied. The fact is there is Black in all types of cultures, we are a very diverse race so no we definitely aren't the same and I wasn't even implying that. But in America where a racial lense is used for many facist of this countries systems. You are viewed more for our color than culture. Not saying I agree, I'm just glad I got to travel overseas and see other cultures and communites cause America is a melting pot but there is still a dominate society that tries to make you feel that having Dark Skin is wrong. Some of that mindstate has been in issue with this DR Drama. The Haitians are viewed as lower citizen in some cases cause of their darker skin. Again color-lense. So it's really not just America even though it does happen here the most I feel.
Great point. Yeah they're aware of their skin colour, but the main difference is that European countries are not as insulated as the US. Identity is defined in opposition with something else: for a Frenchman, that "something else" has been, for example, Italians, Germans, Brits, etc...for centuries. Those differences (and they can be very significant) supersede the fact that they are all white. That's why I laugh when people say "White people/Euros are the same everywhere". Only recently is color of skin a big topic in continental Europe (people hardly cared/knew what was going on with slavery and colonization, and massive permanent immigration only started after WW2). If you, as a Black American, tell a Frenchman he's "White", the Frenchman is gonna think "Hmm, this Black American thinks I'm White like a White American". And he might say "Hmm, I guess, but really I'm French!" to differentiate himself from Americans, as he differientiates himself from Germans or Russians. In the US it's different, the country is so big, young and insulated (only two land-borders, one of which is with an ethnically similar country) that identity has been defined in opposition to "something else" from within : since we're all Americans, I'm gonna add that I'm "White" and he's "Black" American. In France for example it's only very recently that people use "Noir", they'd rather use things like "originaly from" or "immigrated from" to show a difference if there is one. Because first, most non-white Europeans know where we come from (so instead of saying "I'm Black" I will say "I'm from CAR"), and second because racial separation has never been legal in continental Europe, except under the Nazis rule if I'm not mistaken (THIS DOES NOT MEAN THERE WAS NO RACISM, just that it was not legal like it was in South Afria or in the US). It's not better, just different.
You're just mad that I called Haiti for what it is; a shythole country. And Haitians escaping to the DR isn't a "win-win" situation if the former are only getting cheap labour jobs.
