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I'm wondering what does it mean to "be proud"?
Is pride something that should be reserved for accomplishments, i.e. graduating from college, making the dean's list, working towards and reaching a goal?

When people say they are proud to be dougla, black, chinese or whatever, is proud really the correct word? Why are you proud? Can you be "proud" of something that you have no control over and that is merely a circumstance of fate?

Is it possible that maybe "embrace or appreciate" could be the more proper expression rather than being proud, i.e. I embrace/appreciate my blackness/douglaness, whiteness, etc. or is it all just semantics?

I'm interested in what are people's opinions....

ah guess nobody touching dis with a ten foot pole

Yeah well for me, I think I can say that I'm proud to be Black. Because when you look at all the historically negative conotations associated with being Black asserting my pride in my African heritage in some ways nullifies () these stereotypes. I think it's more used as a defensive mechanism than anything else. Because you rarely hear people shouting down the place about White Power or White pride....well with the exception of the KKK cause there isn't really a need to, you know? They don't need to prove themselves to anyone. I guess anyone people who really want to remove a stigma from their name will assert being fiercely proud of who they are.

I'm not proud to be black! Yes I said it. Like I say all the time, being black, white, dougla, brown, etc means absolutely NOTHING!!! Who you are and the choices you make are what makes you. Now mind you I can understand peoples' mentality sometimes when they claim to be proud of their skin color. Being that being black was looked down upon for so long that to regain equality and respect they use it, but since I don't think like that, I can honestly say that I black, so the fack what??

See right there I can agree with you to the extent that you are proud of our ACCOMPLISHMENTS as black people. Our ability to persevere despite the hardships we've faced....this does make sense. I'm wondering if that is more about our "African" heritage more than merely our skin colour?

@Taliban..thats an interesting P.O.V. b/c sometimes I think exactly the same way...okay I'm black..so what? Im black b/c my parents are black and so on and so on, but where does the pride in that come in ?

I think it have a time and a place for everything. Sometimes my race pride will race it's head, then at other time it would be ethnic pride or national pride. And sometimes ah does be "So what?! I'm just me, I'm not a colour." Sometimes I hate having to "Rep for Black people" if I make a big accomplishment or if I do badly at something I have to feel as if I let down my race. These things have been more pronounced for me in America than in Trinidad.

The burden of representation...why yuh tink I don't watch the news anymore

I find if I really take then on and thing, I would put myself under plenty pressure.

@ "I'm Black so what" statement:

That would be ideal and positve thinking if you lived in a world based off of positive ideals.


@ African heritage vs skin color:

I think i does have a lot to do with our heritage moreso than color. Africa's population is made up of a whole array of different complexons of people. However, when one looks at things outside of the continent, playing the race card gives a person pwoer on a lot of different levels. I another post, I posted the definitions to the words WHITE and BLACK. almost everything dealing with the word white was positive and almost angelic in nature, while almost everything dealing wiht the word black was negative, decontructive and even at times demonic in nature. Apply those two words to two different races and you'll clearly see the issue as far as people (OUR people, regardless of hue) and how they view themselves and how they are seen in society.

But if a white person did, can you imagine the uproar that'll make? Black people would surely brand them as racist and, they'd almost surely be cast in a negative light, which is wrong. Hence the shupidity of the double standard. If someone can show me the significance of being black, white, etc. I'll gladly pay for dem to attend a fete!

Yeah ah know they'll be branded as being racist and I do see the double standard. But people look at it in a historical context. Who have been the oppressors for centuries, who used the pretext of race superiority to keep others in sub-ordination?

As I said in my previous post, I understand why dey do it, but dat still doh mean it make any sense. No fete tickets for you!

So meen want tuh go no fete with you anyway!

So..getting back to the reason I started the thread was b/c i think some people were offended by my "whats the big deal about being dougla..who cares" comment. They expressed being proud of their heritage, but their heritage is not "dougla" their heritage is african and east indian. Dougla is just a racialized, meaningless term that describes the mixture of the two. So was I wrong/insensitive not to see the reason for being "proud" of being Dougla?
Be Honest I can take it.

Absolutely NOT!! But coming from Mr. Insensitive himself, dat might not mean much!