Here's a question that's been vexing me and I'd like to hear from the masses.
Let's say there's a White teenager who only hangs around Black people, speaks fluent Ebonics/urban slang and perhaps only reads XXL, Vibe and Essence magazines. Do other more "mainstream" White teens accuse him of acting Black? Does the White teen feel ostracized and alienated from the White community because he/she feels more comfortable with Black people? Or on the contrary, does he earn cool points for being edgy?
What I'm trying to figure out is if White kids are ever accused of adopting someone else's ethnic identity in a pejorative way by other White people? Black kids who are "articulate," grow up in the suburbs and perhaps prefer James Blunt over Jay-Z are accused of selling-out, talking White, acting White and being an Oreo. Is there a similar response from some in the White community? What does it sound like? And likewise, we know there are a lot of Asian kids with kind of Negro tendencies. Do they get a verbal lashing from others in their communities for acting Black? And do they get beat down for acting White too?
At the end of the day, I'm thinking there's no limit to how many people play musical identities, whether by choice or circumstance. But what I want to know is how many people outside of the Black community feel offended when their "own kind" steps to the other side? Do White people have the choice to pick and chose their identities and Black (and Asian and Latinos) people are supposed to fit in the same box?
Thoughts? Enlighten me please.
Peace.
