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A call to the Black Guys

This is going to sound awful...but...
I was about 4 or 5 when I discovered that one boy in my neighborhood looked different. He belonged to the only black family in the area, in the whole universe as far as I knew!
I made up my mind that he was the color he was because his skin was made of chocolate, and developed an instant attraction towards him. I mean, any kid knows chocolate blows vanilla out of the water!!
I don't remember much about him other than that.
 
Beth, that doesn't sound awful. It sounds like normal 4-5 year old logic and certainly not indicative of racism or anything else bad.
 
I know a few black guys n gals who either like reptiles or keep them. There was a guy on the ratsnake forum over on KayEssdotcom who was really into black rat snakes; used to see him at the Havre de Grace and MARS shows in Maryland. My black neighbors for the most part are fascinated by the fact that they see their kids calmly hold a large rat snake longer than the kid...and always want to take pics :*). The Hispanic neighbors make the sign of the cross, avert their eyes and walk faster ;)...

I was lucky enough to come from a family that believe someones color didnt matter; everyone was strugglin lol..
 
Now that I reflect on it, my maternal grandmother was very anti-snake. I suppose she was a product of the rural south of the 1920's and 30's, and the literal interpretation of the Bible. She thought that snakes were the descendants of Satan, and that their heads were to be crushed under the heel of all men and women until the end of time.
She was very practical/pragmatic, and I suspect struggled with the logic of it, but in lip service she remained steadfast to the literal translation to the letter.
She tried very hard and long to pay me to 'stop catching snakes'--capitalism or entrepreneurialism (or bribery) she had no problem with--but she gave up sometime during high school.

So, the religious thing 'may' be part of it, but not in an obvious or direct ethnic correlation.
 
starsevol said:
This is going to sound awful...but...
I was about 4 or 5 when I discovered that one boy in my neighborhood looked different. He belonged to the only black family in the area, in the whole universe as far as I knew!
I made up my mind that he was the color he was because his skin was made of chocolate, and developed an instant attraction towards him. I mean, any kid knows chocolate blows vanilla out of the water!!
I don't remember much about him other than that.
Click to expand...

I don't think that sounds awful at all, it does remind me of a commercial I saw when I was younger that was so cute and on the same lines..... there was a little girl (white) and a little boy (black), they were probably 4 or 5 sitting on the steps and they were best friends, the little girl turns to the boy and says do you taste like chocolate? Than the boy turns to the girl and says do you taste like vanilla? Than they both showed the each other there hands and they licked the other ones hand. At the same time they say, "NOPE", and giggled.
I have no idea what the commercial was about but it was one of the cutest things I've seen.
 
Me,personally being a black guy,I think more black ppl are just into different hobbies. I think a lot of blacks are not into hobbies where some type of fear may be involved. I happen to be one that does like a lil excitement. For springbreak, my brother and 2 of his friends visited me for a week and the closest any of them got to my snakes were a peek inside the room. lol
 
One thing it doesn't seem anyone has considered in a quick skim of this thread about why we don't have too many minority herpers is historical socioeconomic status. Reptiles, as most pets, are luxury items. But they are fringe luxury items, non-conformist luxury items, like piercings and tattoos. If you grew up in a community that had little money to spare, or that has historically had little money to spare, you might not even conceive of having exotic reptiles as pets. Additionally, some cultures and some socioeconomic groups tend to have very different feelings than Caucasian Americans about spending funds on frivolous, self-serving things--we tend to be pretty independent operators, but not all cultures value that as much as "we" do. Plus, I think Terry might be onto something in her suggestion that herpers, as a group, might be a little more non-conformist than average. There is some social theory (that I'm only tangentially familiar with) that suggests that non-conformity is borne out of being safe in the majority in the first place--that those who are already marginalized are less likely to be your typical non-conformists. Any and all of these factors (and probably more) could be overlain on the demographic factors that Chris was originally proposing--that minorities are already going to be few even if they are represented among us in an unbiased way. Basically, I think it's likely a complicated historical question and the answer to it is probably different for each minority group.
 
whoty said:
Me,personally being a black guy,I think more black ppl are just into different hobbies. I think a lot of blacks are not into hobbies where some type of fear may be involved. I happen to be one that does like a lil excitement. For springbreak, my brother and 2 of his friends visited me for a week and the closest any of them got to my snakes were a peek inside the room. lol
Click to expand...

This is an interesting point...

I have friends of all races. I'm also a bit of an adrenaline junky. Not so much as the body ages, but certainly starting at a young age, I was always in search of that excitement...the adrenaline buzz. Skateboarding, water skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, bungee jumping, and herping are all sports that I have persued with intent throughout my life. None of my black friends were remotely interested, aside from one black guy that was one heluva good snowboarder. As an interesting aside, my Asian friends all took to these sports quite readily...with the exception of herping.

I don't know why...I just always thought they weren't interested, kind of like I have no interest in football, baseball, basketball ad other traditional team sports...
 
Interesting point about the sports...

I have never been into those kinds of sports. But back in the late '80s and early '90s, Bill and I got into Scuba diving on a pretty regular basis. It didn't take long to notice that there was very little diversity in the hobby, whether it was out on boats in the Florida Keys, or going to one of the springs in north Florida.

My first thought, just as with the reptile hobby, was that there weren't as many middle class minorities to afford it. But over the years, I have met lots of minority adults who are in a much higher income bracket than I am (wouldn't take a lot to get THERE, lol!). So income is probably a factor for some, but not all. Of course, I have seen people of all types and colors "waste" money on stuff that I happen to think is silly. So I agree that a lot of it boils down to what your family and local culture has taught you, and whether you are rebellious or not.

Question for those more familiar than I am with tattoos and piercings: I am guessing that tattoos don't show up very well on darker skin (unless there is some special coloring I don't know about)? So they might not be popular on darker skinned minorities? What about piercings? Does anyone know if piercings are more, or less, popular among various ethnic groups in the US and Canada? Just curious - I know some here are really into body art, and probably know the answer.
 
When I go to the Cleveland Reptile Show, I'm too busy looking down at the tables to notice the people around me. >.<

But, I do remember a black family there one time. Their son was holding a pacman frog (if I remember correctly) and the dad was holding a pretty large boa, cradling it like a baby in his arms. They seemed to know what they were doing and were very relaxed. I checked out the boa for a few seconds because I liked it a lot. That's the only reason I remember it so well. That's the only time I've seen anyone besides white people at the show. I wish they would come back more often. I'm a big fan of mixing up cultures within a group. I love variety. :)
 
desertanimal said:
One thing it doesn't seem anyone has considered in a quick skim of this thread about why we don't have too many minority herpers is historical socioeconomic status. Reptiles, as most pets, are luxury items. But they are fringe luxury items, non-conformist luxury items, like piercings and tattoos. If you grew up in a community that had little money to spare, or that has historically had little money to spare, you might not even conceive of having exotic reptiles as pets. Additionally, some cultures and some socioeconomic groups tend to have very different feelings than Caucasian Americans about spending funds on frivolous, self-serving things--we tend to be pretty independent operators, but not all cultures value that as much as "we" do. Plus, I think Terry might be onto something in her suggestion that herpers, as a group, might be a little more non-conformist than average. There is some social theory (that I'm only tangentially familiar with) that suggests that non-conformity is borne out of being safe in the majority in the first place--that those who are already marginalized are less likely to be your typical non-conformists. Any and all of these factors (and probably more) could be overlain on the demographic factors that Chris was originally proposing--that minorities are already going to be few even if they are represented among us in an unbiased way. Basically, I think it's likely a complicated historical question and the answer to it is probably different for each minority group.
Click to expand...
Good points, Stephanie, and tactfully made.
What I bolded makes much sense. And I can't lay my hands on any reference to that, off the top of my head,...except to say that in chinese philosophy, the yin-yang view describes the origins of "the opposite" being present in (and coming from) the deepmost center of its opposite. I did not say this very well. But what I'm getting at is describing the non-conformists as being generated by the most intense and extreme/'oppressive' conformist mores (morays).
Everyone, I think, can picture in their mind the yin-yang symbol.
 
Lord, I appologize for this here, please bless the pygmies in North Dakota.
 

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That one got removed from my Photobucket album a few weeks back. I didn't think it was that bad...
 
airenlow said:
That one got removed from my Photobucket album a few weeks back. I didn't think it was that bad...
Click to expand...
Josh, two were recently "removed" from my photobucket account. Does a real person do that, or a "program"?
I can't figure out what got removed. There were no sex organs (or overt nudity) in any I imported, only a few really ugly...hominids, and not too many animals caught being naughty.
BrandNew said:
Im Black! lol
Click to expand...
BrandNew, I am glad to see that you decided to hang around. Welcome, again, to the forum.
As you can see, with are all pretty nice people with funny and interesting stories.
 
Brand, have you read this long post? What is your opinion? Why do you think there aren't a many black guys involved in snake keeping? How did you get started?
 
wade said:
Brand, have you read this long post? What is your opinion? Why do you think there aren't a many black guys involved in snake keeping? How did you get started?
Click to expand...

Ok well i hadnt read the whole post so i'll start with your question above.

Ok well i am from a Very White Community i dont live in the worst of places, but i have alot of family and friends who do in places where i find it almost unbearable. My cousins for example live in New Orleans,LA*where my whole family is from* and coming from there. The truth is they only know certain things, when i told one of them that i wanted to be a zoologist that laughed at me. Some of them didnt even know what it is. being this i get the impression they dont know much and are very ignorant *now i am black and im not saying all black people are like this and also i come from a better place*

My thought on this is most Black people arent very fimilair with this subject. Also alot of parents strongly hold kids ideas when they live in rougher places.
Like i wear skinny Jeans and one of my friends from Oxonhill, MD asked his mom for a pair. She told him straight up no thats for Gay people you dont want to be walking around looking like a F****T, * now she is also lesbain/Gay and this is what its like when you come from a rougher/harder backround. Your ideas are blocked you only see what people want you to. Also where they're from its very much what gets approval or praise from other people. Trust me if one person in Oxonhill had a snake and the other kids liked it they all would have it thats how it works.

See im the opposite i dont work or approval. You like me or you dont and they cant stand to be like that.

This is why i dont think black people dont like snakes.

There is more i have to say but i dont know how to properly communicated with out it coming out wronge.
 
BrandNew said:
...Like i wear skinny Jeans and one of my friends from Oxonhill, MD asked his mom for a pair. She told him straight up no thats for Gay people you dont want to be walking around looking like a F****T, * now she is also lesbain/Gay and this is what its like when you come from a rougher/harder backround...
Click to expand...
Hmmm...seems like I may have heard of this......but never really thought about it much.

I've never liked my jeans too tight, but probably for different reasons.
 
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