EXTENDED COMMENTS TO OTHER PEOPLE'S BLOGS

SECOND EXTENDED COMMENT - TO MARY'S PBS RESPONSE

Mary's observation of a black gentleman's assessment of what it means to be black in America was interesting. The gentleman in question said that there's a "very narrow definition for what it means to be black in America". Moreover, the blacks that strive and succeed to escape that definition are said to sell out.

So are we talking about a class within a class? Maybe not racial class, but indeed social class. You have the "Cosby" black and the "nigger" black. This is how I've heard it from black comedians. You also have the light-skin blacks and the dark-skin blacks. I've been led to believe that these are actual sub-classes with the African-American community that are at odds with one another.

As for the gay community - you have the butch lesbians, lipstick lesbians, the drag queens, the A-list young gay men, the older gay crowd.

Who knows what other sub-classes exist? I keep harping on this - that everyone needs to belong. And if the group we belong to is sanctioned, so much the better. But be prepared to alienate the other sub-groups in your class.