BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: Azizi
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 10:22 AM

Here's a link to that YouTube clip of that Dave Chappelle sketch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzDDyvu3goU

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: meself
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 12:46 PM

"Thank you for your informed response"

Hmmm, my sarcasm meter seems to be on the blink - the needle's going crazy ...

I am not particularly 'informed' on the matter - just enough to know that there is no end of theories about the origins of what are generally considered to be the indigenous peoples of the Americas. There are those sea-faring Phoenicians, those early Europeans crossing an ice-bridge, the lost Chinese fleet, etc., etc.. And the Polynesians. Probably the Atlanteans, too. And then there are those extraterrestrial lads with the imaginative landing strips ...

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 02:13 PM

They came from Australia, and Polynesia??..How come they came from there?,,or how did they get to Australia and Polynesia??...On boats??...you mean like the Europeans who came here??....and who was here, when these wandering wayfarers came here from the south Pacific?...other Aboriginal peoples?????

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 21 Dec 08 - 10:13 AM

"and who was here, when these wandering wayfarers came here from the south Pacific?...other Aboriginal peoples?????"

Noone Apparently - Depending on the outcome of current research.

Native Americans as we know them today came from North East Asia over the land Bridge that connected the two continents at the time.

That bit is not disputed.

The archeological debate is about who was there first - the Australian Aboriginals or the genetically very distinct North East Asians who drove them out.

"How come they came from there?,"

well thats where they were when their journey began I suppose (?).

As for where australian aborigines came from before that - well - there weren't any ...

Dear GFS - if you think this is interesting and you were previously unaware, then I am pleased fro you. If you don't then I don't really care. If it upsets you then I'm sorry.

I just think its kind of interesting.

Have fun.

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 21 Dec 08 - 10:18 AM

Aboriginal = "original or earliest known"

It also refers to the native people of australia.

Thjere is evidence that the first people in America were, by coincidence, Australian Aboriginals.

Isnt that interesting?

If it is proved conclusiveley to be true then that would mean that Native Americans as we know them today weren't Aboriginal to America.

Can you see why that might be interesting?

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: Amos
Date: 21 Dec 08 - 11:53 AM

Returning to the original question, my thought for the day is that focusing on values that were established in the past and which gave rise to certain turns of language, rituals, habits and attitudes is highly unimportant compared to the culture you create today with the words that come out of your mouth and the actions you take. Doing something because it was that way is trivial compared to doing something because it will make things better.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: Azizi
Date: 21 Dec 08 - 01:02 PM

Doing something because it was that way is trivial compared to doing something because it will make things better.
-Amos

I hear what you're saying, Amos. But I think that some people create because they like to stretch the boundaries of what is so that they can see what can be. Some people create because they value the act of creating as well as the product that is created. They don't necessarily see that product as an improvement on an older product.

With regard to heritage, I believe that African Americans as a people place a high value on innovation. Evidence of our innovation can be seen in how so much of our slang eventually becomes "standard" words & phrases, but even before mainstream society adopts our slang, we've moved on to new words & phrase. The same process is true of Black dance, music making, fashion, and more. Imo, one thing we [Black Americans] should do better at is valuing our past creations.

For instance, it may be true that a lot of late 20th century and early 21st century African Americans don't "like" Blues and Jazz music because those music forms became separated from dance {and African Americans, like Africans and other people from the African Diaspora consider singing and other forms of music making and dancing to be a unified whole}. However, I think another reason why so many Black Americans know so little and care even less about Blues and Jazz is because a lot of us consider these music forms to be "old timey". Related to this is the fact that some Blues and some Jazz reminds us of the bad old days. But it seems to me that we Black people would gain a great deal by continuing to be innovative and, at the same time, learn to treasure our past, including our past creations.

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 22 Dec 08 - 04:23 AM

In 1492, Columbus discovered America, from the Indians....

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: Ebbie
Date: 22 Dec 08 - 04:04 PM

Oh. Right. If you say so. And the 1621 English settlement was the first one too. Right.

Subject: RE: BS: Your cultural heritage- is it important?
From: Lox
Date: 22 Dec 08 - 04:15 PM

... And before that Lief Ericson the Viking discovered it (from the Indians) in 1000AD ...

... and before that, it is believed by some, St Brendan sailed from Ireland to newfoundland in the 6th century. The actual event has not been conclusively proved, but it was certainly shown conclusively to be possible by Tim Severin in 1976.