Folklore: Mozingo

Subject: RE: Folklore: Mozingo
From: bobad
Date: 22 May 10 - 08:49 AM

I enjoyed the article and found some of the posted comments enlightening such as this one:

charles-latimes at 10:09 AM May 17, 2010

"I believe the modern form of racism was institutionalized during the Age of Exploration. Rediscovering their Roman and Greek heritage and learning from trading with the Middle East and Chinese through the Silk Road, the Europeans were well equipped to innovate and go out into the world.

Where ever the Europeans went, they met societies inferior in technology, science, social organization, and/or immunity to diseases. They did have resources like manpower, natural resources, gold, farm land, etc. So they took and they excused their taking by developing a theory of racism.

This thinking shaped American racism as we were formed and as we moved across the continent and beyond. The 'others' - Native Indians, Blacks, Latin Americans, and Asians - were all available for the taking. But since they were 'others' they could never be 'one of us'. No nostalgia for the pre-Civil Rights era, if you are one of the 'others'."

Then there's this one:


liberalmoron at 1:13 PM May 18, 2010

another liberal yawn story and on-line love fest.. get a spray can and paint yourself black so you feel great about yourself..

Subject: RE: Folklore: Mozingo
From: GUEST,Goose Gander
Date: 22 May 10 - 02:20 AM

Thanks, Robyn and McGrath.

Anyone else? I thought this was at least worth a few more comments, and some debate. I mean, it's not as weighty as 'what is folk?' or 'religion - good or bad?' but still I hoped for something . . .

Subject: RE: Folklore: Mozingo
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 21 May 10 - 01:16 PM

Strange and fascinating. This bit struck me as well worth putting here:

"I thought about why we develop our prejudices.

Mine were never about race so much. When I was younger, I denigrated people (in my mind) to protect my own sense of uniqueness. If someone did better in school, then they had to be worse at something else. If they were funnier or better liked or more athletic, they were shallow.

This defensive scorn was aimed mostly at individuals, but typecasts coalesced.

By college, my deepest prejudice was for "frat boys," which said a lot more about my defects than theirs.

Racism probably derived from the same impulse. Yet instead of flickering in solitude, it's fire ran wild, fueled by family, friends and co-workers, by demagoguery, economics and bloody history."

Subject: RE: Folklore: Mozingo
From: Little Robyn
Date: 20 May 10 - 06:16 PM

A fascinating story.
Robyn

Subject: Folklore: Mozingo
From: GUEST,Goose Gander
Date: 20 May 10 - 04:21 PM

Joe Mozingo in the Los Angeles Times has written a series of articles dealing with the African roots of his family name, it's worth reading through all of it . . .

part one

part two

part three