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Helena21
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Joined: 22 Jun 2007
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 Posted: Wed 27 Jun 2007 20:48 Post subject: The Colors of Ethiopians: Where are you from? |
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Hi, everyone. Ethio/Irish newbie here. 
I found this to be a great article because I'm interested in hearing biracial issues from other parts of the world.
Posted on tadias.com (http://www.tadias.com/?p=462)
| Quote: | The Colors of Ethiopians: Where are you from?
By Tigist Schmidt
“Where are you from?” I am so over it. I am tired of explaining myself over and over again. But what am I supposed to do? Ignore the question? Let them assume?
And once I tell them where I’m from I get responses like: “Oh, really? … Interesting … That’s different… I would have never guessed.” And the list goes on. Now, what can I say to that?
“No, not really…how the hell am I interesting when you don’t even know me…different from who?”
“Killis, Killis, Killis!” That’s what cheeky children would yell in the rural areas of Ethiopia, pointing their finger at me with great laughter. All I do is smile, too shy to respond in my broken Amharic. When I am introduced to other Ethiopians, the majority are uncertain whether they should speak to me in English or in Amharic. I introduce myself as Tigist and it confuses them more.
“Oh, are you Ethiopian?” they ask with a surprised look. Often it is assumed that I am of a different race and people sometimes talk to me in languages I don’t understand.
Once in London a five year old Ethiopian boy, Johannes, asked me in his posh British accent:
“Tigist, are you black or are you white?”
“I am grey”, I answered.
I am Ethiopian and German. I was born in the United States. I grew up in Nigeria, Argentina and Germany. When I was sixteen I moved to the United States and later on to the United Kingdom. At the moment I am back in the United States, unsure of where I am going next. But no matter where I go, I always get the same question:
“Where are you from?”
“Where did your parents meet?”
“Where are they living now?”
“What languages do you speak?”
“Where did you grow up?”
Basically, I have to give them my life story before I can even ask them a question. Usually it’s just out of genuine curiosity, and in those instances I’m willing to share my story. Sometimes it’s even fun to let them guess where I’m from. Depending on where I am at that very moment, I get the most bizarre answers. I have heard everything but Asian as a guess.
No one has ever reckoned I would be Ethiopian and German. Sometimes I just agree to whatever they say and see how far I can take it. Other times, they are just shocked and look at me saying, “But you look like…” As if I don’t know what I look like.
There is seriously nothing that can shock me anymore. I’ve heard it all before, and take it with humor. I try to use my ambiguity to my advantage. I constantly walk in and out of cultures, capable of fooling, perhaps anyone, at least for a while. It’s not always funny though. There are times when I get real ignorant questions such as:
“Has Ethiopia been colonized by Germans?” or even “Ethiopia… like Africa?” There are other times when I’ve had trouble at immigration, been denied privileges, and experienced racism.
Most of my friends refer to me as “My Ethiopian-German friend.”
Once people get to know me, however, they get over the fact that I am Ethiopian and German. But still, they find it really amusing when I have to explain myself to others.
Tigist Schmidt received her Bachelors in International Relations from San Francisco State University and her Masters from Goldsmiths University of London. She moved from London to Harlem two years ago. She is an acting student in New York City. |
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Salsassin
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G-Man
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| Posted: Thu 28 Jun 2007 12:45 Post subject: |
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Eritrean/Slovenian
This guy looks like the poster "Merk" from Mulatto.org.
People from the Horn of Africa: Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti (sp), and the north of Kenya have varied complexions and appearances. There's no standard look. |
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GermanChocolate
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Joined: 08 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sat 30 Jun 2007 20:34 Post subject: |
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| I am not surprised, as Ethiopians are not black. I have had a few people from Africa ask me if I was Ethiopian. I would tell them no, that I was mixed with black and white. They would nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed. |
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Salsassin
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| Posted: Sat 30 Jun 2007 20:50 Post subject: |
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| GermanChocolate wrote: | | I am not surprised, as Ethiopians are not black. I have had a few people from Africa ask me if I was Ethiopian. I would tell them no, that I was mixed with black and white. They would nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed. |
Plenty of Ethiopians identify as Black. Don't confuse one populations in Ethiopia as all of Ethiopia. |
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anonymouse
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| Posted: Thu 11 Oct 2007 07:26 Post subject: |
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| GermanChocolate wrote: | | I am not surprised, as Ethiopians are not black. I have had a few people from Africa ask me if I was Ethiopian. I would tell them no, that I was mixed with black and white. They would nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed. |
I dare you to tell that to an Ethiopian. |
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fwsweet
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| Posted: Thu 11 Oct 2007 11:25 Post subject: |
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| anonymouse wrote: | | GermanChocolate wrote: | | I am not surprised, as Ethiopians are not black. I have had a few people from Africa ask me if I was Ethiopian. I would tell them no, that I was mixed with black and white. They would nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed. |
I dare you to tell that to an Ethiopian. |
Tell him/her what? That Americans "nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed"? Why should an Ethiopian care? You are suggesting that a citizen of Ethiopia would get upset at something that GermanChocolate wrote. What, specifically?
[The following was added several hours later.]
The above qestion takes on added urgency in light of the exchange here. Based on that exchange between anonymouse and a moderator, it now seems that anonymouse was refering to GermanChocolate's writing, "Ethiopians are not black."
If "Black" is defined as a member of the African-American ethnicity or of the U.S. Black endogamous group, then Ethiopians are definitely not Black.
If "Black" is defined as of the political orientation that opposes European colonization and exploitation, then some Ethiopians are and some aren't. Obviously, the German/Ethiopian lady whose remarks lauched this thread is not Black in this sense.
Finally, if we turn back the clock to before the decoding of the human genome demonstrated beyond question that our species has no "races" in a biological sense and look to the greatest crainofacial anthropometrist in history, whose work filled the textebooks of a half-century ago, we find that Ethiopians (like Somalis) were considered to be "Causcasians."
Last edited by fwsweet on Thu 11 Oct 2007 15:04; edited 2 times in total |
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anonymouse
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| Posted: Thu 11 Oct 2007 14:57 Post subject: |
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| fwsweet wrote: | | anonymouse wrote: | | GermanChocolate wrote: | | I am not surprised, as Ethiopians are not black. I have had a few people from Africa ask me if I was Ethiopian. I would tell them no, that I was mixed with black and white. They would nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed. |
I dare you to tell that to an Ethiopian. |
Tell him/her what? That Americans "nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed"? Why should an Ethiopian care? You are suggesting that a citizen of Ethiopia would get upset at something that GermanChocolate wrote. What, specifically? |
I live in Washington DC area which has a sizeable Ethiopian community and have a good number of friends who are Ethiopian born. This discussion has come up among a group of ethnically diverse friends and they have all categorically stated that not only are they black, they are one of the oldest of all black people. |
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fwsweet
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Location: Palm Coast, FL
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| Posted: Thu 11 Oct 2007 15:09 Post subject: |
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| anonymouse wrote: | | I live in Washington DC area which has a sizeable Ethiopian community and have a good number of friends who are Ethiopian born. This discussion has come up among a group of ethnically diverse friends and they have all categorically stated that not only are they black, they are one of the oldest of all black people. |
You are talking only about Americans of your personal acquaintance who have Ethiopian ancestry or background. Also, you are talking only about self-identity regarding the U.S. endogamous color line. Have you any information about the self-identity of people in Ethiopia? As I mentioned above, before the "race" notion was abandoned in science, Ethiopians (and Somalis) were considered to be of the now-defunct "racial" classification known as "Caucasian." Perhaps a source other than your personal recollection of conversations with friends would be useful. |
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fwsweet
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gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Sat 10 Nov 2007 18:23 Post subject: |
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| GermanChocolate wrote: | | I am not surprised, as Ethiopians are not black. I have had a few people from Africa ask me if I was Ethiopian. I would tell them no, that I was mixed with black and white. They would nod their head and explain that Ethiopians are mixed. |
What do you mean by Ethiopians are not Black?
Your dealing with rigid definitions of race: Caucasian, Mongoloid, Negroid, Australoid.
Ethiopians are African people,
The problem with these Racial terms is that they dismiss the many different looks that come from people within any given continent. It's like saying, All Europeans look alike, All Asians look alike... All Africans don't look alike,
Are you assuming that all 'black' people of Africa have a similar SSA look? and if someone falls outside of that that they are not black? or that they are mixed?
Is this the 'black' look that makes Ethiopians non 'black' or mixed? |
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gemini072
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| Posted: Sat 10 Nov 2007 18:31 Post subject: |
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Salsassin
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| Posted: Sat 10 Nov 2007 19:56 Post subject: |
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| gemini072 wrote: |
Is this the 'black' look that makes Ethiopians non 'black' or mixed? |
Olmecs are not Black. |
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gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Sat 10 Nov 2007 21:02 Post subject: |
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| Salsassin wrote: | | gemini072 wrote: |
Is this the 'black' look that makes Ethiopians non 'black' or mixed? |
Olmecs are not Black. |
I know this, I just wanted to hear the response that 'yes this is the black look. Ya messed it up kid. Because if this is a 'black' negroid look that so were these native Americans. My point was that those racial characteristics are not valid. |
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OTHER
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Joined: 14 Sep 2007
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Location: Florida
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| Posted: Sun 11 Nov 2007 15:50 Post subject: |
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| G-Man wrote: | Eritrean/Slovenian
This guy looks like the poster "Merk" from Mulatto.org.
People from the Horn of Africa: Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti (sp), and the north of Kenya have varied complexions and appearances. There's no standard look. |
I think you mean "Menk" and no, he doesn't, in my opinion. |
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G-Man
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Wed 14 Nov 2007 17:29 Post subject: |
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| I thought it was him becaue of the gun decal on his cap. |
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zsana
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G-Man
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Wed 28 Nov 2007 15:08 Post subject: |
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| Thankfully, she has nothing for her father. |
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gemini072
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| Posted: Wed 28 Nov 2007 15:41 Post subject: |
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| G-Man wrote: | | Thankfully, she has nothing for her father. |
what do you mean? |
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G-Man
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| Posted: Wed 28 Nov 2007 15:45 Post subject: |
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| David Bowie is one fugly individual....The daughter appears not to have inherited any of his fuglyness. |
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