Quote: (04-16-2013 10:17 PM)Jazzman92 Wrote:
I think thats true with pretty much all nerds regardless of race. Especially the ones who were socially awkward and antisocial in their youth but become desirable when they're older because of money, power, fame, working out etc.
It is more true for blacks. All "nerds" have it rough, but black nerds (I speak primarily of the males) have to contend with additional challenges related to how they are perceived.
In the USA, black males are expected to be more socially outgoing and are generally assumed to be extremely confident (sexually and otherwise). This can be a double-edged sword: if you are black and you fit this bill, you can maneuver yourself to benefit from these stereotypes.
If you are one of the few who completely fail to live up to these expectations, however, you will find a much stronger backlash from just about everyone. People sort of expect to see a white/asian and even the occasional hispanic "nerd". Blacks don't usually fit into the picture, so when one ends up in that category he can find it a harsh and lonely place to be. Non-blacks don't really know what to do with you sometimes (you completely subvert societal expectations of what people who look like you are like and not everyone is able to deal with that quickly) and other blacks will be quite keen to attack you for "acting white" or something of that sort.
Young (under 25) Black American females are quite well known to maintain a powerful bias against such men. White and Asian women are generally much more open to male "nerds" from their group (read: you're much more likely to see young attractive girls from these groups with said nerds) than Black-American women are to their own. This is because the anti-intellectualism we see in the African-American community is not as pronounced elsewhere.
There is a study that actually went into some detail about this topic. It concluded (as many already knew) that academically strong black students (especially the boys) pay a higher price than anyone for their academic success. High-achieving black males are more socially isolated than any other high achieving demographic. The notion that academic success = social compromise is truer for black males than anyone else.
In short, the last kind of nerd you want to be is a black one.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time.
