I had a friend call me a white boy because he heard me speaking to my boss without using slang. I tried to let him know that %26quot;Keeping it Real%26quot; is not always the smartest thing to do especially in the business world when you are trying to succeed. The way I talk to my friends and family is different from the way I talk to my co-workers and boss. He said that is being fake when you change for other people. I would love to hear some opinions on this matter.
Why is a black person considered a %26quot;uncle tom%26quot; or %26quot;sell out%26quot; for speaking proper?
dont sweat it. he's out of his mind and expressing his insecurity by attacking you. EVERYBODY adapts their speak and behaviour depending on circumstances. Oh and if it can help you at work, its NOT called being a sell out, its called getting PAID.
Why is a black person considered a %26quot;uncle tom%26quot; or %26quot;sell out%26quot; for speaking proper?
Everyone has to modulate their behavior in different contexts. Does he think white people act the same among their friends as they do in the office? In any case, some people are threatened when their friends have different lives from them. Since whites historically have had such a poor record of treatment of blacks, it's not surprising that someone might think that hanging out with whites is in some way a rejection of blackness, but it's not. The world has changed from that bleak and prejudiced place it used to be.
speaking with slang is a young thing,,when a man realizes if he wants to appear as a man he learns to speak properly that goes with white black and any other...
During the time when of the 60s (during my existence) was a period when Blacks were trying to regain our pride back and the issue of being a sell-out wasn't just about speaking property it had to do with Blacks accepting White ideology and believing the same as White people and so they saw their own race the same way White racist did. After a while when they looked in the mirror they no longer even saw themselves as Black.
Blacks have been educated in White Schools, Work On White Jobs, Live by White Laws so at this point what are we really?
keep doing what your doing if you want to get some wear in life if you watch TV any black person that has a good job are a high profile job are very well spoken
you are just speaking proper english. there is nothing wrong w/ it. i know plenty of ppl black and white that talk incorrectly and plenty of black and white that talk just fine.
but its not attractive to employers when someone says %26quot;fo%26quot; instead of %26quot;four%26quot; or %26quot;cah%26quot; instead of %26quot;car.%26quot;
little things like that... its just a matter of laziness. some white ppl say %26quot;fer%26quot; instead of %26quot;for%26quot;.
its simple to pronounce words correctly some ppl just dont do it and employers will look down upon it. how are you being fake? to me you are just being yourself? if you changed the way you talked at work, then that would be fake.. but like some of the prev ppl stated, most of it is just habit to change the way you talk b/w business and pleasure. dont listen to other ppl. just keep doing what you do
You're definitely NOT wrong for doing this...your friends perhaps need to grow up a little bit and understand that to succeed you must play the part.
i.e. %26quot;Dress for Success%26quot; is a way to succeed and have bosses take you seriously....doesn't mean that you prefer to wear a shirt and tie but you'll get noticed before bob in the wrinkled pants and t-shirt. It is the same with how you speak to co-workers, you're at work...not hanging out with the guys!
I have friends who also speak like they are just hanging out with the guys and to be honest...they are still my friends but I think if they didn't they would be further ahead in their careers.
%26quot;keeping it real%26quot; well...the reality is, if you want to be successful you have to do it for yourself, your friends and family aren't going to hand you your success. If your friends consider you to be a %26quot;sell out%26quot; ask yourself this...are they really your friends...it shouldn't matter how you talk if they are your true friends.
I work with many successful black people who I know personally are not the same at work. While at work though, they sound and act smart...and are just that. I may be a white guy who doesn't speak with a lot of slang...however, I also speak and act slightly different at work. I don't consider it being a %26quot;sell out%26quot; rather a %26quot;sell in%26quot;. I love to wear jeans, tshirts and mostly comfortable clothes, but I wear a shirt and tie to work and dress nicely to assist me in my success. I know that in business, people who look successful...usually end up being successful.
Good Luck!
I have faced the same issues...i know exactly how you feel. But there is nothing wrong with speaking properly. Eventually you have to grow up and get a job. How successful would you be going interview and saying %26quot;what's good you?%26quot; they would throw you right out there.
TJ said it as best it could be said
Your friend is right. Speaking without slang has nothing to do with sounding proper. You were probably doing more then speaking correct English. You were probably changing the tone, pitch and dialect of your speech to match that of the Anglo-Saxons. That is the definition of sell-out. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both masters of the English language but they would never be called sell-outs because they didn't change the tone of their voices to sound more like white people. The average Black persons voice especially a black male is much deeper then the average white male by nature. As a black person you have to make your voice higher to sound white. Comedians do it all the time. You need to be proud of yourself and the way you speak regardless of how any white persons feels about it.
By the way the word %26quot;Proper%26quot; in the way you used it, is slang. It's a word that black people use to describe blacks who try to sound like white people. The correct usage would be properly. Just an FYI.
I'm not black, but I really know where you're coming from. I really hate how blacks who choose to talk or live a certain way get chastized by other black people. It's like the joke about Wayne Brady on Chappelle's Show, but seriously, it's something that all black folk should learn that everyone is different and not everyone should act like a negative stereotype.
