Clearly you did.
I wouldn't say this particular issue is exclusive to Black people in America, certainly it exists elsewhere with, as you said, different degrees of influence. I wasn't referring to this specific issue, but I have noticed over the years a certain generalization, that quite frankly annoys the heck out of me, that assumes all Black people are homogenous in their experience, attitudes, culture, and influences... When in reality, people are taking a uniquely "African American" experience or reality, ...or whatever you want to call it, ...and superimposing it on all Black people. It's bloody annoying.
As a Black man who is most often assumed to be a Democratic supporter, simply because he is Black, I'm sure you can understand where I'm coming from on this. It's ridiculous.
You're Black, so people in America assume you come from an impoverished, underprivileged background. Meanwhile, the Europeans assume you're rich, because the only Black people they've ever encountered are the wealthy ones who send their children to prestigious European Universities. It's crazy.
AS further clarification, the insanity cuts all ways...
It's like people assuming Prince Charles who is white and comes from a very privileged background in London, has had the exact very same common experiences, attitudes, upbringing and desires as Charlie who grew up in the coal mines of Appalachia, ...just because they are both white.
Standards of beauty & desire differ from people to people, but those caught in the grip of western mind control media will often be attracted to what the prevalent memes put forth as a standard of beauty & desireability.
ie: I was chatting with a friend the other night who is building a home in the Philippines. He's a painter by trade who grew up in the Canadian arctic. He's traveled the world, and chose The Phillipines as his desired spot, so he somehow managed to get around a few laws, and bought a farm, and is building his dream house there. He works here for about 2 months of the year, which is enough to allow him to live the remaining 10 months in the philippines. Anyway, the other night he was telling me that over there, when guys look at women they may find desireable, they look at the hands. If she paints her fingernails... they don't want her. Any woman over there with painted nails, is a woman who is automatically deemed to be LAZY in their eyes. A flawless manicure is the sign of a woman who doesn't work, and as such she's undesireable. The women over there don't even bother with manicures because they'll only chip after 5 mins, ...so they paint their toe nails instead, but the hands are left bare. After spending so much time over there and getting so used to the customs, ...he still finds it hard to let go of those ideas when he comes back home to Canada. Wierd huh? He had this one Victoria's Secret model chasing after him for months on end, before he finally wised up and caught her, because he couldn't get past the fact that she was perfectly manicured. lol.
