"National Child Dental Health Month"- Can't Black People have one month???

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

I was driving by the CT State Capital and there's this huge banner saying "February is National Child Dental Health Month". And I'm saying "Damn it! I thought it was Black History Month?"

What in the crappity crap crap is wrong with this country? We set aside the shortest crappiest month to pretend like we care about African American History and we don't even follow through!

[Bridget Burke]

1. Nobody "owns" any of the months....

Here's one schedule I found (from 2004, but probably relating to 2005)

February:
Black History Month
American Heart Month
National African American History Month

March:
National Women's History Month
National Diabetes Month
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
National Kidney Month

April:
Minority Health Month
Alcohol Awareness Month
Prevent Child Abuse Month
Dental Health Month
National Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs) Education and Awareness Month
National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

May:
Clean Air Month
Asian American/Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month
Women's Health Month

June:
National Hepatitis Awareness Month
Men's Health Month
Hispanic Health Month
Pharmacist Declare War on Alcoholism Mont

www.naaapi.org/events/default.asp

And I'm sure this list is not complete. For example, other sources call March "Irish-American Month"

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. Look at February on your list - notice anything odd?

Plus I don't recall saying anybody "Owned" the Month. It's about RESPECT. Or the total fucking lack of it.

[UncleSepp]

3. Yes, it has two silent r's

Why do you hate baby teeth?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

4. It's about respect

Were baby teeth enslaved for 400 years?

[Jonathan_Hoag]

14. Neither were blacks ...

not for 400 years (more like 200.) Not within the present US.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

16. So the history of their slavery before this country was founded is

irrelevant? That's the most ignorant and, yes racist, thing I've seen on DU

[Jonathan_Hoag]

25. I did not mean since founding of the US ...

But also from Colonial times. 400 years is just plain wrong, albeit an oft cited figure. Slavery was abolished throughout the United States in 1865. 400 years before that was 1465 and America was not even discovered back than. Colonization of the North American did not occur until much later though and there were no African slaves in the area that is now US until well into 17th century. So I stand by my 200 years. Obviously, that includes colonial times as the era of slavery for the US itself lasted less than 100 years (and with many of the states abolsihing slavery long before the Civil War).

Slavery was a terrible time in the history of this nation. The importance of it cannot be increased through gratuitous hyperbole. Quite the oposite, it is cheapened by it.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

27. "gratuitous hyperbole"?

It's black HISTORY month for Christ's sake!!!!

[Jonathan_Hoag]

28. Black history month or no history month ...

you can't just make up numbers ("400 years") as you go along.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

29. ok you win Strom

[Jonathan_Hoag]

30. Congratulations

You got a real good ad hominem going there ...

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

31. Do you count Black History as starting from when this country was founded?

:shrug:

[Jonathan_Hoag]

33. I already clarified that ...

I was refering to pre-US history as well.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

34. when did you do that?

:boring:


zzzzhuh! Huh?? *wipes sleep from eye* Oh wait I see - you said Colonial times. Right. "None of us more recent immigrants (the "pilgrims") even knew what slavery was untill those swarthy spaniards forced 'em on us!"


Please!

[Jonathan_Hoag]

35. I really have a hard time

seeing what you mean by all this...

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

37. obviously

thanks for keeping it kicked, though!

[UncleSepp]

15. It's also about choosing your battles

I don't think there was any great conspiracy to assign the shortest month of the year to be Black History Month, and I don't think assigning that to also be a month for dental health for children or for the appreciation of rutabagas takes anything away from Black History Month. I also don't think a special month does anything to reduce the effects of racism in daily life or to create economic growth in historically depressed black communities.

It's also about having a sense of humor. Lighten up, Francis.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

17. I find it a symbolic slap in the face. I won't lighten up

I'm not battling it any more than by venting on these boeards.

And don't call me francis :)

[UncleSepp]

22. Yikes, your face must hurt from all that slapping

Seriously. You've got big battles to fight, really big ones that weren't won in the last generation and won't be won in this one either. We've all got battles to fight. Yours seems to be racial equality, mine has been gender equality and gay rights. It's all the same battle, in the end, and it's such a long one. Jumping at symbolic slaps will just wear you down. Save your energy for the real gut-punches.

If venting on this board over symbolic slaps makes you feel better, great, but consider that people on this board would probably rather be your allies than your enemies in the battle for equality, freedom, and justice. A person whom few can approach without fear of accidentally saying something that might be perceived as a slight, a person who responds to symbols as if they were the reality for which symbols stand, will garner angry allies. Do you just want angry allies, or would you like to have a broader group? What will constant anger do to you on the inside? What will being surrounded by the angry people you attract do to you on the inside?

*sigh* I can't believe I'm recycling my mom's old rants on DU to somebody I don't really know, but for what it's worth, there you have it. I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to have seen the benefits to mellowing and letting some things slide. And that's a fact, Jack ;-)

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

24. I'm sorry -- I get all feisty in the AM - I took didn't feel slighted

I just take this stuff personnaly is all.

I'll still battle at your side!

:thumbsup:

[UncleSepp]

26. Awright!

:thumbsup: And you're right about Chavez :-)

[txaslftist]

19. In baby-talk, maybe.

February only has one silent r.

[UncleSepp]

21. LOL You're right!

Feb-u-a... now that would sound funny!

[txaslftist]

18. You left out July, Txaslftist month.

I will not be ignored.

[HuckleB]

20. Well, it's definitely true that there aren't enough months...

to cover all the special health promotion campaigns in the year, much less to cover things like history, literacy, etc...

Wonderful show on PBS last night, by the way: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/

[Brewman_Jax]

5. We need updated history books

to tell the story correctly and completely throughout the year, not just a month. To most, black history is Benjamin Banneker, Fredrick Douglass, George Washington Carver, and MLK.

I wonder how many know who Carter Woodson is? :think:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. Or Fred Hampton

[Brewman_Jax]

7. Thanks

learned something new today. :thumbsup:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

8. Don't mention it

:thumbsup:

[Skittles]

10. true Skittles story

when I was in high school I was handed a long list of books to choose to do a book report on - I pointed out to the teacher that every damn one of them was written by a white man and could I please do a report on a book written by a black woman? He said sure, if I could find one. That's how I read I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. :)

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

12. Very nice!

:thumbsup:

[Brewman_Jax]

13. Remembering HS...

was a LONG time ago for me :P I don't remember reading any of the noted black authors while in HS. I've had to read them post-HS, like Terry McMillan, Franz Fanon, James Baldwin, John Howard Griffin (notice it took a white guy to become black to write a best-seller about black life in the USA. They won't a black guy's word for it :eyes: )

[jmm]

36. We need more than that

In my high school world history class a friend and I (we were two of only three black people in the class) noticed that our text book had a few interesting chapters on Africa, Asia, and Latin America. So we went to our teacher after school one day to ask if we could study some of them. We figured we've gone over US and European history enough why not learn from the prospective of other people. According to Mrs. Riordan all that stuff wasn't important. The only important part of history according to her was how Europe discovered the rest of the world and where they settled. Sure other stuff happened but it didn't change the course of world history.

Now I graduated in 1998 and I'm willing to bet she's still teaching. I do feel the quality of most history books is a major problem but even with good books we need more people teaching them with a better perspective of history.

[Skittles]

9. not without being called UPPITY

:o

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

11. Its just a big slap in the face IMO! Especially in Hartford

[CornField]

23. Actually, each month has a wealth of this crap

As an editor, I use to get a list of what each month was:

National Popcorn Appreciation Month
National Best Friend Month
National Blah-Blah
National Yadda-Yadda

Seriously, most of these attributes are nothing more that opportunities to sell ad space.

[Grey Ranks]

32. Give me a break

Who decided it was any history or teeth some bullshit month anyways. Give mea break, it’s not like there is some committee sitting around saying, hey lets piss off this guy by making a teeth month. Don’t be so egocentric.

And by the way, haven’t you seen Glory?