DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - My own Stereotypical observation of Somali clans

**sasquatch999** · 09-10-2010, 07:01 AM

The black indentity, as defined by US/Western Europeans, is it known to native Somali's? Does it come as a surprise or confusion when they migrate to the US/Europe and all of a sudden are labelled with this foreign racial label? I ask, because Horners are frequently mentioned in the middle of any debates about this socially defined racial label. I've also come across South Asians who live in England who perceive them as non-black but their own seperate category. And then there are others who group them all under the black label. I know that this is a potentially delicate question on this overly-sensitized/defensive forum. There is no wrong or right answer to this, it is what it is.

It really depends on individual cases/scenarios. For myself, I felt a natural inclination to identify myself as black, since afterall I hailed from a Sub Saharan African country, and sort of stumbled on a situation where I was one of the few Somali/Horner kids in the neighborhood. I did get a bit of slight pranking/joshing by my fellow Somalis since I looked particularly pseudo-Sri Lankan...and I did have Tamils constantly come up to me speaking their languages at me. One of my other siblings experienced the same. Keep in mind, this was in a neighborhood with little Horner presence. I also recall occasions where black kids and white kids would debate on whether I was black or paki, lol.

When in my tweens, I moved to a community with a larger Somali community, I noticed that there seemed to have been an automatic and easy identification, even cops would be like "race: Somalian" when dealing with them. With the insular nature of Somalis, there was a tendency to label them as distinct. Ofcourse, Black was interchangeable, and many times I was referred to as Black. Growing up in the 90s, most Somali youth fell into two distinct lifestyles: 'inner city gangsta wannabes, and super duper islamic robe wearing, beard growing and religious.

Middle easterners here dont see Somalis as black from my experience, which is why I find EliasAlucard's descriptions completely out of place. White people (im assuming now) usually see Somalis as some kind of Islamic adhering people from Africa, who are negroid, but different from the traditional negroid, and definitely more alien and less auspicious.

When I went to the States, I noticed a distinct change, where African Americans almost ALWAYS saw me as Black, (even AfrAm) and would refer to me as 'my brutha' etc. While Whites were more along the lines of 'You're brown' or some kind of Muslim'' as if its an ethnic/racial group.

Most Somalis see themselves as Somalis first, Muslims second...case in point, when in university I was a member both of the Muslim Students Association and the Association of Black Students. In the MSA there were several other Somali students, in the Association of Black Students I believe I was the only one.

09-10-2010, 07:01 AM	#24
sasquatch999 Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 337 Senior Member	The black indentity, as defined by US/Western Europeans, is it known to native Somali's? Does it come as a surprise or confusion when they migrate to the US/Europe and all of a sudden are labelled with this foreign racial label? I ask, because Horners are frequently mentioned in the middle of any debates about this socially defined racial label. I've also come across South Asians who live in England who perceive them as non-black but their own seperate category. And then there are others who group them all under the black label. I know that this is a potentially delicate question on this overly-sensitized/defensive forum. There is no wrong or right answer to this, it is what it is. It really depends on individual cases/scenarios. For myself, I felt a natural inclination to identify myself as black, since afterall I hailed from a Sub Saharan African country, and sort of stumbled on a situation where I was one of the few Somali/Horner kids in the neighborhood. I did get a bit of slight pranking/joshing by my fellow Somalis since I looked particularly pseudo-Sri Lankan...and I did have Tamils constantly come up to me speaking their languages at me. One of my other siblings experienced the same. Keep in mind, this was in a neighborhood with little Horner presence. I also recall occasions where black kids and white kids would debate on whether I was black or paki, lol. When in my tweens, I moved to a community with a larger Somali community, I noticed that there seemed to have been an automatic and easy identification, even cops would be like "race: Somalian" when dealing with them. With the insular nature of Somalis, there was a tendency to label them as distinct. Ofcourse, Black was interchangeable, and many times I was referred to as Black. Growing up in the 90s, most Somali youth fell into two distinct lifestyles: 'inner city gangsta wannabes, and super duper islamic robe wearing, beard growing and religious. Middle easterners here dont see Somalis as black from my experience, which is why I find EliasAlucard's descriptions completely out of place. White people (im assuming now) usually see Somalis as some kind of Islamic adhering people from Africa, who are negroid, but different from the traditional negroid, and definitely more alien and less auspicious. When I went to the States, I noticed a distinct change, where African Americans almost ALWAYS saw me as Black, (even AfrAm) and would refer to me as 'my brutha' etc. While Whites were more along the lines of 'You're brown' or some kind of Muslim'' as if its an ethnic/racial group. Most Somalis see themselves as Somalis first, Muslims second...case in point, when in university I was a member both of the Muslim Students Association and the Association of Black Students. In the MSA there were several other Somali students, in the Association of Black Students I believe I was the only one.
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