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Tribalism and loyalty to nation of birth (ancestry) IS in our neighborhoods. What do you think we were seeing in New Orleans? Unassimilated African Americans living for generations dependant on an oppressive, liberal welfare system.

Across our country, after generations, "some" still insist on being described as African Americans, not Americans. "Some" of these black Americans look nothing like the winner class of blacks maturing into the culture during the 50's and 60's. Some kind of deliberate or rebellious regression has occurred.

Bare with me please because I've had a long day with physical therapy and then I made the mistake of going to one of the big box stores to do some shopping. If I sound a bit grumpy, it's because I did too much today and am paying for it now.

I was a child of the late 60's and early 70's with the uniform of halter tops, hip huggers, long hair and sandals. I'm not sure we can attribute the way some African American youth dress now to tribalism in the sense I was attempting to portray. I believe just as quite a few kids growing up when I did had a uniform, so do certain black Americans. It's a way of fitting in and defining where we are at the time.

I don't believe tribalism was all that prevalent in New Orleans. Were there traditions? Yes, but we all have certain traditions regardless of what our country of origin is. America was founded by people who were being persecuted for their religious beliefs in their native country. We brought many of our traditions with us.

Black people in America have role models if not in their family then from others. The blacks who were brought over as slaves had a work ethic instilled into them. Even under slavery they had aspirations to better themselves. It may not seem like much now but often they worked towards learning a skill. The skill may have been something such as running a forge or caring for the livestock but it was still incentive to better themselves. I don't see that happening in France.

At this time in history I have no problem with hyphenated Americans. Desegregation wasn't that long ago. It's even present on FR to a certain degree. Next time you're reading about a crime notice how many posts ask the color of the alleged subject. Personally I find it somewhat offensive because people of all color can commit crime and I don't know what race has to do with the crime. At times it almost seems as if it's excusing the crime because the perpetrator was black. Somehow in my mind it demeans the people including the victim because it's almost as if it's one of those "Well, what did you expect? They're black."

There are plenty of white generations who also work the system and are willing to be oppressed by our liberal welfare system. It's not only a black thing.

I'll agree with you about the rebelliousness but I think quite a few kids go through that phase. Hopefully they grow out of it before they commit a crime and become incarcerated. Think about how many repeat offenders we have in our jails, not all are black.

The poor in New Orleans weren't all on welfare. Many of them had poor paying jobs and barely managed to eke out a living. They did keep more of a cultural identity than say blacks in Houston or Atlanta or New York. Much of it was worth being kept, some of it wasn't.

When I'm a little more up to the discussion, I wouldn't mind exploring how gangs tie in with tribalism. Personally I think gangs have more to do with a sense of belonging than they do true tribalism but that's better left to another time for me.

You've given me some ideas to mull over and I appreciate the conversation. Thanks!