Typical Stereotype Emerges: Man Boldly Claims That There Are No Black People Outside Of America

You’re casually scrolling TikTok, gushing about a cute couple, when your partner hits you with a take so wild it could star in its own reality show. Boyfriend declares some Cuban guy on the Internet cannot be black, because black Cuban don’t exist.

He then boldly claims that black people only exist in America. Ironically, that’s a stereotype you might have seen over and over again on TikTok. Now we all know that’s not true. But how did the guy get to that conclusion? Let’s find out!

Boyfriend says no Cuban can be Black, leading to a fight between him and his girlfriend.

In this story, the Redditor’s boyfriend insisted that “Black people” exclusively means Black Americans, dismissing a Cuban man’s Black identity because, well, Cuba isn’t the States.

She countered that Black communities thrive worldwide, from the Caribbean to Africa to Europe and calling his view painfully U.S.-centric. He fired back that she’d never understand as a white person, turning a TikTok chat into a heated identity debate.

From his perspective, he might be clinging to “African American” as a specific cultural label tied to U.S. history, slavery, and civil rights struggles. It’s like arguing “pizza” only counts if it’s from Chicago – technically a style, but ignoring the Italian roots! Satirically speaking, this is peak “the world is my backyard” energy, where global diversity gets shrunk to one zip code.

Opposing views? The Redditor’s right: Blackness isn’t a nationality, it’s a racial and ethnic identity spanning continents. Motivations here could stem from pride in American Black culture, but it veers into exclusion, alienating diaspora kin.

Broadening out, this highlights ethnocentrism in identity talks – a fancy word for assuming your bubble is the universe. A 2023 Pew Research Center report on global racial attitudes found that 62% of Americans view race through a national lens, compared to just 35% in Europe, often leading to misunderstandings in multicultural relationships. It’s a reminder that travel (or at least Google) broadens minds!

Expert Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, in his book How to Be an Antiracist, asserts: “The only thing wrong with Black people is that we think something is wrong with Black people.”

This cuts straight to the heart of the Redditor’s dust-up, where her boyfriend’s insistence on an America-only definition of Blackness smacks of that very internalized flaw, projecting limitations onto a global identity as if it’s inherently defective outside U.S. borders.

Kendi’s words flip the script on self-doubt, urging us to reject the myth that Black experiences are confined or inferior when they don’t fit a narrow mold.

Relevance? It spotlights how gatekeeping like the boyfriend’s not only erases the vibrant tapestry of the African diaspora but also perpetuates the kind of doubt that keeps folks from embracing the full spectrum of Black joy and resilience, from Havana’s streets to London’s corners.

Neutral advice: Chat openly about cultural lenses without accusations. Solutions include joint docs like “13th” on Netflix or books on the diaspora. Boyfriend could benefit from passport stamps or podcasts.

Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

Some declare NTA and mock the boyfriend’s ignorance of global Black populations.

Others highlight the boyfriend’s America-centric worldview.

Some joke about the boyfriend’s intelligence and suggest dumping him.

Others urge travel to broaden the boyfriend’s perspective.

In the end, this Redditor’s stand against a boyfriend’s bizarre Blackness border patrol feels like a win for worldly wisdom, but it raises eyebrows about relationship compatibility.

Do you think her pushback was spot-on, or did the identity card play too heavy a hand? How would you navigate a partner whose worldview needs a map upgrade? Share your hot takes!