Visit Our Store!
Things Black People Don’t Do
Nope, That's Not Me. Amazingly Enough, One Other Black Person Has Gone Skydiving.
Seattle Washington: This past weekend my boys and I suited up, climbed into a small airplane, launched ourselves out into the unknown, touched the sky, free-fell at 120 mph, popped the chute and then proceeded to float down from 13,500 feet back to the ground while viewing all of Long Island. It was the most amazing, exhilarating and yet calm experience to date. It’s the closest I felt to God. I wish other people would experience it, but as I’ve heard many many many times by my family members and friends – that’s just something Black people don’t do. To which I ask, what kind of bullsh*t is that?
BLaCk Bruce WaYnE: First off, I must add that skydiving this past weekend was as good as trading bodily fluid with Stacey Dash. ::Pauses to check his phone for Stacey’s text:: To be frank, I don’t see how Black people can say that? I mean it’s not like you said you were going to the Burning Man Event.
SW: …Y’know, I kinda want to check that out too. Heard folks go crazy out there. But yeah, you’d be surprised man. Even a close friend asked me if everything was OK in my life when I gave him the news. My grandparents looked at me like I was crazy. The only people who were intrigued or thought it was a good idea were the melanin deficient. Well, the melanin deficient and some other open-minded Black college degree holders.
BBW: Starbucks, you are seriously considering Burning Man?! Hey you’re entitled to live your life sir. Either way, being adventurous is neither a Black or White thing, but more of an individual thing. I just feel that some Black people tend to worry too much about the material natures of life instead of just living it.
SW: That is true. Our peers seem to be more impressed with a Range than a trip to Bali. But it also goes past the experiences. I’m training for a half marathon and the majority of people I see on the paths are White. I wish I saw more Black women people on the track and in the gym. If I tell some Black people what I’m doing, they look as if I just told them that I’m going on tour with Kenny Chesney. Can’t a brother color outside the lines a bit?
BBW: Let’s not completely low ball our peers, but I’m sure the double take on skydiving and a marathon gets annoying. I also think there are a few Black folks that have a goal or a thrill that might be unconventional to most but maybe self conscious about sharing it with some of their other Black counterparts because of their reaction. We are ALL self conscious ::Searching on Google for shark diving & Formula Race Car driving schools:: DON’T JUDGE ME!
SW: I won’t sir. I’m contemplating bungee jumping and whitewater rafting next. Maybe pussy lion taming per Slim Jackson’s suggestion. Yep, I’m chasing the adrenaline like it was the White Dragon. It’s amazing what some extra money and a little free time can do to your hobbies.
BBW: Let’s make sure you are only spending money on recreational hobbies and not riding the White Dragons or sniffing White Horses. The D.A.R.E. program was the one Reagan Era initiative that didn’t fail me, so I’d hope you benefited Starbucks.
SW: That was his cover for putting crack in the hood. Don’t let them bamboozle you BBW. But unlike most of my cohorts, I didn’t develop a drug habit in college. I kept my nose clean. Just because I find White women attractive doesn’t mean I like the White girl. Nah mean?
But, what about you guys? What thing almost got your Black card revoked? What do you want to do that others may question? It’s OK, you can tell us. It’s a safe space.
Living on the edge, but not falling off,
The Black Bruce Wayne
&
You’re right guys, that signature does look official.
Hey, if you like what BBW had to say, check him out on Twitter or on his Tumblr site. Now on with the show.
56 Responses to “Things Black People Don’t Do”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
Leave A Comment...
RSS & Twitter
-
I love going to museums and acquariums whenever I visit a new city. Might be boring to some, but I love artsy type stuff.
Reply
A guy i used to talk to back in Undergrad went skydiving and loved it…ever since he did that, i don’t knock black people doing it. I also know another black girl who loves being outside and is like a modern day hippie…i think that to each their own.
I love some rock music, love the Indian culture (I’ve actually been to India and i definitely want to go back!) and i’ve been to the Dakotas & kicked it with a large group of white people like I was one of them…i always got criticizing in High School but I don’t so much anymore. Guess everyone is a lot more mature, huh?
I wanna go to Bali…so if you go, pack me in your suitcase, i promise I’ll fit!
Great post!
Reply
You guys are reading my mind. My big plan this summer was to go sky-diving I had it all planned just needed a partner but I got knocked up and there went my plans. I moved to a small town a few yrs back and took up running. At my first official race I think I saw maybe 2 other black people. I’m always the only one of my friends that wants to do “crazy things”. I also want to go on vacation to unusual places not Cuba or the D.R. or Vegas. I wanna see places like Rome, Greece, India, Fiji, Dubai. I went white-water rafting last summer and would love to go again. Still to come on the list is skydiving, bungee-jumping, paragliding, surfing, mountain climbing and I’d love to go scuba-diving with sharks (in a tank of course). The problem is who I’m gonna get to come with me.
Reply
Capricorn Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 9:26 am
I am willing to do the scuba diving with sharks with you! I live for Shark Week!!
Reply
BLaCk Bruce WaYnE Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 9:57 am
I’m right there with you on the scuba diving with sharks
Reply
I’d have to say international travel. I just got back from a vacation in Japan. People kept asking me was I going for work. When I told them it was a personal trip, they couldn’t grasp the thought of that. Oh well…it was a great experience!
Reply
Seattle Washington Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
I wanna head to Tokyo badly. Where in Japan did you go?
Reply
L.Dejean Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
One of my cousin’s wants to go to China so bad…if I get the money to go, I’d take him with me (He has Asperger’s so he really can’t go alone)…I’ve always wanted to go & a friend of mine went…thought he was not going to come back!
Reply
Berriblk Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
China is AMAZING! You’ll love it! Just not the food.
Reply
L.Dejean Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
I’ve seen some awesome pictures & it made me want to go! Hopefully, I will get the chance to go!
I thought India was Amazing and will go back, given the right financial circumstances!
Reply
I honestly say the following:
“Only white people do that kind of ish… you hear a noise coming from the dark, spider web covered hole in the ground that’s oh so slightly big enough for you to crawl thru and there they go… shoot, if it was a beaner or some black dude they’d be like ‘nah man, I’m good, let me know how that goes’ and bounce”
Why white people? Lol
But on the flip side, maybe y’all just need to be more open to doing CERTAIN things white people do like skydiving, bungee jumping (Seattle you’ll love it! Make sure you do it over a body of water, that ish is the best ever!!!), base jumping (now THAT’S another adrenaline rush there!), and cliff jumping (plunging down over 500 feet into the cold sea is such a release!).
Try it! Its fun!
I can’t speak on having my “black” card revoked cuz, well, I ain’t black, lol, but, never mind, lol, I’ve been close to having my beaner stamp taken away for doing the the aforementioned things lol.. momma almost passed out when she saw video of me doing all those things.. then proceeded to scold me lol
Great post!
Reply
Luvs this! It’s been a minute since I posted, but I’m back (today at least). I recently started roller derby training, and it’s not typically associated with black people. All I know is I’m hooked. I have a lot of pent stress and derby seems to be the best way to release it. Also, in high school I was on the crew team, where black faces were also few and far between. Basically, I’m all for trying any and everything whether it’s a black approved activitiy or not.
Reply
I just went white water rafting for the first time this past Sunday. It was a lot of fun. Gonna be going sky diving hopefully in the next few months. But eff bungee jumping #NotNowNotEver
Reply
Surfing…
Reply
I’ve been whitewater rafting…it’s fun!! The rapids were pretty calm IMO. I want to go back with rougher rapids.
My uncle and godbro went skydiving. I think it’s cool, but I wouldn’t do it. I agree, BP need to get out and experience more things….keep doing what you do!
Reply
It’s so funny, “things black people don’t/wont do”. It’s rather closed minded….I listen to rock and techno type of songs….I’d love to go to one of those kind of clubs. I also love the water, I want to learn how to surf also and go deep sea diving. That’s just so fascinating to me. Let there be a special on Nat Geo or the Discovery Channel about deep sea diving, that’s like my Superbowl. Do not interrupt me! Lol
Reply
I’m a certified scuba diver. I’ve gone sky-diving (loved it!) and I hope to go white-water rafting soon. I’m also planning to do a triathlon. I rarely see other black people and I think match.com has revoked my black card since they always sending me non black men due to my interests.
Reply
BLaCk Bruce WaYnE Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 10:37 am
LMAO!! ***DEAD***
“I rarely see other black people and I think match.com has revoked my black card since they always sending me non black men due to my interests. “
Reply
Belizean Princesa Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I want to become certified in scuba diving. You are the bomb.com!
LOL@ Match.com being on one!
Reply
I don’t do anything related to heights and jumping out of something…but, I would like to try whitewater rafting and skiing….I am also an adventurous eater..similar to Anthony Bourdain….I would like to travel all around the world or different restaurants trying new and interesting cuisines….
Reply
I love going camping and I mess with ropes courses tough and I do enjoy rafting (but I HATE kayaking and canoeing… ::shudder::). I’m still working on getting some of my friends into the outdoors just a LITTLE bit… uphill road, but I feel like I’m making some progress…
When we go on trips to large cities, I always want to go to museums and aquariums and do off the wall stuff instead of the regular stuff. My friends hate that, but they know it’s coming… so I guess they grin and bear it.
Reply
Man, I love this post. I love sailing and rock climbing but all the homies give me the side-eye when I suggest a trip to do so. Its my white peeps that allow me to keep these hobbies. Everyone should try traversing a gorge; it is incredible!
Reply
intellectual hedonist Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 10:32 am
I take my nieces rock climbing, usually a rock wall or rock gym. The 8 year old is a beast, she loves it.
Reply
while in South Africa last year was almost talked into Shark diving but I couldnt do it…
for the past 5 years I have gone white water rafting at least once a year up in Maine in April… nothing like 40 degree water to get your blood circulating. not
I think my trip around the world on a ship, really had people perplexed but I would not change that opportunity for the world and would recommend it to everyone.
If you are currently in college or are looking for a transition to a new career or have 4 months of doing nothing… look into it (semesteratsea.org) its actually affordable and less expensive once you have a college degree.
Reply
intellectual hedonist Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 10:40 am
oh how could I forget… I ran challenge courses outdoors (also known as ropes courses) which included a 40 foot climbing tower and zip line. I trained college students on how to do it as well as each year had to do them myself in order to maintain my certification.
I would joke with my supervisor that if my dad ever saw me out in the woods on the challenge course he probably would never come over to shovel my snow in the winter again, and have my Latina Princess card revoked. My friends and sorors were always like “yeah you like that outdoors stuff” I really didn’t but it does give you a great adrenaline rush.
Reply
L.Dejean Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
I thought about the semester at sea once but i don’t know if i could be away from my family, friends & sorors for a whole semester! That’s why i didn’t attempt student teaching overseas!
Reply
Im black and I know a black person who went sky diving last week. She loved it. I think we all consider doing it or things just as thrilling but we just refuse to do it.
Reply
i want to go skydiving as well. i want to do water sports too but just like a black person, i can’t swim. oh well. lol
Reply
Belizean Princesa Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Then learn, I would teach you in a heart beat if you live in Cali. Life’s too short!
Reply
Lola Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
What is it about black people not being able to swim? Sorry, I just HAD to ask! I know one too many black folks that don’t know and it boggles my mind.
Reply
Streetz Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Its funny. i dont know how to swim either. I tried classes and got a LIL better. IDK. whats worse is my family is from Haiti. How they not teachin dudes how to swim?!! lol
My sister learned as a kid going to the Y in the summer. I missed out. I’m determined to learn though!
Reply
Seattle Washington Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
They didn’t want us to try to swim back to Africa, so they taught us to never swim.
Reply
Young Briizy Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
LMAO!!! I swallowed my gum laugh at that!
Reply
A.Smith Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Our parents don’t know how and they don’t teach us (or have us taught). But at some point we have to stop the cycle.
Black folks are real xenophobic and with good (historical) reason.
Reply
Belizean Princesa Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
@ Lola…I always wonder about this too.
Reply
BLaCk Bruce WaYnE Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Heck! I’m not even sure if some of my family members in Ghana can swim…lol….I could see how for generations of black folk not knowing how to swim.
1.) Black women certainly do not want to get their hair wet.
2.) I don’t see a high population of blacks on a US beach city except for Miami and thats for stunting purposes…lol
Note: I’m excluding those from Carib countries.
Reply
L.Dejean Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I love getting my hair wet though it takes forever to wash it! And I know how to swim, it just has been a minute since I’ve done so!
Water soothes me…lets me clear my mind & what not.
Most of my family is in Florida (both the Haitian and Trini side) and the other part is in New York-This goes for those that are in the states, of course.
Reply
Capricorn Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
I’ve been swimming since the age of 5 and have been known to take off my swim cap, to the horror of my mother. I LOVE the water, if I could live near an ocean I would. I wish we’d get over the hair thing, it IS washable and there are great swim caps available.
Reply
Nick@Nite Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I don’t know what it is..
I gotta give it to Bruce Wayne.. i’m from Jamaica.. my daddy threw me in the water (3 ft) and told me to make it work.. “you can’t come from somewhere surrounded by water and not know how to swim.. that’s not right”
ever since then, i’ve been fine.. and yes, i have been known to go to the beach the same day i got my hair done..
I live in Florida so yeah, there’s aren’t a lot of black people on the beach in Miami.. unless it’s Memorial Day Weekend (sigh).. and even then, they’re just walkin on the sidewalk.. there’s NO going in the water involved..
Reply
Co-sign all listed in the comments above.
You all are talking about extreme activities. I know black folks who can’t contemplate the idea of not eating meat. When I first stopped eating meat and went full vegan back in 2004, first think I heard was that “black people don’t do that” or “black people gotta have that meat” or some other variation of black people don’t not eat meat. Especially chicken. smh. Oh, and don’t get me started on exercise, let alone running marathons. And hiking, camping, canoeing, and other outdoor activities black people don’t do any of that.
And the biggest. Black people don’t go to therapy, they take it to God, church, keep it in the family, can’t air their dirty laundry, etc. Its ridiculous really.
Reply
I dont side eye skydivin bec a black does it, I side eye it because its CRAZY!! LOL
Seriously, I stay nervous on a flight, and the only time I expect to jump is if we’re goin down
basement.Maybe one day… its probably safer than bungie jumping.
Anythign Ive done to get my card revoked? Maybe watching hockey? i watch playoff hockey and that always get a bbm confused face from people.
I also watch NASCAR once in a blue moon. No my neck isn’t red.
Reply
GREAT POST!!! It bothers me when people start labeling extra curricular activities to mere skin color. However, I do have a handful of white friends that are the kind that get killed in the horror movie first. You know the type, they go peer in the bushes when we are out camping because they “Think they heard something”…I know when to mind my business but…
I am an adventerous woman, I have white water rafted in the Kern River, swam with sting rays in the Carribean sea (Belizean native here), rock climbed in the Big Bear mountains, and will sky dive in just a couple weeks with a coworker over LD weekend. I plan trips around the world every year since undergrad, this year its Paris/London. Life is too short to not experience this beautiful world we live in. If that makes me a crazyasswoman to be a “thrill seeker”, well I will be THAT woman.
Reply
Belizean Princesa Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I forgot to mention I ran the LA marathon in 08′, all 26.2 miles. When I am old and gray I am going to have many stories to tell my friend’s grandbabies.
Reply
JustMe Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Much props for the completing the marathon! I’ve done a couple of half marathons but I’m having a hard time convincing myself to do a full!
Reply
Young Briizy Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Just your “friend’s grandbabies”? lol I feel you on that one.
Reply
I’m loving all the adventurous black people in this post! Can we start our own little club?
Reply
On the real. Skydiving is on the bucket list. I almost did it in college, but then saw how much it cost. I was in COLLEGE. Thus, brokeness. I’m scared as sh*t to do it, but I really want to in the near future.
Reply
I’ve wanted to go skydiving.. but i don’t wanna tempt fate that way.. i don’t have the best luck and i’m convinced that i’ll get the faulty parachute..
if i hear one more person say “black people don’t do that” when i suggest something, i’m gonna shank someone..
non-black activities on my bucket list..
– zip lining through the rainforests in Costa Rica..
i saw this in a National Geographic once and said, “done!”
– White water Rafting.. I’ve actually had someone say, “only white people do that, that’s why it’s called ‘white water rafting’”
– scuba diving.. but then again, i wanted to study oceanography so…
– skiing..
– cave diving.. perfect example of this is the “Count of Monte Cristo” movie.. (when he was getting the treasure..)black people don’t do that, but i sure as h*ll will.. i must have that happen before i die..
but then again, i’m an outdoorsy chick, so that excites me..
i’m sure there’s more.. but i’ll let someone else speak..
Reply
Cheekie Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Co-sign on the zip-lining! That looks super fun!
Reply
BLaCk Bruce WaYnE Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Second that!
Reply
black woman here…i went skying diving in vegas for my bday 2 years ago. jump was from 15,000ft. i’d recommend it.
Reply
BLaCk Bruce WaYnE Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Damn!! 13,500ft! And here we thought were kings of the skies. Good shit!!
After skydiving for a second-time in a lifetime this weekend with Seattle, I have been thinking of other methods of skydiving. I think I might do it this time from a Helicopter. I was reading stories how that experience is even more of a rush compared to a moving plane…
Reply
I’ve told friends and family that I want to go whale watching off the Alaskan coast, and I got plenty of O_o and -_- LOL.
And I definitely want to go sky diving. It’s on my “25 Things to Do at 25″ list.
Reply
If it’s any consolation, I started running (for the first time, really), training, and completed the Half-Marathon last year…in the South (ATL)…on Thanksgiving Day, so you can imagine how many Black folk were out on Turner Field or along the Chattahoochee with me doing likewise. It was one of the proudest, most liberating moments of my life…and I was completely alone.
I pretty much stopped caring what *other* Black folks are doing, back in high school. It’s far too exhausting to assimilate and, in the end, it makes you boring and unhappy…but mostly, extremely boring. But, never fear, Blacks are not the only race that subscribe to certain standards of behavior, likes and dislikes. How else can you explain the popularity of the Gap, Justin Beiber, or misogyny?
When all is said and done, one of the rare privileges of living in Western society and, more specifically America, is the pursuit of individual happiness and contentment…not the collective’s. It is a luxury that is often wasted.
Reply
Props to those who have tried something different. My advice to those who haven’t, is to break the mould.
Rock climbing is not my thing however I have tried para gliding, sailing, bungee jumping and horse riding. I regularly Ski, Snowboard, Scuba dive; oh and I can swim (well). On each occassion I have tried something new I have not thought about whether black people do it, I try because it might be something that I enjoy!
Reply
Well, I’m taking you up a level…me and my future Mrs. plan on jumping out of a plane Aug ’11′. But this is no scenic tour, we’re getting married at that time. Yeah, I’ve never seen any of “us” do it before either, so that makes me all the more excited!
As SW so eloquently put it, “Can’t a brother color outside the lines a bit?”
See you back on the ground:)
Reply