WTF is "acting White"???

"Oreo", "overcooked White boy", "Carlton", "sellout", and oh yes, "acting White" are the kinds of wisecracks some Black youth get insulted with if:

1) He or she doesn't speak Ebonics or said person "talks White" and speaks proper English
2) He or she likes to read books
3) He or she listens to classical music
4) He or she does not live up to what is considered "typical Black behavior" or behaves in a manner that is considered "not Black enough".

Many Black youths get derided for "acting White" if they don't "talk Black". Insults like "oreo", get launched their way. By the way "oreo" is a cookie that is "Black on the outside, White on the inside". I can relate being insulted like that. I am the Black person who has been made fun of for "acting White". I've been called "Carlton"(refers to Carlton Banks from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), "overcooked White boy", and other insults. One girl used to scream "White boy" at me. The irony, however, is that she was a White female. This shows that this isn't just Black people doing this to other Black people. Some White people(from my personal experiences) have done this too. In fact, I have been insulted in college too. This is the irony. I'm in college and I get insulted. A White male college student had this joke to describe me:

The Student: Do you know your father?
Me: Yes
The Student: Does he live with you?
Me: Yes
The Student: Then you're White!!(usually with some laughter from him, not from me).

So apparently, because I have a father, he is still married to my mother, and he is part of my life(as well as the lives of my siblings), somehow, that is "acting White"? WTF!! Some more tidbits: I don't wear FUBU, And1, Ecko, saggy pants, my baseball cap to one side, or large gold chains. I dress preppy, sometimes I wear a suit, I like listening to classical music, NPR, I like to read alot about geography, history, and science. I do many things that are not considered "stereotypically Black". Does that mean I "act White"? Does this make me a "sellout"? Anyone who describes any Black person who loves to read books, dresses presentably, and seeks an education, as a "sellout", let me tell you this" You just called Malcolm X a sellout. You just called Dr. King a sellout. You just called Andrew Young, Tavis Smiley, Cornell West, President Obama, and alot of other extraordinary Black men "sellouts".

Here is the question: WTF is "acting White"? Is it "acting White" when a Black child is highly interested in science, history, and mathematics? Is it "acting White" when a Black child would rather play soccer or tennis instead of basketball or football? Is it "acting White" when a Black person listens to classical music even learned to play the violin? Is it "acting White" when a Black person uses words like "repugnant", "insipid" and pronounces the word "ask" properly instead of saying "axe"?

Are you going to call a Black person a "sellout" because he or she doesn't speak Ebonics? If "acting Black" means acting ignorant, wearing saggy pants, getting subpar grades in school, being a deadbeat father, not having a father, speaking in a manner that is not eloquent, and deriding other Black people for "not acting Black enough", then I don't want it. Since when has reading, listening to classical music, speaking proper English, wearing ones trousers the correct way, "acting White"? Why should it only be considered for White people to act in this manner?

Something to understand: When you cut down Black people in such a manner, especially the youth, it makes things harder for Black people who want success. To get a better idea of the high cost, think of this. The Black kid who gets beaten up for reading books and for basically "acting White", it is cutting down that person's self-esteem, making that person not want to strive harder. A Black kid is going to have it harder to begin with, but getting torn down by other Black children, and basically anyone else for "not acting Black enough" is going to make things worse. Some of these kids who could be the next "Guion Bluford", the next great Black inventor, doctor, astronaut, engineer,etc., could end up giving up and becoming just another statistic among many. It could happen, and that is disturbing. That child needs to be built up and encouraged.