Everyday Struggle: Switching Codes for Survival | Harold Wallace III | TEDxPittsburgStateUniversity

[@latepass]

Awesome TEDx talk. The code-switching is real and I have a family to feed. Facts. Keep on giving the world your GIFT. Thank you.

[@breathnstop]

That's why I listen very closely to elders. They may have some corny speech patterns but the wisdom is so precious, it's worth the effort. Same goes for other people with different mannerisms, just be a little patient and slower to judge. And you have those two beautiful girls to take care of. Great Ted Talk.

[@goddessinfin9itecompletion554]

Love that he is from Los Angeles, just like me. So far this video intrigued my ears , and closed my mouth to grab the message that he wants to be delivered.

[@mynameisnotgirl8184]

Dear white women, Stop referring to me as, "Girl" or "Girlfriend" in interactions. I've observed you in conversations with other white women, yet just because you see this beautiful brown skin, you feel compelled to try to fake-relate to me not realizing that all you're doing is reminding me that we are different.

[@juseosolo3334]

Elizabeth Jones, thank you for voicing my thoughts❤️

[@mynameisnotgirl8184]

Lady Melanin there’s a co-worker (white woman) on my job right now that won’t speak to me because I’ve explained to her that I prefer that we use our first names when addressing each other. My days of appeasing white folks that want free reign to offend ME are over!

[@Mb-sw5py]

...I never knew this was a AAV thing, call people girl all the time. Even guys. And English is not even my first language.

[@lifeisgood923]

Harold. Thank you very much for your talk. I wanted to go on the stage and give you a huge hug after your speech. You looked like a big teddy bear. Very handsome. The students and staff at Pittsburg State are very lucky to have you. Thank you for telling the audience to Learn, Implement and Embrace. I’m a white lady who cannot know what it is like to live the life you do. Thanks for sharing your story. Blessings.

[@jd9039]

I am a South African. I love listing to other languages and dialects.I would admit that I use alot of code switching. It became part of your daily conversations with others. It's the way you feel comfortable talking. Many people doesn't like code switching at all. They'll correct me when I'm talking. 🎻

[@kayT101]

I'd seen code switching before, I've done it often myself, but I had never had the words "code-switching" to attach to the concept, this was a really great talk, thank you!

[@andrevlasov3345]

omg.. I'm originally from Russia, and I swear at least 80% of people I met for the first time asked me "where am I from from", when they weren't satisfied with my original answer (Philly). I never thought of it as micro aggression, just some annoying thing Americans do. But oh boy, explaining your origin to every rando I met got old very fast. Now, as an immigrant, I came here with expectations to be seen differently, with realization I need to earn my way to be accepted into society, I knew my accent will always be a subject of discussion, this is very human. But people who were born in this country, who went to school here, whose parents were born and raised here... If these little things are so annoying to me, what must it feel like to them? I loved this talk and the salad bowl metaphor was good. I also think mixing cultures is a good thing, it helps new culture to be born and evolve. But using the salad bowl metaphor, this could be a salad dressing, with original ingredients preserved :D

[@tbleeker7987]

This addition to the salad bowl metaphor is amazing

[@choossuck7653]

Or you just have mental problems like this guy

[@MiltonRamirez]

The most important part that I found begins with minute 13:58 and Elliot's quote. Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl!

[@kevinjoseph8142]

Fantastic presentation! Thanks for this. I recently learned the term code switching and helps me identify some of the issues I thought I had. I code switch non-stop lol.

[@NicoGiles]

Super dope, man! And so accurate.. thanks for continuing to raise the narrative around code switching

[@artbycleatress]

I could not have said it better! Thank you!

[@iamb.a.dgoddess1412]

I grow up in Inglewood... this really had me thinking.

[@grit_l]

He is an amazing guy. Awesome speech.

[@johnfish1194]

As a LEO way back when, i often code switched, depending on who i was talking to, just to make things easier. Just the way we cope.

[@choossuck7653]

You have to talk to them differently. They cant even comprehend between right and wrong. Really simple. But they cant do it

[@kevinbracker]

Great presentation...nice work.

[@felishafox7617]

Excellent!

[@linzoe8031]

Interesting. I always associated code switching with intelligence, compassion, open mindedness- things like that. Here it seems to be negative. People also switch their language based on situations and the person or people they are talking to. I think it is good to have that structure in society.

[@arczero1623]

Exactly. I am all for his L.I.E. acronym but empathy for others isn't the same at all as getting rid of code switching. There is no one on this Earth that doesn't code switch. Do you act the same at church compared to a barbeque? Or the same at a wedding as you do at a bachelor party? Of course not, but you can if you want. Code switching isn't only negative, it brings benefits as well and is a healthy part of human interaction, recognizing when certain behavior is more appropriate. At the same time, if you want to say that the disparity in culture between gang-riddled LA and Hollywood is too different, I will totally agree but I don't think there is a simple way to change that.

[@babyhawk7899]

@@arczero1623though everyone code switches, it’s different for African American people. We do it to not come off threatening, or unintelligent, etc.

[@amiewilliams3428]

Beautiful family. Thank you for your message. The code-switching is really real. I learned to play the game a long time ago.

[@gwddmt1]

Great Talk Mr Wallace!

[@drJazz-jo8lf]

Proud of my HBCU

[@burnlikeneon4044]

...as he delivers an entire speech in perfect beautiful English.

[@burnlikeneon4044]

@Leslie Kramer he's speaking in standard vernacular. It's ironic.

[@elijahreynolds2110]

Lol right!

[@babyhawk7899]

That’s the point

[@dayellabunny]

Great presentation. Spot on.

[@Markadown]

Oh, hitting them with Jane Elliot. Yes!

[@lifeman2k22]

I loved this!!! But I'm not changing my Bajan accent to speak like no one else i am me. And I simply don't feel comfortable doing it, it just feels weird.

[@sweetandyyy]

The Dodo sadly I think I lost some of mine since I’ve been living in New York for some time😭although my parents still has their Bajan accents so I hear it on the daily basis🇧🇧🇧🇧🇧🇧

[@EllysaE]

The Dodo you can’t change that Bajan accent.

[@nukeman444]

I seen white folks code switch too. For example, I see a white guy acting white, then soon as the big bosses leave then the *true Italian* comes out, lol.

[@gocelinedion]

Exactly. Code switching is an extremely broad spectrum that encompasses everything from switching languages to switching from formal to informal.

[@labanslabedask2882]

Of course. Code-switching is mostly something human, not mostly political / racial even if the latter is one of the more interesting type to discuss. It's about adapting to situations. Happens everywhere in the world. People also talks different to their parents than to mates than to their boss than to their children than to their girlfriends. One can of course debate on a case to case basis whether someone is a "sell-out" or being an adaptable and perhaps polite person trying to minimize misunderstandings or trying to present their work place in a favorable light, whatever the definition of favorable might be. It's a fascinating topic, both politicized and not.

[@yannicat123]

This is why I have given up trying to live to make myself acceptable to any other race. I live to please God only. Mankind will only leave you dried out like a rag. If I please God I will please those who may know him. If I fail to please others then I pray that one day I will be deemed an example that might be enough of a factor that the life of God may flow through me to them.

[@memegazer]

omg...imagine having to relate to others by finding mutual ground...its so terrible I should get to live in my own little bubble and everybody should have to conform to me

[@Wopkage]

But the difference is an Italian isn’t code switching to make sure there not seen as a threat solely because of your size, stature, and above all skin color

[@raphgotsomemo7737]

I can definitely relate to Harold.

[@euminkong]

Me too. Korean working in Baltimore City Schools and interned at Howard County Schools. Tell me segregation doesn't exist.

[@stevenvincentbonillajr.1368]

FIRE MY BROTHER 💯🔥🔥🔥✨🙏

[@dionnehallback5578]

Awesome Ted Talk! I'm showing this to my freshman writing course when we explore code switching in the movie, The Hate You Give.

[@choossuck7653]

Shouldn't be a teacher.

[@ottogreenjr.7857]

Masterful and honest

[@koushalyag3608]

A family to feed and bills to pay. True dat!

[@reginadavis1028]

Excellent and the unfortunate truth!

[@JustnCase]

We are the Majority 🎉 and they know it!! And it makes their heads explode 😅😢😮

[@amohammed5]

I wish ppl would respect our culture.

[@dlon8899]

Q: Where are you from? A: My mum Q: What music do you like? A: All music

[@smendes2004]

Great voice.

[@memegazer]

omg...imagine having to relate to others by finding mutual ground...its so terrible I should get to live in my own little bubble and everybody should have to conform to me

[@diamondbreakthrough3857]

💎

[@AnnoTube]

It's the first time I read about code switching. I think it's a hype. I mean, it's normal to adapt to common rules and when you understand them you can play with these rules, and in the best case make them better. As for Harold: put your demons away and shine (like you did in this talk)...

[@jubilantsleep]

The term "code switching" has been around long before you were born. It's not "hype."

[@777sweett777]

Awesome! Just please don't cross that thin line between code switching and tap dancing, just because you have financial responsibilities. Your freedom & dignity is worth more than walking on egg shells to appease the majority. But good talk though.

[@luminescent__]

& dishearteningly, that line becomes thinner every single day for the overwhelming majority of us 😔💔💔 .. not even to PROSPER, but JUST to be able to Survive..

[@TheLily97232]

Your profile picture is BEAUTIFUL ! I love it a lot

[@nukeman444]

I chuckled soon as I read the title. I had to watch. I only do well with ethnic white folk e.g. Italians, Slovenians, Jews and maybe some Russians. Not regular white folk.

[@hawkarae]

I am a white "mutt" and I EXPECT to get along with EVERYBODY. We are human first and last and I care as much about your humanity as I do my own. Truly.

[@smendes2004]

Regular? U mean the wasp?😅😅😅😅

[@goddesslove6879]

Yessssssssss!!!!

[@anonamous6968]

Micro aggression? People are so delicate. When people ask me where I'm from and I think they are trying to ask about my background, I tell them. I don't feel assaulted in any way. It's perfectly normal to wonder about peoples background and not know exactly by looking at them where in the world they may be from. The last time someone asked me this, we ended up talking for hours, laughing and sharing stories. That's how it should be. People are too easily offended. It doesn't have to automatically be a negative thing. The question can lead to sharing and learning about each other.

[@Ssemigga]

duh, of course it can. depending on who axin'. like try living in an all white area and having to explain to them everyday of every hour where you from, how you end up there etc. -your opinion is brought to you by priviledge.

[@anonamous6968]

@@Ssemigga lol you assume I'm not just like you.

[@susanswain8167]

It's all about context and intent. It often is used as a way to "other" someone.

[@anonamous6968]

@@susanswain8167It can also be what you make of it. I don't know that everyone that asks this question is out to do that. It seems like an extremely soft way to try to hurt someone's feelings.

[@susanswain8167]

@@anonamous6968 , I think it's similar to "death by a thousand cuts". They may seem miner.. but collectively and constantly coming at ya... they do a lot of damage.

[@tiw2572]

Even the majority code switches based on the situation. It is normal human behavior.

[@mikeaskme3530]

@Tiw not even close but thanks for trying to steal the narrative.

[@tiw2572]

@@mikeaskme3530 If you want to me insulted you'll find a way. Everyone can, it's easy. The code switching nonsense is another example of the entitled finding offense.

[@mikeaskme3530]

@@tiw2572 not trying to insult you, i said what i said and i stand by it. good bye

[@teetime3421]

Tiw “the entitled” what country do you live in? Or should I say what reality do you live in?? your attempt at reverse psychology does not work!

[@tiw2572]

@@teetime3421 No reverse psychology, just common sense.

[@curiositycloset2359]

Yes, we just call it, telephone voice. And everyone does it, but being myopic is great, if that's what you're into?

[@margaritanikolaevna5349]

I go to a school where I have to code switch every...single...day to sound "straighter." its made me really good at bullshitting things but it is so tiring to add it on to everything else and think about it all the time. One of these days I just want to wake up and not work out my straight voice and just go as I am

[@FiremarshalM1]

Your family is lovely. (That's not a micro aggression or aggression either. I'm just happy for you.)

[@choossuck7653]

If he thinks everything is aggression, he is a mental invalid

[@keithcoupel2271]

I'm white. It's the first time I heard code switching. If I understand you correctly everyone uses code switching. I have 6 brothers and sisters. I speak differently with each of them. I speak one way to strangers another way to woman and another way to men a certain way to my friends (communicating differently with each one) a certain way to enemies a certain way at church a different way when I talk to God. I might call it adapting to my surroundings or treating people the way they want to be treated or treating them with respect. I speak and treat elderly differently. Did I miss the point of your speach. If so please explain it to me.

[@stevenvincentbonillajr.1368]

💯👍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥✨🤓

[@cbcm8709]

Amen

[@IAMDPP]

Ole, them good ole, “micro-aggression.”

[@infoanalysis]

Those are degrees? I want to see a TED talk how useless these degrees are for most kids.

[@bobbob-sv4mk]

The posturing is real on the elevator

[@edwinamendelssohn5129]

No different than being bilingual and switching languages according to whom you are engaging.

[@babyhawk7899]

It’s very different actually

[@obsidianflight8065]

except that code-switching is most easily seen through switching languages?@@babyhawk7899

[@acousticphilosopher6420]

Really good except (IMO) for the 'well that just wouldn't be America would it!?' Could've done without that totally pessimistic comment IMO but still, gorgeous sentiments of Love tend to get my thumbs up :)

[@therarestdiamond4792]

Sad truth

[@totonow6955]

The Invention of Whiteness Theodore W. Allen starts in US 1675. Elite Ruling class strategy after Bacon's Rebellion- reject it.

[@TheCinderellaPrincess]

Yep! I read about this a few months ago, tbh it made me cry.

[@totonow6955]

@@TheCinderellaPrincess Dr. Barber Said recently we must cry - a cry must go out.

[@larrystevens1856]

What up

[@anton60fps626]

yo roberto

[@Dragon_rls]

White man here who can't afford to live in So Cal. Who do I blame for that?

[@danjackson5180]

They are about control. And you know who "They" are. So this brain salad albeit good is idealistic. Even though they may smile and thank you for telling them about themselves, ultimately They want control to guarantee the perpetuation of there race, ethnicity, genes etc...

[@genesky61]

I agree with Tiw. As a mater of fact , birds code switch , dogs code switch , lions code switch , all life code switches. What American Blacks are really saying is , they think they are being put upon and is every ones fault but theirs.

[@kermathornton8135]

Gene Sky first of all whites gave it the name of code switching when Obama was elected. I never heard blacks refer to it that way. I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood when I went to Junior high I came across more blacks. I realized they viewed the way I acted as white. I learned I had to adapt to make friends but in class or work I had to talk different of I would be viewed unfavorably. I never really thought of it as code switching I just saw it as adjusting to the environment I was in. Never really thought about it. I just would notice teachers look of disapproval in class or get called out by my African- American friends if I said or did something too white. It was just conforming or surviving in two different environments.

[@jubilantsleep]

No one thinks they're being put upon more than white people. We open our mouths and you find a reason to complain about what we say.

[@michaelweber5702]

@@jubilantsleep - I don't think so .

[@koushalyag3608]

@@jubilantsleep You're probably right. If you don't know why, tho, you must learn more history. And you'd realise that is only natural.

[@hybridhazza]

You’re obviously a white boy

[@excepshunal1866]

Sooooo, you’re offended about MAGA? How do you make the world a better place when you suggest others think/believe like you?

[@mortonhelen3308]

The momentous station importantly stay because flavor summatively analyse including a sparkling flat. soggy, lyrical sausage

[@choossuck7653]

This poor man has severe mental problems.

[@southernarts4443]

Why is a MAGA hat considered a microaggression? Who WOULDN'T want to live in a great country? Someone explain it to me because I simply don't understand how a simple cap could be seen as 'aggressive'.

[@mikeaskme3530]

@Southern Arts, great by whose standards and when was it great for all Americans go ahead think about it, i will wait?

[@teetime3421]

Southern Arts and you probably never will.

[@Talltrees84]

Great for them was the 1950s when white Christian males had undisputed dominance in all spheres of life. Where their actions and motives were never questioned. Trump will not bring back those days, Reagan wasn't back in the 80s. Demographics alone won't support it. Numbers alone don't automatically change things but there reaches a point where numbers have their own dynamics.

[@hawkarae]

It is the "again" that misses the point. America will be great for the first time when the least among us is valued as a human every bit as much as the wealthiest, ENTIRELY regardless of the depth of pigment in your skin.

[@elijahreynolds2110]

Because America was never Great for all of its people. In fact, for the minorities it was terrible. So to say make it great AGAIN is to also say let’s make it terrible for minorities once again. In reality, the slogan is really only for white people.

[@michaelweber5702]

"Where are you from ?" is not an aggression . It is a decent curious question . Please let's not be so negative and so thin skinned...

[@hybridhazza]

You have no idea of the context he speaks from

[@hybridhazza]

Obviously a white male

[@comd4609]

Asking “where you from?” is not the micro aggression. It’s good to ask and be curious but the other person insisting that the Hispanic student was possibly lying about being from Wichita is where the micro aggression comes into play. Please let’s not be so air-headed next time.