Today in Cultural Appropriation

Nope. But if you're coming to *this* thread to discuss it, that's probably the best you'll get.

 

@PCLoadLetter We’re still sure I don’t get it?

 

Why I write he’s insincere? Oh, I think I understand. If you think the below words are anything but:

1. A put-on OR
2. Completely unhelpful to conversation

Well, OK.

If people want to sincerely ask why conversations on race go off the rails here, the below statement is exhibit A.

 

It's called levity. Small minds make things personal. If people are going to continue to make the thread about me, personally, instead of larger ideas, then I'm going to laugh at it.

I also don't really think I'm the Enemy of Personal Rights, nor am I Terrified of the Second Barrel. I guess I am probably Dweeb Zero though.

 

Yes.

What I said:

What you wrote that I said:

You consider yourself an educated man, I presume. Can you identify the difference between the two?

 

Sure. One was written sincerely - race is a totalizing conversation to some people I know - and one was written by a person who insincerely tries to gaslight other posters by moving the target around as long as possible, as often as possible.

 

I think part of it is that it feels like the definition of acceptable/not acceptable has not only changed, it's changing so fast and so arbitrarily that it's impossible to keep up with. Some random guy on Twitter complains about Sixteen Candles being racist, and now a movie that an entire generation found funny and that spoke to them on a number of levels is persona non grata overnight.

That's one example, but these days you can pretty much say it about any movie made before 2010. People are looking for flaws in everything whether they're there or not.
As I spelled out with the stupid logic behind cultural appropriation, almost any attempts made to enjoy black culture or artists are met with hostility on some level. Me watching "Boyz N The Hood" and "Menace II Society" -- hell, even "Friday" -- when I was in high school opened my eyes to a world I never totally saw in my own life. I laughed at "Friday" because it was funny as shit and the jokes played well beyond a black audience. Now if I watch it and laugh at it I might get the stink eye because I haven't lived it, and how can I get the jokes if I haven't lived it, right? At least that's the argument I'm seeing in some corners.

And this is being repeated over and over, day after day, with stuff people of my age (40ish) spent their entire lives enjoying as harmless fun. We're being told we're insensitive jerks for ever enjoying it, and only saying 10 years worth of Hail Yeezuses at the Church of Beyonce might make us understand why. Basically, we're being told that everything we ever knew or enjoyed is wrong. Not so much because it's wrong, but because someone else up and decided it was. And if you dare to point out the lunacy of any of this, the argument is twisted and folded back on itself like an Origami swan until you're made to look like the moron. It's exhausting. And I'm sure saying it's exhausting is somehow an example of my white privilege, yada yada yada.
Fuck it all. How soon is the damn Mars colonization project going to take, anyway.

 

Why can't it just be "Sixteen Candles was racist. We didn't realize it then, we do now. It still holds an important place in many people's lives, but we don't need to make movies with the same problems anymore. Also we should figure out why the moviemaking ranks are more white than the population on average."

Instead, it' "OH GOD EVERYTHING IS RACIST WHITE PEOPLE AREN'T ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING ANYMORE!"

 

If you genuinely believe that, the "ignore poster" button is right there on my profile.

 

Usually you are. But every so often...

 

Because calling someone or something "racist" automatically brands it with a scarlet letter, whether you like it or not. Nobody wants to be racist or to even be perceived that way, therefore once something gets that label it quickly becomes necessary to distance themselves from it. Throw that out there, and there is no longer any rational discussion to be had. It's like tossing a grenade into a crowded room. All you can do is get the hell out of there in one piece and hope none of the shrapnel sticks in you.

Plus, even the way you phrase that implies that anyone who liked Sixteen Candles and thought Long Duk Dong was funny is inherently racist. Saying, "Sixteen Candles was racist. We didn't realize it then, we do now. It still holds an important place in many people's lives ..." is basically saying, "Sixteen Candles was racist. If it holds an important place in your life, you too are probably a racist because you laugh at Asian stereotypes."

 

While we're mentioning Sixteen Candles and Long Duk Dong's mangled English, is it OK for Chinese people to laugh at Americans who visit there and try to speak in broken Mandarin? Or are we allowed to find that offensive?