# Act your race?! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188 "2013-05-24T02:21:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/41 "2013-05-24T15:36:25Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Wait, there are “black” and “non-black” sandals? I had no idea! I learned something today. Yeah, they come in lots of colors. Mine are red. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/42 "2013-05-24T16:36:43Z")
> [@AngelTorres](#): > > I’m hispanic. I like to sag my pants a little and I absolutely love to rap. I’m actually good at it. However, my friends tell me to stop because I’m not black. Do I have to be black? The simplest solution would be to wear a dashiki to cover your saggy pants. Then you can go incogegro. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/43 "2013-05-24T16:58:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I don’t get the sagging. It’s the opposite of individuality. it has no point other than to signal that you’re like other people who sag their pants. I am pretty sure that following a fashion trend has absolutely nothing to do with wanting to have an individual style. It’s a TREND not an INVENTION. Really, yours is a terrible argument against sagging. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![dataguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@dataguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dataguy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/44 "2013-05-24T17:35:31Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Try and find George Carlin’s joke, Morningside Heights. I couldn’t find any video. The bit is called [White Harlem](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-7IJE7T84g). ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/45 "2013-05-24T18:01:24Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > The OP’s friends might just be warning him not to go past the point of no return – it’s well known that incautious travellers are reputed to never go back. Once you go white you’ll never be right. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/46 "2013-05-24T18:16:40Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Really, yours is a terrible argument against sagging. Try again. Sagging’s lack of aesthetic appeal should be sufficient argument against it, but people do it anyway. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/47 "2013-05-24T19:47:22Z")
> [@AngelTorres](#): > > I’m hispanic. I like to sag my pants a little and I absolutely love to rap. I’m actually good at it. However, my friends tell me to stop because I’m not black. Do I have to be black? No, but you should wear blackface when you do it. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/48 "2013-05-24T20:01:21Z")
The weirdest part about sagging was that it was popular when I was a younger kid, and I’m 27 now and it’s still popular. Fashion trends are supposed to change faster than that! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/49 "2013-05-24T20:04:36Z")
Bad taste never goes out of style. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/50 "2013-05-24T20:07:37Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Sagging’s lack of aesthetic appeal should be sufficient argument against it, but people do it anyway. 😛 Thumbs up. I’m sick of seeing people’s underwear. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/51 "2013-05-24T20:11:00Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Well as an Asian myself, my ambition is to be a Boston Brahmin someday. Unlikely. But get your nose out of the books and keep drinking your Ovaltine, and maybe you can be a Boston Bruin. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/52 "2013-05-24T22:48:31Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Culture naturally diffuses. > > People like what they like. > > America’s best export–rock music–owes its success to a bunch of white folks daring to fall in love with black culture. How horribly pathetic this country would be if this hadn’t happened. > > Why does this black girl wear Tevas on her feet. These aren’t “black” sandals. Outrage!!?? > > Well, Tevas are perfect for my needs, wants, and desires. In short, I _like_ them. > > People adopt aspects of black culture because, well, they _like_ these things. It doesn’t seem so difficult a concept to me. Yes, of course it diffuses, of course people adopt things they like. But I note a preponderance for it to diffuse more in one direction than the other. This is a casual observation and not a scientific study. And I’m not objecting to it or see it as negative. I just wonder why. There are more white singers who have been influenced by Michael Jackson than black singers who have been influenced by Donny Osmond.\* * * * I am not saying that these two are comparable in their talent or star power but they are contemporaries and when they were young their popularity was comparable. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/53 "2013-05-25T12:39:02Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Yes, of course it diffuses, of course people adopt things they like. But I note a preponderance for it to diffuse more in one direction than the other. This is a casual observation and not a scientific study. And I’m not objecting to it or see it as negative. I just wonder why. There are more white singers who have been influenced by Michael Jackson than black singers who have been influenced by Donny Osmond.\* You should probably get to know more black people. Like, in real life. You’ll find that the majority are significantly influenced by mainstream (aka “white” culture). This proportion dwarves than the minority of white folks who affect “black” mannerisms. (I dont think anyone has been influenced by Donny Osmond.) ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/54 "2013-05-25T17:23:09Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > (I dont think anyone has been influenced by Donny Osmond.) Oh, I’m sure there were some people that started wearing purple socks back in the 70’s. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/55 "2013-05-25T23:32:22Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Or a bunch of Spaniards singing songs inspired by spaghetti Westerns? Dunnow, La Frontera actually had a pretty good run. Rockabilly made outside the US (Matchbox, Stray Cats)? Country singers from Australia? > > Yeah, le horror, excuse me while I don’t faint. Minor nitpick – Stray Cats were from Massapequa, New York, a town on Long Island that’s more or less a bedroom community for New York City. Otherwise, I couldn’t agree more. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/56 "2013-05-26T08:43:28Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > You sound very young, and at your age you mostly express yourself through your clothes, acessories and music taste. That will get boring soon as you get interested in meeting more and more varied people, adn start to want to accomplish stuff. Because everyone knows only immature, lazy people have any taste in music or clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188/57 "2013-05-27T02:30:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > We’re all individuals. … [_Life of Brian_ Crowd/] Yes! We all ARE individuals! …[/_Life of Brian_ Crowd] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/act-your-race/659188.md?page=2)