# Ani DiFranco, a plantation and outrage **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 11, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493 "2014-01-11T04:44:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/41 "2014-01-12T23:00:36Z")
Clearly, nobody should ever do anything in the US Southeast, ever. Because, you know, slavery. Don’t go to Atlanta Braves games, because Atlanta was built on slavery. Well, it burned and was rebuilt after slavery, but … well, slavery. Don’t eat in a New Orleans restaurant. No doubt slaves were not permitted to eat there, so you’d be supporting slavery. Oh wait, a large part of the US economy was built on slavery. So, don’t live in or buy anything made in the US. There. Now you’re good. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/42 "2014-01-13T00:00:10Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > . . . Don’t go to Atlanta Braves games, because Atlanta was built on slavery. . . . I’m still mad at Georgia for refusing to vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and have managed not to spend any tourist money there, at least in some part for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/43 "2014-01-13T00:08:19Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I’m still mad at Georgia for refusing to vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and have managed not to spend any tourist money there, at least in some part for that reason. I applaud you for it. I remember being deeply embarrassed to live in a country where we can’t make it constitutional that women and men are equal before the law. That said, if it had been passed, I’m sure there would have been a ton of ridiculous lawsuits and a real circus. But I believe that it’s a price that’s worth paying. Georgia wasn’t alone in failing to ratify. Only 2/3 of states need to ratify, IIRC. So which are the other states to boycott for ERA? ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/44 "2014-01-13T00:26:50Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I’m curious what those those “whole lot of things” are. I know that for me, slavery makes me think of plantations and everything that’s stereotypically attached to plantations like the Big House, the slave quarters, Mammy, overseers, Chicken George and Kizzy, and Massa fucking everyone in sight. Boy oh boy would you get into trouble for saying that if you were white. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/45 "2014-01-13T00:44:50Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Boy oh boy would you get into trouble for saying that if you were white. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/46 "2014-01-13T00:49:13Z")
The thing is, I can see DiFranco being called a racist for _not_ holding her event at that site. If she had opted for a different venue at the outset, she might be accused of “sweeping the history of slavery under the rug”. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/47 "2014-01-13T01:45:49Z")
EDIT: gonna rethink this one. ---
**Author:** ![Karrius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71c47a/32.png) [@Karrius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karrius)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/48 "2014-01-13T02:04:57Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > The thing is, I can see DiFranco being called a racist for _not_ holding her event at that site. If she had opted for a different venue at the outset, she might be accused of “sweeping the history of slavery under the rug”. Are you serious? This is a ridiculous, insulting straw man. People objected to holding an event at a cite that’s been turned into a historical museum about how “nicely” slaves were treated. Like, this whole “let’s try to portray black women as totally irrational” is really kind of disgusting. Can you cite _anyone_ who’s been attacked for holding a feminist retreat at someplace that wasn’t a plantation, or do you just enjoy making shit up? ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/49 "2014-01-13T02:23:40Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > EDIT: gonna rethink this one. Sign of a sound mind! 🙂 Been there done that too, though I won’t admit to a sound mind. More than once I’ve been posting something here that I was very sure about, only to realize during the post that my arguments were crumbling as I typed them. It’s a humbling experience, but one that’s usually overdue, at least for me! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/50 "2014-01-13T02:43:26Z")
My first wedding was held in Northern Virginia, and I can tell you that finding an event site with any historical background means accepting that slaves were once kept there. For instance, I took a wedding tour of the Carlyle House with three brides, their mothers, and me. The guide showed us the guest restrooms on the lower level past the reconstructed slave quarters, which included mannequins of the slaves themselves. One of the mothers asked if the slaves could be stored away somewhere during the reception, and the guide was horrified. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/51 "2014-01-13T21:39:02Z")
[I read this piece about the controversy a couple of weeks ago](http://grist.org/living/more-anger-please-why-ani-difrancos-slave-plantation-retreat-was-worth-protesting/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily%2520Dec%252031&utm_campaign=daily), and I thought the complaints made sense. I think the key is the last part: > [@Mock](#): > > She cancelled the retreat yesterday after fielding outrage from numerous bloggers and social media commenters understandably upset about the decision to patronize a former holding place for enslaved black people — particularly given that it continues to profit from that heritage. For whatever it’s a worth, a good friend of mine got married this summer at a former plantation, and when I realized what it was, it made me uncomfortable. I wouldn’t do that. > [@sqweels](#): > > The thing is, I can see DiFranco being called a racist for _not_ holding her event at that site. If she had opted for a different venue at the outset, she might be accused of “sweeping the history of slavery under the rug”. Total nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/52 "2014-01-14T00:23:23Z")
Perhaps apropo nothing, I remember a TV ad for [this college](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tougaloo_College) that started with a wagonload of slaves being brought through the gates while being told to set their minds to working, then shifted to a modern bus of black students coming in the same way, with the words repeated. Also, a cringeworthy aspect of living in the South is its tourism for idiots (mostly Northern wives dragging their husbands through nice old houses). The docents are attractive young women in Scarlet O’Hara drag, guaranteed to utter the phrase “The late unpleasantries” at least once. If you confront these women on the glaring oversight presented, you’ll see the other historical Southern divide besides Black vs White: if she’s a daughter of the working class she’ll tell you to kiss her ass. If from the genteel class she’ll make a skilled attempt at shaming you for insulting a pretty girl who just wants to marry the richest boy possible. ---
**Author:** ![Gateway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@Gateway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gateway)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/53 "2014-01-15T16:27:47Z")
Some of the best art and ideas for art can come from an unhappy period. Its not racist to choose a racist location , it’s racist to think that your race is morally superior to others. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493/54 "2014-01-15T16:30:06Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > Some of the best art and ideas for art can come from an unhappy period. Of course they can. That doesn’t have much to do with where a retreat gets hosted, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493.md?page=2)