Because she said so in post #65
I see what you did there. 
**piepiepie **didn’t start this thread.
Who’s picking a fight? It’s just a rant. You can agree or disagree, and it’s not about you unless you have a reason to make it so. I certainly didn’t feel addressed.
Is the OP the black people spokesperson?
Are they even black?
If people want to beat up on the OP, I guess have it? But no one should be using that as an excuse to launch into a tirade about black people. Or their celebrations. Or their reactions to racism in general.
I’m guessing most of the posters in this thread didn’t even know this was the year of the monkey. Based on some of the reactions here, you’d think folks have monkey mommas or something. People need to stop getting worked up in a froth over shit that ain’t got nothing to do with them and that ultimatey doesn’t harm anyone. No one is asking anyone in this thread to wear a monkey shirt while dribbling a basketball up and down the courts. So why should they care if a person who is directly impacted by this has decided he isn’t getting paid enough for that kind of thing, and his employer is nice enough to oblige him? If black people need to get a life for having a negative reaction towards certain things, then white people need to get a life for having a negative reaction every time black people have a negative reaction. It’s a feedback loop of manufactured outrage. It’s incredibly stupid. It is fine to just not have an opinion about stuff sometimes.
Re: why no white history month? To which the greatest minds in the Dope (two of them) basically say we don’t need one. Therefore it goes to reason we need BHM even less.
I pit the use of the word they as a singular pronoun.
If we have to have such a thing (and I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea), I’d rather see an “Alternative History Month” that was devoted to the histories of peoples largely left out of our traditional, American histories. Black, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians… We, as a country, need to move past the idea that “race” is black and white.
My preferred solution, though, would be to integrate the various histories that make up our country as best we can into our mainstream history education.
And if you insist on having Black History Month, be my guest. But don’t expect that I have to participate or do anything differently than I would do any other month out of the year. Since my SO is of Asian ancestry, and since I am a monkey-year person, I’m going to be celebrating the Year of the Monkey. No one else is obliged to join that celebration, but it’s the one that is important to me.
I pit fossilization of language.
Give me the vape pen before you hurt yourself.
What do you mean? History has always had the units of person-hours. For instance, the history of Rome took place during 13,500,000 person-hours. +/-
I think more and more I’m just becoming a total misanthrope.
This. Normally I can’t see WHY people are so oblivious to the whole black/monkey connection. However, in this particular case, I don’t see how it’s possibly connected. It happens to be a Chinese holiday, and if it were a few days before/after, or a different animal, nobody would’ve even noticed. Coincidence, cigar is just a cigar, etc. Perhaps it could be an opportunity to teach about both events? I don’t know, there has to be a way to solve this without conflict on both sides?
Of course, I’m white, so take it for what it’s worth.
How about an Asshole History Month?
If anyone needs a break from this, look up and watch the old Red Rose Tea commercial.
:smack: D’oh! I realized I’d conflated piepie’s words with that of the OP about 15 minutes later as I was driving home, and for that I stand corrected and apologetic. I still stand by my general train of thought, though.
[QUOTE=monstro]
Is the OP the black people spokesperson?
Are they even black?
If people want to beat up on the OP, I guess have it? But no one should be using that as an excuse to launch into a tirade about black people. Or their celebrations. Or their reactions to racism in general.
I’m guessing most of the posters in this thread didn’t even know this was the year of the monkey. Based on some of the reactions here, you’d think folks have monkey mommas or something. People need to stop getting worked up in a froth over shit that ain’t got nothing to do with them and that ultimatey doesn’t harm anyone. No one is asking anyone in this thread to wear a monkey shirt while dribbling a basketball up and down the courts. So why should they care if a person who is directly impacted by this has decided he isn’t getting paid enough for that kind of thing, and his employer is nice enough to oblige him? If black people need to get a life for having a negative reaction towards certain things, then white people need to get a life for having a negative reaction every time black people have a negative reaction. It’s a feedback loop of manufactured outrage. It’s incredibly stupid. It is fine to just not have an opinion about stuff sometimes.
[/QUOTE]
To your first point, I don’t know; maybe. I certainly know. Not because I’m some world scholar or anything but because it’s kind of been in the news. Everyone in my office knows (although the nature of our work sort of dictates that we all have to read all manner of shite that’s going on so . . .). I guess I just assume that with the way people around here keep up with stuff I figure they know. Your last sentence kind of makes the point; it *is *fine to have an opinion about stuff sometimes and some folks don’t share the opinion put forth by the OP. This is no different from any other thing we all butt heads (ha! I said buttheads) about here except it is because it’s about RACE!!. Which now goes back to my (misdirected) comment / question as to why this was put in the pit. The OP isn’t just opining, he is pissed that dumbass whitey has the nerve to display a piece of merchandise with a primate on it because doing so has potential to offend black people. Some people responded that they didn’t see it that way / would never interpret it that way , but that clearly isn’t sufficient. We must all be outraged or else we must be racist.
Annnd I missed the edit window. To **monstro’s **first point; I do not know if the OP is black. I meant that I am aware that it is the Chinese year of the monkey.
I don’t think everyone has to be outraged and I certainly don’t think the majority of those that aren’t are racists. I’ve seen many opinions on here expressed that don’t side with the OP, that the thought never crossed my mind that they could be construed as such, like sven. But marketing people should know better, as should the ones who trot out the same old bullshit lamenting the BET channel or such. Those are the ones who, at best, are willfully ignorant, or at worst, are hiding their racism behind their JAQing off. It’s ridiculous and pathetic at the same time.
Nobody is saying that they know more than the aggrieved parties. But it takes two to tango. You can’t just have one side dictate what is offensive or not. The intent of the other group matters, and only they can know their intent. If minorities could just say they are offended by absolutely anything regardless of the intent behind it, they would have total control over everything.
So you admit you’re a racist and sexist.
In some ways, straight white males etc. know MORE about racism, sexism etc. After all, they are insiders in the group(s) that are doing the racism and sexism.
That knowledge is especially valuable when discerning whether something is racist/sexist or not. I remember an interview with a black singer who had been through segregation. She had thought white people treated her coldly because of her race. Then intregration happened and she interacted with white people more, since she was a singer who now could work in white clubs. She saw white people interacting with EACH OTHER for the first time, and she saw that they treated each other the same way, reserved and distant compared to blacks. They didn’t treat her like that due to her race, the discovered–that’s just how they were with everyone, including each other. As a black person, therefore, she was less able to understand a facet of racism, or lack thereof, than a white person would.
Then why are you even here? Why are you posting your strongly held opinions about something you say you know very little about?