Or the frat could have the freedom to have the party they wish and those who are outraged can stay away? I would much rather hang with a “hip hop” crowd than with Juggalos.
There is no right to be insulated from any little thing that may cause the overly sensitive to take offense. I saw a black man today on CBS using a picture of a white woman as a mask! Sexist and racist pig? Should I have been offended?
Nope it can ONLY mean you are racist since random people on the internet say so.
There is no right to be insulated from the repercussions of wanting to throw a racist party either.
If it refers to a black person who is not a criminal, just talking loudly or dressed in urban fashion, them it is a racist term.
I don’t think you understand what a “right” is. You have the right to engage in act that offend people.
In turn, they have a perfect right to call out what they consider racist and to encourage society to condemn it and discourage it and urge society to shun you for your racism.
And then you have the right to keep being racist and face the consequences.
If rappers/hip hoppers find classical music offensive, should it be banned?
Freudian Slit and lance strongarm talked about it upthread, spinning off a comment by bump. (See how this works?)
There is no such right. There is also no right to not catch a raft of shit if you do offend a lot of people.
What do you mean by “banned”?
Why do they find it offensive?
Is it part of a pervasive system of social bias that harms people?
This is where the past matters. This is where evidence matters. This is where actual harm matters. This is where context matters.
Thug isn’t a racist term. No amount of parroting will change that. Dressing as a type of musical genre caricature may or may not be racist. You DON’T know. It’s only your own arrogance that leads you to the inescapable conclusion that what the party is doing is racist or sexist or any other form of discrimination.
CBS today around 2:00PM CST a black man culturally appropriated the likeness of a white woman. It was a blatant display of whitewoman-face and I don’t see the Al Sharpton’s of the world marching for justice. Want to know why? Not everybody is a perpetual victim looking to exploit this sort of nonsense.
Calling people thugs who aren’t thugs is rude. I’ll grant you that. Normally, the thugs I’ve had personal dealing with, unpleasant dealings, were white. And they were very thuggish. I’ve had more problems with white thugs than black thugs and I have no problem with using the word properly.
You ever notice how much more popular “thug” has gotten, in the proper, non-racist sense, since it became racist code?
If you don’t care for or respect the opinions of “people on the internet” why bother to engage with people on the internet?
Things change. Words change. Meanings change. Whether or not “thug” is a racist term has nothing to do what you personally think about the word “thug” in your own head. If people around you think it’s racist, and you know they do, then you keep using it at your own risk.
Again, this seems to be the product of believing that the only thing that can make you racist is knowing whether you “in your heart” are doing something for a racist motive. That’s not what solely defines racism.
Explain the history of how this kind of cultural appropriation fits in to a societal system of oppression and maybe you will persuade people that black men shouldn’t wear masks depicting white women for specific reasons. The context matters.
The Al Sharptons of the world get to choose what issues they stand up for. “You didn’t do X; therefore, you are wrong about Y” is a fallacious argument. If you believe in this issue, then you go out and march for it.
This is a statement that reflects a lack of seriousness.
Again, it’s not only about what goes on inside your head. There’s a whole world out there in which people are affected by things you have never experienced.
Just wanted to say this was a beautiful post. Well said.
I agree – great post, Ascenray.
At my own risk? Risk of what and from whom?
Of being seen by the people around you as an insensitive prick or a racist asshole.
I thought that was pretty obvious.
I guess when President Obama referred to the rioters in Baltimore as “thugs” he was being a racist asshole and insensitive prick? Since it’s pretty obvious and all. But for some reason I doubt you care about being “perceived” as intellectually dishonest and inconsistent with your faux outrage.
If he said this, then “yes” (in a relatively minor way).
What makes you think that? I’m sure some will come dressed like this, others like this, still others like this. Why on earth would you expect them to show up dressed in black stereotypes?
It’s telling that earlier here and in ATMB someone described thug stereotypes as including heavy gold jewelry (like that famous thug Parvathy Omanakuttan), disrespect for police (like these thugs in Vichy France), and disrespect for women (sometimes even for binders full of them, like this thug). Somehow all these traits come together magically to make black hip-hop artists synonymous with “thugs.” Funny how that works.
