At least, I'm pretty sure the following is a snarky comment, and that it was written by a disgruntled white person. But sometimes with these things, I'm not sure.
What do you think?
In response to the last post here, Sams384 (who, if memory serves, has never commented here before) left this totally OT comment:
Stuff White People Do:
Take a music award that belongs to a black woman
Piss off black tennis players and take a point because they're black
White people are getting arrogantly racist these days and it sickens me how obvious they make it. Even when it is in front of cameras without stress.
Did you see how racist Taylor Swift's body language was when Kanye took the mic?
I suspect this comment is bait from a troll. Am I wrong?
For one thing, when Kanye took the mic, I saw no racism whatsoever in Taylor Swift's body language. I mean, give me a break -- what would that even look like?
Here's what I suspect: that Sams384 found a rather snide way to say that thing that white people often say, you know, something about "the race card," something about how "black people and those wimpy whites who support them will always find some way to cry racism. Even when black people are the ones who did something wrong!"
And so on.
I think some white folks out there are waiting, and searching, and ready to pounce on complaints about racism in such incidents as these two, just to "prove" their belief that those who point out racism these days are way, way too anxious to do so.
Some of those folks might even be leaving snarky comments on anti-racism blogs, hoping to provoke such "cries" of racism.
But then, maybe I'm reading too much into a comment that's actually nothing but sincere. As I said, sometimes with these things, I'm not sure.
I don't know if the statement is bait or not. But it certainly one that can be challenged.
ReplyDeleteIn both cases there are two individuals who at different moments in their careers acted in a manner that is considered to be unacceptable for their respective professions.
Awards ceremonies are not always going to turn out the way that many people think that they should.
This is just reality and it is not the first time that the winner is different than the opinions of fans or viewers.
Venus lost her temper. There is no doubt about that. It was a crappy call and there's no doubt about that either. The Williams sisters are seasoned veterans of the tennis circuit and I have no doubt that they have learned how to work inside of that structure. I don't know if the Williams sisters would agree that race had anything to do with the outcome of the match. But every sport has rules and regs. Actions have reactions with consequences. This is the way of the world.
I also think that in both situations, people will see things from their individual perspectives and label what happened according to how they feel about it. If the two people were not Black-would that change the outcomes or public opinion?
The non racist approach to either of those events would be to recognize the inappropriateness in both of them and call them on it the way anyone of any race should be called on.
ReplyDelete*Wide eyed* Yeahhhhh, agreed this one is way tricky...I just can't call it.
ReplyDeleteThey are predictable douchebags. Ignore them. They are making this a race issue; but, it was just rude behavior, that's all.
ReplyDeleteI remember a fair amount of hate towards Andre Agassi back in the day (who had frequent bouts of explosive temper) and now "stars" in commercials satirizing his temper. The test will be if any gender/race can pull that kind of forgiveness off shooting forward 10 years from the said event.
ReplyDeleteMany people did use Kanye's boorish behavior as a rationale to sling the n-word and/or slur all black people. http://harryallen.info/?p=5154
ReplyDeleteI want to say I'm shocked and surprised but I'm not.
I doubt Sams384 is a troll. I think he is sick of you always jumping on Everything Little Thing White People Do while failing to notice that Black People Are Just As Bad If Not Worse.
ReplyDeleteA common reaction of white people when faced with cases of their own racism is to point out the bad stuff blacks do. So, almost out of the blue, they will point out that black Africans owned slaves or that the black men rape a zillion point two times more women than white men and other such Useful Facts.
Abagond, I get tired of it too (all bad behavior should be examined) but I guess that's what I get for reading a blog entitled "stuff white people do"
ReplyDeleteSams384 sounds like someone who is offended by the existence of this blog. The withering sarcasm makes that clear to me.
ReplyDeleteSeems like they're saying black people aren't allowed to get upset, unless they're about to blame their actions on racism. These people got mad. Like everyone else. But all this commenter sees is that these are BLACK people, and that's all that matters. BLACK.
ReplyDeleteAnd fighting against racism means black people have to be perfect for white culture to stop being racist, otherwise blacks don't deserve it.
Kinda like the abused wife. She wouldn't get hit if she just behaved properly.
Says a lot.
yep, a troll. Taylor's body language was NOT racist. she looked startled, surprised when Kanye suddenly appeared onstage. Then you could tell she felt humiliated and confused when Kanye announced that Beyonce was way better...
ReplyDeleteThat post was dripping with Sarcasm.
ReplyDeleteit's a pre-emptive strike.
ReplyDeletethe williams sisters have always been scrutinized differently. instead of condemning what she did many, and i mean many started the 'can't take the ghetto...', a bunch of racist words flung at her, animal, etc, etc, and of course the lie/meme that they do it all the time.
so some white folk made it racial at the drop of a hat.
some went into overdrive with asshat kanye, who was a pop darling unlike the william sisters. but he found out that jumping up and doing that a-hole thing to a young white girl will expose some people quicker than teabagger rally.
it should have stayed as 1 outburst, bad but typical in sports and 1 asshattery move by a spoiled brat, which is nothing new from this artist, and should be called out for his actions.
it's also funny how some media if they didn't damn near co-sign joe wilsons fuckery then they played it off as wrong but colourful and possibly legit. go figure (eyes rolling so much i can see behind me)
@msladydeborah
just a minor correction, it was serena. venus showed composure throughout her match even when it was clear that the u.s. crowd was firmly behind kim
Seems to me that what Serena did was remarkably similar to John McEnroe in his heyday. It made me feel nostalgic for the 80s (I seem to remember McEnroe's brattish behaviour inspired a rather bad comedy song and numerous comic sketches). I can still remember some of his outbursts word-for-word.
ReplyDeleteThe only 'racial' angle is that a few internet knobheads have chosen to interpret it that way by claiming her race had some relevance, when it didn't. Nobody ever claimed McEnroe behaved as he did because he was white (though plenty suggested it was because he was rich - but that was probably true).
As far as I can tell, with Serena as with McEnroe, its really about the rudeness of rich celebrities, excused somewhat by the intensity of feeling that gets generated when people are playing at that level of competition.
And I can't get that worked up about the Kenye thing either. This is, after all, an extended advert for MTV that we are talking about. These 'awards' are driven by commercial considerations anyway - merit doesn't have much to do with it. Its about covering all the demographic bases.
Hence the illogicality of giving Beyonce 'best video' but not 'best female video', as if she isn't female. So fussing over who wins what seems a bit silly to me.
And yes, Kenye snatching the mic from Taylor Swift looked bad, and suggested nasty male bullying of women, but she's not a helpless child, she wasn't ever at risk of anything more than a bit of rudeness, she was just taking part in a big business PR exercise for commercial reasons of her (and her record company's) own. She'll get over it, and her, Kenye, Beyonce and, most of all MTV, got plenty of publicity out of it, so mission accomplished all round.
People on all sides just seem to be taking the whole thing too seriously. Though of course racists have their own cynical reasons for doing that.
...I realise I repeatedly mis-spelled Kanye above - shows how out of touch I am!
ReplyDeleteWe love and support the rapper/hip hop culture of extreme egoism, violent masculinity, and sometimes misogyny in song form and then condemn it when it steps out of the boundaries of performance. What Kanye did was a jackass move: a product of a culture that promotes, fosters, and encourages jackass character traits.
ReplyDeletethis may be waay off topic but, why is it that whenever a poc does something to upset non poc or vice versa ...racial slurs get thrown around like slang to generalize a whole group THIS is what bothered me most about the reaction to both situations instead of Kanye is a jackass it turns into "n*ggers are jackasses"
ReplyDeletewhy is it that whenever a poc does something to upset non poc or vice versa ...racial slurs get thrown around like slang to generalize a whole group
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's off-topic at all, chrome.
I wonder, though -- does it really happen the other way very often? That is, poc throwing around slang generalizing whites when a non-poc/white person does something upsetting? Maybe it does, and I'm not seeing or hearing it much, but then, even if when does, surely it doesn't have the power and sting of the opposite. I think few white people felt bad, or blamed as a race, for instance, when John McEnroe acted like a jackass on the tennis court.
does it really happen the other way very often?
ReplyDeleteit does macon although it doesn't have the same sting it happens almost just as often, maybe not so much with racial slurs but you will often hear rude generalizations of white people though poc usually are careful not to make these generalizations around non poc, which may explain why you hardly hear it.
The McEnroe example is perfect. It gets back to how whites are seen as acting as individuals but everyone else is seen as acting as a member of his race - because whites do not see themselves as white but as just "normal". And so when they do something out of the ordinary it is never because "whites are like that".
ReplyDeleteDaisy said,And yes, Kenye snatching the mic from Taylor Swift looked bad, and suggested nasty male bullying of women, but she's not a helpless child,
ReplyDeleteShe's a rather tiny 19 yr old.
On any given day celebrities do inane and ridiculous things that are newsworthy and I never hear it on my news, but the Serena and Kanye things coincide and it's top news---yeah, somethings not right there even if they try to couch it as "celebrities out of control."
ReplyDeleteRoxie, I wouldn't call 5'11 tiny nor would I call a 19 year old a child.
ReplyDeleteThere are soldiers younger than 19 being sent to Afghanistan, and dying there. (Yes, I know Afghans are dying even younger).
ReplyDeleteWhat Kanye did was rude, oafish, and extremely silly (coming on like a radical on a program devoted to selling more pop records?), but no more than that.
It seems a slightly sexist gallantry affects people's reactions when a young, pretty white woman is involved. I wonder if it would be the same if it had been a black woman? I have a suspicion that black women are perceived as being 'naturally' tougher.
The reference to McEnroe reminds me of this old sketch:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd90m3xKfl8
I dunno, Taylor definitely looked a little nervous when he walked up. All my friends were joking about her being scared of a Black dude and wanting to cross the street.
ReplyDeleteOh snarky anonymous internet commenter, you have created a storm in a tea cup.
ReplyDeleteI think though that the only point they could possibly have been making is that if the races were inverted (John Mayer upstages Beyonce to announce that Taylor Swift should have one) Macon you and the rest of the antiracist blogosphere may well have used the incident as a launching point to discuss the prevalence of white individualism, racial solidarity, feeling dominion of POC or any number of topics... As opposed to viewing it as the asshatted actions of a gay fish (heh southpark), wholly divorced from race and more to do with possibly mentally deficient rappers who've had their ego stroked a little too often.
But I don't think they were making that point. I think they're just baiting/being snarky/pointing out crappy things individuals who happen to be POC do (see, see! It's not just white people!)
Speaking of which, here's my favorite Kanye West upstaging remix. http://img12.imageshack.us/i/kanyemoon.jpg/
Thanks J.M., that upstaging remix is pretty good, but I think the one at the top of this post is better.
ReplyDeleteThe one at the top is definitely... wronger hahaha. The only thing I can add is pokemon, because I am a nerd. http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/kanye-and-pokemon
ReplyDeleteThanks for the list. I am greatly amused by the fact that in the future people will not say 'upsatged' but instead 'kanyed.'
Sounds like the kind of person who whines about why white people can't use the word n*gger, but black people can? Or, like the kind of person who bitches about why there is no white history month. If forced to actually use critical thinking skills in understanding how race works, I think the head of such a person might explode.
ReplyDeleteTroll. Definite troll.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I may have to take back my previous post about adding this blog to my blogroll. Not because I don't enjoy the topics or completely agree with you on everything you've pointed out (I do!) This probably sounds completely ridic as I KNOW there is racism out there, but reading lots of these comments makes me CRINGE and reminds me how gross people are. Maybe I just need to skip the comments. Ew.
Racism is a cancer that will infect all people that want to swim in its waters.If you want to live your life and build your beliefs on hatred you are an idiot. If you want to blame others and believe your life is less because you are a different color you are an idiot. What ever happened to personal responsibility. If you do not like the person in front of you move on, the world really is a big place. Rules do not change the system people do. Live right and free.
ReplyDelete"Did you see how racist Taylor Swift's body language was when Kanye took the mic?"
ReplyDeleteThat's the dumbest thought/comment/idea EVER, in talking about racism.
Um......I think the comment poster was being sarcastic. Did no one else get that?
ReplyDelete