tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post3740304810274018851..comments2024-03-06T08:29:13.333-08:00Comments on stuff white people do: mourn the loss of martin luther king, jr., and celebrate his legacymacon dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-44099532067327454672010-01-19T13:19:33.244-08:002010-01-19T13:19:33.244-08:00@Jasmin, he spoke at my university's MLK day l...@Jasmin, he spoke at my university's MLK day last year, and he was AWESOME.nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285430099883802519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-45717189144645348612010-01-19T12:11:04.220-08:002010-01-19T12:11:04.220-08:00My university never cancels classes for MLK day (t...My university never cancels classes for MLK day (they usually have a prayer service no one can attend, since it's at the same time as many classes), yet guess who's coming to speak next week? Tim Wise.<br /><br />This is one of those "Oh White people..." moments.<br /><br />PS. If anyone wants info on the Tim Wise talk, please click my profile and shoot me an email.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-11513391838143339162010-01-19T09:39:55.580-08:002010-01-19T09:39:55.580-08:00Here's another "Obviouswoman" post. ...Here's another "Obviouswoman" post. <br /><br />I didn't know that "Eyes on the Prize" tv documentary had been made available again for broadcast and DVD sale, until I ran into a copy on my public library's shelves. I thought EOTP was in copyright hell still. <br /><br />The archival video clips in EOTP are astounding. I have seen plenty of still images in histories, but the impact of the film clips - wow.<br /><br /><br />(Note: I am pretty uninformed about film and broadcast.)NancyPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-46946874410689485762010-01-19T09:19:04.391-08:002010-01-19T09:19:04.391-08:00AE, There's always karinova's brilliant ap...AE, There's always karinova's brilliant apology formula from the apologetics thread: <br /><br />"Ideally, it should take ONE SENTENCE. In this exact order: 1) specifically state the error; 2) express your remorse, simply; and then 3) stfu so the other person can consider whether to accept or reject. If you did it right, they'll accept. Example: "When I said XYZ, I invoked a hurtful stereotype, and I am really sorry."<br /><br />macon,<br />considering all the conversation that's gone on about this recently, i'm giving you a C- for your second effort. an A apology in my book would acknowledge EFFECT [i.e., on Zara) and not engage in making fun of own WP foibles, which is I think, just another version of White Apologetics.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02945385659698659077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-466383242998638792010-01-19T08:27:09.143-08:002010-01-19T08:27:09.143-08:00FWIW, I think it's disrespectful because it sh...FWIW, I think it's disrespectful because it shows a complete lack of effort. Not only is it a reposted blog, but the post contains no analysis or commentary on the videos you provided. Even a link roundup of some of the other great MLK posts around the web would have added to it. And I have to say, given the focus of this blog, you missed a great opportunity to talk about some truly irritating (to me and a lot of black people I know) habits of white people with regards to how they remember and celebrate MLK. Just as an aside -- I hope you delve into that next year b/c it's really a perfect example of WP paying lip service to anti-racism, to black heroism, etc. in very shallow and often trivializing ways.<br /><br />And yeah, whatever, you're not perfect Macon. None of us is. And as far as mistakes go, this one is hardly egregious. But in light of the recent post on apologies, your response to Zara wasn't an apology at all. It came across as quite dismissive.nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285430099883802519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-47836199978016728262010-01-19T06:17:15.306-08:002010-01-19T06:17:15.306-08:00Nice test drive of the Bingo card, macon!
I'm...Nice test drive of the Bingo card, macon!<br /><br />I'm still working with it myself. <br /><br />I'm not sure about his apology -- is that adequate? Is that all a WP should say by way of apology? Couldn't it seem to be lacking in remorse? It is after all pretty easy to say . . . especially online, where facial expression, body language and so on can't accompany it. If there's more to be said there, what else should be said?AEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-75878900012928719362010-01-19T05:55:53.966-08:002010-01-19T05:55:53.966-08:00Yes Julia, in the cold light of morning, I can see...Yes Julia, in the cold light of morning, I can see that attempt to apologize deserves another apology. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46611087@N08/4274699990/sizes/o/" rel="nofollow">Let's see . . .</a><br /><br />"My interpretation of the situation is correct"? (I think it's at least partially that one.)<br /><br />"I didn't mean it that way"?<br /><br />"I didn't express myself well"?<br /><br />I'll try again: <br /><br />I am simply sorry, Zara.macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-2287436443925487922010-01-19T05:23:45.336-08:002010-01-19T05:23:45.336-08:00macon,
was that an apology or apologetics? To be h...macon,<br />was that an apology or apologetics? To be honest, it sounds more like the latter than the former to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if Zara still feels like you just want her to be quiet already...Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02945385659698659077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-2909235885355594752010-01-19T00:30:57.712-08:002010-01-19T00:30:57.712-08:00My apologies, Zara. Yes, I can see now that a bett...My apologies, Zara. Yes, I can see now that a better post would have included "something insightful or joyous, rather than something that just pays lip service to what white people wish MLK had been about" (but then, come now, that's not what Jay Smooth's quotes are about, not most of them anyway, which is why I included them). And for what it's worth, I definitely don't want you to shut up and go away.macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-18421377914699413922010-01-18T22:24:05.016-08:002010-01-18T22:24:05.016-08:00An unsuccessful post is hardly one of those things...An unsuccessful post is hardly one of those things that bears repeating, and changing which of two videos goes first is a pretty pathetic attempt at "rearranging".<br /><br /><i>I also promise not to post these two videos again.</i><br /><br />I'm not talking about the worth of the videos themselves, although for the record, I do think the RFK one was a waste of time. (How about making the effort to find something insightful or joyous, rather than something that just pays lip service to what white people wish MLK had been about?) <br /><br />I did not ask for promises, and from where I'm standing, your promises are just coming across as an attempt to get me to shut up and go away.Zarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14297967580799128420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-51994473047507523632010-01-18T22:14:04.160-08:002010-01-18T22:14:04.160-08:00Ha-ha! Busted, macon d. This is like when white fe...Ha-ha! Busted, macon d. This is like when white feminists only know one black feminist, Audre Lorde of course, and only know one quote from Lorde, something about the master's tools and the master's house...mumble, mumble.Rosanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-48487750407202139612010-01-18T21:00:30.606-08:002010-01-18T21:00:30.606-08:00Disrespectful? Why? Don't some things bear rep...Disrespectful? Why? Don't some things bear repeating? <br /><br />I thought I'd try it again (rearranged a bit) because this blog has many readers now who apparently weren't here then. If I'm still doing this blog next year, I promise to take the comments in this thread into account if I do something again to somehow mark white folks and MLK again. And yeah, I also promise not to post these two videos again.macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-6022517501625641562010-01-18T20:57:55.739-08:002010-01-18T20:57:55.739-08:00wow, did not realize that.wow, did not realize that.nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285430099883802519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-869905336295911022010-01-18T20:27:29.802-08:002010-01-18T20:27:29.802-08:00Hold on. Macon, why is the content of this post ex...Hold on. Macon, why is the content of this post <a href="http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2009/01/mourn-loss-of-martin-luther-king-jr.html" rel="nofollow">exactly the same as last year's</a>?<br /><br />I find it disrespectful that you just recycled the same video and speech from last year -- about which nobody had anything to say -- for a lackluster thread this year. (C'mon, this conversation is dead.) Why bother? If this is the best you can do, let's be real. This is not celebrating anything.Zarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14297967580799128420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-13944486183763992952010-01-18T19:08:29.818-08:002010-01-18T19:08:29.818-08:00Just because the day is titled MLKJr Day doesn'...Just because the day is titled MLKJr Day doesn't mean that other people couldn't be honored as well. You don't need to call the day "Civil Rights Day". After all, MLKJr became the leader of people who were already on the way - in Montgomery: Rosa Parks; the group of woman teachers at the black teachers' college who, after hearing about Parks, got together that evening to arrange and publicize strike meetings (and when the boycott started, ran the carpooling/taxi service to get boycotters to work); and many more. In my mind, it doesn't diminish MLKJr to also honor the rest of the Movement participants.NancyPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-62112064991082087422010-01-18T18:48:36.927-08:002010-01-18T18:48:36.927-08:00@ karinova
My gast is flabbered. I seriously thou...@ karinova<br /><br /><i>My gast is flabbered. I seriously thought about it for 4 full minutes, and I still don't even know where to begin on that. That? Is a stunner.</i><br /><br />Tell me about it. We all just turned to look at the girl blankly and then my "What in the blue hell?" broke the silence. And then the professor laid into her. My professor had actually marched with and met Rev. Dr. King. She quietly picked up and left after that. Nice.Victoriahttp://vintagelux.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-67852428104749324862010-01-18T18:08:41.001-08:002010-01-18T18:08:41.001-08:00I just came back from a MLK rally downtown that wa...I just came back from a MLK rally downtown that was about 99% WP. I can't say what they were all thinking, but it all felt kinda like WIWL fetishization of the man to me. Like by "celebrating" MLK day and dropping Barak Obama's name a bunch during the speeches then we could all feel good about ourselves that racism is over. [my tongue in my cheek] No one used the word "priveledge", no one mentioned on-going police brutality... they did however sing "We Shall Overcome!"<br /><br />I doubt there would be such self-congradulatory turnout at a rally honoring Malcom X or Fred Hampton.<br /><br />Gee, I just feeling pretty cynical right now. Anyone hear Democracy Now! this morning? At least that was truely honoring of the man.Lutsennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-59345694007547254162010-01-18T17:24:01.621-08:002010-01-18T17:24:01.621-08:00Ah. Cameal and Willow got there before me.
(Gotta ...Ah. Cameal and Willow got there before me.<br />(Gotta read 'em all before posting!)karinovanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-79553721576978754742010-01-18T17:21:56.004-08:002010-01-18T17:21:56.004-08:00@tiffany:
I can respect that. But personally, I...@tiffany:<br />I can respect that. But personally, I'm still annoyed that they folded Washington and Lincoln's birthdays into one holiday, "President's Day." Those guys were kind of key. I'm not interested in celebrating Nixon, not even by grammatical accident.<br /><br />@Victoria:<br />"I won't celebrate his life. He was a womanizer."<br />My gast is flabbered. I seriously thought about it for 4 full minutes, and I still don't even know where to begin on that. That? Is a stunner.<br /><br />@RCVBard:<br />Word.<br />From Racialicous: "A good many observers have remarked that if equality could come at once the Negro would not be ready for it. <i>I submit that the white American is even more unprepared."</i>karinovanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-89495892804315250852010-01-18T17:11:45.087-08:002010-01-18T17:11:45.087-08:00@macon:
Maybe you should leave legacy as is, and p...@macon:<br />Maybe you should leave legacy as is, and put "celebrate" in quotes.karinovanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-13059118803469960242010-01-18T12:09:42.214-08:002010-01-18T12:09:42.214-08:00@ Tiffany
The major problem with calling it "...@ Tiffany<br /><br />The major problem with calling it "Civil Rights Day" in general is that it continues a trend of erasing the achievements of individual POC from the historical record. It would also detract from the fact that the (white) U.S. has a *particular* debt to its Black population. And I have this feeling that "Black Civil Rights Day" would not go over very well. :P (Note: the white U.S. has specific debts to all the other races that should each be acknowledged in turn, not lumped together; I am not hierarchizing here)(if that's a word).<br /><br /> On another note, I also worry a little that we would enshrine (have already enshrined?) civil rights as The Defining Measure of racial equality, i.e. people of all colors are allowed to use the same water fountains and vote, so There Is No More Racism.<br /><br />@ Macon<br /><br />>> <i>"Maybe I should've gone further by putting the word legacy in the title in quotation marks"</i><br /><br />How about, instead of 'celebrate his legacy,' have it be 'shape his legacy' or 're/create his legacy'? Because that's really what goes on.Willownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-90246401458494737422010-01-18T12:07:10.597-08:002010-01-18T12:07:10.597-08:00@Tiffany
I can somewhat agree with your statement...@Tiffany<br /><br />I can somewhat agree with your statement about Civil Rights Day, but I think it depersonalizes things. If you don't have to think about civil rights as something people died trying to get and something more general, I think that makes it easier not to think about.Camealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-52226553431481474242010-01-18T11:52:10.422-08:002010-01-18T11:52:10.422-08:00@randy,
Um, they're supposed to be marching, ...@randy,<br /><br />Um, they're supposed to be marching, no? <br /><br />Are you attempting some sort of humor?macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-30125491040648776222010-01-18T11:49:07.534-08:002010-01-18T11:49:07.534-08:00anyone notice the weird image google has up today?...anyone notice the weird image google has up today? looks like MLK doing a soft-shoe with...woody allen, maybe? and some WW, with a lot of folks behind them.randynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-63745538133167189592010-01-18T11:20:11.673-08:002010-01-18T11:20:11.673-08:00I just can't be upset at "Civil Rights Da...I just can't be upset at "Civil Rights Day" celebrations. MLK was not the only person who fought for justice, nor the only one who died while doing so. To honor MLK as though he was an exception and not the rule is, IMO, a way to make us all forget our own power and history. Black folks' fight for equality both pre-and-post-dates MLK. I just CAN. NOT be mad at holidays that honor the ENTIRE movement.tiffanyhttp://tiffanybbrown.com/noreply@blogger.com