tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post6999014945572957975..comments2024-03-06T08:29:13.333-08:00Comments on stuff white people do: wonder how to respect other culturesmacon dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-57928764053750171412013-03-10T08:04:56.281-07:002013-03-10T08:04:56.281-07:00i'm completely new to this game, and want to k...i'm completely new to this game, and want to know more (i'm english, and white). what happens if you buy art, wear clothing or emulate another culture because you find that aesthetic beautiful?? i don't mean seeing a sari and going 'oh, that looks cool, i'll wear it when i go out clubbing'. i mean really, truly loving the art form and the process behind it. also, is it just white people that can be blamed for cultural appropriation, what would happen if an african american girl wore a native american headdress in a music video?? Carlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11144216018079024054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-70415961612506261382012-02-24T13:22:27.284-08:002012-02-24T13:22:27.284-08:00As far as the first question goes(since I don'...As far as the first question goes(since I don't have much to say on the study of Egypt or anything)<br />I believe that if your hair is the kinky more dried out style of hair no matter what your ethnicity, dreadlocks are probably easier for you to maintain. However most non POC who wear them are doing it simply as a fashion statement. It is a style that I, as a WP, have never desired in my hair. I grew up with a lot of friends who were POC so I learned quite a lot about dreadlocks and why so many POC had them. And personally, for people who have the hair type that they work with, I think they are perfectly professional. I've seen more unprofessional hair styles from WP that look so much worse than a POC coming in with dreadlocks.<br /><br />As far as the second question about artwork. This is more a sensitive topic I feel. I know a lot of WP who have no sense of another's culture beyond having a cultural fetish for it and some have artwork from them. I identify as a WP but I can also identify as a Native American Indian. Not enough that I grew up on a reservation but we do have it in my family. You can see it more in my dad and grandma and a few other older members of my family. My grandmother has artwork and such from the tribe we are descended from. I don't remember all the stories she's told me of the specific ones and until I find my tape recorder to record them all I don't particularly care at this moment. Once I find it however I want to get her oral history on our family and her growing up on tape so I can type it up and be able to reference it in the future. But that's another topic entirely. I think, this is presuming the POC is alive or their family is still around, that if you buy it directly from the POC for reasons of understanding culture/finding it aesthetically pleasing that it is fine. As long as you don't try and pass it off as your own or what not. If it is a POC who is not alive and none of their family is still around that's where you start getting into grey areas. I have seen plenty of artwork by POC that I've found so beautiful that I've wanted. However, I know that if I were to buy them they wouldn't fit with who I am. Yes, I appreciate art from the aesthetic value and the cultural value but honestly I don't want any actual artwork in my posession. Unless it is my own. Or if I ever happen to get married, my spouses. Though part of that is due to a fear of it getting ruined. I'd much rather see it in a museum or an art gallery. The closest art I have is a puzzle version of "Starry Night" and a poster of it that came with it as well as another of the same painting that part of it is enlarged and an interesting take on it. That I actually got in high school. Not very big and not the whole painting just a part of it. (yes yes WP art I know but the piece speaks to me and the poster/puzzle combo were a gift to me from a birthday.) As long as the person has an appreciation for the art I feel it is more an appreciation. Appropriation feels more to me like someone going and basically committing art theft and saying that it is their own artwork.<br /><br />As far as the third point, I don't think anyone should be considered an expert on anything. Maybe highly proficient but not expert. But that's all I really have to say on that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10663134632448670751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-17454712500550076702012-01-18T11:11:17.866-08:002012-01-18T11:11:17.866-08:00I really wish I had the ability to articulate my t...I really wish I had the ability to articulate my thoughts the way you do. You are truly brilliant without pretension or useless words.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17071589477006511033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-12623328508103696112011-07-01T06:33:41.726-07:002011-07-01T06:33:41.726-07:00While I do look down on my nose on a fellow tribem...While I do look down on my nose on a fellow tribemember wearing dreadlocks, it is not originally just rastafari-invention. Such hairstyle wa spopular in pre-christian europe with warriors.Blitzmadchenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09516184158276286567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-54732366813756996122011-06-21T00:06:04.654-07:002011-06-21T00:06:04.654-07:00Well skin colour isn't the only contributing f...Well skin colour isn't the only contributing factor to culture. Also skin colour shouldn't be a cause for judgement. There are people who are mix who look more like one parent than the other, instead of a mixture. Location has something to do with it too. Let's say a white person was born in Jamaica (just as example) and that person grew up seeing Rastas and listening to reggae and such. That is all the person knows, that's what that person identifies with because that's how they grew up. I don't get offended over things like that. Same for corn rows, if that's how a person was raised, if that what they most identify with, let it be. <br /><br />Now if that is not their culture and they see it and like it, I don't mind that either as long as they understand the significance to the people of the culture of origin and that they're doing out of genuine fascination and good intention. <br /><br />Same for cooking. I would like if a chef studied or visited a place where the food is mostly cooked but I still think it's a good thing if someone shows interest in a enough culture (if if it's not theirs) to share it.<br /><br />I can understand the "It's our thing, stop trying to imitate us." attitude. I'm from the Virgin Islands which is in the Caribbean and we here don't like when outsiders try to imitate our accent or dialect and we don't like when people just try to sound Caribbean to relate to us either. On one hand, we just want something to call our own but on the other hand we all have to realise that everyone around the world is mixing now. There are so many ways to communicate with each other now and we've to realise that when we show the world who we really are there are some from the outside who'll be interested and want to imitate us. I'm fascinated with Enka music which is traditional Japanese music. I'm black with no affiliation to Japan. I can't even speak the language but I still love the music. The Japanese culture on a whole fascinates me and I low learning about it. In reverse, some Japanese are fascinated with Black cultures (I say cultures because being Black in America is different that being black in the Caribbean.) from the West and I don't see anything wrong with that as long as they take time to understand the culture's origins. <br /><br />Sometimes, as mentioned before, when it's done out of fascination and genuine interest, I get flatter and actually try to teach a few things about my culture and say when something offends me or would offend someone from the VI. I don't think most people who try to do things or behave like what is typical of another culture do so to offend but do so because they like what they see. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-77310076452127917122011-01-05T07:09:03.995-08:002011-01-05T07:09:03.995-08:00Hello,
I normally would not try to hijack a threa...Hello,<br /><br />I normally would not try to hijack a thread, but I would truly like to know what others would think of non-Native Americans using a wedding ritual loosely based on traditional wedding vase use. I've seen cultural appropriation in weddings discussed on wedding sites before, but the conclusions reached at such sites typically leave a bad taste in my mouth. I am seeking wiser perspectives--not for someone to hold my hand and reassure me that I'm not being racist. If anyone finds this subject interesting and wants to help me, I invite you to E-mail me at liza dot kali at ymail dot com.<br /><br />Thank you so much!<br /><br />Liza<br /><br />PS: Kali is my middle name, so no cultural appropriation meant there :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-91680298433325923942010-08-24T11:16:47.660-07:002010-08-24T11:16:47.660-07:00err, not to get into a side-rant but that celtic s...err, not to get into a side-rant but that celtic stuff is bullshit! <br /><br />people aren't even sure the celts, as we conceive that group to be, actually existed. and there is also huge doubt about whether or not contemporary irish folks are in fact descended from the bronze-age inhabitants of Ireland whether or not they were the celts...so ppl who deeply feel their celtic roots are basically making something up. (and i say that as an ireland-loving dual citizen)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-81202875752140168242010-08-21T02:40:20.745-07:002010-08-21T02:40:20.745-07:00This reminds me of "kimono sleeves", a s...This reminds me of "kimono sleeves", a style from the late 40s/early 50s that white people came up with- completely ignoring the reality or meaning behind kimonos. I guess I can see how they're kimono *inspired*- but with the way they've evolved, they look nothing like real kimono sleeves. <br /><br />I don't really know how (if) white people can really give credit to a culture who inspired something without appropriating it. Even if they do well at first- if it gets popular, it'll get lost over time. People will either forget what inspired it or forget that it was *inspired by* and isn't the original thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-24528570074780819492010-08-12T23:15:45.341-07:002010-08-12T23:15:45.341-07:00I'm late. But just incase someone reads this l...I'm late. But just incase someone reads this late like I did, I just want to say that Listening isn't neccessarily the best thing you can do as an ally. You don't have to be POC to know when a person has been hurt. I read through this thing wondering why the allies are all silent. Sure, you've heard 'STFU and Listen' and you're following it, but you're not using your head.<br /><br />People were getting stoned in this post and you said nothing, 'allies'. Moderator, Macon, you never even apologized.<br /><br />Listen- applies to the idiots that posted up there. The ones that can't keep their 'i get my say' to themselves, the ones that think this is about 'winning'. Our life is not up for debate, thanks.<br /><br />The silence didn't help, allies; it only justified and empowered the folks passing on their ignorance cos you didn't step up.<br /><br />===<br />On appropriation. Let me first say that it is entirely sick and disgusting to use a religious/sacred item as your piece of personal adornment. Someone said it wonderfully, "just cos you like it doens't mean you have to have it". You don't need the freaking souvenir, ok? Stop breaking those stalagmites off, stop buying stuff that you don't actually care about that will probably end up stashed in some memories book or at goodwill or in your dog's mouth. That stalagmite took centuries to form, that culture is as old as the trees.<br /><br />Understanding a culture is like those doctors that stayed and died in Afghanistan; to me, it seemed like they realized that their lives are just as worthy of death as the people around them. They didn't have to KNOW everything about the culture, but they saw those people as PEOPLE. NOT souvener makers, NOT exotic folks to take pictures of, NOT great cooks, NOT terrorists, NOT victims, but as PEOPLE. Brothers. Sisters. In it together and that means they die together too. <br /><br />Appropriation is the rest. See people as people, or don't.jnguyễnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479079553134597550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-49004107338771227652010-08-04T10:02:15.484-07:002010-08-04T10:02:15.484-07:00@ Elisabeth: Erm, Mcdonald's DOES sell hamburg...@ Elisabeth: Erm, Mcdonald's DOES sell hamburgers.Kazzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-10923513344110544732010-08-03T06:09:01.415-07:002010-08-03T06:09:01.415-07:00Thought provoking stuff guys. I think immediatedly...Thought provoking stuff guys. I think immediatedly of music. Dusty Springfield: a more blatant immitation of a black woman's inflection by a white singer you won't find. And she was highly succesful. Would a competing black singer feel right to be wronged? Yeah.<br /><br />But despite all that , Dusty has soul. She is an incredible soul singer, her voice is filled with passion and her range is spectacular. Its hard to put racial boundaries around musical talent, the medium is way too porous. Little Richard to the Beatles to Stevie Wonder to Red Hot Chilli Peppers to TV On The Radio. Reggae-rock, hip hop-soul, Funk-Jam bands, black to white to black and back again. You can't fault the naturally talented when life guides them to their calling.<br /><br />Oh and I'm black. PS, i noticeed a rather simplistic racial trolling technique(confined to imdb, youtube and other comment vortexes of inanity)/ People will declare themselves blacks, or asians or whatever (never white suspiciously enough) and go on to denigrate them in a supposedly objective, Im weighing both sides of the question of the worth of blacks or asians manner. It smacks of the previously well-outlined here white tendency to claim an "objective", bland, prematurely conciliatory view towards outrageously racist claims. Well, Ciaoarpelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-17425242865622448242010-08-03T06:08:17.400-07:002010-08-03T06:08:17.400-07:00I find the debate about dreads amusing since there...I find the debate about dreads amusing since there is an internal question among Rastas as to why they wear dreads-- after the African Mau Mau rebel group, as a symbol of fighting oppression, or after the ancient Jews, as a symbol of inner spirituality and dedication to faith. So perhaps only the Jews can lay true claim?<br /><br />The entire debate is absurd. No one "owns" a hairstyle! I can kinda understand Rastas getting upset about non-Rastas wearing dreads with a clear intention of emulating them, because at least dreads have religious significance and deeper meaning that is somewhat lost when a rich white kid wears it, smokes pot, plays reggae and thinks he's deep. I can also understand frustration that poorly maintained dreads can cause people to associate them with grime and/or poverty. That said, braids are JUST hair. They are a hairstyle, without any deeper meaning than a way to maintain curly, easily-dried-out hair. And in most cultures that wore/wear dreads, they were/are the same thing-- a way to maintain hair. That's certainly how black non-Rastas wear them, yet you won't see a Rasta get pissed because<br /><br />I don't care if someone wears dreads because they like them, how they look or feel. I care more if they wear them in homage to Rastas or to blacks, because then they clearly are treating it as something from another culture to adopt, instead of picking a hairstyle they like of ALL the hairstyles.<br /><br />My attitude on cultural appropriation is usually to ask why you have or like something. For example, using the art example-- if you like it because it's "ethnic" or "tribal" it's appropriation. If you like it because you like it and it speaks to you, it's fine. If you fill your home with Asian art and furniture and such, you're probably appropriating it. If you have many accent pieces, it's art. Of course, you should buy from artists of the culture in question and look out for commercial appropriation of a culture, because THAT is wrong. And too, you should make a point to find out the significance of something-- you can wear moccassins as shoes, because Native Americans only thought of them as shoes, but a war bonnet is a highly culturally significant and symbolic item and a 20 something hipster has not earned it, so wearing one is inappropriate.<br /><br />My home is filled with Tibetan, Japanese, and Indian pieces, including prayer flags, Buddha statues, and calligraphy paintings. I'm sure people here would call it appropriation. That said, I and my partner are devout Buddhists with heavy Tibetan and Japanese Buddhism influences in our faith; my partner can read every single bit of calligraphy (he learned at a young age), and we use the prayer flags in our worship. So before assuming they're appropriating someone else's culture, it's important to remember both that many so called "cultural" things are actually religious and religion and ethnicity are not the same thing, and that sometimes people JUST FIND IT PERSONALLY USEFUL, ENJOYABLE, ETC AND DON'T CARE THAT YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO HAVE IT BECAUSE THEY'RE THE WRONG RACE. Not everything white people do is because they think x culture is quaint, sometimes they think x culture had the right idea!<br /><br />Note-- Joanna, since it's been made really obvious in this thread that fine, straight hair doesn't respond the same to dreads as curly, coarse hair, people with fine straight hair probably DO need different products and methods to maintain dreads. And considering that the ancient peoples with fine straight hair who dreaded it never washed their hair (nor did anyone else), thus using the natural oils, modern people with fine straight hair can benefit from products that let them continue to strip oils from their hair while dreading it.j d knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-48350335296678181212010-07-27T17:47:20.283-07:002010-07-27T17:47:20.283-07:00Speaking of cultural appropriation.... this websit...Speaking of cultural appropriation.... <a href="http:www.knottyboy.com" rel="nofollow"></a>this website is a company and salon that make products for creating dreadlocks... for the most part in white hair. <br /><br />It was created by some white 20 somethings in 1998 who said that "All we knew was that there was a desperate need for a good, all-natural product specifically for starting and maintaining dreadlocks out there, and since it was apparent that no such thing existed at that time, we developed something ourselves that worked - and worked really, really well." <br /><br />Now,please tell me, how is it that people of African descent had NO PROBLEM creating and maintaining dreadlocks before their product came along to "save the day"???Joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15409225119134162318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-70274829007887954082010-07-27T17:24:42.147-07:002010-07-27T17:24:42.147-07:00Here's a very good example of culture appropri...Here's a very good example of culture appropriation--that's quite offensive. At Godheval's blog, http://godheval.net/<br /> this thing is broken down very clearly for what it is, objectively speaking.<br /><br />Toyota's Official Swagger Wagon video<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUG3Z8Hxa5I&feature=player_embeddedAnna Reneehttp://nachalooman.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-394969803326643182010-07-26T19:28:52.766-07:002010-07-26T19:28:52.766-07:00I'm just going to weigh in on Rick Bayless and...I'm just going to weigh in on Rick Bayless and will freely admit that I read quite a few comments but not even close to all, I started skimming at some point, so I'm sorry if this has already been said.<br /><br />From his website: "From 1980 to 1986, after studying Spanish and Latin American Studies as an undergraduate, and doing doctoral work in Anthropological Linguistics at the University of Michigan, Rick lived in Mexico with his wife, Deann, writing his now-classic Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking From The Heart of Mexico (William Morrow, 1987). The New York Times’s legendary Craig Claiborne hailed this work as the "greatest contribution to the Mexican table imaginable.""<br /><br />And Mexicans can be white (Latinos are of all races), so I was looking for something giving his ethnic background, it appears that this dude is definitely not a white Latino, he's just white. <br /><br />So basically white dude went to Mexico, got Mexicans to teach him how they cook, and then he came back and got super famous and successful through that.<br /><br />Yeah. I have a problem with that. Not the learning how to cook in Mexico part so much as the coming back and getting famous from it part. That is like, textbook cultural appropriation, isn't it? Like, how many of the people who taught him these authentic recipes are dirt fucking poor while he's living it up? That's what really gets me.whatsernamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731411057968563416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-77862873197297344782010-07-26T14:58:33.514-07:002010-07-26T14:58:33.514-07:00@Mike
Dude. I am Black. I have not followed this ...@Mike<br /><br />Dude. I am Black. I have not followed this thread religiously, I just saw one fed up comment and figured you were white. Like I said, my bad. You're stepping over your self-drawn boundary by questioning my Blackness. Chillax dude. It's over.Queen of the Cynicsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-12313850651212882542010-07-26T12:18:02.343-07:002010-07-26T12:18:02.343-07:00I read as much of the 171 comments prior to mine a...I read as much of the 171 comments prior to mine as I could, but apologies if I've missed a point or six.<br /><br />I really respect what honeybrown1976 said: "If one requires profit, cool factors, or attention, it's appropriation. Pure respect does not ask or require any of these things."<br /><br />This topic resonates with me particularly because my life--for various reasons, mostly because I've lived in Arab countries but also because of professional foci--is pretty deeply entwined in Arab culture and it's something I think about a lot. <br /><br />One good example (that I think someone mentioned) of Arab cultural appropriation might be the keffiyeh...it's become trendy as hell in White and Black communities alike and I know that that is deeply bothersome to a lot of my (Arab) friends, who (most often correctly) assume that the person wearing it doesn't recognize its political significance.<br /><br />At the same time, in reference to the original question, I think it's a case by case thing, and again, honeybrown has it right. To the third question, I think that's particularly interesting: Most home cooks are experts on their particular cuisine but never get recognition for it. At the same time, a lot of professional chefs cook foods that are not from their culture (be it a white person cooking Italian food or Mexican food, or what have you). I honestly don't see those two examples being all that different in that context...in either case (as someone pointed out), as a chef, you LEARNED it, you BECAME an expert. You're probably still not as good as someone who cooks it at home every day :)Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792137126898623243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-82334537080478230052010-07-26T12:06:31.387-07:002010-07-26T12:06:31.387-07:00@Carrie
"The failure of us White people and ...@Carrie<br /><br />"The failure of us White people and our potentially being corrected by other clued-in White people should not be put ahead of the safety of the People of Color on this blog. While this blog may be a place to teach White people about how we should recognize and change our own racist tendencies, you have stated multiple times that you want this to be a safe place for People of Color. If so, you cannot allow comments you know are fail to go through just so they can be corrected by other White people."<br /><br />I totally agree. I don't post very often anymore myself, particularly because I realize that I do have more subconscious racism than I realized. Yes, it did make me examine it more when I said something stupid and was corrected. However, in my memory, for the most part it was POC posters who were correcting me. I'm sure the burn-out rate has a lot to do with this. I would imagine some of the POC posters who no longer come here feel like they were repeating the same things over and over again to whatever daily 'well-meaning clueless white person' happened to hit this blog on StumbleUpon. It's too much to ask. It is not a fair trade to ask that I be educated at the expense of a POC expending that much time, frustration, and emotional energy. So, I read silently and try to think about and examine things more in my every day life. <br /><br />@Macon - Personally I do believe that if you find something to be obvious fail you should not let it through. There may be fewer postings, but I think quality is more important than quantity. Some of these comments are just too hurtful to justify letting through. Like for example the one about how anyone was basically crazy to believe that Cleopatra could have been black based on her features. There was just nothing constructive in that.LolaAnnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-31288275934584028812010-07-26T11:46:42.818-07:002010-07-26T11:46:42.818-07:00@Jason,
What I've gathered -- well-intentione...@Jason,<br /><br />What I've gathered -- well-intentioned white liberal.AEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-70721609156355132872010-07-26T11:44:03.909-07:002010-07-26T11:44:03.909-07:00what's a WIWL? google=no helpwhat's a WIWL? google=no helpjas0nburnsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-55102611448570215052010-07-26T11:17:30.667-07:002010-07-26T11:17:30.667-07:00@Jasonburns
I am saying much more than that. I am ...@Jasonburns<br />I am saying much more than that. I am saying not only many people within the same parts of africa but many people within the same family have different features. <br />Africans are not shocked with the range of colours within families, we are not shocked by small lips, small eyes, flat chests, big chests, curves, non curves, narrow nostrils or broad, because African features run the entire gamut.<br /><br />Thats why I asked that thing to list the features which makes it silly to call cleopatra black. Notice how she found it so difficult to do, she attempted straw man after straw man, cos she clearly didn't,t make any sense.<br /><br />Just another racist, full of stereotype, arrogant, ill-educated WIWL without a clue.<br />Lol<br />I knew she didn't,t know what the heck she was talking about but couldn,t STFU cos those damn Negros need her to tell us about ourselves.<br /><br />SMDH. What a sad case.<br />Now I really must chuck that deuceSoulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-33522741713289799232010-07-26T11:10:10.348-07:002010-07-26T11:10:10.348-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.caribbellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10137650720775191230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-42442975130484363092010-07-26T10:51:07.650-07:002010-07-26T10:51:07.650-07:00@ soul Thank you for stating that.
This Cicada pe...@ soul Thank you for stating that.<br /><br />This Cicada person is very biased, ignorant, and just flat-out ridiculous. I suggest this person just stop before they really get in trouble.TakaWuKid91noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-68673608135523040312010-07-26T10:42:48.882-07:002010-07-26T10:42:48.882-07:00@ soul
ok, so what your saying is that many peopl...@ soul<br /><br />ok, so what your saying is that many people from different parts of Africa have facial features that don't fit into the stereotypical idea of "African". So, there is no way that just looking at that bust of Cleo is going to tell you how much or how little African Ancestry she has. Correct?<br /><br />That seems totally reasonable and I'm not sure why anyone would try to debate you on that.jas0nburnsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-2245585216175766872010-07-26T10:26:09.950-07:002010-07-26T10:26:09.950-07:00@macon
I have to agree with a lot of the comments...@macon<br /><br />I have to agree with a lot of the comments on this thread: you've let some comments through from WP because you want to give them the benefit of the doubt. swpd- assume that when WP make hurtful comments, they really meant well, and that makes it okay for them to say what they said. And it sounds like you're trying to set up some "very special episodes" as learning experiences for the WP reading or commenting on the blog.<br /><br />Sometimes I'll read a really insightful comment, usually from a POC commenter (especially Jane Laplain, M. Gibson, and soul!- thank you for sticking around here!), but also sometimes a WP, When I first read the comment, it feels like I've been stung or attacked, and I immediately feel defensive! I start thinking of arguments and making excuses for myself. But maybe, after I read several more comments in the same vein as the OP, it might finally start to get through my thick, thick skull that POC aren't making this up... but then...<br /><br />... then you let one WP's defensive comment through moderation and it exactly echoes my defensiveness- I find someone who agrees with me, so I can stop listening. Haha! See? I'm not alone, that original POC's comment was totally out of line. I was right all along.... (See how letting WP defensive comments through actually gives the silent WP an easy way out of having to think through their own racism?)<br /><br />Fortunately, someone else on the board will generally take the time and effort to shoot down the defensive, argumentative, hurtful garbage, and I can finally see why my defensive thinking was wrong, too (clearly there are some really sharp commenters here!). But, the damage has been done. And the beatdown shouldn't have been necessary in the first place: you don't have to give a voice to our ingrained defensiveness as WP.<br />(Back to lurking for me.)Nothing-too-oddnoreply@blogger.com