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I didn’t know she was attempting to sound “Black” as some commenters stated because one just can’t sound Black IMO - unless people are using the language/vernacular of those in poor/urban to unfortunately generalize the whole race. I’m Hispanic, 95% of Black people I know including family, don’t speak like that.
I am bothered because she normally doesn’t speak like that (even though there are Hispanics in BX that do) and decided to while addressing a predominately African-American crowd.
The only thing I felt that was done other than speaking with a Southern accent is...I don't know what you all think but it sounded a little like she was a pastor. This to me added to the humor. The religion thing and the South is not a stereotype. They don't call it the Bible Belt for nothing. Again with the speech she gave, if she was trying to do a church theme, it was probably to relate to her crowd.
Plenty of black people on Twitter making fun of the way she tried her fake black/fake Southern accent to talk to a black crowd.
Again, I'm from the South. It really didn't sound as if she was trying to have a "black accent"...whatever tf that means because it's always something racist (improper English). She could have used the same accent towards a crowd of white people and still get slammed for talking with a fake Southern accent.
As for the driving of the bus, laundry...from my understanding around this time, trump and other politicians in the past, kept bringing up the fact that she used to be a bartender. She was probably using the opportunity to address that as she was speaking to the crowd. AOC has said repeatedly that she used to be a bartender and isn't embarrassed of the fact. She has said there is nothing wrong with it and that her being a bartender didn't stop her from becoming a politician and so if she can do it, you can too.
Again, I'm from the South. It really didn't sound as if she was trying to have a "black accent"...whatever tf that means because it's always something racist (improper English). She could have used the same accent towards a crowd of white people and still get slammed for talking with a fake Southern accent.
As for the driving of the bus, laundry...from my understanding around this time, trump and other politicians in the past, kept bringing up the fact that she used to be a bartender. She was probably using the opportunity to address that as she was speaking to the crowd. AOC has said repeatedly that she used to be a bartender and isn't embarrassed of the fact. She has said there is nothing wrong with it and that her being a bartender didn't stop her from becoming a politician and so if she can do it, you can too.
You don't seem to get my point. Let me try again. You said this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamerD
I have so far not seen anyone who is black or Hispanic bothered by her race/ethnicity and/or the way she talks. Why is it in this country if you're not white you can never just be? It's like you're always the subject of scrutiny.
And I provided examples that there are plenty of black people all over that ARE bothered by the way she spoke at that event. Just because you didn't "see anyone who is black bothered by the way she talks" doesn't mean anything at all. It only means you personally didn't see it. But so what. There are plenty out there.
Again, I'm from the South. It really didn't sound as if she was trying to have a "black accent"...whatever tf that means because it's always something racist (improper English).
.
From the article (written by a black writer whose blurb is:"I combat racism with verbicide and literary devices.")
It’s disingenuous to say there’s no such thing as a Black sound. But, it’s derogatory to say the Black sound never sounds right. Both of which — disingenuous and derogatory — are anti-Blackness to me.
We shouldn’t feel the need to erase every semblance of Blackness especially as a response to racism. The real issue is that people think a Black sound is a bad sound. Now that is a racist thought we must silence. But the mere fact that many Black people speak in a way we can discern is not racist.
Now to be clear, I’m not talking about slang or exaggerations here. What I mean is, you hear two people say the same exact words and without seeing the speakers you know if one of them is Black. If that’s you, that most likely means you have ears.
But, if after you hear a Black sound you then think something is wrong, we got a problem. Keep in mind, it’s possible those negative thoughts may not even be obvious to you. Although, if you think only white people are well-spoken that’s racism, that’s white supremacy, and that’s anti- Black.
Whenever we see Blackness as not a normal part of the human experience and expression we are wrong.
But the fact is many Black people may speak in a distinct way, and that’s okay. At this point, you might be thinking isn’t this all a generalization. Yes, the Black sound is a generalization. You will not always be able to tell a person’s race based on how they sound. I’m sure we’ve all figured out there are many exceptions. But at the same time, the “Blaccent” is a thing, and it occurs so frequently that we must be honest.
You don't seem to get my point. Let me try again. You said this:
And I provided examples that there are plenty of black people all over that ARE bothered by the way she spoke at that event. Just because you didn't "see anyone who is black bothered by the way she talks" doesn't mean anything at all. It only means you personally didn't see it. But so what. There are plenty out there.
You didn't get what I was saying. I said they are not bothered by her race/ethnicity. They don't give af. People like her platform and are not looking at is she Hispanic is she white is she black.
As for the way she was speaking, until I see numbers on how many black people were offended by the way she spoke, I can't trust "blacks were bothered by the way she talks." It could just be a handful of people. Twitter isn't a reliable source. We could see just how many black people were offended by polls but actual research needs to go into this and not just Twitter.
From the article (written by a black writer whose blurb is:"I combat racism with verbicide and literary devices.")
It’s disingenuous to say there’s no such thing as a Black sound. But, it’s derogatory to say the Black sound never sounds right. Both of which — disingenuous and derogatory — are anti-Blackness to me.
We shouldn’t feel the need to erase every semblance of Blackness especially as a response to racism. The real issue is that people think a Black sound is a bad sound. Now that is a racist thought we must silence. But the mere fact that many Black people speak in a way we can discern is not racist.
Now to be clear, I’m not talking about slang or exaggerations here. What I mean is, you hear two people say the same exact words and without seeing the speakers you know if one of them is Black. If that’s you, that most likely means you have ears.
But, if after you hear a Black sound you then think something is wrong, we got a problem. Keep in mind, it’s possible those negative thoughts may not even be obvious to you. Although, if you think only white people are well-spoken that’s racism, that’s white supremacy, and that’s anti- Black.
Whenever we see Blackness as not a normal part of the human experience and expression we are wrong.
But the fact is many Black people may speak in a distinct way, and that’s okay. At this point, you might be thinking isn’t this all a generalization. Yes, the Black sound is a generalization. You will not always be able to tell a person’s race based on how they sound. I’m sure we’ve all figured out there are many exceptions. But at the same time, the “Blaccent” is a thing, and it occurs so frequently that we must be honest.
From the article (written by a black writer whose blurb is:"I combat racism with verbicide and literary devices.")
It’s disingenuous to say there’s no such thing as a Black sound. But, it’s derogatory to say the Black sound never sounds right. Both of which — disingenuous and derogatory — are anti-Blackness to me.
We shouldn’t feel the need to erase every semblance of Blackness especially as a response to racism. The real issue is that people think a Black sound is a bad sound. Now that is a racist thought we must silence. But the mere fact that many Black people speak in a way we can discern is not racist.
Now to be clear, I’m not talking about slang or exaggerations here. What I mean is, you hear two people say the same exact words and without seeing the speakers you know if one of them is Black. If that’s you, that most likely means you have ears.
But, if after you hear a Black sound you then think something is wrong, we got a problem. Keep in mind, it’s possible those negative thoughts may not even be obvious to you. Although, if you think only white people are well-spoken that’s racism, that’s white supremacy, and that’s anti- Black.
Whenever we see Blackness as not a normal part of the human experience and expression we are wrong.
But the fact is many Black people may speak in a distinct way, and that’s okay. At this point, you might be thinking isn’t this all a generalization. Yes, the Black sound is a generalization. You will not always be able to tell a person’s race based on how they sound. I’m sure we’ve all figured out there are many exceptions. But at the same time, the “Blaccent” is a thing, and it occurs so frequently that we must be honest.
I am just amazed by the folks who think that the only unique aspect of black speech is vernacular. And this pretense that there is no difference between the speech of a middle class educated black and white person. There is a thinner higher pitch and greater nasality which is a feature of "white" speech. This isnt to say that there aren't blacks who speak in that tone. But the reality is that most dont. This is especially true for black men.
AOC was trying to sound like a female Al Sharpton. She is so overly promoted in the media that we all know what she sounds like so why she altered her speech is a mystery.
I'm Black and there's 0% chance of you being able to tell over the phone.
True for you but I suggest that you watch that movie "Sorry to Bother You" and see the whole "white" speech thing. Most blacks dont have that high pitched reedy and nasal sounding tone that many whites have. Especially true for black men.
There are Black People from European countries and they speak in the accent of their native language of the European country they come from, and no you cannot identify these people on the phone. Ditto Black Hispanics and Brazilians.
Not all Black People are African American. For AAs, some do speak “AA” English, some don’t.
The context is about black AMERICAN speech patterns. So how black Euros speak isnt relevant to this discussion, In fact even the speech patterns of US based black immigrants aren't, as I dont think that AOC was trying to imitate her notion of a Jamaican or Nigerian accent.
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