Another racial issues discussion-looking for input *especially* from fellow blacks. (unemployed, black president)
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Black tumblr and black twitter..............Wow, black twitter, speaking of. I want to revisit a question in the initial post regarding cultural appropriation. Justin Timberlake caught a lot of flack from black twitter when he tweeted that he felt inspired by the speech that Jessie Williams gave on the BET awards. He was accused of being a cultural appropriator. Amandla Stenberg also did a video on cultural appropriation. Amandla faced a lot of backlash upon joining the cast of "The Hunger Games", which I believe inspired her stance.
As a white male I would like to respond to this thread. I am not racists in the sense of disliking blacks for their(your) color or culture of anything like that. What I resent is that when blacks and whites live in the same areas of the same community whites lose our identity as whites.
European Americans can only be culturally and socially what we are when we live amongst our own kind with our own neighborhoods in our own areas of town or in our own towns. So if it happens that I resent blacks it isn't because I don't like blacks per se it is because of their intrusion into white towns and white neighborhoods. But blacks could take that as racism without knowing the reason behind my feelings. At the same time I can appreciate much about blacks like their music beat and their down to earth approach as I perceive it. But I can appreciate those things when blacks live in their own areas and whites live in our own areas.
One's own identity is a personal matter of and with each individual. If one is fearful of loosing their identity, that is a matter that is not because of someone else, it is because of the person themselves. One has to be strong in knowing whom they are, not what they think a community of similarly in skin tone would fictitiously delude one to think. Many people have fought against diversity and fight against equality for that same nature of fear. Fear of not being able to be themselves without seeking group skin color identity as their self validate'r.
If you are aspiring to "group identity", one may need to be careful with that, because external view is not what interactive reality actually presents.
The imagery of the TV is fictional script processed imagery, as is the commercials driven for the sake of fiction and fancy to market and promote sales by pushing a "group like imagery" of pretensions of happiness, by the processes of paid script performers. The media, pushes to sanitize the white crime and diminish it by labeling it an anomaly and thus bury it in the back of media publications. Thus giving a false sense of what is the community, what is the culture and what is the realism within the group.
One can live in a cookie cutter community with structured manicured lawns, and the bulk of the people have cars that are less than 5 yrs old, and no one is ever seen outside until they get in the car to go some places, and reality behind the scenes, has the make up of some of a vast variety of conduct, from child abuse, spousal abuse, rape, child molesting, embezzlement, corporate theft, swindle games, on call prostitution, drug addicts, alcoholic's, pill poppers, racist, bigots, people swimming in debt, some buried by debt, suicide, family members killing family members, murder for hire, murder for insurance, sex crimes of any or every sort, cycles of divorce with the high turn over of multiple marriage per individuals, drug dealers, pimp and madam services, abductions, mass killers who shoot up public places and innocent people and the list goes on to include what ever exist in society, can be and sometimes is of many of these variables within communities.
Sadly people push upon themselves the ingestion of many stereotypes, when fact is when it comes to human beings, one may well factor the base to understand that skin tone, hair texture does not guarantee anyone to be of honor or just and fair as a person.
Black tumblr and black twitter..............Wow, black twitter, speaking of. I want to revisit a question in the initial post regarding cultural appropriation. Justin Timberlake caught a lot of flack from black twitter when he tweeted that he felt inspired by the speech that Jessie Williams gave on the BET awards. He was accused of being a cultural appropriator. Amandla Stenberg also did a video on cultural appropriation. Amandla faced a lot of backlash upon joining the cast of "The Hunger Games", which I believe inspired her stance.
See above post of mine for my response on this. IMO "cultural appropriation" was made a "thing" by media and our young people who are too heavily focused on social media "topics" are making it a big deal when it is not really an issue that affects black people to any wide degree.
The people accusing Justin of being a "cultural appropriator" are just SJWs who probably don't do anything to combat the negative view of our culture as black people in America. This whole topic really bothers me based on the above - the fact that many black people do not even view "black culture" as something positive, yet they go online and get mad when Justin Timberlake says he was "inspired" by a speech. It is silly IMO.
FWIW I did think that the Hunger Games thing was ridiculous too as I do remember that. I also think the thing about whites complaining about "cultural appropriation" of Star Wars last year was ridiculous as well.
This is really a non-issue. Only time I care about appropriation is if someone is using a black person's song and not paying them. The Robin Thicke song that was based on Marvin Gaye's song bothered me, but I knew that Robin Thick would lose that case. He should have just paid to use Gaye's song IMO as I immediately thought of Marvin Gaye's song when I heard Thicke's song lol. I couldn't believe that he was trying to say it wasn't the same song.
I think Ralph mentioned this earlier as actually being cultural appropriation as well. I agree with him on that and feel that the others are not important and our young people should use their time to go advocate for quality education of young black children or something that is more important to us as a "community."
Okay so far I'm really liking the way this thread is going (for the most part, there was a bit of a rough patch but nothing that can't be resolved by putting the said member on the "ignore" list). Let's keep the thread running smoothly.
See above post of mine for my response on this. IMO "cultural appropriation" was made a "thing" by media and our young people who are too heavily focused on social media "topics" are making it a big deal when it is not really an issue that affects black people to any wide degree.
The people accusing Justin of being a "cultural appropriator" are just SJWs who probably don't do anything to combat the negative view of our culture as black people in America. This whole topic really bothers me based on the above - the fact that many black people do not even view "black culture" as something positive, yet they go online and get mad when Justin Timberlake says he was "inspired" by a speech. It is silly IMO.
FWIW I did think that the Hunger Games thing was ridiculous too as I do remember that. I also think the thing about whites complaining about "cultural appropriation" of Star Wars last year was ridiculous as well.
This is really a non-issue. Only time I care about appropriation is if someone is using a black person's song and not paying them. The Robin Thicke song that was based on Marvin Gaye's song bothered me, but I knew that Robin Thick would lose that case. He should have just paid to use Gaye's song IMO as I immediately thought of Marvin Gaye's song when I heard Thicke's song lol. I couldn't believe that he was trying to say it wasn't the same song.
I think Ralph mentioned this earlier as actually being cultural appropriation as well. I agree with him on that and feel that the others are not important and our young people should use their time to go advocate for quality education of young black children or something that is more important to us as a "community."
(When one uses acronyms it is appropriate to at least list what the alphabets stand for.)
RE: the commentary.
We as human beings, engage in a great deal of emulations of each others cultures and ethnicities. There was a time black people did to their hair what was called "a process", using lye and what ever to straighten their hair. Then there was the time when white people frizzed their hair to create an Afro, and braids, dred's and other styles, we see many black women today with wigs that emulate the texture of Caucasian hair. Blacks began to sag pants, white people began to sag pants, black and white began wearing pajama bottoms in the streets.
Rock Music originated from Blues, and both Rock became more played frequently by white people and R&B became played more by blacks people, then Pop was a variation of R&B and Variations of Rock with a different twist.
Beach wear of short pants that were over sized and was a skateboarder attire, and it beam as well a black attire. Then the wearing slippers with socks, took off as some fictional image of Leisure, used by both blacks and whites. There was slang used by blacks, and slag used again for example by beach kids, and that mixed some of black slang and black slang mixed some of the beach kids slang, then there was the Valley Girl slang used by white girls , and the Hood slang used by black girls and these two slang's mixed and is a combination of slang used by both blacks and whites.
Rap Music started as a black things, now Rap is engaged by Blacks and Whites, its used in TV Commercials, and Movies of many types.
Asto cover copy of music, artist have been doing that since the origins of Blues, Rag Time and etc.... including blacks using classical as well as formulating some of the essence elements into a mixture of what is Jazz. Then there is the different styling of Jazz.
What individuals have to do is get over thinking one culture own's a style, fad, or trend, it becomes a style a style, fad or trend because "PEOPLE" engage it, period, and it belong to whom chooses to indulge it.
We see now, Foreign nations who had particular attire, example Japanese, but now they were European style business suits when they conduct much of their business.
We are all people, and we'd be lying if we said we did not find various things about other cultures and ethnicities that we did not find appreciative and liked to emulate it. There was a time when various piercings was not so much among whites, but it was historical cultural to various African, South American and Pacific Islanders Tribes, including various Tattoo, but now, its done by anyone who wants and likes it.
There is certain attire that is appropriate within certain situations. One goes to Court, one should concern themselves to dress like the people who work the Court's such as the business attire of the Attorneys. That's why jails will send people many times to court dressed in a Suit, rather than casual wear.
White men may like 4 wheel drives truck, but also black men may like 4 wheels drive trucks, the Truck company did not make it and say it was for only one ethnic group.
It's the same with dating and mating, some white men like black women, some black men like white women, so the nature of the human being that God made, which is all of us, he also made all people capable and able to mate with each other and to reproduce with each other.
Some people are neat and clean and orderly and some people are not neat and clean and orderly, and this includes people of all races and ethnic groups. Some people like expensive things and some people like very expensive things, and the sellers of these things does not limit whom can by it based on race or ethnicity.
Some black people speak he English language poorly, in some regions some white people speak the English language poorly, and there are black and white people who speak the English language very well.
People who are clean and neat don't care to be around people who are not clean and neat and it does not matter their color, if they are not neat, the people who are neat does not have much interest to be around them. There is also the economic variables, people who can afford a nice home and keep it up, don't want to be around people who can't afford it and can't keep it up, this applies to white people and white people as well as it applies to black people and black people and it applies to black and white as well.
We have to see the BIG PICTURE - Then we can all be at peace with the realism of life and others.
Some men like larger sized women, some men like slim women, some women like larger size men and some women like slimmer sized men, some women like men with beards and some women don't, some women like men with lots of body hair and some women don't like men with body hair.
Therefore people have many variations of likes and dislikesbut the matter is that we should not HATE the differences that are not in common with our likes or dislikes.
(When one uses acronyms it is appropriate to at least list what the alphabets stand for.)
RE: the commentary.
We as human beings, engage in a great deal of emulations of each others cultures and ethnicities. There was a time black people did to their hair what was called "a process", using lye and what ever to straighten their hair. Then there was the time when white people frizzed their hair to create an Afro, and braids, dred's and other styles, we see many black women today with wigs that emulate the texture of Caucasian hair. Blacks began to sag pants, white people began to sag pants, black and white began wearing pajama bottoms in the streets.
Rock Music originated from Blues, and both Rock became more played frequently by white people and R&B became played more by blacks people, then Pop was a variation of R&B and Variations of Rock with a different twist.
Beach wear of short pants that were over sized and was a skateboarder attire, and it beam as well a black attire. Then the wearing slippers with socks, took off as some fictional image of Leisure, used by both blacks and whites. There was slang used by blacks, and slag used again for example by beach kids, and that mixed some of black slang and black slang mixed some of the beach kids slang, then there was the Valley Girl slang used by white girls , and the Hood slang used by black girls and these two slang's mixed and is a combination of slang used by both blacks and whites.
Rap Music started as a black things, now Rap is engaged by Blacks and Whites, its used in TV Commercials, and Movies of many types.
Asto cover copy of music, artist have been doing that since the origins of Blues, Rag Time and etc.... including blacks using classical as well as formulating some of the essence elements into a mixture of what is Jazz. Then there is the different styling of Jazz.
What individuals have to do is get over thinking one culture own's a style, fad, or trend, it becomes a style a style, fad or trend because "PEOPLE" engage it, period, and it belong to whom chooses to indulge it.
We see now, Foreign nations who had particular attire, example Japanese, but now they were European style business suits when they conduct much of their business.
We are all people, and we'd be lying if we said we did not find various things about other cultures and ethnicities that we did not find appreciative and liked to emulate it. There was a time when various piercings was not so much among whites, but it was historical cultural to various African, South American and Pacific Islanders Tribes, including various Tattoo, but now, its done by anyone who wants and likes it.
There is certain attire that is appropriate within certain situations. One goes to Court, one should concern themselves to dress like the people who work the Court's such as the business attire of the Attorneys. That's why jails will send people many times to court dressed in a Suit, rather than casual wear.
White men may like 4 wheel drives truck, but also black men may like 4 wheels drive trucks, the Truck company did not make it and say it was for only one ethnic group.
It's the same with dating and mating, some white men like black women, some black men like white women, so the nature of the human being that God made, which is all of us, he also made all people capable and able to mate with each other and to reproduce with each other.
Some people are neat and clean and orderly and some people are not neat and clean and orderly, and this includes people of all races and ethnic groups. Some people like expensive things and some people like very expensive things, and the sellers of these things does not limit whom can by it based on race or ethnicity.
Some black people speak he English language poorly, in some regions some white people speak the English language poorly, and there are black and white people who speak the English language very well.
People who are clean and neat don't care to be around people who are not clean and neat and it does not matter their color, if they are not neat, the people who are neat does not have much interest to be around them. There is also the economic variables, people who can afford a nice home and keep it up, don't want to be around people who can't afford it and can't keep it up, this applies to white people and white people as well as it applies to black people and black people and it applies to black and white as well.
We have to see the BIG PICTURE - Then we can all be at peace with the realism of life and others.
Some men like larger sized women, some men like slim women, some women like larger size men and some women like slimmer sized men, some women like men with beards and some women don't, some women like men with lots of body hair and some women don't like men with body hair.
Therefore people have many variations of likes and dislikesbut the matter is that we should not HATE the differences that are not in common with our likes or dislikes.
Not sure what all of this has to do with what I wrote, of which you quoted.
But wanted to point out that most people who post things online know that IMO equals "In My Opinion."
In regards to the rest, it has nothing to do with what I stated, which was that I don't see cultural appropriation as an "issue" that black people need to be concerned about unless it is taking money from a black person/artist/family like what occurred with Marvin Gaye and the many black blues and rock artist in the past who had their work stolen and were never compensated for songs/material while a white artist made millions off of that material.
Other than the above, I don't care about cultural appropriation and I know that all people culturally appropriate each other and IMO (see above for definition of acronym) it is not something that is important or that black people should focus much on.
I agree with this as well. Tumblr is still not as popular as the others I mentioned but there are specific areas like "black Tumblr" and "black Twitter" and even "black Reddit" that are very heavily used by black Americans.
FWIW, on this subject, I wanted to also mention to the OP that due to him/her being younger, I think that you and your peers are much more heavily invested in social media than me and older generations like Ralph.
Due to that, I do believe that too many younger black Americans buy into the idea that what goes on in the online sphere is reflective of a large amount of black people and the issues we care about. IMO many of these topics are by-products of media and so we are only discussing the things that media is telling us are issues and they are not issues for us in our real lives.
I think older Millenials, such as yourself are the last generation to grow up in a world that is not drastically dominated by technology and the internet and social media. I honestly have an old fogey fear of this lol. Because I have always been involved, since I was in college with volunteerism in the black community (the HBCU I went to had a "service" focus that I feel is important to continue). So I know based on me living in the ghetto and volunteering in our schools and with various organizations that many of the issues we have are not commonly addressed online or in the media (infant mortality rates of black babies come to mind and various other health issues). Too many of your younger generations as well get so overwhelmed from these media stories that are constantly shown and discussed online that they don't take a step back to see if this actually was an issue or if it was an issue that is being promoted by media to make it more of an issue than it really is (the cultural appropriation thing especially and the rise of these black nationalists - that mindset has always been around in black America but more of us were not bombarded with them. And I admit that maybe 5% of the stuff they say is relevant and when they focus on that it can be appealing but on the whole, they are eccentric and that mindset is not prevalent IMO with the vast majority of black Americans and our experiences in this country, media has been a huge contributor to them being seen as "legitimate" especially black online media rags). I feel these faux issues distract our action oriented young people from being involved in "real issues." Also that being on social media and being a SJW is seen as actually being an "activist" instead of actually taking some "action" and working on specific goals.
This is difficult for me to put in words but it does worry me - this fascination it seems with younger people in thinking that black people especially have all these "racial issues" or "problems" that we need to be saved from and how talking about it online will "save" us. IMO people primarily think this because media tells us to do so and media posts on social websites that black people pick up and make a big deal about.
I agree with this, but I didn't know how to express agreement meaningfully.
I think a good expression of both what a real problem is and what a real youth response to a real problem is exemplified by the Freedom Riders of the early 60s.
These are the acronyms I was referring to.
???? SJW FWIW
_______________________
As to Song and issues of Copyright, such types of infringement is often handled in the courts for protected works of individuals.
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As to generalized commentary. It was not a disagreement to your summation. I agree, people should step back, and also people should get the context and perspective and understand that some discussions are discussion, not necessairly daily events in the general lives of some, even though they may engage such discussions, Therefore;
I expounded on your subject frame up, to indulge discussing the aspect of how people within a diverse world emulate each other in a variety of ways as well as adopt idioms, styles, fads, and etc....
It was not a post directed at any challenge unto you.
These are the acronyms I was referring to.
???? SJW FWIW
_______________________
As to Song and issues of Copyright, such types of infringement is often handled in the courts for protected works of individuals.
As to generalized commentary.
I expounded on your subject frame up, to indulge discussing the aspect of how people within a diverse world emulate each other in a variety of ways as well as adopt idioms, styles, fads, and etc....
It was not a post directed at any challenge unto you.
On the bold, I didn't think it was (to challenge me, I can be blunt in responses but never take anything personally around here) but was confused that you quoted me and then spoke of things I did not reference.
SJW - Social Justice Warrior
FWIW - For What Its Worth.
FWIW, this one is a common internet acronym as well. SJW is not as common online but is common on this particular forum.
On the bold, I didn't think it was (to challenge me, I can be blunt in responses but never take anything personally around here) but was confused that you quoted me and then spoke of things I did not reference.
SJW - Social Justice Warrior
FWIW - For What Its Worth.
FWIW, this one is a common internet acronym as well. SJW is not as common online but is common on this particular forum.
Thanks
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