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I just don't get all this blackface bs.
Long before many of you on this forum were born, there was an entertainer by the name of Al Jolson.
He mimicked the black people by dressing up in blackface, and even had the speech down perfect.
It was years before I found out he was actually white.
He didn't do this to make fun of black people, he did it to imitate them.
You all know what is said about imitation.
It is the greatest form of flattery.
Back in the day, that's what it was, and no racist connotations were ever thought of.
The blacks that were in entertainment were good at it, and Jolson capitalized on it.
No one booed him off the stage, no one stayed away from seeing his movies.
He was a well respected, and revered entertainer.
For some reason blackface went from comical , respectful entertainment to hurtful racism.
Like most things in life, some people can take something completely innocent and turn it around to be the complete opposite.
The issue the Virginia governor finds himself in, is entirely different.
That picture is extremely hateful because of the message it gives to everyone.
Had he been standing alone in blackface, it probably would not have meant much to anyone, but adding the KKK to it, really stirred the pot.
Again, I see nothing wrong with imitating a black person, if it is done to imitate, and not be-little.
Unfortunately the times we live in, do not allow for respectful characterizations of others ethnicity.
It is sad to see what we have become.
Old Al is probably looking down wondering what all the fuss is about.
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