The Faceless Master
Member
because god is a lazy motherfucker.
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White girl attacked for getting box braids
- Thread starter Majmun
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because god is a lazy motherfucker.
Well, shit. I was hoping you didn't catch that reply lol. I got too 'in the moment' with it.
I don't feel victimized because I've never been on the receiving end of it. I only ever see white people being given a hard time over it. I'm not even white, and I'm frustrated by it, because I just see other causes that are so much more worthy than it. I think a lot of this energy is misdirected at the wrong targets, and is actually detrimental to advancing race relations.
It's just, y'know? It's depressing now.
The Faceless Master
Member
i disagree. i support their freedom of speech, even if i disagree with them. i support yours too.
No, it's not. It's embarrassing for those that think the most power race being called on their bullshit is turning them into victims. There's much worse(better?) things to be depressed about when it comes to races, white people being accused of stealing another culture isn't one of them.
To educate people as to why the people tweeting felt the way they did. Why this issue is seen as problematic across the US, but people are focusing on the few tweets directly attacking her and nothing else. You're whole post is what we've been saying. It isn't exactly about her and she can wear the braids, but try to understand why a black woman might feel a certain way when they see a style praised when they were seen with disdain when they had it. If you get that and how problematic is, then there shouldn't be an issue. What purpose does arguing just about the tweets have? Establishes that some people are hostile? Yeah, we know that, we have several examples pin and outside of here so it doesn't make sense to argue for 20+ pages about something like that.
I'll probably duck out because this thread will probably just get worse in a few hours when people see its 20+ pages.
I get what you're saying and I think blanket generalizations are horrible, no one deserves that.
I think what you're trying to convey probably deserves its own thread.
Cultural appropriation and what that means deserves its own thread too.
Black people can be racist too, institutionalized racism can be found outside of the US as well. Though, dont get wrong here btw, but it seems like any thread discussing any issue involving black people needs to preface with that otherwise the thread will never move past that argument being rehashed on every page. Actually it might not even help.
I've struggled a whole lot with the 'I never said it was ok, I'm just trying to explain it instead of just jumping straight to the 'oh god worst human being ever' judgements on here. Very hard to get across that you're not actually defending those actions, isn't it?
Anyways, I tend to notice that while cultural 'blending' like this can be a bit messy and isn't always going to happen in the most fair or ideal circumstances, it is still a healthy thing. Resentment over the more unfair aspects may be fairly understandable from a pure explanation standpoint, but directing resentment onto an individual certainly isn't the right way to handle that emotion and I feel it would be downright destructive to suggest that white people shouldn't do these things.
GoldenEye 007
Member
With all of the cultural appropriation issues that has been discussed, I agree it is some sort of issue.
But to make her of all people the lightening rod for this? Ridiculous.
As a black person, I didn't bat an eye over this at all.
But to make her of all people the lightening rod for this? Ridiculous.
As a black person, I didn't bat an eye over this at all.
User 73706
Banned
Protip for non-americans out there: when you really get down to it and do the math, just to play devil's advocate, hundreds of years of subjugation and oppression are roughly equivalent to a single person of color calling out a collective group mentality of subconscious racism as being racist.
Start with the first few pages of the thread.
Mother Green
Member
Read the title as "White girl attacked for getting xbox raids"
I'm getting old.
I'm getting old.
Oppo
Member
no one is justified for yelling at a little girl over a hairstyle.
if your politics led to that decision than your politics are fucked up.
now, folks want to move the discussion frame out into the atmosphere and discuss the gamut of cultural nods and what they mean. that's an easy thing to do, to move into such wide generalities that you can speak in circles forever.
but at the end - a little girl got yelled at as a racist for a hairstyle. that's a thing that happened.
no, I don't understand how someone arrives there. maybe I cant. but that's just fucked up.
if your politics led to that decision than your politics are fucked up.
now, folks want to move the discussion frame out into the atmosphere and discuss the gamut of cultural nods and what they mean. that's an easy thing to do, to move into such wide generalities that you can speak in circles forever.
but at the end - a little girl got yelled at as a racist for a hairstyle. that's a thing that happened.
no, I don't understand how someone arrives there. maybe I cant. but that's just fucked up.
TheWarrior
Banned
Isn't this a popular thing to do when you go to the Caribbean or on a cruise?
You're still not comprehending this. We're saying that it was wrong, it was disgusting and it shouldn't have occurred. Some of us are simply explaining why the expressed hatred is deeply rooted in hurt, insecurity, jealousy and racism.
There isn't a defense for the actions of those people. And I'm not really discussing the commentators of the picture. I'm discussing reasonable women who are hurt by the societal BS placed upon them. I'm discussing the realities that for many black women, straight, perfectly styled hair is a shield against a society that doesnt appreciate afro-centric features. They're told that they aren't beautiful and that their physical features are undesirable until a fairer skinned woman does it... And suddenly it's "hip", its "new", it's finally "in".
Oppo
Member
but isn't that just general shitty racism?
the argument tends to go like this, in shorthand:
"why can't that girl have these braids?"
"because it's a black thing and they feel bad when white people get praised for that hairstyle when they themselves are looked down upon"
"but why"
"don't you know how fucked these people have been over the last few centuries??!? you're an asshole if you don't"
this is just racism. people aren't being shitty because of the names or the styles or the way they dance. while people clearly like black culture. but the fact that they engage in and express elements of that culture while sometimes being shitty to people who created that culture (in some cases; not all) this has nothing to do with "cultural appropriation". it's just regular ass racism. the cultural part is a diversion, it seems to me, a correction to the symptom, not the disease.
also, and I want to tread lightly here, but aren't certain pop stars like Beyoncé and Rihanna sort of held aloft as beauty ideals? it's not all Paris Vogue anymore. that's just what I see, but I'm out if my depth here.
the argument tends to go like this, in shorthand:
"why can't that girl have these braids?"
"because it's a black thing and they feel bad when white people get praised for that hairstyle when they themselves are looked down upon"
"but why"
"don't you know how fucked these people have been over the last few centuries??!? you're an asshole if you don't"
this is just racism. people aren't being shitty because of the names or the styles or the way they dance. while people clearly like black culture. but the fact that they engage in and express elements of that culture while sometimes being shitty to people who created that culture (in some cases; not all) this has nothing to do with "cultural appropriation". it's just regular ass racism. the cultural part is a diversion, it seems to me, a correction to the symptom, not the disease.
also, and I want to tread lightly here, but aren't certain pop stars like Beyoncé and Rihanna sort of held aloft as beauty ideals? it's not all Paris Vogue anymore. that's just what I see, but I'm out if my depth here.
Right. The people who have been explaining why there was such a reaction aren't answering the question, "Was the way this girl was treated justifiable or defensible?" but answering the question, "What is cultural appropriation and why does anyone care about this?" They're taking it as a given that what happened to this particular girl in this particular instance was not a good thing, and having acknowledged that as something we all agree is a Bad Thing, have attempted to move the conversation into an attempt to educate people on why black people (in this instance) can be sensitive about issues relating to representation and hair.
This isn't a difficult transition to follow, and I have trouble finding the charity to ascribe the insistence that anyone is defending what happened to her to anything but a willful misreading of what people are writing.
Ravensmash
Member
Yeah, that's my thinking too.
Leave the girl alone, it strikes me as surreal that people are forced to apologise for a haircut in 2015- regardless of the politics you think is behind it.
Perhaps it would make sense for there to be a thread made to discuss cultural appropriation? Then it would be clearer what the topic is and it wouldn't be clouded by the specific elements in the OP?
I don't think you understood what I said at all. I get all this. I was only relaying my sympathy about it being hard to get into these explanations of things without being accused of 'defending' the actions in question. Like, people just don't seem to want to take the time to understand the difference. They've already jumped to the judgement they wanted to make and "If you're not with us, you're against us" becomes the attitude. Even if you are actually with them on principle, trying to explain something is going to be seen as trying to justify(or 'defend') it.
Both lighter skinned, straight haired black girls...
User 73706
Banned
This strikes me as very "I'm getting out of touch and don't have the drive to make sure I'm along for the ride when progression makes its strides."
Random Painted HIghway
Member
Poor kid. I'm guessing this was not a fun lesson for her to learn. Hopefully as she matures she reaches a level of civility and self esteem that exceeds that of the tweeters. That appears to be a low bar. I'm really curious as to how her parents have talked through this situation with her.
The racism in those comments...
You can't write this lmao
Wish the girl hadn't apologized to idiots.
Luckily she already seems to have civility.
It's just a shame she allowed a bunch of dickheads on twitter to tell her what to do.
You can't write this lmao
Wish the girl hadn't apologized to idiots.
Is the lesson that there are stupid people on the internet?
Luckily she already seems to have civility.
It's just a shame she allowed a bunch of dickheads on twitter to tell her what to do.
A Link to the Past
Banned
For the whole thing of right and wrong re: the tweets she received, it's all a matter of the fact that you can condemn something while being able to understand what you're condemning. Even though the people who tweeted at her were being harsh, it's not hard to understand why the tweets were so harsh.
Understanding the reasons why help us identify the problems we must fix in order to put an end to these types of reactions. It's a far more important question then simply condemning the actions as over the top, which virtually everyone has. Everyone agrees with that point because it's surface level analysis and it's obvious. Yes, being mean to eleven year old girls (and hell, anyone) because they wore a hair style that is prominent in a different culture is silly and wrong. But, put into the context of why the reactions are the way they are, we can identify ways to go forward that help slowly change or reduce these reactions permanently instead of having to wag our finger every time it happens because nothing is fixed.
Random Painted HIghway
Member
It's a pretty cruel lesson to learn at that age that there are adults out there who have lived such putrid and meaningless lives that they have to take umbrage with how a 12 year old wears her hair to try to create some form of identity for themselves via Internet harrasment and bullying. I do think it's important to learn that aging does not equal maturing, but to be publicly filleted like this is unfortunate.
Mohonky
Member
Its more that I am tired of hearing everyone should be treated equal because we are all the same.....except for when we start saying who can and cant use certain words, who can and cant be offended by derogatory terms that should be considered racist, who can and cant dress certain ways, listen or make certain types of music, be involved in certain parts of popular culture etc.
Seems to me the more you try and cross the barriers that seperate races and classes, the more some people want to hold onto them.
It is a place contrast
Glad your sister was able to braid her hair without getting harassed
I can't believe this is something that can be said without sarcasm
It really is sad.
Defining yourself by your problems (or in this case, perceived problems that are in reality a non issue) is incredibly unhealthy and does nothing for you. It only serves to create barriers.
As you said age does not equal maturity and this is something that people need to learn. Older people don't automatically earn my respect.
It's a really weird and backwards problem no matter how you look at it
A Link to the Past
Banned
I'm just sayin'
We are like, nowhere near a society that treats all people equally. Why don't you use this energy to fight for that instead of complaining that white people cannot say the n-word in a society that treats black people like second-class citizens?
EDIT: This is what you think is happening when people embrace black cultures:
This is what actually happens:
FUNKNOWN iXi
Member
Kids are exposed to much worse at younger ages these days and a loss of innocence sooner, with or without the internet imo. We're living in the age of information, so chances are if a 12 year old is aware enough to post pictures on Twitter, then they know about the terrible people out there.
RockTurtle
Member
I'm just sayin'
We are like, nowhere near a society that treats all people equally. Why don't you use this energy to fight for that instead of complaining that white people cannot say the n-word in a society that treats black people like second-class citizens?
EDIT: This is what you think is happening when people embrace black cultures:
This is what actually happens:
nah, i think the first gif is the more common one.
Mohonky
Member
I get that, but its not going to change the more people continue looking backward to go forward. Stop separating everyone with the 'us and them' and start putting everyone on the same playing field.
You cant demand equality while also calling for different levels of social responsibility and ownership of aspects of popular culture or your actions. This constant bickering and focus on whats acceptable for one group of people, and what is unacceptable for another just continues to stagnate any hope you have of ever getting everyone on an equal footing.
I'm gonna go ahead and say the first GIF is more so what happens (intentional or not). At least I HOPE that's the more common reaction. The second GIF is just what happens when dipshits have a nonsensical entitlement over a piece of culture because they happened to be born with a certain trait.EDIT: This is what you think is happening when people embrace black cultures:
This is what actually happens:
Shouldn't that be "glad we didn't have a Twitter to post on"? I haven't checked, but those comments haven't been proven to all have originated in the states. Point being, this is an issue that isn't about nationality.
Welcome to the rest of the world that lives in that shadow daily.
jesus christ already
That's not really the point. Cultural appropriation is an issue because many black people feel like they deserve to have customs or traditions that are exclusively theirs. There's a long history of elements of African American culture being commodified and "made white", after they have previously been seen much more negatively.
Pretty much all 1950s pop and early rock were Black musical traditions changed and modified for a white audience. Buddy Holly isn't racist for writing that type of music, but it's not hard to understand why many Black people don't like white people participating in their traditions.
Because so many rights and privileges are denied to black people (formerly by law, currently by tradition and prejudice), lots and lots of Black people would also like to have some customs of their own. Once black people have the same opportunities as white people, the situation will be different.
Maybe I misunderstood the GIF however I don't see why anyone should get upset over someone of a different race using something from their supposed culture. That's stupid. I couldn't care less if somebody started taking aspects associated with my races' "culture" and using it.
Am I missing something?
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