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No Whites Allowed
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No Whites Allowed |
01/14/09
Sister Toldja, I did read your article, and I've got to agree with some of the previous posters here. Your piece did not come across as satire to me - it came across as someone simply talking in their blog about what was important to them. And I don't really believe that you WERE entirely joking, based on the whole "jokes are 90% funny and 10% truth" adage, as well as your responses in this thread.
I think the reason that people are bringing "A Modest Proposal" up is that Swift is a really good example of how to do it... I think that one of the hallmarks of good satire is that the idea has to be so absurd that your readers have no doubt in their minds that you ARE making fun of the concept.
Unfortunately, I know many people who DO feel that way. You might have meant it in a mostly-joking manner, but I assure you, there are people out there who mean it 100%. Whitey, stay home, you have NO business celebrating this president.
I've read your responses and ideas, and I will be checking out the books you recommended. I acknowledge that, as a white person, I can never truly understand what a black American goes through - but I can, and am completely willing, to try.
Please let me explain something. I cannot speak for everyone, but I've seen this type of point alluded to here by others, and I know many of my friends feel this way as well. This is being extended as an olive branch, if you will - so that you can maybe understand a little better where some of us white folks are coming from while we make an effort to understand where you are coming from.
I have heard my whole life about the horrible things that white people have done. This absolutely should be taught - to forget our history dooms us to repeat it, and I don't think ANYONE out there (well, anyone who deserves to stay in the gene pool) wants that.
So, yes, we do get it. We get that the whites have done horrible, inexcusable things. We understand, I think, that these things have created situations for nonwhites that make it much, much harder for them than it is for us. Do we totally understand this? No. We can't; we can't step in to your shoes, because it's impossible for us to wear them. They're not ours.
I live in Atlanta. ("The City Too Busy To Hate"? Total bullshit.) Race is always here; it's pretty much in your face all the time. And what kills me is the separatism that I see going on here.
A day doesn't pass that I am not reminded, usually verbally, that my ancestors were assholes. And it does become personal, because of the way I get treated. When someone talks about "white people" doing this or that to someone, I can't help but take it at least at little personally... Not only because I am white, but because this is usually said while looking straight at me.
I am treated differently here in this city due to the color of my skin. Black people don't want to talk to me, no matter how I try to reach out in friendship. I understand that there are real jerks out there, and that there might be a very real reason for their reticence to talk to me... but it's frustrating and disheartening.
It hurts, sometimes, that no matter how good I am, no matter how kind I am, no matter how hard I try to actively fight racism (and I do), I'm not given the chance to be seen as anything other than the descendant of a possible slave owner. I am Whitey. I am evil. I am actively keeping minorities down. And all that couldn't be farther from the truth.
I think some of what you're seeing here is that frustration. White people today have grown up with the ideas that racism is a terrible, terrible thing, and that treating ANYONE differently simply because of their skin color is a thing that is incredibly wrong. And to see it applied to us when so many of us try like hell to keep it from happening to others... Honestly, it hurts.
LIke I said before, this is offered in nothing but the kindest of spirits, in the hope that dialogue can improve things.
01/14/09
All I have to say is, why do you keep saying "your ancestors"? Your peers are assholes too. Not all of them, but a damn lot of them. It may be unfair to judge you by their misdeeds, but please belive people your age are keeping the racism party alive.
And if you can't see the absurdity in a picture of a nightclub being juxtaposed with a picture of Woodstock, then I pity you.
01/13/09
01/13/09
Unfortunately, many white liberals have the attitude of "Thanks for bringing this problem to our attention, we've got it from here," about oppression of all peoples, (if you don't think that is true think about that irritating male "feminist" in your women's studies class who thought he knew all the f'n answers). That is what I believe the original post was alluding to. Did I particularly care for the humor? Not so much, I thought it was a slightly more high brow version of the "black people dance like this, and white people dance like that" routine.
Having said that your reaction, Anna, is ultimately far more racist than the post by Sista Toldja. To see anything frightening about that photo is the kind of deep seated and invisible racism that keeps people from evaluating each other on a personal level. I don't know you, you could be black for all I know, what I do know is that you find images of black men scary and to see that on a website that I consider liberal is infuriating.
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I was so offended by some of those anonymous comments. I hope they weren't from Jezzies.
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Do you not see the comments on my blog? Seriously.
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i do agree that it will be like All Star Weekend, which depending on what day you ask me can be off the chain in a good or bad way
i know i wont be there :(
01/13/09
ok im done
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01/13/09
Bingo.
01/13/09
01/13/09
This was awesomely fun and depressing. Jessi Ramsey for president....but I won't be signing up for the inaugral party committee, promise. I'm spent, maybe I'll do a youtube video tonight addressing my leigons of new fans. I wish I could show this to my mom, she'd be so proud.
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01/13/09
Why do people still think that "if you switch White and Black, it would be racist!" is a valid arguement?
I'd be willing to bet that if Barack and I were Jewish, none of you guys would have had such an indignant reaction.
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As a white jezzie, I know you say it wasn't 'for me', but I'm glad your blog post was brought over here because I may never have found it otherwise. And I learned a lot reading the comments that came after your first response on this thread. I'm also sad that a lot of white jezzies come at this type of dialogue with such defensiveness. We have white privilege, even if we are poor and jobless (like me) and even if we fight against that privilege by trying to create dialogue. It is important to own that. Once you learn about that privilege (or just logic it out that it does exist, do you even need a textbook to tell you that? really.), how can you get so defensive every time you read something that calls it out?
My head is spinning, this might not make sense. But anyway, like I said, even if this 'wasn't for' me, it was important to me and I enjoyed reading it and am glad I know about your blog now. And I'm glad people posted some reading resources above because maybe some of us white jezzies who turn these posts into 'woe is me, i'm not privileged' will pick up a book and enlighten themselves to just how privileged we are.
That said, I voted for this wonderful man for president and if I didn't hate crowds I would definitely go down there for the inauguration. I will instead be watching it on tv and enjoying every second of it (well, except for Rick Warren speaking there, but that is a whole different post.)
Thanks for joining us here for a 'chat', Sister Toldja.
01/13/09
And if you and Barack were Jewish, my reaction would be; "Great. Someone to use in arguments telling me why we suck."
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01/13/09
Thank YOU for your perspective. When I stated it wasnt "for you", it wasn't intended for those who aren't familiar with my particular brand of humor and my approach to writing. I'd like to think that anyone could appreciate what I was saying, even if they didn't like it or agree with it. I am just tired, tired, tired of being misunderstood by White people. Or rather, having to explain myself to them. But I am glad that you appreciated it.
01/13/09
Do you not see the IRONY in suggesting that I would take Swift to be the model for my writing? I am not interested in modeling my little Brooklyn girl website after "A Modest Proposal".
The White elitism on this site is sickening! "Trite and fairly stupid"? Really? How about silly? It was fucking silly and obviously not meant to be serious. I have a picture of a basketball player popping a bottle in a nightclub and a picture of the second Woodstock. Are you TELLING ME that because I had some serious points in my piece that I should have chosen more "highbrow" humor? I'm really feeling like the big joke is on all you Jezzies who have come out and shown your true racist elitist colors today.
Where was there a lack of reasoning in this article? You are really simple. I cannot take it.
01/13/09
Please try to understand that criticism of your post's writing (versus content) has nothing to do with Jezebelians being racist-- you should have seen the comments in the thread yesterday on the writing quality in the book "Eat, Pray, Love". Which was written by a white woman.
01/13/09
I know that Jezzies are bitchy when it comes to criticizing writing, but I was referring to the attack on the content. Even if my post wasn't brilliantly written, you'd have to be pretty silly to not realize:
1) I was not serious about my request
2) I do belive the election holds more meaning to Black Americans than Whites. Simply voting for a Black man does not put you in the same class as a Black person who deals with racism on a regular basis.
Regardless of their feelings about syntax, MFers showed their races arses today and I think a lot of people hid behind "it was poor irony" and "it wasn't funny". Wouldn't be surprised if these were the same people writing "Fuck you Blacks, you're gonna shoot each other up anyway" on my blog.
01/13/09
LOL. I think because, for some reason, Jewish people have gotten carte blanche to assume ownership of their struggle and people are a lot less likely to "check" them when they try to explain their plight. I think it's because the Jews did a damn fine job in establishing a cultural idenity in America and demanding that the world recognized what was done to them in the Holocaust. Black people have not been allowed to do so, partially due to some failings in working collectively on our end and also due to the work of the oppressor. Does that make sense?
01/13/09
That being said, thank YOU for this highlarious thread. Brightened my day with insane web drama.
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I'm disappointed in the reactions here, that people didn't recognize the satire or didn't even bother to read it and immediately just said "OMG Discrimination!" when clearly that's not what this piece is about if you take the time to consider the meaning.
And let me take a minute to remind that while many whites do not have class privilege, all whites have WHITE privilege.
K, I'll shut up now.
01/13/09
I hope that made sense. I'm not crying "reverse racism!" here. I just take issue with being labelled something I am not, even if I agree that the inauguration is not really about white people. It's not our victory, really.
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