White trick-or-treaters in blackface: C/D?

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The only person who came to my house in blackface (as Bob Marley) was an adult.

tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 13:49 (eighteen years ago) link

C or D - Gang of 15 or so late-teens with stockings over their heads throwing stones at houses, as happened last night on my road?

bidfurd__, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 13:59 (eighteen years ago) link

I loved Halloween when I was younger because I would come up with costume ideas that would let me do whiteface, secure in the knowledge that anyone who tried to do blackface would get crushed by adults terrified by my and my parents' reactions.

Dan (Excruciating Back Pain) Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:00 (eighteen years ago) link

Then again, maybe I shouldn't say too much since I had a red-black-green necklace in high school and wore it (!), and this was pointed out to me one day when I observed (w/ some mild hostility) another white kid wearing a Negro League baseball hat! Granted, the necklace was not given to me by a white person (maybe that made it okay, I dunno), I kept it tucked in my shirt at all times, I wore it on days other than Halloween, and I never put synthetic skin tone on any part of my body.

Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:22 (eighteen years ago) link

I think you are grossly overreacting to this whole situation; it's not like these kids were doing a minstrel show!

Dan (Excruciating Back Pain) Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:25 (eighteen years ago) link

saw a gang of hemp necklace fratboys last friday up near GA tech dressed as every male cast member from pulp fiction including a gangly ass adams-appled white dude rockin plasticky afro wig & careful, unsmeared blackface. everybody i tell this story to reacts the same hilarious way- '...and was all these frat boys dressed up like in pulp fiction....' 'ahh cool, right yeah thats-' 'sam jackson dude was in blackface' 'oh hellll no'

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:32 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't think I'm overreacting. I wouldn't let my kid do it. If he intended to do it, I would see the situation as a golden opportunity to instill in him a healthy amount of white guilt.

for fuck sake!

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:33 (eighteen years ago) link

also livin in athens (most racist spot in GA that dont know its racist) the college guy "pimp" costume went real strong every year, no blackface (usually) but always in that damn afro wig, its gettin hard to remember that before it got neutered by ironic white assholes and vh1 pop culture that growin your nappy hair out was actually a controversial act at one time

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:35 (eighteen years ago) link

White trick-or-treaters in blackface

Tasteless, stupid, unfunny, lamentable and idiotic. Anyone beat up for same deserves it.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:35 (eighteen years ago) link

fucks sake what?? my kid would not even think about that shit, anymore than he would be goin trick-or-treating as hitler or a damn rape victim

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:35 (eighteen years ago) link

haha alex in nyc unexpectedly otm

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:36 (eighteen years ago) link

I'll admit I'm more sensitive about this stuff than usual since we noticed a couple lawn jockeys in the yards of nearby houses. (We moved a few months ago, knew what we were getting into, but seeing the shit is another thing.) Also, racial incidents in suburban Detroit have been escalating a great deal, so that's probably another factor. Obviously a kid wanting to look as much like Ben Wallace as possible is different from a yard with a burning cross, but it's all part of the same issue.

Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:41 (eighteen years ago) link

for fuck sake!

Okay, substitute "instill healthy amount of white guilt" with "talk about blackface." I was being a little silly.

Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:43 (eighteen years ago) link

What's a "lawn jockey"?

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:44 (eighteen years ago) link

haha alex in nyc unexpectedly otm

Why unexpectedly? We may have different tastes, but does that make me an idiotic asshole?

What's a "lawn jockey"?

Unfortunate racial epithet based on dated front lawn ornamentation.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:45 (eighteen years ago) link

yeah im not 100% behind 'white guilt' as something you impose on others (leads to useless, condescending liberals and blacker-than-thou white students with dreads) but one of the worthy applications for it would be explaining to your child why its not ok to wear blackface!!

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:46 (eighteen years ago) link

it was a joke alex!! for what its worth i think youre less racist than most of ilm

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:47 (eighteen years ago) link

"Hello, Dave! Wanna buy some pegs?"

Papa Lazarou, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Sorry, I'm feeling a little bit defensive today.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:48 (eighteen years ago) link

but youre testin me with "dated", like miniature black servants holding lanterns in your front yard are soooo last week huh??

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:49 (eighteen years ago) link

I have to ask, are the connotations of blackface still quite clear and understandable in the US? Because in here, if some kid would do it, it could be seen as mildly stupid, but not necessarily particularly racist, since we don't have a history of minstrelsy or anything. I mean, if someone would dress up as Hitler, the message would rather clear to everyone, but is this the case with blacking up?

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:49 (eighteen years ago) link

holy shit-
http://www.amberjacklanding.com/basement/images/Halloween/Hw78/78hw14.jpg
Roehl Johnson as a lawn jockey. Pushing the political correctness envelope before we knew there was an envelope. Roehl held this pose throughout the entire evening.
http://www.amberjacklanding.com/basement/halloween78_pg2.htm

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:50 (eighteen years ago) link

tuomas i really dont need another lecture about how your 95% white country is less racist than mine

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:51 (eighteen years ago) link

fucks sake what?? my kid would not even think about that shit, anymore than he would be goin trick-or-treating as hitler or a damn rape victim

the fact that you even find these comparible is lamentable. the kids were dressing up as a character they (presumably) admire. a guy at Optimo this weekend was dressed up as Don King - his costume was hysterical.

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:53 (eighteen years ago) link

Trife, I'm not saying we're less racist (probably the other way around), but that certain things deemed as racist in the US don't seem so offensive to me because of the different context.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:54 (eighteen years ago) link

comparable in offense not motivation

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:55 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe the people who own the lawn jockeys in our town think it's fine and a tribute ("They marked the underground railroad and helped runaway slaves!"), but the connotation isn't so positive for a lot of other people.

Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:55 (eighteen years ago) link

you could admire a rape victim too, for their courage in standing up to their attacker, but its not an appropiate halloween costume

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:57 (eighteen years ago) link

We don't have a history of minstrelsy because before the nineties, we had a black population practically the size of zero. Which meant that, up until the eighties, it was possible to sell liquorice with this symbol:

http://kotisivu.dnainternet.net/houtsone/lakupekka.jpg

(x-post)

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 14:58 (eighteen years ago) link

tuomas is there commonly accepted shit in america that seems racist to you based on standards of your country? like brits who are baffled by apu on the simpsons

xpost ahahhahahahahahha

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:00 (eighteen years ago) link

Also, I don't think you can separate motivation from the offense. Context is a helluva big thing when it comes to racism.

(x-post)

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:01 (eighteen years ago) link

Can I reiterate for all of the white people on this thread that there is a gigantic non-negligible semantic difference between dressing up as a famous person who happens to be of a different color than you and dressing up as an explicitly offensive character, like a lawn jockey? Unless, of course, you think that Ben Wallace is the modern equivalent of a lawn jockey, which says a lot more about your perceptions of race than it does about the person who dressed up like him.

Dan (Surrounded By White Madness) Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:01 (eighteen years ago) link

(And yes, I know that many black people would disagree with me.)

Dan (The Point Remains) Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:01 (eighteen years ago) link

Dan, that what was what I was trying to say in my first post.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:02 (eighteen years ago) link

dan i think the point is that blackface is de facto offensive

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:02 (eighteen years ago) link

which i agree is debateable but i think most americans would agree

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:03 (eighteen years ago) link

Dan, how do you feel about someone dressing up as Don King?

xp

dan doesn't seem to agree with you!

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:03 (eighteen years ago) link

i mean you can talk about sincere admiration all you like but in the end you come off like those dicks who want to "reclaim" the swastika- just let it go, dudes

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:04 (eighteen years ago) link

OH NO DAN DOESNT AGREE WITH ME

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:05 (eighteen years ago) link

but youre testin me with "dated", like miniature black servants holding lanterns in your front yard are soooo last week huh??

No, I meant literally dated....as, to the best of my knowledge, they don't make them (the actual lawn ornaments) anymore.....though drive around Long Island and you'll still spot a few, not to mention in midtown Manhattan.....

http://orient-express.lbwa.verio.net/onyc/images/220images/onyc_220_entrance.jpg

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:05 (eighteen years ago) link

Actually, I'm wrong....evidently they do still make'em. Apologies.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:06 (eighteen years ago) link

Obviously a kid wanting to look as much like Ben Wallace as possible is different from a yard with a burning cross (or a lawn jockey), but it's all part of the same issue.

Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:07 (eighteen years ago) link

tuomas is there commonly accepted shit in america that seems racist to you based on standards of your country?

No, probably not. Since most of our ethnic minorities have been here for thirty years or less, I assume American culture is far more sensitive to racial imagery as related to, say, Asian or African people. We do have seem older ethnic groups such as the Sami and the Roma people, but they obviously don't show up at all in American culture.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:08 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe the kid just liked Ben Wallace.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:09 (eighteen years ago) link

i mentally associate un-pc blackface halloween costums with white guys who whine about how they cant say the n-word or how theres no national association for the advancement of WHITE people

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:10 (eighteen years ago) link

OH NO DAN DOESNT AGREE WITH ME
-- _ (...), November 1st, 2005. (later)

i don't know if he does but, if so, it does call into question your use of the phrase "De Facto".

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:10 (eighteen years ago) link

ned dont bring your dopey 'who me??' approach to race relations on this thread

_, Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:11 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe the kid will see Amos and Andy and think, "Hey, neat."

Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:11 (eighteen years ago) link

dan i think the point is that blackface is de facto offensive

Blackface is de facto offensive. My issue is this: should a child dressed up as Ben Wallace for Halloween be considered blackface? Exactly what does that say about how you view people like Ben Wallace that that was your first reaction to seeing the child? In my mind, this is the racist liberal issue rearing its ugly head again.

Dan (Excruciating Back Pain) Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 1 November 2005 15:11 (eighteen years ago) link

Well, I can't tell how light or dark this fella is IRL, but that's not really the point for this one, is it?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B0agBgmCMAA8nS9.png

pplains, Monday, 20 October 2014 23:28 (nine years ago) link

http://i.imgur.com/UvYoV6f.png

http://i.minus.com/isq3OGBdCJWVI.gif

pplains, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 02:56 (nine years ago) link

why are they the only ones in costume

linda cardellini (zachlyon), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 02:58 (nine years ago) link

That was probably my third or fourth question.

pplains, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 03:00 (nine years ago) link

obie stompin' moby (Whiney G. Weingarten)
Posted: October 29, 2013 at 6:50:07 PM
"what the fuck is Luther"

Is this your "I've never heard the Beatles knowingly" moment here or

Ass Tchotchke! (jjjusten), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 03:03 (nine years ago) link

My son's best friend is going as "a jamaican". Not in blackface, but with a dreadlock wig. No idea what the fuck to even say when I run into him tonight.

how's life, Friday, 31 October 2014 18:10 (nine years ago) link

You do get white Jamaicans

R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Friday, 31 October 2014 18:14 (nine years ago) link

Repeatedly refer to it as an Adam Duritz costume

kissaroo and Tyler, too (DJP), Friday, 31 October 2014 18:21 (nine years ago) link

^^irl lol

Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 31 October 2014 18:24 (nine years ago) link

You know, I've been stewing about this for the last 20 minutes or so, grumpily texting about it with my wife, who's really bummed out. But now I'm thinking maybe if I stick close to this kid tonight I can score some herb.

how's life, Friday, 31 October 2014 18:25 (nine years ago) link

Rofl DJP

a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine), Friday, 31 October 2014 18:27 (nine years ago) link

Ras Treat

example (crüt), Friday, 31 October 2014 18:27 (nine years ago) link

four months pass...

not ALL gabi's ‏@scabbygabi

Good save

http://i.imgur.com/2kAOsEJ.jpg

pplains, Sunday, 29 March 2015 14:07 (nine years ago) link

Nice save, body paint company!

Johnny Fever, Sunday, 29 March 2015 15:51 (nine years ago) link

"Due to U.S. Copyright issues, we are unable to show you the blue paint."

pplains, Sunday, 29 March 2015 16:34 (nine years ago) link

"I don't care if you paint yourself black, yellow, red, or green . . ."

nickn, Sunday, 29 March 2015 19:22 (nine years ago) link

No purple??

tokyo rosemary, Monday, 30 March 2015 03:34 (nine years ago) link

six months pass...

Honestly, I'm just about as offended that she thinks she's pulling off Kim Kardashian.

pplains, Wednesday, 28 October 2015 03:38 (eight years ago) link

three months pass...

Took me a second. They're dressed as hieroglyphics, not the Egyptians themselves...

http://i.imgur.com/s1OtdMZ.jpg

... but boy are they walking the line there.

pplains, Friday, 5 February 2016 22:35 (eight years ago) link

one month passes...

From

http://i.imgur.com/8MkW5Ut.jpg

|

to

|

http://i.imgur.com/89QkeKs.jpg

pplains, Sunday, 3 April 2016 01:15 (eight years ago) link

i've been watching all in the family episode by episode from season 5 forward and hoo boy, some of the places this show goes are pure wtf and a good heads up as to how the culture has shifted over the past forty years... the key joke in the "Gloria has a baby" two parter is that Archie leaves his lodge's minstrel show in blackface to get to the hospital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMlpCLPCtx4

ulysses, Monday, 4 April 2016 14:37 (eight years ago) link

NB the series of rape jokes at 5.40

ulysses, Monday, 4 April 2016 14:39 (eight years ago) link

one year passes...

Usually days like today are prime for mining horrible examples of white trick-or-treaters in blackface. However, it's just gotten worse and more depressing in the past year.

I know, "When was it not depressing?" I guess you'd hope things would improve with each passing year, not break records for how low the bar keeps getting dropped.

Recently read a good thread on social media from an ILXor, listing some of the worst recent incidents. And it's not just the tastelessness that hits you, it's how brazen and open these assholes are about pulling it off these days. It's almost as if they feel emboldened to do so.

That said, I enjoyed these fellas. Hope the guy on the right didn't get confused with being a white guy wearing a dreadlock wig though I personally would've appreciated the meta on that one.

https://i.imgur.com/BmjljUp.jpg

pplains, Saturday, 4 November 2017 18:44 (six years ago) link

djp has a roundup of this year's examples on fb

mookieproof, Saturday, 4 November 2017 18:55 (six years ago) link

^ Yeah. That ILXor.

pplains, Saturday, 4 November 2017 19:13 (six years ago) link

That picture created so much reverse racism whining.

the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Saturday, 4 November 2017 21:36 (six years ago) link

reverse racism whining

thereby confirming the whiner's steadfast and unshakeable belief that whites in blackface are racists. amirite?

A is for (Aimless), Saturday, 4 November 2017 21:40 (six years ago) link

lol at khakis

Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Sunday, 5 November 2017 19:28 (six years ago) link

one year passes...

American politicians go blackface.

But not Canadians: https://time.com/5680759/justin-trudeau-brownface-photo/

pplains, Thursday, 19 September 2019 02:21 (four years ago) link

What the fuck is wrong with all these people?

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 19 September 2019 02:45 (four years ago) link

Milkshake Trudeau is Racist.

a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 19 September 2019 03:51 (four years ago) link

I can’t believe he did it so many times! And he was 29!! Shameful.

weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 19 September 2019 14:01 (four years ago) link

nine months pass...

NBC was a big fan of blackface gags

Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 23:27 (three years ago) link

They were also the network that played The Apprentice. Something not right been up with them for awhile.

pplains, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 00:34 (three years ago) link

Countdown to the discovery of long-missing The Apprentice: Blackface Challenge tapes...

"...And the Gods Socially Distanced" (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 02:10 (three years ago) link

Whole network is rotten from the Today show hosts to the late night wars. Who woulda thunk a broadcasting company owned by G.E. would be so awful.

Oh, they're owned by Comcast now. yes, yes, such an improvement.

Anyway. Halloween this year is going to be horrible. I am looking forward to the McCloskey costumes though.

pplains, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 02:23 (three years ago) link

two years pass...

Er, I've just seen the Bananarama video for "I Want You Back" (with the woman who replaced Siobhan Fahey who no-one remembers)...

Maggot Bairn (Tom D.), Sunday, 16 April 2023 09:32 (one year ago) link

Beginning of Culture Club's Do You Really Want To Hurt Me video is another one.

the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Sunday, 16 April 2023 09:40 (one year ago) link

with the woman who replaced Siobhan Fahey who no-one remembers

some of us will always remember the Shillelagh Sisters

he thinks it's chinese money (soref), Sunday, 16 April 2023 09:58 (one year ago) link


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