rolling "Is This Racist?" thread

uppity means you're acting above yr station in life

Qantas Airlines gives free Bledisoe Cup tickets to a fan who promised to "dress as Radike Samo, complete with Afro Wig, Aus rugby kit and facepaint."

I was thinking of posting this one yeah. Whats interesting about it, is in this case it was done with no malicious intent at all and, importantly, the guy in question said he thought it was awesome and didnt understand what the fuss was all about. They were just dressing up as this specific guy.

can we unban frogbs, i need his take on this

australia what minstrel shows we didn't have 'em here we go again

Look I cant and wont defend the fact blackface is clearly offensive, but I have to stress it isnt a cultural thing/known about down here. It just isnt. People do not get it. You should see the comments on this issue on newspaper sites here. its like 80% "this wasnt offensive I dont understand why people are upset" comments, even in the left wing papers.

Beyond that I'm not eqipped to argue this issue, tbh (and again, I'm also not defending it either as I fully understand why it is regarded as wrong - but only because of americans telling people tbh!)

Trayce, I don't believe that washes anymore. Since the Jackson Jive incident, it's been overwhelmingly clear to the whole of Australia (a) that blackface is not acceptable and (b) why blackface is not acceptable. These guys weren't even doing a vaguely accurate impression of the bloke, they're in shoe polish and fright wigs ffs.

I'm not attacking you at all Trayce, but these guys and Qantas should have known better, and "oh I'm sorry I didn't realise" is not good enough an excuse.

bntw lack of malicious intent is also off the point because blackface is inherently racist by dint of what it is. It's like, you wouldn't dress up as a paralympian by sitting behind bars in a monkey suit with a "SEE THE ONE-LEGGED FREAK" sign over your head.

Oh dont get me wrong - Qantas should DEFINITELY have known better. The minute anyone picked that guy's proposal as the winner, PR should have said "oh my god no, this is such a bad idea".

I think australians are very resistant to being told how to think/to PC, and I'm not sure what to think about that really.

(apart from "this is so embarrasing", obv)

so even aussies don't cogh? ;_; The Australian Zeitgeist Tracking Thread

FWIW also: "you wouldn't dress up as a paralympian by sitting behind bars in a monkey suit with a "SEE THE ONE-LEGGED FREAK" sign over your head."

I suspect some people here really would, and would vehemently defend their right to sick humour, as well.

Yeah you're right, they would (and they'd be slammed).

but I have to stress it isnt a cultural thing/known about down here. It just isnt.

I've grown up knowing that blackface is weird and gross and retrograde

SHOE POLISH

I havent, I'm ok with being honest about that. Its something I have only learned later in life. And I do remember the B&W Minstrel show and those terrible Goodies skits and etc.

But, now having read back over the frogbs shitstorm upthread I hadnt seen before this got revived I feel icky.

I don't want to sow more ill will between America and Australia. I mean, it's like when Tiger Woods called himself a spaz and Britain got all upset about it because over there spasticism is a physical disability or something and then we were all like "what? fuck you. we're not gonna stop saying spaz."

we just all have to learn to live together in this increasingly smaller world.

now I am intensely curious about what Canada's sensitivity blind spot is

Probably something to do with the Queen

iirc its the montreal wanting to become its own country thing

I just got an email from an all white band called BLACK PUSSY

they are not sweet

I feel like the acronym "smdh" was invented specifically for ppl like that

they are not sweet

― step your 'îron game up, jamie xx (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, August 29, 2011 7:54 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark

lol

whoa when did the eagles sign brian austin green

is it inherently racist to call your white band 'black pussy' though?

Is it?

It's sort of like what jon stewart said during the "macaca" incident

"we don't know what it means but it sure as hell *sounds* racist"

I don't want to sow more ill will between America and Australia. I mean, it's like when Tiger Woods called himself a spaz and Britain got all upset about it because over there spasticism is a physical disability or something and then we were all like "what? fuck you. we're not gonna stop saying spaz."

Tiger also did a spaz mime that clearly indicated he knew all about the "British" meaning.

We had a thread about it - (Don't) Putting Spaz

On a livejournal comm I read, some people are incredibly strident about all kinds of words as "abelist" speaking of which. I saw someone get told off the other day for calling someone "dumb", I wish I was joking.

holy shit. i just googled up the original pic with his stance

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/golf/04/13/tiger.comments/p1_tigerputt.jpg

and then i googled up some youtubes of people with cerebral palsy and goddamn if some of them didn't stand like that. but how would tiger know? i still find it hard to believe that it was an intentional jab at people with cp. it just seems too weird that he would use that word to that end.

but then fuck that is an incredibly exaggerated stance.

It's a fine line if you're just dicking around (no offence meant to dicks btw) and stick your legs out weirdly because it feels outlandish, but I suppose if he followed up with "I'm a spazmo" or whatever that doesn't leave a great deal of doubt. Overall he should have known what would happen.

"ANYONE that says this is Racist. Is a racist"

"If aboriginal dancers paint there faces white (which they do!!), isn't that the same?"

from https://twitter.com/#!/heraldsunreader

For the int'l audience, Herald Sun is a Murdoch tabloid (as if that weren't obvious already).

Yeah dreggiest dregs there, about on par with the Sun.

I wonder where these people exist tho because frankly, I dont personally know ANYONE who'd say something as dumb as "aboriginal dancers paniting their faces white is the same isnt it".

I'm related to some of them.

Yeah ok maybe my dad would say it, but mostly cos he's a grumpy shit stirrer.

^^^ was about to post almost the exact same word-for-word thing!

about my dad not yours, that is

They would say it out of entitlement and cultural ignorance. Remember how many people there are who think "white aborigines" are faking it for land rights.

e.g. "bullshit, he's got red hair"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRZmVMO1Rd8&feature=player_embedded

actually lol'd at how bad that is

Hahahah whaaaat, thats the NEW deus ex? That looks like some shitty mid 90s animation :/

Also lol I misread the action tree as "offer hot beef".

how about when white blonde coworkers come back from a third world countries with pictures of themselves surrounded by laughing naked children?

is that just what's done on safari?

Well, sheeyit!