rolling "Is This Racist?" thread

No wonder the United States has lost it's hegemony in advanced education. They've been dumbing down the Universities and school system for the best part of 50 years now - as we have in Australia. The whole system has been devalued with this political correctness idea that no-one should get an "F" and thus we have the situation where 16 year-old are learning the maths I'd mastered in 3rd Grade.

What does this have to do with racism?

Haha oh right it's a comment from the article, I thought it looked weird

you have lost you'r hegemony in comprehension

it is worth noting that the UC system does have not (de jure) affirmative action (there is a little bit of de facto.) so this is an affirmative action protest at a school where most of the black people are there out of sportsffirmative action - pretty sure most of the BCR are fine with the football team.

yeah not really sure what they're protesting tbh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_209_(1996)

The bake sale, run by the Berkeley College Republicans, was created in reaction to SB 185, a bill currently being considered by Gov. Jerry Brown, which would authorize California public universities to consider race, gender, ethnicity, and national/geographic origin in the admissions process.

no, they do it regularly

http://clutterinclarityout.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/jerry-brown.jpg

should consider eyebrow magnificence in the electoral process

hmmmm, this is a toughie

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/associated-press-transcription-obama-cbc-speech-racist-173438340.html

Via the AP version:

"Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes," he said, his voice rising as applause and cheers mounted. "Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. We are going to press on. We have work to do."

Hunter called the AP's version "inherently racist," sparring with New Republic contributing editor and noted linguistics expert John McWhorter, who argued the g-less version "is actually the correct one," noting that the president's victory in the 2008 election was due, in part, to how effortlessly "he can switch into that (black) dialect."

Whatever the reason, Hunter found it offensive. "I teach a journalism class, and I tell my students to fix people's grammar, because you don't want them to sound ignorant," she said. "For them to do that, it's code, and I don't like it."

It's worth noting that the same sorts of arguments arose during George W. Bush's presidency, with the White House cleaning up the president's speeches to make him sound smarter, and news outlets sometimes not doing so.

According to Mark Smith, the AP reporter who filed the story, Obama was making a point by dropping his g's, making the transcription a no-brainer.

I don't think it's that tough. Whatever McWhorter's politics (he's a slightly left-leaning centrist who voted for Obama, who unfortunately also sometimes plays a right wing hack on tv), I think he's a fair-minded, middle-of-the-road linguist.

I don't think that dialect is necessarily black and I'm kind of wondering if that was the real context McWhorter's quote was in!

yeah that's why I posted it here. personally I don't think this is anything but most of the posters on this board are a little more sensitive than I am on those issues

But yeah, it is not anything. More of a journalistic accuracy in quoting debate than anything.

Despite the outcry, organizers said the sale would go forward unless they were threatened with physical violence. Mr. Lewis said Republican groups from nearby colleges — including the University of California, Davis; California State University, Sacramento; and Saint Mary’s College of California — had called to say they were sending carloads of supporters to the bake sale.

oh my god...they're multiplying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5peC9wFu64w

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/joelherrick/obama%20fried%20chicken.jpg

I would guess there's a 1% chance your average chinese person knows about the stereotype

I would guess there's a 1% chance your average chinese person knows about the stereotype

Is this racist?

yep

isn't China the place where they made & sold Darkie Toothpaste until about a decade ago?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4ebKDFxiia8/TPfyKmogVdI/AAAAAAAAIn4/UQnLLwPdwHU/s1600/darlie.jpg

actually, it was Taiwan.

same difference

WTF why is Barack Obama making Asian stereotype face? I mean with the squinty eyes and mongoloid expression.

Also that changed toothpaste is still offensive to me, it reminds me of when white people could barely deal with Lena Horne.

Was watching this great video of Quincy and Herbie fooling around with a Fairlight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6QsusDS_8A

But then was o_O at the question at 5:20. Is this racist?

Actually, it's 5:05 or so. Don't skip ahead! Great video!

That was an awesome video.

The question itself could have been phrased better, especially since it almost sounded like a contrast was being made between "sophisticated" and "African". It certainly doesn't seem like that was the intent and Herbie gave a great response to it nonetheless.

http://i.imgur.com/RrIk7.png

was at a kid's bday party last week where there was facepainting, one little (white) boy insisted that he wanted to be facepainted as a "ninja" so the facepainter tried to oblige by painting his entire face black. you can imagine what the end result looked like. the parent was sort of mortified/afraid to walk home without washing it off. kid was completely oblivious (obviously).

the facepainter could have just given him a TMNT mask

‎"After Obama shook hands and chatted with a young African American boy who looked to be about 10, and then moved on, the boy turned to the white man he was dining with and said, 'I’m never going to wash my hand again.' "

From:
Obama L.A. visit: President makes unscheduled stop at Rosco's Chicken and Waffles
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/obama-roscoes-west-la.html

tbh I thought this was a better candidate for this thread:

ALSO:

Man in gorilla mask and carrying stun gun robs taco stand

But then was o_O at the question at 5:20. Is this racist?

― ste throkes (Ówen P.), Monday, 10 October 2011

herbie's response is used as the start of this (excellent) Aybee mix for lwe

http://www.littlewhiteearbuds.com/podcast/lwe-podcast-101-aybee/

http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/notokay-avatar.png

Sorry, meant to post that to the blueface thread.

I don't care if you're black, white, purple, or blue.

New Black Keys video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=a_426RiwST8#!

well, i mean just look at their name

no need to point out alicia's race

I'm going to go with "not racist" for that one. Do you feel that the man is somehow demeaned by the video?

I would dance to that song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhkpR1NoEmY

I'm going to go with "not racist" for that one. Do you feel that the man is somehow demeaned by the video?

― rustic italian flatbread, Friday, October 28, 2011 1:10 PM (38 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i think the Tim&Eric/BlackKeys aesthetic of "tap dance for us, peculiar black man" is p fucking suspect, which is why i ask, "Is this racist?"

pretty much everything painted in the Tim & Eric aesthetic is suspect, which is why the stuff that works is so amazing and the stuff that doesn't is so unbearable

"tap dance for us, peculiar black man"

there is no tap dancing in that Black Keys video. if anything, the guy is doing the dance that every white guy in 80s teen sex comedies used to do

y'know, the "running in place" thing. overbite optional.

hey shakey let me introduce you to the concept of figurative speech,

is "peculiar" figurative too cuz I don't see anything peculiar about that guy

he does appear to be actually black

the thing that strikes me is that they've got a video of a black man dancing vaguely like Carlton Banks as a video for a song called "Lonely Boy"; that definitely registers as "sketchy"

is whiney racist for finding that black man to be peculiar?