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

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if she was wearing those clothes in blackface i'd still have to be told what it is (and i've watched luther)

^^ post obviously honoring and supporting Qualcomm (zachlyon), Tuesday, 29 October 2013 23:48 (ten years ago) link

what the fuck is Luther

obie stompin' moby (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, 29 October 2013 23:50 (ten years ago) link

Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as the title character Detective Chief Inspector John Luther.

polyphonic, Tuesday, 29 October 2013 23:52 (ten years ago) link

With some of the most beautiful pictures of London this century

cardamon, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 00:00 (ten years ago) link

As someone who would (instinctively) not dress up in blackface, I really want to know what goes through the minds of people who do.

It's a sunshiny cliché for people to say "I don't see color," but for white people that do this, it's true -- that they don't see the color of other white people. But skin that's darker or eye folds that are different leap out to some people.

You notice the blind person with the fogged-up eyes, but you walk past hundreds of people a day with sight and don't think much of it. I'm sure there are some white people who have gotten the flour makeup out to do Johnny or Edgar Winter because their skin is noticeably different.

This does not excuse or pardon or give a pass to any person over the age of six to don a costume mimicking another race. And the kid under six doesn't get a pass because they better have an adult telling them no. But I am trying to explain, to get in the head, of someone not usually showing off racist characteristics thinking this is an approachable idea.

When I was in 5th grade, they used to put on this talent show based on the lip-synch show "Puttin' on the Hits". A buddy of mine and I were riding home on the school bus when he tells me he's thinking about lip-synching "Shake You Down" by Gregory Abbot. We talk about how it's a pretty smooth song, how he'll need to match the clothes in the video and also is he going to wear black makeup? Eventually, he got a little stage fright before even submitting his name to the talent director, so nothing ever became of it.

I don't think we were nasty racists, but definitely we were ignorant and insensitive to a few things. To us, black (or brown, or heck - in Gregory Abbot's case - very light brown) skin was as much of a distinctive feature as the mole on Aaron Neville's forehead. But I would tell that 10-year-old pplains (or even better, my IRL kids) that there's a lot of horrible history associated with dressing up and parodying people who don't look like us. And besides, going out of our way to hammer home that a celebrity or other person looks different is one of the many things that keeps that line drawn between some of us.

I don't know if I've explained this very well and I sure do feel weird posting it, but why would someone dress up in blackface? I guess at one time a long time ago, I thought I knew why.

And this is more for people like that actress who dressed up like the black character from the prison show. Anyone who dress up like Trayvon should also have a gun pointed at them.

pplains, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 00:09 (ten years ago) link

And I don't care how much shoe polish you've got, you're never going to pass for Stringer Bell.

pplains, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 00:12 (ten years ago) link

How would a white person dress up as that dude on the left in that picture? All his clothes look the same.

pplains, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 00:14 (ten years ago) link

Did I tell this story? I don't think I did here.

My third grade class wasn't 100% white but it was close and thus I (I'm white btw) played Harriet Tubman in a play. I asked the teacher if I should wear brown makeup because I was 8 and my class was nearly all white and I had no idea about the history of blackface. I am not even confident that my parents would have known better. In my memory the teacher was initially going to go with it but thank fuck either she had some insight or somebody stepped in (either happening being against the odds as this was ~ 80/81 in a very rural and very white area) because it didn't happen. I mean, I still played Harriet Tubman in a play but not in black face.

carl agatha, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 01:43 (ten years ago) link

I also still remember my opening lines: "My name is Harriet Tubman, or 'Moses' to those I helped. As a child, I was whipped and beaten by my slave master."

carl agatha, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 01:44 (ten years ago) link

in fourth grade i played a rapping vince lombardi

^^ post obviously honoring and supporting Qualcomm (zachlyon), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 02:01 (ten years ago) link

that felt relevant

^^ post obviously honoring and supporting Qualcomm (zachlyon), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 02:01 (ten years ago) link

Talking about blackface here, not gasface.

pplains, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 02:09 (ten years ago) link

eleven months pass...

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


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