There's a thread going on my American expats forum about this picture of the Spanish basketball team. This thread has now gone to three pages, discussing the inappropriateness of the picture, if Spain is more racist in comparison to other countries, is England racist considering its Morris Dancers painted with blackface, or the Nazi-themed restaurant that opened in India last year. So, is it racism? Are these people ignorant or is there something more sinister? And is ignorance an excuse? Over to you.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Controversy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Controversy will always smoke out a post from me. :)
What cracks me up about racism are the specific things that people choose to be indignant about. Laughable, unimportant, accidental slips, etc. are blown out of proportion while other "important" racism plods happily along unchallenged.
E.g., I've recently heard (like, in mainstream news, even) insinuations that cutting welfare a/o keeping drugs illegal is "racist" - because it will really hurt the black community. Whatever fuck nut thinks it's not racist to assume that "black" = "on welfare" or "on drugs" is a bigger problem than any welfare changes or drug laws.
I think affirmative action is a sinister plan by Whitey to instill in the black mind the notion that they NEED help, because they're inferior, or at least 'separate', 'different', etc. There's lots of cultural stuff out there that instills a sense of hopelessness/ inferiority in minority communities, and again, that's just fine with the status quo racists.
It's these subtle things, the policy stuff, that reveal the racist's BELIEF that certain people are inferior - not the poor word choice or un-intended double entendre that makes everyone jump up and point, "ha-ha! You're a racist!"
Throw in a little 'political correctness,' some hyper-sensitivity, a cultural bias which rewards mass inferiority complex, a few attempts to legislate it away, and you've got a recipe to keep racism alive and prospering for decades.
BTW, I just looked up "racism" and it looks like it refers to the acknowledgment of racial DIFFERENCES, without necessarily ascribing a superior/inferior aspect to it. By that definition, anyone who's not a racist is a fool.
Chauvinism and bigotry, accompanying racism, are the problems - and what I was referring to as "racism" in all that other stuff I said before I looked it up.
Blast away, crackers!
who you callin' a cracker white boy!?!
granted i haven't been paying attention, but has anybody brought up the fact that our class was so ahead of the cultural curve that we nominated and elected a black president two decades ago?
Good points both, gentlemen.
I think the people advising the Spanish basketball team were idiots. I think the chauvinism and bigotry that goes along with racism is a product of fear and, dare I say it, ignorance. Sometimes people don't know any better and simply refuse to educate themselves. I say all this as someone who has been subjected to some abuse on this side of the pond because the way I speak tells people where I'm from. I'm sorry to say, that Americans aren't very popular outside of the U.S. these days, and haven't been for quite some time. Is that racism? I dunno, but it feels horrible when you're on the receiving end, whatever you call it.
i think people are just ignorant, disrespectful and rude.
Post a Comment