So What Defines A “White” Person?

White or something else?

Thank God, some people get how stupid our concepts of race are. I think I was tipped to this article by the blog, Mixed American Life, and I really wish it were required reading. Here is an excerpt:

It’s been widely mentioned among a certain set on social media networks that the suspect in the Boston bombings is Chechen, and therefore, “Caucasian.” The good-natured purpose of this being to foil the usual insipid bigotry let loose in similar situations, which assumes that all terrorists are non-White, that Muslims are of a separate, lesser race, and/or that any particular terrorist act is part of some larger, epochal war of “us versus them.”

All of these racist conclusions are ridiculous, and would be easily refuted with the most basic and widely-accepted social and scientific data of contemporary times. However, stating that because the suspect is from the region of the Caucasus Mountains he “is White” is a troubling statement. Most readily, this reifies a notion of Whiteness. But additionally, this overlooks the history of the term “Caucasian,” and how the racial history of anthropology brought this term into common parlance. To a person from the United States, where “Caucasian” is a synonym for racial Whiteness, there is an etymological connection that would allow you to say this, and think you are correct. But “Whiteness” has always only ever been exactly what “White people” want it to be. What part of the world a person is from has little to no affect on whether anyone thinks s/he is actually “White”, because “White” is a social class, not a place.

“Caucasian” was first identified as a race by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in 1779, as one of five: the others being Mongolian, Malayan, Ethiopian, and American. These categories were based upon the measurement of the human skull. While he was a proponent of “Degreneration Theory,” that theorized that all humans were originally Caucasian before having their appearance change due to poor living conditions, he was able to note what is now widely known—that phenotypical differences within races are as large as those between races. In other words, in any measureable characteristic, there is as great a difference between individual Africans, and as great a difference between individual Europeans, as there is between Africans and Europeans compared.

I sincerely hope you take the time to read the rest of this excellent, not long, article that blows up our notion of what divides us. I just don’t get how people, once they are educated to these facts, can still see people in terms of race. Here is the link.

Sergio Garcia Shows His Racist Side Since He Can’t Beat Woods

He had to go there.

Good heavens, this was a stupid thing to say:

Sergio Garcia crossed a line Tuesday he never should have toed.

At the European Tour’s annual gala dinner ahead of its flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship in England, Garcia responded to a question asking if he would have dinner with Tiger Woods at next month’s U.S. Open at Merion.

His reply, according to The Guardian: “We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken.”

The comment can only be construed as racially charged, particularly if one harkens back to remarks made by Fuzzy Zoeller in 1997 after Tiger Woods won the Masters. Zoeller, the 1979 Masters winner, was asked about Woods’ record-setting performance and injected several racial undertones – not to mention some overtones – into his response.

“That little boy is driving well and he’s putting well,” Zoeller said. “He’s doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. Got it? … or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”

I just wish the racists would be creative enough to come up with something fresh, rather than bringing out the same old tired stereotypes. And don’t you just love those non-apology apologies. Here is Garcia’s:

“I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players’ Awards dinner,” Garcia said. “I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.”

“May have caused.”

Wow. Here is the full article.

Being The Only Black Around Can Often Be Hilarious

The experiences of being the only black around can sometimes be funny.

My son posted this on his Facebook page. I nearly died laughing. Brings back memories of my experiences in class too. Glad he has a sense of humor about it.

Click here for some funny stuff on life as the only black in your class.

Asian-American Fraternity Dons Blackface In Music Video

My daughter tipped me off to this craziness and I found this article on the excellent blog “Angry Asian Man”:

This is the kind of stuff that makes me shake my fist at the sky and wonder why the hell I ever bother… Over the years, I’ve seen an abundance of racist idiocy involving fraternities, from racist ragers to hate attacks. This is not necessarily a frat thing, so much as it is a dumbass-dudes-doing-dumbass-things-together thing. The latest incident comes from UC Irvine, and it involves an Asian American fraternity.

Oh yes, we Asian Americans are most certainly not immune to perpetuating our share of racist ignorance. The brothers of UCI’s Lambda Theta Delta recently posted a video (at 0:55), in which a member is seen performing inblackface. Like it ain’t no big deal. I don’t care about good or bad intentions, or why this video was made — this is some ignorant shit, and the people responsible need to know it.

Read the rest of his excellent take on this incident here.

Mixed People Monday – Colin Kaepernick

The guys is a true baller.

The star San Francisco 49ers quarterback, was adopted, but his biological mother is white and his father is black.

Brad Paisley & LL Cool J Should Not Be Punished For Trying To Bring People Together

An Obama supporter, no less.

A lot is being made of the new song made by Country star Brad Paisley and Rapper LL Cool J. The song, titled, “Accidental Racist,” is ironically being called racist by many. Paisley has already been on TV defending the song. Here is what was reported int The Hollywood Reporter:

The country star has just released a duet with rapper/actor LL Cool J, a slow crooning tune that laments how difficult it is to be a white man wearing a confederate flag on his shirt in the south. “To the man that waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main, I hope you understand,” the song begins, “When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say is I’m a Skynyrd fan/The red flag on my chest somehow is like the elephant in the corner of the south.”

From there, Paisley offers up half-apologies and mea culpas for the Civil War, slavery and the region’s history of institutional racism, intoning that he should not have to bear the consequences of the South’s brutal past.

“Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood,” he raps, “What the world is really like when you’re livin’ in the hood/Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn’t mean I’m up to no good.”

The song has caught flack from around the internet. Gawker called the song ”horrible,” and shames Paisley for his complaints about reconstruction, writing, “”Gosh, Brad, I don’t think you’re the one paying for the ‘mistake’ of buying and selling human beings, really.” Meanwhile, The Hairpin calls it “a lyrical disgrace filled with awkward non-apologies and faux-pensiveness over the history of racism in the south.”

Frankly, the line I am most surprised by is the one from LL that says “If you don’t judge my gold chains, I’ll forgive the iron chains.” As if the two types of chains are remotely equal, instead of one being a choice and the other enslavement.

But with that said, I have to say I can’t be too hard on the guys. It is very clear that their intentions were nothing but good. And they took a chance probably knowing the risk. I applaud that. Did they miss the mark with some of what they said? Absolutely. Missed it by a wide mark. But it is so obvious the guys teamed up to try to bring people together.

I applaud them for that. I don’t like all this punishment they are getting from trying to get people to look beyond our covers.

Here is the song:

So What Determines Your “Race”?

So is skin color the key to what we are now?

Good Lawd.

From Gawker:

Former Democratic strategist Karen Finney, who was once the first African-American spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, was revealed today to be the new host of a 4 p.m. weekend show on MSNBC. Good for her, and good for MSNBC, which adds Finney, pictured at left, to an already diverse roster of talking heads that includes Chris Hayes, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Al Sharpton.

Don’t mention Finney’s race to Tim Graham, however. Graham, a so-called media “watchdog” for the conservative Media Research Center, doesn’t think it’s fair for MSNBC to herald Finney’s entrance as an arrival of another African-American host—y’know, considering her skin is so light and all.

 

 

Finney has a black father and a white mother so she is actually mixed. However, much like President Obama, Finney has the right to self-identify however she chooses. What is most interesting to me though in situations like this, that show once again how silly our “race” notions are, is that the key to determining if is is ok for her to be called black (or African-American) is her lighter skin and straighter hair. But Graham has no problem labeling Obama as black (also black father and white mother) presumably because he has darker skin and less straight hair.

So I guess this is kind of an admission that what your parents are has nothing to do with your “race.” Just how you look.

Just silly. I say again people, there are no different “races,” just different blendings.

 

Not All Racists Wear Robes These Days

Sometimes people lose it and let you see the real truth about who they are.

A contractor from Plaquemine monitoring hurricane cleanup in Grand Isle was spit on and called the “N” word, and captured the entire assault on her cell phone.

“It was humiliating,” Brandi Worley told News 2. “It was just so hurtful.”

Worley said two of her other coworkers were also hit by the man, who was arrested after the incident. Grand Isle Police identified him as Josh Jambon, and said he was charged with battery.

These days sometimes the Klan types don’t wear robes.

Does Justin Timberlake Benefit From Being White In A Black Musical Style?

The latest “Blue Eyed Soul Singer.”

I just read an excellent piece that captures the strange situation of blacks liking artists like Justin Timberlake, who I, like the author of the piece, really like. I think Timberlake is a supremely talented triple threat – singing, acting and dancing. Not many can match him across all three disciplines. He is not the best at any one of them, but few can competently do them all.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is Timberlake benefits from being a White singer who borrows from Black styles which then makes it much more palatable to middle America to enjoy his style and music since a Black singer doing the same music is not always so easily accepted to the main audience of Whites.

Here is how the author of the piece I am referring to said it:

My ambivalence toward Justin is, to a large degree, a matter of aesthetics. But it’s also rooted in a very real anxiety about white artists “borrowing” black music and style then taking a break when it becomes inconvenient. Yes, Timberlake has rightfully earned his place among modern pop music legends, but he also embodies the historical mistrust that exists between white performers and black listeners that dates at least as far back as Elvis Presley’s 1950s foray into what was then called “race music.“

Timberlake is by no means in my opinion a racist nor is he purposely taking advantage of Blacks. I think he truly loves the music and it fits him. So let him do his thing. I am not trying to take that away from him or any other White singer for loving the music. Why shouldn’t they?

So I am not blaming him or a slew of others like Macklemore, Presley, Robin Thicke, Justin Beiber, you name the “blue-eyed soul singer” that we have seen. But it should not be surprising either when these singers take the Number 1 slots for their music. Again, I don’t see it as racism, just numbers. There are more white consumers. So when a White singer belts out Soul or Rap, it makes it more acceptable to many to buy it. History proves it. The Beastie Boys, talented as they were, were by no means the best rappers out there. But Number 1 they were. Eminem is also talented. But not surprisingly he outsells most Black artists, in a very Black-rooted art form. Macklemore, a White rapper, comes along with a very catchy tune, “Thrift Shop,” and rockets to the top of rap and other music. Again not surprising. Kind of like Vanilla Ice wasn’t surprising many years ago. Timberlake is just benefitting, whether he knows it or not, from being White in a style rooted in Black culture.

I watched Timberlake perform on SNL a few weeks ago and loved his performance of “Suit and Tie,” a song I love. But it was interesting to note that everyone backing him musically in his very large band, save I think for two band members, was Black. I think for someone like Timberlake, and I have seen this before, having a nearly all-Black band and back up singers, provides credibility and a coolness factor. Sort of a, “look, I’m down with these people.”

But as I said, I like Timberlake. But I do so at least knowing fully well, that part of his success is not just about his talent.

Here is the full article that sparked this post. Well worth reading. And below is Timberlake’s performance on SNL.

The Power of Good People Crossing Racial Lines

Game changed history.

This is a great video. Very moving and well worth the few minutes to watch it. Shows the power of sports and of good people who are willing to cross “racial” and ethnic lines.

See the video here.