It’s been stated here over and over that dressing as a specific person who happens to be black is one thing. Posing in a photo in blackface next to a guy dressed in a KKK getup is another thing altogether, and I think it’s completely disingenuous to say that people of color who are offended by that are being “oversensitive,” “looking for a reason to be offended,” etc. The guy in question denied having anything to do with it-he didn’t mention anything that might be a mitigating factor, just completely dodged responsibility. I don’t know if that is him in the photo or not, but dressing as your idol for Halloween is NOT on par with this, so why are people trying to equate the two things?
I wonder how many of the people complaining that people being offended about blackface are losing their sense of humor, are overly PC, “just looking for a reason to be offended,” etc., are black?
@joblue said:
Agree.
“It’s been stated here over and over that dressing as a specific person who happens to be black is one thing. Posing in a photo in blackface next to a guy dressed in a KKK getup is another thing altogether, and I think it’s completely disingenuous to say that people of color who are offended by that are being “oversensitive,” “looking for a reason to be offended,” etc. The guy in question denied having anything to do with it-he didn’t mention anything that might be a mitigating factor, just completely dodged responsibility. I don’t know if that is him in the photo or not, but dressing as your idol for Halloween is NOT on par with this, so why are people trying to equate the two things?”
I think it’s that the new issue with the VA Attorney General who dressed as a specific person ( a rapper he liked) and this is being treated as the same as the Governor who clearly thought it was possible that it was him in the other picture.
I do understand that a person might not have known that it was offensive to dress as a specific person they liked and darken their face BUT this doesn’t mean that it’s “ over sensitive” to be offended by any blackface based on the horrible history surrounding it. It’s ignorance which is not the same as outright racism but it’s still something that one should understand needs to change.
@Nrdsb4 I agree that dressing as your idol is not on par with this. And the photo in question in Virginia is despicable. However, at least in our area, people are being dragged through the ringer for dressing as an idol or specific black person.
The PC culture is out of control and I think each scenario needs to be judged on its own merit but that’s not how the PC culture is working anymore. That’s why people are equating these stories.
Also, the title of this thread is simply “Blackface”
Thus all stories of blackface are being discussed.
What do you think of people dressing native Americans on Halloween? I would think that’s just as offensive. I used to see that a lot. Not recently, thank goodness.
The thread is about blackface, but the KKK outfit is just as offensive. This isn’t ONLY about blackface. Put the two together in one photo, it demonstrates a very offensive message.
Oh goodness. Lots of little girls dressed as Pocahontas when the Disney movie came out. It was not offensive. They admired a Native American Disney princess.
Lots of girls dressed as Mulan, too. Or Jasmin.
I was more shocked by the KKK costume than the blackface one. I’m sure that there were a few costumes over the years at parties I attended where white kids darkened their skins to look the part, but not in a way they intended to be offensive. But what will continue to amaze me is that politicians especially, don’t know how to do an apology. I recommend serious grovelling and if feasible some way to make amends.
On the veracity of yearbooks… our D’s high school had a multi-award-winning-yearbook-and-staff. Imagine my dismay when her sport’s pages prominently included the pictures of the 3-4 girls who had been kicked off or left the team in protest early in the fall season. The Athletic Director had the team photos retaken, but the girls were on the yearbook staff and their final &&& was to feature their own pictures on the pages.
Virginia will have to dig deep to find a replacement, not that I think he will step down. I lived in Virginia in the 80s. I don’t recall ever seeing anyone dress up in blackface and it was widely known to not do it.
I’m not into digging up 30 year old information, but the way he handled it is the problem. What else will he lie about or cover up? He’s got some major character problems to say the least. I can’t imagine how he was talking about killing a baby so calmly. Maybe we should make him comfortable while it’s decided what to do about him.
You guys are missing the point here. Posing as a blackface in 1980s is no big deal. I agree it’s not worth firing someone for something done 30 years ago. But posing with a Klansman costume guy next to you? That’s offensive even then. I am highly offended, and I am not black.
Re post #24… I don’t understand the outrage over situations like Emma Stone playing an Asian. If Asian characters have to be played by Asians, then can Andy Garcia only play Hispanic characters? Can Jodie Foster only play lesbians? Can black actors never play Hamlet? Anthony Quinn was Mexican–should he not have been allowed to play Zorba the Greek? There’s a reason it’s called “acting” --it’s always about playing a character that is not the same as the actor.
To the poster above. Imagine the outrage if Anthony Hopkins played Malcolm X in a film. Tell that to black person and see if he or she will not be offended. Why is it that I have never seen Asian American actor made up to play a white person in Hollywood movies?
Once you establish a demand that characters have to be played by actors of that “type”…you are logically going to limit actors to playing only what they are…Omar Sharif could only play Egyptians…he couldn’t play Dr. Zhivago.
It does get tricky when you restrict actors to playing only characters of their own gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity. Should we trash Hamilton because a minority cast is playing a bunch of white guys?
But…I think the real issue is that minorities have traditionally had a harder time than white actors of European descent getting cast in minority roles, and characters of unspecified race were almost unthinkingly cast with white actors. The current calls for more inclusive casting are IMO an effort to change that and bring more balance.
I don’t think someone’s entire career should be left in the dust by one or two poor choices, and I’m wary of historical revisionism, but I think it’s important to acknowledge these mistakes and to take responsibility for them. The VA AG’s response was the type I’d like to see more of as this scandal is likely to spread to others. “Yes, I did it. I was a dumb kid who did a dumb thing despite knowing it was wrong, and I’m very sorry.” A genuine apology goes a long way in my book.
maybe slightly off topic but, S’s university had a new fraternity open? last year ( a black fraternity) and during the ceremony, which the university put on social media, the pledges were all in white face. I thought it was extremely odd in this day and age.
That’s different from putting on a general Native American costume, like fringes, moccasins, feathers, etc. If they dress up as Pochahontas, Mulan, etc, they are dressing up for a character who happens to be Native American.
^ How about Joy Behar putting on blackface to dress up as a “beautiful African woman” (watch the video in the link below)? Is that ok? Also, notice the AA-looking woman on the panel with “appropriated” Nordic hair. Ain’t diversity grand?
So now the Virginia State Senate Majority Leader is outed as one of the editors of VMI’s 1968 yearbook, which contained, in addition to multiple pictures of white students in blackface, at least one use of the N-word, and other uses of racial epithets. Yeah, it was a long time ago, but “n…” was a disgusting racial slur then too. This was the last yearbook before the first black students enrolled in VMI. They must have been gutsy guys to put up with that atmosphere of casual racism.