It is no accident, as we conspiracy theorists say, that racial skins always seem to be rubbed rawest, racial slights and insults and oppressions seem to be most rampant and racial antenna most highly tuned to perceive them, on progressive campuses that have made a virtual fetish out of “diversity” and “inclusion” and “multiculturalism.”
Take Smith College. (I would say, “Please,” but I’ve overused that old Henny Youngman line.) Smith has been induced into a paroxysm of racial recrimination and liberal guilt by a relatively mild “blackface” incident at a recent “Celebrity Rehab” costume party.
NORTHAMPTON – Students and administrators at Smith College are grappling with fallout over a white couple’s decision to attend a costume party dressed in blackface.
The incident is aggravating racial tensions and has sparked a series of racially charged Internet debates that, for some, suggest the college has a problem with racial understanding that goes deeper than makeup.
On Friday night, the couple, an unidentified Smith freshman and a male friend, attended a student-sponsored “Celebrity Rehab” party at the Campus Center. The duo painted their skin black, donned Afro wigs and dressed as singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.
You can imagine the tenor of the response, even though Whitney Houston is, after all, a famous celebrity rehab.
“I was appalled. I couldn’t believe someone would do this,” said Estrella, a Smith student. “I thought I was in a whole different time zone or something.”
Presumably people who live in, say, the Central time zone of the midwest are the equivalent of aliens from another planet. In any event, the responses, like the following, reflected all intensity one would expect:
Blackface “represents a mockery of a group of people who should be respected for the fact that they are human,” said Smith student Gladys S. Pulido. “This says ‘the hell with the institution of equality.’ What this action says is that democracy means nothing. You don’t belong here and you never will.”
….
On the Daily Jolt Web site, one student said she fears she will leave Smith “hating white people” because of episodes like the party.
The institutional response was no less swift and severe. My favorite is this one:
In an email letter to the Smith community Monday, President Carol T. Christ described the couple as wearing “caricatured black clothing and accessories.”
Since my eye for contemporary fashion is no keener than it is for many other current cultural trends, perhaps in a comment someone can clue me in on exactly what “black clothing” and black “accessories” are … and how one distinguishes caricatures of them from the real thing.
It appears as though this has been, so far, a two wave crisis at Smith: the first wave was the incident itself and the immediate response to it, but the second — the ongoing campus discussion, especially on the Daily Jolt site — seems to be the more serious one.
Naomi J. Miller, director of institutional diversity at Smith College, said the comments may be more troubling than the couple who dressed in blackface because the posts give voice to a quiet racism that underlies society. The comments were made anonymously and therefore are difficult for the college to address.
“The almost more disturbing part of what has happened over the last sequence is the series of racial comments made on the Jolt in response to it,” Miller said. “Black, white, Asian, they all have the right to claim their culture and react however they feel appropriate to disturbing or racist acts.”
Jannah C. Handy, a Smith student leader among a group of her colleagues outraged by the blackface incident and resulting comments, said the backlash has aggravated racial tensions on campus.
“Basically, she (the woman in blackface) now understands her ignorance,” Handy said. “The problem is now on campus. The Daily Jolt is carrying racist remarks and the whole thing is getting misconstrued.”
….
“Smith isn’t immune to this sickness of racism, it’s in our society,” Miller said. “The racist comments made visible what happens at every college and community, the racism that lies below the surface.
“We’re going to be moving forward in a positive direction from a very challenging event,” she added.
Perhaps out of concern for the sensitivity of its readers, the article in the Amherst Bulletin from which I’ve been quoting neglected to quote any examples of these racist comments. So, naturally curious, I went looking for them, on the Smith Forum of the Daily Jolt site.
I found more comments than I have time, or the inclination, to read. Since I haven’t read nearly all of them, I’m in no position to say there are no racist comments there. But I didn’t see them. What I did see was a great deal of simmering, and sometimes boiling over, racial resentments, but I don’t think that’s the same thing as racism. (Racism, in my view, is the belief that some races are inferior to others, usually with a connotation of genetically inferior, but I’ll save going into that for another time.)
Here are some examples from a thread called “overheard@bsa” (Black Student Alliance) of what struck me as typical of the comments that I think are being mischaracterized as racist:
- WAH, WAH, WAH!!! Everyone is so poopy to us! WAH, WAH, WAH!!!
- What, they are not a bunch of whiney losers using imagined “racism” as a crutch to mask their personal inadequacies? Could have fooled me. Time to strap it on losers and get into the real world.
- Why don’t you be the first to enter the “real” world where you can’t hide behind your ridiculous remarks with a guest name? Go eat some turkey.
- At least I don’t hide behind my race like so those BSA losers do….
- Get it together people.
- Get a clue moron! The BSA has become one of the many uncle Tom type tools used in the oppression of black folk. Hey BSA! Where do you get your funding and the money for your space from? Course, you won’t answer me because you are all the kids of fat cat black bourgeoise who have never experienced oppression in your life because you were born on third base and were led to believe that in spite of “racism” you had hit a triple. You are pathetic examples of your “race”.
And from a thread on “Definition of Racism”:
- It seems that there has been a lot accusations of racism recently on the jolt. I would like people to clarify exactly how they are defining ‘racism.’
Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary defines racism as: 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
If the above definition is correct — then the student’s actions were not racist — she was not spouting a racist ideology or even making a claim to superiority as a white person. Also — she was not discriminating against anyone–perhaps she created discomfort for some students, however, I have to argue that morally she was not being racist or discriminatory (tasteless, yes. but that is another matter) . I know that many people are arguing that INTENT is not important here — but I would argue that it is of the utmost importance.
- that definition is not correct
- Here, let’s establish some things:
1.) racism (an ideology) is rooted in a belief in genetic superiority. The racism we know today originates in Europe, specifically in England and has taken on its own specificity in the US and American culture (i.e.: blackface, lynchings, 3/5 law, Ku Klux Klan, etc.)
2.) racism is delivered through a number of processes (stereotypes, policies, institutionalized discrimination etc)
3.) racism in a racist society does not need to be actively propagated by every individual of the oppressor race for it to exist and have influence or for members of the oppressor race (even those who do not believe in it) to benefit from its influence
4.) intent is subjective…it is not amoral nor is it the result of a neutral environment, the actions of which are received in a neutral environment. On the contrary, intent is highly personal and subjective, as such it cannot be considered to be a universal standard of measurement of the harm or lack of harm of its consequences in different communities and with different people….
- … what can be argued, is that the a person who may or may not believe that they hold prejudice against a certain people but still commits an act that is seen by that group as racist is a racist. even though the act was because of a lack of education, the fact that she/he “did not know better” should not be an excuse.
why didn’t this person know? was it not taught in her schools? it wasnt taught in mine either. i had the privilege of having educated parents who knew the history of this country (let me note thatthey were not born or raised here). when they could not answer the question for me, led me to a good book/movie about the subject. in this day we have wikipedia and google as a first resource, at least use them.
And from a thread on “White Privilege”
- If whites can not understand discrimination because they have never been black, how can blacks understand white privilege if they have never been white?
- How about we stop looking at color and look at the attitude behind the offense.
- Because that would reveal the offended minority students to be more racist than the original “offender.” Nobody wants THAT!
- 1.) white privilege allows you the luxury to say that you are colorblind
2.) colorblind is not a good thing, but I know a lot of white people think it is & pat themselves on the back for their progressive attitudes
3.) stating you are colorblind is just as offensive as stating you are racist…
- Why are you attacking me?
By “colorblind,” I mean that I don’t notice race. Period. And it’s not because I have the “privelege” to not, it’s that I don’t think that race is important. And why should I have to think about it? I see people as people, not their skin color. Which is the way it should be.
So please, save the drama lama for someone else. I didn’t post so I could be accused of being racist or insensitive, because I find that extremely offensive.
- No attack. Race is a phallacy (misspelled on purpose, fyi). I agree.
- You guys are basically saying that not judging people by race is a bad thing. Which is ridiculous.
You are attacking me. You don’t know what I do or do not know. I don’t ignore racism. You also have no idea why I think or feel the way I do.
My entire family is dead due to antisemitism. My entire family. This is because they were shot, burned, gassed, starved to death. I am first generation American, we just got here. So please don’t assume that I don’t know about or acknowledge racism, or appreciate what racism can lead to, or understand how serious it is, because every day, I don’t have a full family to come home to because of it.
I’m not going to post anymore.
- To those who are claiming that I have no right to an opinion on this because I am white:
This has been a long time in coming. I have wanted to write this all over the campus center, to put it in the newspaper, to tell it to anyone who bothered to listen, but did not want to incur the stigma of being “intolerant,” or come off as “overreacting.” But if an incident like this can be taken seriously to the extreme that it has, I guess anything goes.
I am not “privileged.” I am not immune to discrimination because of my skin color.
Hundreds of years ago blacks would have been slaves. Hundreds of years ago, I would’ve been dead.
Decades ago, blacks would have been facing segregation. Decades ago, I would’ve been institutionalized or shut away, if I was alive at all.
If you are too blind to see who I am, to judge my viewpoint as racist and to know where I stand, what I’ve experienced in society, based on my skin color then you are hypocritical and short-sighted.
I have heard the story of how bad people of my race were, ARE, from day one, and have been expected to accept it lest I be considered intolerant.
I have just been struggling to continue to live with present day problems, and to be allowed to be myself without people ridiculing me or trying to change me into someone, something that they’re more comfortable with but would be fundamentally another being.
When I was first in school, I was put in a program for the mentally handicapped and disturbed by virtue of who and what I was, and took years to prove to everyone else that I could function at the level, above the level of other people. Because of all that was said and done, I’m still having to prove it to myself endlessly….
There’s more, much more, and maybe there is some real racism somewhere at Smith, but I didn’t see it in these and many similar comments. What I did see was black anger and resentment against whites, and white anger and resentment against blacks. The blacks are angry, I think (but as a more or less white person there is of course no way for me to know), because they see themselves as victims of past and continuing oppression and disrespect. The whites are angry, I think (I don’t believe I understand “whites” any better than I understand blacks), because they see blacks as the beneficiaries of special, preferential treatment, their perceived victimhood deserving of coddling and compensation from people who do not feel responsible for it.
Out of this, a couple of things seem clear. If you discriminate against people, they will resent it. And if you institutionalize special, preferential treatment to some people, others will resent it. Smith and similar “progressive,” “diverse,” and “racially sensitive” institutions are reaping what they have in large part sowed.
Finally, among the things I have to be thankful for today, one of them is that I am not at Smith (nor is my daughter, though that was a closer call; Smith was a possibility at one point.)
John writes:
>>>”It is no accident, as we conspiracy theorists say, that racial skins always seem to be rubbed rawest, racial slights and insults and oppressions seem to be most rampant and racial antenna most highly tuned to perceive them, on progressive campuses that have made a virtual fetish out of “diversity” and “inclusion” and “multiculturalism.”
Take Smith College. (I would say, “Please,” but I’ve overused that old Henny Youngman line.) Smith has been induced into a paroxysm of racial recrimination and liberal guilt by a relatively mild “blackface” incident at a recent “Celebrity Rehab” costume party.”
First of all, I find it interesting that you would describe a “blackface” incident as “relatively mild”, while further down the post, you claim:
>>>”The blacks are angry, I think (but as a more or less white person there is of course no way for me to know), because they see themselves as victims of past and continuing oppression and disrespect.”
This statement begs the question as to what type of “blackface incident” would be considered MORE than “relatively mild”, since you also claim to be “more or less a white person”, outside of the position of knowing?
Also, Smith may or may not be a “progressive” campus as you call it. They are NOT alone, however, when it comes to “blackface incidents.”
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY:
http://www.wyff4.com/news/10872878/detail.html
IMAGES from the Clemson Party:
http://www.wyff4.com/video/10874410/index.html
MACALESTER COLLEGE:
http://asp.usatoday.com/community/utils/idmap/13901791.story
PENN STATE: (Those cwazy college republicans!)
http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20031207gopflap1207p5.asp
TRINITY COLLEGE:
http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=3490
The great Tim Wise tells us of even MORE…
>>>”The school year just completed saw at least fifteen such events transpire, bringing to well over thirty the number of such incidents in recent years. Among the institutions where white kids apparently think this kind of thing is funny, we have the University of Texas School of Law, Trinity College, Whitman College, Washington University, the University of Virginia, Clemson, Willamette College, Texas A&M, The University of Connecticut School of Law, Stetson University, the University of Chicago, Cornell, Swarthmore, Emory, MIT, Macalester, Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, the University of Louisville, the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, William Jewell College, Oklahoma State, Auburn, the University of California at Irvine, Syracuse, Tarleton State, Union College and the Universities of Colorado, Tennessee, Arizona, Alabama, Illinois, Delaware, and Mississippi.
Whether racist parties like this are growing more common, or whether they’re just gaining more attention thanks to websites like Facebook, MySpace, and others that allow the sharing of photo files is unclear. But in either case, the question remains: Why do so many whites engage in these kinds of activities, without giving their appropriateness a second thought?”
http://www.lipmagazine.org/~timwise/minstrelsy.html
I would direct Tim’s question to you, John. Perhaps you have some insight as to WHY there is this epidemic of “blackface incidents” on College Campuses across America?
–Cobra
I said it was mild because for a freshman girl, who had obviously not yet been initiated into the cult of political correctness, to attend a costume theme party on “Celebrity Rehabs” dressed up as Whitney Houston, a famous rehab, does in fact strike me, on its face (even on its painted black face), as mild, as no more racist than a black coming dressed up in white face as Lindsay Lohan or Betty Ford. Your recitation of other blackface incidents, some of which were in fact offensive, does nothing to change that opinion. Or perhaps you simply believe that all blackfaces look alike.
This is a complete non-issue, except for race hustlers looking to make a buck.
If a white kid wants to wear blackface, it’s nobody’s business. If some busybody wants to make it his business, then he’s looking for trouble.
Dressing up in costumes is just having a good time. If you don’t like the way some other person is having a good time, try minding your own business.
Exactly, John. I kept wondering where the “offense” was at the whole concept of a celebrity rehab party! Hey — aren’t celebrities people too? Don’t they have the same weaknesses as us? How DARE this college take advantage of and poke fun of these people!
Stephen writes:
>>>”If a white kid wants to wear blackface, it’s nobody’s business. If some busybody wants to make it his business, then he’s looking for trouble.”
Hube writes:
>>>”I kept wondering where the “offense” was at the whole concept of a celebrity rehab party! Hey — aren’t celebrities people too?”
I don’t know you two in 3-D, so I don’t know you two WELL ENOUGH to ascertain if you have any closeted “shoe polish” fetishes.
Looking at both of your blogs, it’s apparent that if you DO, you won’t upload pictures of yourself exhibiting that said closeted “shoe polish” fetish. Of course, I’m sure there are many things people do behind closed doors that people would find offensive, so I’m going to give you both the benefit of the doubt.
However, acting under the improbable assumption that you REALLY don’t know why “blackface incidents” are offensive…
>>>”Minstrel shows developed in the 1840’s, peaked after the Civil War and remained popular into the early 1900s. Minstrelsy was a product of its time, the only entertainment form born out of blind bigotry.
In these shows, white men blackened their faces with burnt cork to lampoon Negroes, performing songs and skits that sentimentalized the nightmare of slave life on Southern plantations.
Blacks were shown as naive buffoons who sang and danced the days away, gobbling “chitlins,” stealing the occasional watermelon, and expressing their inexplicable love for “ol’ massuh.”
“Blackface” and “minstrelsy” are not true synonyms. Blackface performers were around several decades before the first minstrel shows evolved.
America was crazy for blackface. To the twanging thwang of the banjo, and the clatter of tambo and bones – tambourine and bone castanets – white men smeared burnt cork on their faces to sing, waggle their legs in imitation of blacks dancing, and tell jokes in “negro” dialect. Between 1750 and 1843, over 5,000 theater and circus productions included blackface.
- David Carlyou, Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You’ve Never Heard Of (New York: Public Affairs, 2001), p. 46.”
http://www.musicals101.com/minstrel.htm
John Rosenberg, ol’ Stephen and Hube may be beyond the lifeboat range of reason on this one, but how about you? You CLAIM to support the theory of “color-blindness.” Is defending this revival of the “minstrel show” on college campuses REALLY in your best interests?
–Cobra
Cobra,
Black-face is wonderful parody! I wouldn’t have a problem if the number of incidents were in the millions per year (especially for Bobby Brown and his skank – what a hoot!).
If blacks can’t take this parody, then they need to grow up. The fact that blacks have a problem with parody of one of “their” most despicable “heroes” is THE real problem.
Whether whites engage in the wonderful comedic practice of black-face parody or not can’t change the fact that blacks commit MURDER AT A RATE THAT IS 700% GREATER THAN WHITES.
Cobra,
The black community would have more credibility is they did not fill stadiums to hear Steve Lawrence, Cedric the Entertainer, and Chappelle do “White Folks” jokes. There is not matter of mental gymnastics that will excuse the blatant bigotry and sexism that fill that standard black comedy show.
Cobra is, as usual, ever on the alert to assure there will be no unrebutted departure from orthodoxy among the commenters.
Minstrelsy has been out of fashion for well over 50 years now.
The Smith incident had nothing to do with minstrelsy; it was directed toward two celebrities who are well-known for their publicized bouts with rehab.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, this was pretty flattering to Whitney and Bobby . I guess it is Cobra’s position that whites cannot lampoon blacks, even when they deserve lampooning.
Superdestroyer writes:
>>>”The black community would have more credibility is they did not fill stadiums to hear Steve Lawrence, Cedric the Entertainer, and Chappelle do “White Folks” jokes. There is not matter of mental gymnastics that will excuse the blatant bigotry and sexism that fill that standard black comedy show.”
Come on, Supe. Is that all you’ve got on this one?
“I saw Chappelle do something, so it’s perfectly fine for white kids to paint their faces black and mock an entire race of people like the good ol’ days!”
You’ve gotta have something better than this.
YOU’RE better than this, Supe.
vnjagvet writes:
>>>”Minstrelsy has been out of fashion for well over 50 years now.”
Tell that to all these white kids on campus. Apparently minstrelsy is a popular party favorite, nowadays.
Heck, some of these white kids can’t even wait for ORGANIZED theme parties…
>>>”A group of white Louisiana college students dressed in blackface and reenacted the “Jena 6″ assault while a friend snapped photos and videotaped the staged attack, images that were later posted to a participant’s Facebook page.
The photos, which you’ll find on the following pages, were taken late last month on the bank of the Red River, where students from the University of Louisiana at Monroe giddily acted out the racial attack. The photos (and the short video clip at right) were posted to the Facebook page of Kristy Smith, a freshman nursing student.
The album of images was entitled “The Jena 6 on the River.” In the video, three students with mud smeared across their bodies stomp on a fourth student, while two of the participants are heard to say, “Jena 6.” One man can also be heard saying, “N—— put the noose on.”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1002071jena1.html
vnjagvet, Whites have been lampooning Blacks for most of recorded history. That you take umbrage that a Black guy like me actually calls the perpetrators out on it, is the REAL shock here.
I mean, what’s with some of you Discriminations posters?
Why aren’t you supporting Roger Clegg’s commandment about respecting other races?
Do you REALLY think that supporting “blackface incidents” is the BEST move for those who CLAIM to be altruistic in their “Color-blind Ameritocracy” vision-quest?
Hmmm?
Some of you folks really make me laugh.
–Cobra
Cobra,
I knew you would not try to justify the racist humor of virtually every black comedian. In the black world, it is acceptable to perform anti-women, anti-white, anti-Hispanic, anti-Asian humor. I doubt if a black comedian would consider the Holocaust as off-limits (See the Castlemont High School incident)
Cobra, your mixing your arguments here.
You were the one that condemned the white couple at Smith for appearing at a costume party with a rehab theme as two well-known celebrities of african descent who underwent publicized rehab stints.
They did not appear as minstrels. They did nothing more than impersonate Whitney and Bobby, and portrayed them as Whitney and Bobby.
They did not portray Whitney and Bobby as minstrels or clowns.
That Whitney and Bobby have had problems needing rehab had nothing to do with their race. I presume if they had come to the party as Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, River Phoenix, Eric Clapton, or other such white rehabbers, you would have no problems.
ACF writes:
>>>”Black-face is wonderful parody! I wouldn’t have a problem if the number of incidents were in the millions per year (especially for Bobby Brown and his skank – what a hoot!).”
Discriminations readers…do I have to explain THAT one to you? LOL.
ACF, congratulations. You’re now as reliable as Stephen in providing live examples for the points I try to make in here. Please, please, PLEASE keep posting.
Superdestroyer writes:
>>>”In the black world, it is acceptable to perform anti-women, anti-white, anti-Hispanic, anti-Asian humor.”
Where is this “black world?” LOL.
Supe, you’re a good guy. We disagree on almost EVERYTHING, but don’t fall into the seductive trap of trying to out “flame” some of the fire-starters who post to this blog. It’s only going to reflect poorly on you in the end.
Well, John…apparently some of your allies in the anti-affirmative action type movement not only condone “blackface incidents”, but openly ENDORSE it. I wonder how far this love affair extends up the chain of command?
Does Roger Clegg support black-face comedy?
Does Chetly Zarko believe minstrelsy should be embraced and celebrated in 2007 America?
Upon reading this thread, will Jennifer Gratz download Al Jolson’s “Mammy” for her Ipod?
Inquiring minds would love to know.
–Cobra
Cobra,
In 2007 America a white can’t even talk about race, let alone attempt to make humor about, so black-face comedy is out of the question socially.
Is it “wrong”? Given the history of black-face comedy, I believe any attempt at the traditional form would be highly insulting, and I would condemn it. On the other hand, I could imagine the use of the form to make fun of the form itself, and a number of other possibilites.
Chetly Zarko writes:
>>>”In 2007 America a white can’t even talk about race, let alone attempt to make humor about, so black-face comedy is out of the question socially.”
Sure Whites can talk about race in 2007 America. John Rosenberg is a prime example, and according to the last picture I saw of him, (posing with an adorable puppy,) he looks white.
IMHO, It’s HOW one talks about race that determines whether the talk is productive or destructive.
I would have thought “blackface incidents” would be a no-brainer, but posters on Discriminations NEVER fail to surprise me.
–Cobra