Growing up in the UK in the 1970s I remember there was a lot of racism about, but I also recall the message that trickled down from educators was that we should ignore race, as we are all essentially the same underneath at some level, and that we should “just try and get along with each other”. That worked fine for me, for the most part, and I learned to appreciate people for who they are, as individuals, attempting to ignore any “racial” labels that were attached to them. Now, my head is in a spin, because what I was taught has been upended, and everyone is hyper-sensitised to every gender/racial/sexual facet that could possibly be perceived; it’s so divisive.
Last edited 1 year ago by William Edward Henry Appleby
If that worked fine for you, why question it now?
It worked fine for all races but that is exactly what lefties and wokies don’t want. They want conflict and chaos.
I grew up like you and I am not going to change.
I’m not questioning it, I’m sticking with it; it’s a helpful fixed point. I am tired of having to read articles like this one though (although that’s no criticism of the author).
Correct. The old left (class based, focussed on working class unity) is gone. Class is now seen as old-hat, and has been replaced by an alapbet-soup of hyped up narcissistic micro-grievances. Just as the old right (low taxing, deferential to institutions) has been replaced by revolutionary nationalism.
I’m fine with the dissident right, the old right failed us in every important way. If they had even put up half a fight for the culture we wound in this mess.
I’m fine with the dissident right, the old right failed us in every important way. If they had even put up half a fight for the culture we wound in this mess.
Correct. The old left (class based, focussed on working class unity) is gone. Class is now seen as old-hat, and has been replaced by an alapbet-soup of hyped up narcissistic micro-grievances. Just as the old right (low taxing, deferential to institutions) has been replaced by revolutionary nationalism.
I’m not questioning it, I’m sticking with it; it’s a helpful fixed point. I am tired of having to read articles like this one though (although that’s no criticism of the author).
Actually I think that you are right. When the term used was “racial prejudice” it was clear, this was pre-judging a person based upon his or her race, but “racism”? I don’t know what many mean now when they use the term.
That’s what it used to mean. Now it means ‘something you say or which can be read into something you said which might imply that the human race is not homogenous, and which I can twist to make you look like a bad person, and me look like a good person.’
That’s what it used to mean. Now it means ‘something you say or which can be read into something you said which might imply that the human race is not homogenous, and which I can twist to make you look like a bad person, and me look like a good person.’
But is has a definitive meaning in standard English: the belief that one race is superior to another or that people should be treated differently on the basis of race.
Unfortunately for reasoned discourse, that meaning doesn’t serve the interests of the Party (read Democrats on my side of the Pond, Labour on the other, Labor Down Under,…), so now in the real world version of Newspeak* it can mean (1) the same as in standard English; (2) objecting to a policy the centre-left fancies will benefit racial or ethnic minorities, even if the objection is based on a cogent argument that it will instead harm them; (3) concluding on the basis of the fact every fiqh of Islamic sharia is deeply illiberal that Europe could do with far less immigration from the Muslim world; (4) being a light-skinned person of European ancestry; or (most absurd of all) (5) advocating color-blind policies that completely ignore race (yes, seriously: I refer you to the writings of Ibrahim X. Kendi).
*In real world Newspeak, contrary to Orwell’s prediction, the meaning of words are not rationally narrowed to preclude expression of ideas contrary to the interests of the Party, instead words have their meanings expanded, with the expectation that the emotional valence attaching to the standard English meaning will apply to all the added meanings.
Actually I think that you are right. When the term used was “racial prejudice” it was clear, this was pre-judging a person based upon his or her race, but “racism”? I don’t know what many mean now when they use the term.
But is has a definitive meaning in standard English: the belief that one race is superior to another or that people should be treated differently on the basis of race.
Unfortunately for reasoned discourse, that meaning doesn’t serve the interests of the Party (read Democrats on my side of the Pond, Labour on the other, Labor Down Under,…), so now in the real world version of Newspeak* it can mean (1) the same as in standard English; (2) objecting to a policy the centre-left fancies will benefit racial or ethnic minorities, even if the objection is based on a cogent argument that it will instead harm them; (3) concluding on the basis of the fact every fiqh of Islamic sharia is deeply illiberal that Europe could do with far less immigration from the Muslim world; (4) being a light-skinned person of European ancestry; or (most absurd of all) (5) advocating color-blind policies that completely ignore race (yes, seriously: I refer you to the writings of Ibrahim X. Kendi).
*In real world Newspeak, contrary to Orwell’s prediction, the meaning of words are not rationally narrowed to preclude expression of ideas contrary to the interests of the Party, instead words have their meanings expanded, with the expectation that the emotional valence attaching to the standard English meaning will apply to all the added meanings.
100% agree mate. It’s all gone to pot. I had no idea what this article was about, but presumably there’s now something wrong with the teenage me for having once had a football card featuring Pele.
In all this cretinous, self-pitying orgy of imagined grievances and contrived cultural appropriation, the irony elephant in the room is how a white person with a black gif is a thought crime, but a man pretending to be a woman is perfectly fine.
But I guess there’s no arguing with thickos – which spring-between-the-ears-holding-head-apart is the major problem with all wokies.
Having struggled through the article (via googling what is a GIF) I too am clueless as to what it’s about.
I can’t get my head around the fact that people have so much time to waste writing about this stuff which is I assume only of interest to those intent on whipping up division where none exists.
Having struggled through the article (via googling what is a GIF) I too am clueless as to what it’s about.
I can’t get my head around the fact that people have so much time to waste writing about this stuff which is I assume only of interest to those intent on whipping up division where none exists.
If that worked fine for you, why question it now?
It worked fine for all races but that is exactly what lefties and wokies don’t want. They want conflict and chaos.
I grew up like you and I am not going to change.
100% agree mate. It’s all gone to pot. I had no idea what this article was about, but presumably there’s now something wrong with the teenage me for having once had a football card featuring Pele.
In all this cretinous, self-pitying orgy of imagined grievances and contrived cultural appropriation, the irony elephant in the room is how a white person with a black gif is a thought crime, but a man pretending to be a woman is perfectly fine.
But I guess there’s no arguing with thickos – which spring-between-the-ears-holding-head-apart is the major problem with all wokies.
WE
William Edward Henry Appleby
1 year ago
Growing up in the UK in the 1970s I remember there was a lot of racism about, but I also recall the message that trickled down from educators was that we should ignore race, as we are all essentially the same underneath at some level, and that we should “just try and get along with each other”. That worked fine for me, for the most part, and I learned to appreciate people for who they are, as individuals, attempting to ignore any “racial” labels that were attached to them. Now, my head is in a spin, because what I was taught has been upended, and everyone is hyper-sensitised to every gender/racial/sexual facet that could possibly be perceived; it’s so divisive.
Last edited 1 year ago by William Edward Henry Appleby
GH
Guy Haynes
1 year ago
The racism industry in the USA has a major problem whereby the supply falls a long way short of the demand. That is not to see that there is no supply at all, just that it’s so low that the media and politicians need to periodically invent some in order to compensate.
And the author laments the “under representation”. They are in complete control of several major cities and have taken over large swaths of our culture. Does anyone realize that black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population? Yes, 13%.
True.
To be fair, I have noticed the recent appearance of one or two adverts featuring white or mainly white actors, so perhaps the ad industry is finally emerging from its racist psychosis.
True.
To be fair, I have noticed the recent appearance of one or two adverts featuring white or mainly white actors, so perhaps the ad industry is finally emerging from its racist psychosis.
And the author laments the “under representation”. They are in complete control of several major cities and have taken over large swaths of our culture. Does anyone realize that black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population? Yes, 13%.
GH
Guy Haynes
1 year ago
The racism industry in the USA has a major problem whereby the supply falls a long way short of the demand. That is not to see that there is no supply at all, just that it’s so low that the media and politicians need to periodically invent some in order to compensate.
JE
james elliott
1 year ago
We really ought not to give this cretinous bullshit any air time at all.
JE
james elliott
1 year ago
We really ought not to give this cretinous bullshit any air time at all.
HB
Hugh Bryant
1 year ago
Do you think there are any wealthy Americans who understand just how unutterable tedious they’ve become in recent years with all this race and gender nonsense. Their lives are just too easy – that’s the problem.
Exactly – tyranny tourism. But it afflicts both what used to be the left and what used to be the right. Everyone nowadays is in a perpetual uproar about some trivia or other.
Exactly – tyranny tourism. But it afflicts both what used to be the left and what used to be the right. Everyone nowadays is in a perpetual uproar about some trivia or other.
HB
Hugh Bryant
1 year ago
Do you think there are any wealthy Americans who understand just how unutterable tedious they’ve become in recent years with all this race and gender nonsense. Their lives are just too easy – that’s the problem.
JC
Jeff Cunningham
1 year ago
I can’t believe that needed to be said, but apparently it does.
Yes, but it’s also everyone else’s problem when outrage gets translated into ideological agitprop and legislation.
Last edited 1 year ago by Paul Nathanson
DP
Daniel P
1 year ago
Outrage is entertainment.
Personally, I have just stopped caring.
Your outrage is your problem.
Julian Farrows
1 year ago
The US news media does all it can to bully black people into fearful compliance, while entertainment shows try to domesticate them by depicting them as either buffoonish caricatures or soulful strong black man/woman tropes that need to teach white people a lesson in wisdom.
Julian Farrows
1 year ago
The US news media does all it can to bully black people into fearful compliance, while entertainment shows try to domesticate them by depicting them as either buffoonish caricatures or soulful strong black man/woman tropes that need to teach white people a lesson in wisdom.
LJ
Lizzie J
1 year ago
I’m just waiting for lip fillers and butt implants for white women to be declared racist.
Close! Here and by the same author: https://staging.unherd.com/2023/01/is-it-racist-to-like-big-butts/
But, yes, OBVIOUSLY it is racist for white women to get lip fillers and butt implants. And racist for more ‘white’ features to be seen as attractive. It is appropriation and racist to admire ‘black’ features. It is appropriation and racist for white men to find black women attractive. It is racist for them not to find black women attractive.
Close! Here and by the same author: https://staging.unherd.com/2023/01/is-it-racist-to-like-big-butts/
But, yes, OBVIOUSLY it is racist for white women to get lip fillers and butt implants. And racist for more ‘white’ features to be seen as attractive. It is appropriation and racist to admire ‘black’ features. It is appropriation and racist for white men to find black women attractive. It is racist for them not to find black women attractive.
What about the overwhelming % of black women in the entertainment and media businesses who straighten their hair or bleach it blond or brown?
LJ
Lizzie J
1 year ago
I’m just waiting for lip fillers and butt implants for white women to be declared racist.
GA
Gordon Arta
1 year ago
I tried running this column through google translate. After about an hour it rolled its eyes and declared; ‘ain’t no bot got time for that!’, and turned itself off.
GA
Gordon Arta
1 year ago
I tried running this column through google translate. After about an hour it rolled its eyes and declared; ‘ain’t no bot got time for that!’, and turned itself off.
JN
Jonathan Nash
1 year ago
An article about an article in Teen Vogue. Has it come to this?
Yes, it has come to this, because ideology doesn’t stay in college classrooms. It filters out into the public square–and that includes everything from the New York Times to Disney cartoons and Teen Vogue. This article is not about the cause of racial conflict but about a symptom of it. Even that is worth taking seriously.
Yes, it has come to this, because ideology doesn’t stay in college classrooms. It filters out into the public square–and that includes everything from the New York Times to Disney cartoons and Teen Vogue. This article is not about the cause of racial conflict but about a symptom of it. Even that is worth taking seriously.
An article about an article in Teen Vogue. Has it come to this?
SJ
Sisyphus Jones
1 year ago
Has anyone asked one of these race-hustlers in what way sharing a meme of a black person is equivalent to a white person painting his face black? If there is one thing that is truly Kryptonite to radicals it is the direct question. They won’t answer it, of course. They’ll probably just call you a racist for asking, but it is edifying in its own way.
SJ
Sisyphus Jones
1 year ago
Has anyone asked one of these race-hustlers in what way sharing a meme of a black person is equivalent to a white person painting his face black? If there is one thing that is truly Kryptonite to radicals it is the direct question. They won’t answer it, of course. They’ll probably just call you a racist for asking, but it is edifying in its own way.
BG
Benjamin Greco
1 year ago
Many of the articles I read about the terrible woke left doing truly ridiculous things leave me exhausted. I didn’t know digital blackface was a thing or using reaction GIFS, and I am not better off for knowing it now.
It is true that people in the media make a living coming up with silly arguments about race and gender and it is also true that people in the media make a living decrying those arguments. It has all become boring and a distraction from the more serious problems afflicting us. We have to start ignoring them, paying attention only encourages them.
It is disheartening that our discourse is dominated by a tiny minority of pinheads and that we love to read about them like rubberneckers at a roadside pileup.
But that is the problem – these idiots are affecting how schools and public institutions operate. They can no longer just be ignored as a few cranks.
BG
Benjamin Greco
1 year ago
Many of the articles I read about the terrible woke left doing truly ridiculous things leave me exhausted. I didn’t know digital blackface was a thing or using reaction GIFS, and I am not better off for knowing it now.
It is true that people in the media make a living coming up with silly arguments about race and gender and it is also true that people in the media make a living decrying those arguments. It has all become boring and a distraction from the more serious problems afflicting us. We have to start ignoring them, paying attention only encourages them.
It is disheartening that our discourse is dominated by a tiny minority of pinheads and that we love to read about them like rubberneckers at a roadside pileup.
GT
Graham Thorpe
1 year ago
America is simply obsessed with race.
Move on.
GT
Graham Thorpe
1 year ago
America is simply obsessed with race.
Move on.
RC
Richard Craven
1 year ago
I feel a strong impulse to create some gifs using the Black & White Minstrels.
Sorry, I mean the Black & white Minstrels.
Last edited 1 year ago by Richard Craven
RC
Richard Craven
1 year ago
I feel a strong impulse to create some gifs using the Black & White Minstrels.
Sorry, I mean the Black & white Minstrels.
Last edited 1 year ago by Richard Craven
JC
John Cartledge
1 year ago
Everything is clickbait. The media shovels “man bites dog” stories because they sell newspapers.
So too, with opinion pieces.
Money is the root of much evil but not all of it. There’s much more to some problems than the age-old quest for personal wealth and power. I wouldn’t underestimate the motivating force of irrational fear and hatred, certainly not in our combustible political context with so many ideologies (allied under the banner of wokism) that make open hatred seem not only tolerable but desirable and even necessary. That’s what happens when enough people come to believe that utopian ends can justify ugly means, or at least that justice and revenge are synonymous. Many of these people are true believers, not merely greedy hypocrites.
Money is the root of much evil but not all of it. There’s much more to some problems than the age-old quest for personal wealth and power. I wouldn’t underestimate the motivating force of irrational fear and hatred, certainly not in our combustible political context with so many ideologies (allied under the banner of wokism) that make open hatred seem not only tolerable but desirable and even necessary. That’s what happens when enough people come to believe that utopian ends can justify ugly means, or at least that justice and revenge are synonymous. Many of these people are true believers, not merely greedy hypocrites.
Last edited 1 year ago by Paul Nathanson
JC
John Cartledge
1 year ago
Everything is clickbait. The media shovels “man bites dog” stories because they sell newspapers.
So too, with opinion pieces.
TA
Thor Albro
1 year ago
I couldn’t even finish this article on account of it’s irrelevance. I’m a daily consumer of social and political affairs commentary and have never heard of “digital blackface”.
I wish the high-wattage pundits on Unherd would avoid straw-man commentary like this.
Same here. I often find that I’m behind the curve on a lot of this stuff and I consider myself reasonably well informed on these issues, They do go from teh sublime to the ridiculous very quickly.
Your reply reminds me of what (anti)Democrat Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia said to Matt Taibbi during his recent congressional hearing (where she was trying to make him reveal his sourcing), and I’m paraphrasing: “You say you are a journalist and you are on this thing called Substack or something? I don’t even know what it is”.
Katt R is one of the smartest high-wattage pundits I have ever had the fortune to read on the Interwebs, her intellect cutting thru the automatically accepted bullshit of the times with a discriminative sharpness that reminds me of the long-departed and much missed Christopher Hitchens.
Same here. I often find that I’m behind the curve on a lot of this stuff and I consider myself reasonably well informed on these issues, They do go from teh sublime to the ridiculous very quickly.
Your reply reminds me of what (anti)Democrat Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia said to Matt Taibbi during his recent congressional hearing (where she was trying to make him reveal his sourcing), and I’m paraphrasing: “You say you are a journalist and you are on this thing called Substack or something? I don’t even know what it is”.
Katt R is one of the smartest high-wattage pundits I have ever had the fortune to read on the Interwebs, her intellect cutting thru the automatically accepted bullshit of the times with a discriminative sharpness that reminds me of the long-departed and much missed Christopher Hitchens.
TA
Thor Albro
1 year ago
I couldn’t even finish this article on account of it’s irrelevance. I’m a daily consumer of social and political affairs commentary and have never heard of “digital blackface”.
I wish the high-wattage pundits on Unherd would avoid straw-man commentary like this.
NS
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Zzzzzzzzz… can someone set my alarm please?
NS
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago
Zzzzzzzzz… can someone set my alarm please?
RB
Robert Bethard
1 year ago
guess I can no longer enjoy the intro to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
dammit
guess I can no longer enjoy the intro to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
dammit
MS
Matt Sylvestre
1 year ago
Rosenfield takes no prisoners here as none should be taken. I admire her direct un-yielding good sense…
Perhaps now that Ms. Rosenfield has laid this down the best next step is for all people of good will to simply ignore these divisive attention seeking fools and live life (and use memes) like these clowns don’t exist…
MS
Matt Sylvestre
1 year ago
Rosenfield takes no prisoners here as none should be taken. I admire her direct un-yielding good sense…
Perhaps now that Ms. Rosenfield has laid this down the best next step is for all people of good will to simply ignore these divisive attention seeking fools and live life (and use memes) like these clowns don’t exist…
AH
Alan Hawkes
1 year ago
What would these people have made of Bix Beiderbecke if he were alive now?
AH
Alan Hawkes
1 year ago
What would these people have made of Bix Beiderbecke if he were alive now?
DM
Dr. G Marzanna
1 year ago
Lol “ An influencer goes viral for urging white moviegoers to stay away from the new Black Panther movie” good news, it worked! I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to.
Ditto Lizzo and Kanye
It’s going to be hard to give up jazz though.
DM
Dr. G Marzanna
1 year ago
Lol “ An influencer goes viral for urging white moviegoers to stay away from the new Black Panther movie” good news, it worked! I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to.
Ditto Lizzo and Kanye
It’s going to be hard to give up jazz though.
MT
Mr Tyler
1 year ago
I started reading this article just to get what the point of it was, but by the fourth paragraph I still hadn’t got it, so I gave up.
MT
Mr Tyler
1 year ago
I started reading this article just to get what the point of it was, but by the fourth paragraph I still hadn’t got it, so I gave up.
FD
Frederick Dixon
1 year ago
Don’t give a damn whether or not white people using these stupid “memes” is “racist”, but I do know that any white person imitating black ways (“blackface”) is nothing more nor less than a “wh*gger” and therefore beneath contempt.
you would be referring to woke authoritarian hero Justin Trudeaux
MO
mike otter
1 year ago
I always thought the lefties tried to set black against white for the same reason they try to set rich against poor or young against old etc etc – they believe their perverse Utopia can only be birthed in blood. However its becoming apparent that there is more to it. They genuinely hate people who are not white and are happy to use them as pawns in their game because they view other races and classes as inferior to them. So if white wealthy lefties are so superior how come they can’t persuade anyone to vote for their utopia? How come nearly every time they try the bullet instead of the ballot box they lose too. Their few military victories in 50s Cuba and NK and 70s Ethiopia resulted in starvation and mass exodus of anyone who able to escape. Time to call them out for what they are and set up Nuremburg type trials for the leaders – politicians and media/entertainment sector puppets alike.
Last edited 1 year ago by mike otter
MO
mike otter
1 year ago
I always thought the lefties tried to set black against white for the same reason they try to set rich against poor or young against old etc etc – they believe their perverse Utopia can only be birthed in blood. However its becoming apparent that there is more to it. They genuinely hate people who are not white and are happy to use them as pawns in their game because they view other races and classes as inferior to them. So if white wealthy lefties are so superior how come they can’t persuade anyone to vote for their utopia? How come nearly every time they try the bullet instead of the ballot box they lose too. Their few military victories in 50s Cuba and NK and 70s Ethiopia resulted in starvation and mass exodus of anyone who able to escape. Time to call them out for what they are and set up Nuremburg type trials for the leaders – politicians and media/entertainment sector puppets alike.
Last edited 1 year ago by mike otter
KM
Kelly Madden
1 year ago
God knows we still have a long way to go in these United States to repent of our racist ways, and I wonder if the black community collectively suffers from PTSD as a result of past and present wrongs done to them.
But it’s worth considering: Barack Obama is the child of an African immigrant, not African American, and that probably made the difference.
KM
Kelly Madden
1 year ago
God knows we still have a long way to go in these United States to repent of our racist ways, and I wonder if the black community collectively suffers from PTSD as a result of past and present wrongs done to them.
But it’s worth considering: Barack Obama is the child of an African immigrant, not African American, and that probably made the difference.
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Growing up in the UK in the 1970s I remember there was a lot of racism about, but I also recall the message that trickled down from educators was that we should ignore race, as we are all essentially the same underneath at some level, and that we should “just try and get along with each other”. That worked fine for me, for the most part, and I learned to appreciate people for who they are, as individuals, attempting to ignore any “racial” labels that were attached to them. Now, my head is in a spin, because what I was taught has been upended, and everyone is hyper-sensitised to every gender/racial/sexual facet that could possibly be perceived; it’s so divisive.
If that worked fine for you, why question it now?
It worked fine for all races but that is exactly what lefties and wokies don’t want. They want conflict and chaos.
I grew up like you and I am not going to change.
I’m not questioning it, I’m sticking with it; it’s a helpful fixed point. I am tired of having to read articles like this one though (although that’s no criticism of the author).
Well said!
Not lefties, just wokies.
Correct. The old left (class based, focussed on working class unity) is gone. Class is now seen as old-hat, and has been replaced by an alapbet-soup of hyped up narcissistic micro-grievances. Just as the old right (low taxing, deferential to institutions) has been replaced by revolutionary nationalism.
I’m fine with the dissident right, the old right failed us in every important way. If they had even put up half a fight for the culture we wound in this mess.
I’m fine with the dissident right, the old right failed us in every important way. If they had even put up half a fight for the culture we wound in this mess.
Correct. The old left (class based, focussed on working class unity) is gone. Class is now seen as old-hat, and has been replaced by an alapbet-soup of hyped up narcissistic micro-grievances. Just as the old right (low taxing, deferential to institutions) has been replaced by revolutionary nationalism.
I’m not questioning it, I’m sticking with it; it’s a helpful fixed point. I am tired of having to read articles like this one though (although that’s no criticism of the author).
Well said!
Not lefties, just wokies.
WHAT is racism? How can people keep on using this word that has NO definitive meaning?
Actually I think that you are right. When the term used was “racial prejudice” it was clear, this was pre-judging a person based upon his or her race, but “racism”? I don’t know what many mean now when they use the term.
I see them as synonymous. Others may disagree. But I think we agree.
They don’t know, and they don’t care. They hear a buzz word, and they react like Pavlov’s dog.
I see them as synonymous. Others may disagree. But I think we agree.
They don’t know, and they don’t care. They hear a buzz word, and they react like Pavlov’s dog.
Evaluating and treating people based on their race.
That’s what it used to mean. Now it means ‘something you say or which can be read into something you said which might imply that the human race is not homogenous, and which I can twist to make you look like a bad person, and me look like a good person.’
I think its new meaning is “being white”.
I think its new meaning is “being white”.
That’s what it used to mean. Now it means ‘something you say or which can be read into something you said which might imply that the human race is not homogenous, and which I can twist to make you look like a bad person, and me look like a good person.’
But is has a definitive meaning in standard English: the belief that one race is superior to another or that people should be treated differently on the basis of race.
Unfortunately for reasoned discourse, that meaning doesn’t serve the interests of the Party (read Democrats on my side of the Pond, Labour on the other, Labor Down Under,…), so now in the real world version of Newspeak* it can mean (1) the same as in standard English; (2) objecting to a policy the centre-left fancies will benefit racial or ethnic minorities, even if the objection is based on a cogent argument that it will instead harm them; (3) concluding on the basis of the fact every fiqh of Islamic sharia is deeply illiberal that Europe could do with far less immigration from the Muslim world; (4) being a light-skinned person of European ancestry; or (most absurd of all) (5) advocating color-blind policies that completely ignore race (yes, seriously: I refer you to the writings of Ibrahim X. Kendi).
*In real world Newspeak, contrary to Orwell’s prediction, the meaning of words are not rationally narrowed to preclude expression of ideas contrary to the interests of the Party, instead words have their meanings expanded, with the expectation that the emotional valence attaching to the standard English meaning will apply to all the added meanings.
Actually I think that you are right. When the term used was “racial prejudice” it was clear, this was pre-judging a person based upon his or her race, but “racism”? I don’t know what many mean now when they use the term.
Evaluating and treating people based on their race.
But is has a definitive meaning in standard English: the belief that one race is superior to another or that people should be treated differently on the basis of race.
Unfortunately for reasoned discourse, that meaning doesn’t serve the interests of the Party (read Democrats on my side of the Pond, Labour on the other, Labor Down Under,…), so now in the real world version of Newspeak* it can mean (1) the same as in standard English; (2) objecting to a policy the centre-left fancies will benefit racial or ethnic minorities, even if the objection is based on a cogent argument that it will instead harm them; (3) concluding on the basis of the fact every fiqh of Islamic sharia is deeply illiberal that Europe could do with far less immigration from the Muslim world; (4) being a light-skinned person of European ancestry; or (most absurd of all) (5) advocating color-blind policies that completely ignore race (yes, seriously: I refer you to the writings of Ibrahim X. Kendi).
*In real world Newspeak, contrary to Orwell’s prediction, the meaning of words are not rationally narrowed to preclude expression of ideas contrary to the interests of the Party, instead words have their meanings expanded, with the expectation that the emotional valence attaching to the standard English meaning will apply to all the added meanings.
100% agree mate. It’s all gone to pot. I had no idea what this article was about, but presumably there’s now something wrong with the teenage me for having once had a football card featuring Pele.
In all this cretinous, self-pitying orgy of imagined grievances and contrived cultural appropriation, the irony elephant in the room is how a white person with a black gif is a thought crime, but a man pretending to be a woman is perfectly fine.
But I guess there’s no arguing with thickos – which spring-between-the-ears-holding-head-apart is the major problem with all wokies.
Having struggled through the article (via googling what is a GIF) I too am clueless as to what it’s about.
I can’t get my head around the fact that people have so much time to waste writing about this stuff which is I assume only of interest to those intent on whipping up division where none exists.
Having struggled through the article (via googling what is a GIF) I too am clueless as to what it’s about.
I can’t get my head around the fact that people have so much time to waste writing about this stuff which is I assume only of interest to those intent on whipping up division where none exists.
If that worked fine for you, why question it now?
It worked fine for all races but that is exactly what lefties and wokies don’t want. They want conflict and chaos.
I grew up like you and I am not going to change.
WHAT is racism? How can people keep on using this word that has NO definitive meaning?
100% agree mate. It’s all gone to pot. I had no idea what this article was about, but presumably there’s now something wrong with the teenage me for having once had a football card featuring Pele.
In all this cretinous, self-pitying orgy of imagined grievances and contrived cultural appropriation, the irony elephant in the room is how a white person with a black gif is a thought crime, but a man pretending to be a woman is perfectly fine.
But I guess there’s no arguing with thickos – which spring-between-the-ears-holding-head-apart is the major problem with all wokies.
Growing up in the UK in the 1970s I remember there was a lot of racism about, but I also recall the message that trickled down from educators was that we should ignore race, as we are all essentially the same underneath at some level, and that we should “just try and get along with each other”. That worked fine for me, for the most part, and I learned to appreciate people for who they are, as individuals, attempting to ignore any “racial” labels that were attached to them. Now, my head is in a spin, because what I was taught has been upended, and everyone is hyper-sensitised to every gender/racial/sexual facet that could possibly be perceived; it’s so divisive.
The racism industry in the USA has a major problem whereby the supply falls a long way short of the demand. That is not to see that there is no supply at all, just that it’s so low that the media and politicians need to periodically invent some in order to compensate.
And the author laments the “under representation”. They are in complete control of several major cities and have taken over large swaths of our culture. Does anyone realize that black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population? Yes, 13%.
Judging by UK adverts, the UK population is about 80% black.
And almost all couples are mixed race!
True.
To be fair, I have noticed the recent appearance of one or two adverts featuring white or mainly white actors, so perhaps the ad industry is finally emerging from its racist psychosis.
True.
To be fair, I have noticed the recent appearance of one or two adverts featuring white or mainly white actors, so perhaps the ad industry is finally emerging from its racist psychosis.
And almost all couples are mixed race!
Judging by UK adverts, the UK population is about 80% black.
And the author laments the “under representation”. They are in complete control of several major cities and have taken over large swaths of our culture. Does anyone realize that black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population? Yes, 13%.
The racism industry in the USA has a major problem whereby the supply falls a long way short of the demand. That is not to see that there is no supply at all, just that it’s so low that the media and politicians need to periodically invent some in order to compensate.
We really ought not to give this cretinous bullshit any air time at all.
We really ought not to give this cretinous bullshit any air time at all.
Do you think there are any wealthy Americans who understand just how unutterable tedious they’ve become in recent years with all this race and gender nonsense. Their lives are just too easy – that’s the problem.
Once we put this race and gender nonsense behind us, we can devote more time to the all-important issue of deciding our personal pronouns.
Exactly – tyranny tourism. But it afflicts both what used to be the left and what used to be the right. Everyone nowadays is in a perpetual uproar about some trivia or other.
Once we put this race and gender nonsense behind us, we can devote more time to the all-important issue of deciding our personal pronouns.
Exactly – tyranny tourism. But it afflicts both what used to be the left and what used to be the right. Everyone nowadays is in a perpetual uproar about some trivia or other.
Do you think there are any wealthy Americans who understand just how unutterable tedious they’ve become in recent years with all this race and gender nonsense. Their lives are just too easy – that’s the problem.
I can’t believe that needed to be said, but apparently it does.
Jokes are already being made: https://babylonbee.com/news/man-who-shared-trump-meme-accused-of-digital-orangeface
I can’t believe that needed to be said, but apparently it does.
Jokes are already being made: https://babylonbee.com/news/man-who-shared-trump-meme-accused-of-digital-orangeface
Outrage is entertainment.
Personally, I have just stopped caring.
Your outrage is your problem.
Yes, but it’s also everyone else’s problem when outrage gets translated into ideological agitprop and legislation.
Yes, but it’s also everyone else’s problem when outrage gets translated into ideological agitprop and legislation.
Outrage is entertainment.
Personally, I have just stopped caring.
Your outrage is your problem.
The US news media does all it can to bully black people into fearful compliance, while entertainment shows try to domesticate them by depicting them as either buffoonish caricatures or soulful strong black man/woman tropes that need to teach white people a lesson in wisdom.
The US news media does all it can to bully black people into fearful compliance, while entertainment shows try to domesticate them by depicting them as either buffoonish caricatures or soulful strong black man/woman tropes that need to teach white people a lesson in wisdom.
I’m just waiting for lip fillers and butt implants for white women to be declared racist.
Close! Here and by the same author:
https://staging.unherd.com/2023/01/is-it-racist-to-like-big-butts/
But, yes, OBVIOUSLY it is racist for white women to get lip fillers and butt implants. And racist for more ‘white’ features to be seen as attractive. It is appropriation and racist to admire ‘black’ features. It is appropriation and racist for white men to find black women attractive. It is racist for them not to find black women attractive.
As I observed above, one of the definitions of “racist” in real-world-Newspeak is “light-skinned person of European ancestry.”
As I observed above, one of the definitions of “racist” in real-world-Newspeak is “light-skinned person of European ancestry.”
What about the overwhelming % of black women in the entertainment and media businesses who straighten their hair or bleach it blond or brown?
Or tomato red.
Or tomato red.
Close! Here and by the same author:
https://staging.unherd.com/2023/01/is-it-racist-to-like-big-butts/
But, yes, OBVIOUSLY it is racist for white women to get lip fillers and butt implants. And racist for more ‘white’ features to be seen as attractive. It is appropriation and racist to admire ‘black’ features. It is appropriation and racist for white men to find black women attractive. It is racist for them not to find black women attractive.
What about the overwhelming % of black women in the entertainment and media businesses who straighten their hair or bleach it blond or brown?
I’m just waiting for lip fillers and butt implants for white women to be declared racist.
I tried running this column through google translate. After about an hour it rolled its eyes and declared; ‘ain’t no bot got time for that!’, and turned itself off.
I tried running this column through google translate. After about an hour it rolled its eyes and declared; ‘ain’t no bot got time for that!’, and turned itself off.
An article about an article in Teen Vogue. Has it come to this?
Yes, it has come to this, because ideology doesn’t stay in college classrooms. It filters out into the public square–and that includes everything from the New York Times to Disney cartoons and Teen Vogue. This article is not about the cause of racial conflict but about a symptom of it. Even that is worth taking seriously.
A telltale sign of the Idiocracy.
Yes, it has come to this, because ideology doesn’t stay in college classrooms. It filters out into the public square–and that includes everything from the New York Times to Disney cartoons and Teen Vogue. This article is not about the cause of racial conflict but about a symptom of it. Even that is worth taking seriously.
A telltale sign of the Idiocracy.
An article about an article in Teen Vogue. Has it come to this?
Has anyone asked one of these race-hustlers in what way sharing a meme of a black person is equivalent to a white person painting his face black? If there is one thing that is truly Kryptonite to radicals it is the direct question. They won’t answer it, of course. They’ll probably just call you a racist for asking, but it is edifying in its own way.
Has anyone asked one of these race-hustlers in what way sharing a meme of a black person is equivalent to a white person painting his face black? If there is one thing that is truly Kryptonite to radicals it is the direct question. They won’t answer it, of course. They’ll probably just call you a racist for asking, but it is edifying in its own way.
Many of the articles I read about the terrible woke left doing truly ridiculous things leave me exhausted. I didn’t know digital blackface was a thing or using reaction GIFS, and I am not better off for knowing it now.
It is true that people in the media make a living coming up with silly arguments about race and gender and it is also true that people in the media make a living decrying those arguments. It has all become boring and a distraction from the more serious problems afflicting us. We have to start ignoring them, paying attention only encourages them.
It is disheartening that our discourse is dominated by a tiny minority of pinheads and that we love to read about them like rubberneckers at a roadside pileup.
But that is the problem – these idiots are affecting how schools and public institutions operate. They can no longer just be ignored as a few cranks.
But that is the problem – these idiots are affecting how schools and public institutions operate. They can no longer just be ignored as a few cranks.
Many of the articles I read about the terrible woke left doing truly ridiculous things leave me exhausted. I didn’t know digital blackface was a thing or using reaction GIFS, and I am not better off for knowing it now.
It is true that people in the media make a living coming up with silly arguments about race and gender and it is also true that people in the media make a living decrying those arguments. It has all become boring and a distraction from the more serious problems afflicting us. We have to start ignoring them, paying attention only encourages them.
It is disheartening that our discourse is dominated by a tiny minority of pinheads and that we love to read about them like rubberneckers at a roadside pileup.
America is simply obsessed with race.
Move on.
America is simply obsessed with race.
Move on.
I feel a strong impulse to create some gifs using the Black & White Minstrels.
Sorry, I mean the Black & white Minstrels.
I feel a strong impulse to create some gifs using the Black & White Minstrels.
Sorry, I mean the Black & white Minstrels.
Everything is clickbait. The media shovels “man bites dog” stories because they sell newspapers.
So too, with opinion pieces.
Money is the root of much evil but not all of it. There’s much more to some problems than the age-old quest for personal wealth and power. I wouldn’t underestimate the motivating force of irrational fear and hatred, certainly not in our combustible political context with so many ideologies (allied under the banner of wokism) that make open hatred seem not only tolerable but desirable and even necessary. That’s what happens when enough people come to believe that utopian ends can justify ugly means, or at least that justice and revenge are synonymous. Many of these people are true believers, not merely greedy hypocrites.
Money is the root of much evil but not all of it. There’s much more to some problems than the age-old quest for personal wealth and power. I wouldn’t underestimate the motivating force of irrational fear and hatred, certainly not in our combustible political context with so many ideologies (allied under the banner of wokism) that make open hatred seem not only tolerable but desirable and even necessary. That’s what happens when enough people come to believe that utopian ends can justify ugly means, or at least that justice and revenge are synonymous. Many of these people are true believers, not merely greedy hypocrites.
Everything is clickbait. The media shovels “man bites dog” stories because they sell newspapers.
So too, with opinion pieces.
I couldn’t even finish this article on account of it’s irrelevance. I’m a daily consumer of social and political affairs commentary and have never heard of “digital blackface”.
I wish the high-wattage pundits on Unherd would avoid straw-man commentary like this.
Same here. I often find that I’m behind the curve on a lot of this stuff and I consider myself reasonably well informed on these issues, They do go from teh sublime to the ridiculous very quickly.
*teh rediculous
*teh rediculous
Your reply reminds me of what (anti)Democrat Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia said to Matt Taibbi during his recent congressional hearing (where she was trying to make him reveal his sourcing), and I’m paraphrasing: “You say you are a journalist and you are on this thing called Substack or something? I don’t even know what it is”.
Katt R is one of the smartest high-wattage pundits I have ever had the fortune to read on the Interwebs, her intellect cutting thru the automatically accepted bullshit of the times with a discriminative sharpness that reminds me of the long-departed and much missed Christopher Hitchens.
Same here. I often find that I’m behind the curve on a lot of this stuff and I consider myself reasonably well informed on these issues, They do go from teh sublime to the ridiculous very quickly.
Your reply reminds me of what (anti)Democrat Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia said to Matt Taibbi during his recent congressional hearing (where she was trying to make him reveal his sourcing), and I’m paraphrasing: “You say you are a journalist and you are on this thing called Substack or something? I don’t even know what it is”.
Katt R is one of the smartest high-wattage pundits I have ever had the fortune to read on the Interwebs, her intellect cutting thru the automatically accepted bullshit of the times with a discriminative sharpness that reminds me of the long-departed and much missed Christopher Hitchens.
I couldn’t even finish this article on account of it’s irrelevance. I’m a daily consumer of social and political affairs commentary and have never heard of “digital blackface”.
I wish the high-wattage pundits on Unherd would avoid straw-man commentary like this.
Zzzzzzzzz… can someone set my alarm please?
Zzzzzzzzz… can someone set my alarm please?
guess I can no longer enjoy the intro to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
dammit
“it’s a miracle!!”
https://youtu.be/LIdFa1qLgNQ
“it’s a miracle!!”
https://youtu.be/LIdFa1qLgNQ
guess I can no longer enjoy the intro to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
dammit
Rosenfield takes no prisoners here as none should be taken. I admire her direct un-yielding good sense…
Perhaps now that Ms. Rosenfield has laid this down the best next step is for all people of good will to simply ignore these divisive attention seeking fools and live life (and use memes) like these clowns don’t exist…
Rosenfield takes no prisoners here as none should be taken. I admire her direct un-yielding good sense…
Perhaps now that Ms. Rosenfield has laid this down the best next step is for all people of good will to simply ignore these divisive attention seeking fools and live life (and use memes) like these clowns don’t exist…
What would these people have made of Bix Beiderbecke if he were alive now?
What would these people have made of Bix Beiderbecke if he were alive now?
Lol “ An influencer goes viral for urging white moviegoers to stay away from the new Black Panther movie” good news, it worked! I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to.
Ditto Lizzo and Kanye
It’s going to be hard to give up jazz though.
Lol “ An influencer goes viral for urging white moviegoers to stay away from the new Black Panther movie” good news, it worked! I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to.
Ditto Lizzo and Kanye
It’s going to be hard to give up jazz though.
I started reading this article just to get what the point of it was, but by the fourth paragraph I still hadn’t got it, so I gave up.
I started reading this article just to get what the point of it was, but by the fourth paragraph I still hadn’t got it, so I gave up.
Don’t give a damn whether or not white people using these stupid “memes” is “racist”, but I do know that any white person imitating black ways (“blackface”) is nothing more nor less than a “wh*gger” and therefore beneath contempt.
you would be referring to woke authoritarian hero Justin Trudeaux
I always thought the lefties tried to set black against white for the same reason they try to set rich against poor or young against old etc etc – they believe their perverse Utopia can only be birthed in blood. However its becoming apparent that there is more to it. They genuinely hate people who are not white and are happy to use them as pawns in their game because they view other races and classes as inferior to them. So if white wealthy lefties are so superior how come they can’t persuade anyone to vote for their utopia? How come nearly every time they try the bullet instead of the ballot box they lose too. Their few military victories in 50s Cuba and NK and 70s Ethiopia resulted in starvation and mass exodus of anyone who able to escape. Time to call them out for what they are and set up Nuremburg type trials for the leaders – politicians and media/entertainment sector puppets alike.
I always thought the lefties tried to set black against white for the same reason they try to set rich against poor or young against old etc etc – they believe their perverse Utopia can only be birthed in blood. However its becoming apparent that there is more to it. They genuinely hate people who are not white and are happy to use them as pawns in their game because they view other races and classes as inferior to them. So if white wealthy lefties are so superior how come they can’t persuade anyone to vote for their utopia? How come nearly every time they try the bullet instead of the ballot box they lose too. Their few military victories in 50s Cuba and NK and 70s Ethiopia resulted in starvation and mass exodus of anyone who able to escape. Time to call them out for what they are and set up Nuremburg type trials for the leaders – politicians and media/entertainment sector puppets alike.
God knows we still have a long way to go in these United States to repent of our racist ways, and I wonder if the black community collectively suffers from PTSD as a result of past and present wrongs done to them.
But it’s worth considering: Barack Obama is the child of an African immigrant, not African American, and that probably made the difference.
God knows we still have a long way to go in these United States to repent of our racist ways, and I wonder if the black community collectively suffers from PTSD as a result of past and present wrongs done to them.
But it’s worth considering: Barack Obama is the child of an African immigrant, not African American, and that probably made the difference.