Not really.

For Halloween 2006, I had on a purple blazer, some scarfs, a headband, and an afro wig. I also wore a Fender Strat upside down as I was (fat) Jimi Hendrix. I didn't do blackface, but I never once thought it was a racist costume or a questionable idea. In fact, I figured it was paying homage to one of my musical heros.

_________________

I guess you used good judgment in not doing the black face.

I think FF is referencing people who do black face. Leash changed it from black face to just dressing up as a black person.

I have dressed as Walter Payton and Andre Dawson as a kid.

I think you just made my point for me Frank. Everyone our age should know since they were little not to do the blackface part of that costume. Kudos to you.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

In grade school all the guys in my class (all white) did a horrible Super Bowl Shuffle lip-sync for the talent show. No one went with the blackface.

RPB had a great Sweetness costume. He just carried around a big, red balloon and told everyone he was Steroid Walter.


I should have known leash would have changed his post to something completely outlandish.

_________________

wasn't university of Mo steeped in some racial crap a few years back? I feel like they were was. even the football team boycotted or some crap.

if thats the case, the university has no choice but to cut this guy loose. sorry guy, its stupid we've got to do this. everyone makes dumb mistakes when they are younger, this just happens to be one of those ones we are not ok with today.

I confessed to my boss the other day that i indeed said the N word when i was a kid singing along to rap songs and if it becomes public i apologized for any backlash the company would have to deal with as a result.

Grow a pair, Frank. RPB is trying to divide and conquer, and you're just letting him do it.

RPB - this individual dressed up as a black person. In order to look more like this specific, famous black person, he painted himself black. This is not "blackface." At worst, he is guilty of ignorance. If the guy was going to specifically try to be racist while playing dress-up, there are about a million worse things he could have done. I'm not changing the conversation to "dressing like a black person." This is literally a guy just dressing like a black person. And, yes, he probably said "yeeeaaahhhh boooyyy" like Flavor Flav does. Are you saying that is racist? Is "yeeeahh boyyy" a phrase commonly associated with African-American dialect? I wasn't aware. I thought it was just a phrase Flavor Flav used. When people speak in the voice of Morgan Freeman narrating the Shawshank Redemption, are they mocking all black people?

Lastly, there are a number of people who have no idea what blackface is, regardless of age. FF is just pretending like it was some common knowledge. I guarantee there are lots of people who are unaware of "black face." In fact, Megyn Kelly, a well-known journalist, seemed to be unaware of it. But yeah, let's fire everyone for ignorance. There'd be no jobs left.

_________________

Can we trade reparations for black face?

_________________

I’m not pretending anything. It’s without a doubt been common knowledge for decades. Is this a bit?

FYI, Kelly knew what it was but pretended not to know it was wrong.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

What year did they remove all tom and jerry cartoons? That has to be the demarcation line.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Or Droopy.

_________________

Every time this comes up I try to think back to the 80’s when I was a kid and try to think of 1) Did I know blackface (whether minstrel style or otherwise) was a no no and 2) Did I ever see it. I’m sure there were kids who went as thriller era Micheal Jackson or Walter or Jordan but for the life of me I can’t recall ever seeing anyone going with face/body paint although costumes weren’t very elaborate

The only black (or olive) face paint I can recall were kids that were Doing the commando warbosint thing.

In my memory my thought process was always it was just a line that I’d prefer to stay away from. The Ted Danson occurence was a fairly public lesson in the problems associated with it (Even if attendees laughed there was enough outrage coverage to get the point across).

i have no idea what blackface means either. Never even heard of it.

_________________

I didn't know what blackface was until I was an adult. I am sure I'm not the only one. I saw it in cartoons growing up, and it didn't even cross my mind. So it wasn't "common knowledge."

_________________

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

It was common knowledge. There’s an entire thread here dedicated to common knowledge people just discovered, so the fact that you didn’t know what it was doesn’t mean it wasn’t common knowledge.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Okay, since you say so!

_________________

It’s not me. Society says so. I don’t even see how this is an arguable point.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Why are you arguing now that this wasn't offensive though?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Unless you're bored

_________________
There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I definitely believe it now. I mean, you said it's not debatable!

_________________

Why should a reasonable adult actually be offended by this outfit?

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Anyone can find anything offensive if they'd like. Call me crazy, but I find it more disturbing that an editor for the NYT wants to exterminate white people than I do that some local cop dressed up like Flavor Flav when he was young. That's just me.

Intent also matters. If intent doesn't matter, then we can just end all discussion of everything and label everyone in the world racist and insensitive because everyone on Earth has said or done inadvertently offensive things.

_________________

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

Free Ajent and I could solve all the world's problems.

_________________

Let's not get crazy now. I'm working on solving my own problems but I seem to be creating new problems doing that.

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

Ok.

Jorr is older than us and unlike both of us actually remembers the 80’s. He posted awhile back this was known as unacceptable at that time.

I don’t know what else to tell you man.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

JORR was raised in a liberal cesspool.

_________________

Blackface should be made a felony with mandatory prison time.

Your mothers pussy should be a felony.

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused