Black people can't hold watermelons. It's offensive.
- Thread starter MMike
- Start date
J
JRB
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As big of a dumbass I am, I hate those little black figurines. Black people didn't have enough to get over without having to see a bunch of figurines that white people think are cute, for whatever reason??? Those are the people that should get over it.
Really the point isn't how racist the connotation is. Really watermelons, fried chicken and the like are losing speed and are becoming more of a negative connotation against the south rather than simply african americans.
The point is that some ass hat thought they would make a joke using a medium that they KNEW would offend people, on a test none the less. I would have had issues finishing the test I imagine.
There is a time and a place for just about everything. If you still find picanninies amusing collect them in your house, throw racial jokes out at your barbeque next weekend. But don't ****ing bring it in to a class room setting and put it in to an exam.
The point is that some ass hat thought they would make a joke using a medium that they KNEW would offend people, on a test none the less. I would have had issues finishing the test I imagine.
There is a time and a place for just about everything. If you still find picanninies amusing collect them in your house, throw racial jokes out at your barbeque next weekend. But don't ****ing bring it in to a class room setting and put it in to an exam.
That's certainly fair enough, assuming they knew what they were doing, which they probably did.laura said:
I lived in Germany for four years.
Once, I had a part time job selling Belgian Chocolate around Christmas (such a hard job).
The owner of the business was .... belgian (not like the horse).
She was telling me about their christmas traditions, one of which involved a mean little black guy who tried to take away your presents. The little black guy looked JUST LIKE Laura's last post.
I was shocked. I couldn't believe it.
And then I heard this:
David Sedaris' "Six to Eight Black Men"
While our Santa flies on a sled, Saint Nicholas arrives by boat
and then transfers to a white horse. The event is televised, and
great crowds gather at the waterfront to greet him. I'm not sure
if there's a set date, but he generally docks in late November and
spends a few weeks hanging out and asking people what they want.
"Is it just him alone?" I asked. "Or does he come with backup?"
Oscar's English was close to perfect, but he seemed thrown by a
term normally reserved for police reinforcement.
"Helpers," I said. "Does he have any elves?"
Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, but I couldn't help but feel
personally insulted when Oscar denounced the very idea as grotesque
and unrealistic. "Elves," he said. "They're just so silly."
The words silly and unrealistic were redefined when I learned that
Saint Nicholas travels with what was consistently described as "six
to eight black men." I asked several Dutch people to narrow it
down, but none of them could give me an exact number. It was always
"six to eight," which seems strange, seeing as they've had hundreds
of years to get a decent count.
The six to eight black men were characterized as personal slaves
until the mid-fifties, when the political climate changed and it
was decided that instead of being slaves they were just good
friends. I think history has proven that something usually comes
between slavery and friendship, a period of time marked not by
cookies and quiet times beside the fire but by bloodshed and
mutual hostility. They have such violence in Holland, but rather
than duking it out among themselves, Santa and his former slaves
decided to take it out on the public. In the early years, if a
child was naughty, Saint Nicholas and the six to eight black men
would beat him with what Oscar described as "the small branch of
a tree."
"A switch?"
"Yes," he said. "That's it. They'd kick him and beat him with a
switch. Then, if the youngster was really bad, they'd put him in
a sack and take him back to Spain."
"Saint Nicholas would kick you?"
"Well, not anymore," Oscar said. "Now he just pretends to kick
you."
"And the six to eight black men?"
"Them, too."
He considered this to be progressive, but in a way I think it's
almost more perverse than the original punishment. "I'm going to
hurt you, but not really." How many times have we fallen for that
line? The fake slap invariably makes contact, adding the elements
of shock and betrayal to what had previously been plain, old-
fashioned fear. What kind of Santa spends his time pretending to
kick people before stuffing them into a canvas sack? Then, of
course, you've got the six to eight former slaves who could
potentially go off at any moment. This, I think, is the greatest
difference between us and the Dutch. While a certain segment of
our population might be perfectly happy with the arrangement, if
you told the average white American that six to eight nameless
black men would be sneaking into his house in the middle of the
night, he would barricade the doors and arm himself with whatever
he could get his hands on.
Once, I had a part time job selling Belgian Chocolate around Christmas (such a hard job).
The owner of the business was .... belgian (not like the horse).
She was telling me about their christmas traditions, one of which involved a mean little black guy who tried to take away your presents. The little black guy looked JUST LIKE Laura's last post.
I was shocked. I couldn't believe it.
And then I heard this:
David Sedaris' "Six to Eight Black Men"
While our Santa flies on a sled, Saint Nicholas arrives by boat
and then transfers to a white horse. The event is televised, and
great crowds gather at the waterfront to greet him. I'm not sure
if there's a set date, but he generally docks in late November and
spends a few weeks hanging out and asking people what they want.
"Is it just him alone?" I asked. "Or does he come with backup?"
Oscar's English was close to perfect, but he seemed thrown by a
term normally reserved for police reinforcement.
"Helpers," I said. "Does he have any elves?"
Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, but I couldn't help but feel
personally insulted when Oscar denounced the very idea as grotesque
and unrealistic. "Elves," he said. "They're just so silly."
The words silly and unrealistic were redefined when I learned that
Saint Nicholas travels with what was consistently described as "six
to eight black men." I asked several Dutch people to narrow it
down, but none of them could give me an exact number. It was always
"six to eight," which seems strange, seeing as they've had hundreds
of years to get a decent count.
The six to eight black men were characterized as personal slaves
until the mid-fifties, when the political climate changed and it
was decided that instead of being slaves they were just good
friends. I think history has proven that something usually comes
between slavery and friendship, a period of time marked not by
cookies and quiet times beside the fire but by bloodshed and
mutual hostility. They have such violence in Holland, but rather
than duking it out among themselves, Santa and his former slaves
decided to take it out on the public. In the early years, if a
child was naughty, Saint Nicholas and the six to eight black men
would beat him with what Oscar described as "the small branch of
a tree."
"A switch?"
"Yes," he said. "That's it. They'd kick him and beat him with a
switch. Then, if the youngster was really bad, they'd put him in
a sack and take him back to Spain."
"Saint Nicholas would kick you?"
"Well, not anymore," Oscar said. "Now he just pretends to kick
you."
"And the six to eight black men?"
"Them, too."
He considered this to be progressive, but in a way I think it's
almost more perverse than the original punishment. "I'm going to
hurt you, but not really." How many times have we fallen for that
line? The fake slap invariably makes contact, adding the elements
of shock and betrayal to what had previously been plain, old-
fashioned fear. What kind of Santa spends his time pretending to
kick people before stuffing them into a canvas sack? Then, of
course, you've got the six to eight former slaves who could
potentially go off at any moment. This, I think, is the greatest
difference between us and the Dutch. While a certain segment of
our population might be perfectly happy with the arrangement, if
you told the average white American that six to eight nameless
black men would be sneaking into his house in the middle of the
night, he would barricade the doors and arm himself with whatever
he could get his hands on.
That's Swarte Piet (Black Peter).
I've never heard the variation where there were more than one, myself. My version growing up in Canada (with a family that was all from Holland) was sanitized though...Swarte Piet was a chimney sweep, not a black servant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
I've never heard the variation where there were more than one, myself. My version growing up in Canada (with a family that was all from Holland) was sanitized though...Swarte Piet was a chimney sweep, not a black servant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
Did I make a racist comment or are you just referring to this whole thread and it's subject matter in general?sanjuro said:
Hehe that is kind of funny. But seriously now you have to know that is asking for trouble when you write it, all you need to say is somebody threw a watermelon.
No, you see, now someone will infer from your statement that the word, "somebody," refers to a black woman. Now the word, "somebody," will always carry with it the connotation that Condoleezza is tossing a watermelon around on a rooftop. It's like that whole, "you people," which I still don't understand. (edit: sorry, I forgot the little winky on this paragraph)GumbaFish said:
For the record, I work in an office that is ~85% African American and I hear this stuff all the time. It goes both ways.
They should have said that a machine built by representatives of all races and both sexes tossed a solid chunk of a nondescript material from the top of an unnamed structure...Then you cover all of your bases!
And seriously again, whoever wrote that question is indeed a bonehead.
"A person holds a watermelon....and it should be noted that the person was most DEFINITELY NOT of the African persuasion.....Anyway, this very white person drops the watermelon off of the roof of a mosque. How long....what? What do you mean? I can't say mos.....oh well this is ridiculous....the answer is 3.7 seconds. I'm outta here..."
This is a rule for any topic you might think is offensive to other people.peter6061 said:
Frankly, not everyone spends a lot of time with different racial groups. From what I have seen, white people tend to hang out with whites, blacks the same, and Asians, etc.
I like to say offensive things, but I try to keep in the general realm of obnoxiousness, not something specific. Like using the word gay, I avoid using it because many gays find it offensive.
J
JRB
Guest
I say it, but then I feel bad sometimes. Fortunately - my brother knows what I mean, so he doesn't take offense.sanjuro said:
sanjuro said:
I'm the same way, and i don't look at it as being unreasonably PC. I just don't want to piss anyone off or make anyone uncomfortable and I hope that people in my company would show me the same courtesy. I just think that jokes that aim to piss certain groups of people off are an annoying waste of energy and air.
As for pete's "it goes both ways" comment. No **** and it sucks coming from either "direction".
I wonder if the offended parties in this story were black or white.
$5 says they were white.
$5 says they were white.
J
JRB
Guest
Nope - I am referring to my white brother. He's gay.sanjuro said:
I sometimes wonder if you are really as dumb as you seem. I can only hope not.
LordOpie - I don't think you deserve an answer.
sanjuro said:
If ever you come to Arizona give me a jingle, and we'll go for a ride. Anyway I'm only 3/4 caucasian, so you should only mildly dislike me.
Thanks, I will take you up on your offer next time I pass thru Arizona, which will be the first time for me.Reactor said:If ever you come to Arizona give me a jingle, and we'll go for a ride. Anyway I'm only 3/4 caucasian, so you should only mildly dislike me.
And don't worry about being part caucasian. Some of my best friends are white, so I know what you are going thru
Loopie that was mildly funny the first time you posted it. It got less and less so each succeeding time. Now it's just tired.
Probably true in most parts, however my friends are pretty much equally white, asian, black, european....I love Toronto. My neighbour to the left is West Indian, my neighbour to the right is Portuguese, the folks upstairs are Irish, and my girlfriend is Philipino....and I'm no different from anyone else in this city. It's beautiful.sanjuro said:
Now THERE'S something you don't hear everyday.....Ridemonkey said:
