OT: Racist field trip video

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No the subject matter is not funny. However, his delivery of the story is, very much so. Comedy has a history of shining a light on injustice, while making you laugh all at once.

I thought the story was hilarious. I'm an abuse and trauma survivor and humor is very much used to soothe pain as well as shine a light on injustice. It doesn't make the topic any less serious and it isn't demeaning. I thought the guy's use of the work "niglet" was especially funny - it conveys perfectly the sense of idiocy of that trip.

I'm curious, though, how do people know the audience was white? Yeah, I saw the white guy on the couch but there clearly were a lot of other people listening to his story. We hear their laughter. Why are you assuming everyone is white?

Not the pp you're responding to, but as for how I knew the guy was speaking to an all-white audience: I had a feeling that was later confirmed when a poster in the thread posted two more videos of the guy, one of which shows everyone in the room with him is white.

[Anonymous]

The black guy in this post is a token nigger. He should be ashamed for acting like the clown they expected him to be. I'm also not okay with him using the word "niglet" to his white audience. His tap dancing is not amusing.

It seems a black man is expected to either be a fool or an angry criminal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The black guy in this post is a token nigger. He should be ashamed for acting like the clown they expected him to be. I'm also not okay with him using the word "niglet" to his white audience. His tap dancing is not amusing.

It seems a black man is expected to either be a fool or an angry criminal.

In the follow up video he said he asked the poster to take the video down because he is concerned about his career. Maybe it is important to be an oreo as it is to be a banana in corporate America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The black guy in this post is a token nigger. He should be ashamed for acting like the clown they expected him to be. I'm also not okay with him using the word "niglet" to his white audience. His tap dancing is not amusing.

It seems a black man is expected to either be a fool or an angry criminal.

Although I think the story told by the man in the OP was amusing because of the total ignorance of the organizers of the field trip and I don't feel quite as strongly about it as you do, I get your point. I do, however, agree that his use of the term "niglet" was disgusting and, given the audience, elicited laughs of the "at, not with" variety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AA posters, what do you think about the term nigglet (as per the video)?

Don't like it, find it disgusting and offensive, and I am especially bothered he chose to use it in a story told to a white audience.

Before anyone jumps on me for my last comment re: white audience, there are plenty of groups who find historically derogatory terms even more offensive when used outside the group. Women- bitch, gays/lesbians- fag/dyke, and so on.

I have plenty of black friends (teachers) who tell their children and students NOT to use nigger, as it's completely offensive within and outside of the racial circle. And you'll hear younger black kids refer to it as a term of endearment.

So who's to blame for this video? Are you blaming the young man for making fun of this incident? the whites who initiated it? the whites who are laughing at it? whom exactly? b/c it IS the young man who decided to post the Youtube clip . . .

A friend of his posted it to YouTube, actually, and he asked her to remove it.

Yes, of course there are black people who are against anyone saying nigger (I'm in this camp) and those who think its fine to use in-group and those who use it outside of the group. Just like there are gay people who have reclaimed terms like queer and dyke, gay people who are against using those terms, and gay people who are only fine with other gay people saying it.

Re: the bolded, can you clarify where I blamed anyone for anything? I can't answer your questions until I understand what your meaning is, because I didn't mention blame in my original post.

There's still a blame game going on, despite who posted it and who asked for it to be removed.

I'm sure he knew he was being taped. He had an audience. So he played it up.

If you're appalled at this video, then he's partially to blame, too, right?

What I'm asking is to whom is this anger over the video directed? Most white PPs aren't angry; they think his sense of humor actually helps to get across a major point. Black PPs, however (most), find the entire story offensive - from the actual trip to the taping to the posting to the "reviews."

So who's to blame for causing this uproar? Are you upset over the whites' reactions? over the fact that some blacks also think it's funny?

It happened. The school was stupid to allow such an event to take place (And who knows if we have all the info either?). The young man used his humor to get back at the school/teacher. He drew in quite a few "fans" who were also offended by it.

So are you upset that people are making fun of this matter? What do you expect? He's a kid. That was his coping mechanism, and it worked quite well, IMO.

But yes, deep down inside there's anger on these posts and there's a blame game going on. So you tell me how you really feel and how you would have handled the situation had you been his mother, the boy himself or the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I'm asking is to whom is this anger over the video directed? Most white PPs aren't angry; they think his sense of humor actually helps to get across a major point. Black PPs, however (most), find the entire story offensive - from the actual trip to the taping to the posting to the "reviews."

So who's to blame for causing this uproar? Are you upset over the whites' reactions? over the fact that some blacks also think it's funny?

It happened. The school was stupid to allow such an event to take place (And who knows if we have all the info either?). The young man used his humor to get back at the school/teacher. He drew in quite a few "fans" who were also offended by it.

It seems there's only one acceptable way for people from a historically oppressed group to retell of their experiences. No humor allowed - at least nothing white people find funny. What about mixed race people is it okay for them to laugh? Whose rules are they required to follow? The black community or their other communities?

[Anonymous]

05:47- I think you have misunderstood several posts and gone on a rant because of that. My "disgusting and offensive" post was about the use of the word niglet. I find it a nasty word. Reread the first quoted post in your 05:47 post, then read the post in response to it. I was not speaking about the whole story- I spoke about the use of one word in the story. That is clear if you actually read it.

There is more than one black person in this thread. Some find the story funny. Some don't. I actually posted earlier that the story was amusing because of the idiocy of the teacher. So your rant is quite misguided and I can't/won't answer your numerous questions about blame and anger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I'm asking is to whom is this anger over the video directed? Most white PPs aren't angry; they think his sense of humor actually helps to get across a major point. Black PPs, however (most), find the entire story offensive - from the actual trip to the taping to the posting to the "reviews."

So who's to blame for causing this uproar? Are you upset over the whites' reactions? over the fact that some blacks also think it's funny?

It happened. The school was stupid to allow such an event to take place (And who knows if we have all the info either?). The young man used his humor to get back at the school/teacher. He drew in quite a few "fans" who were also offended by it.

It seems there's only one acceptable way for people from a historically oppressed group to retell of their experiences. No humor allowed - at least nothing white people find funny. What about mixed race people is it okay for them to laugh? Whose rules are they required to follow? The black community or their other communities?

I found the story amusing minus some of the derogatory language he used.

This comment is unrelated to this particular story and more of a general comment- you should consider that perhaps when (some) white people find certain jokes about black people/experiences funny and (some) black people don't, there's a reason for that. Maybe when you're the group a joke targets, you don't find it as amusing as people who do not and will never have no connection to it.

I'm not going to call Jewish people humorless if they don't find a story about kids having to play concentration camp funny. Maybe I would find the hypothetical story humorous, but I would understand that as a non-Jew that just don't have the same perspective about it.

Then again, perhaps I should not have bothered to respond to your post since you seem a bit troll-like. And if not troll-like, a bit ignorant.

[Anonymous]

No wait.. I sent this to my 3 black friends and they found it funny.

No matter what your race is, if you found this funny you have low EQ.

[Anonymous]

Google "jewish holocaust humor".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The black guy in this post is a token nigger. He should be ashamed for acting like the clown they expected him to be. I'm also not okay with him using the word "niglet" to his white audience. His tap dancing is not amusing.

It seems a black man is expected to either be a fool or an angry criminal.

The black man is also be a sissy and dress up like an old lady. (e.g. Tyler Perry, Martin Lawrence, and Eddie Murphy) The modern minstrel shows.

I'm trying to get a group account on Reputation Defender for black people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This comment is unrelated to this particular story and more of a general comment- you should consider that perhaps when (some) white people find certain jokes about black people/experiences funny and (some) black people don't, there's a reason for that. Maybe when you're the group a joke targets, you don't find it as amusing as people who do not and will never have no connection to it.

I'm not going to call Jewish people humorless if they don't find a story about kids having to play concentration camp funny. Maybe I would find the hypothetical story humorous, but I would understand that as a non-Jew that just don't have the same perspective about it.

Then again, perhaps I should not have bothered to respond to your post since you seem a bit troll-like. And if not troll-like, a bit ignorant.

While I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to make light of the horrors of slavery or the genocide, that's not what this guy is doing. This is an instance where a black guy is relating a story about an inappropriate event he experienced, he is deliberately using humor that a broad audience finds funny, not just just white people. If humor were not his objective, he would have been angry and offended by the reaction he was getting from his audience - which doesn't find his story funny because they're white, they find it funny because they're human and aware. Did you ever see Life is Beautiful? How about the Producers? There's nothing funny about the Holocaust but there is humor in situations, particularly ridiculous situations like the cotton picking field trip. You don't have to be black to have a 'connection' with slavery. We all belong to mankind and what hurts one hurts us all. And, if that's not good enough for you, there are enough mixed race people that it's going to be hard for you to determine who is entitled to a 'connection' and who isn't.

[Anonymous]

Schools in the south have some real numbskull administrators. Yes, a generalization, but I know a former education consultant who worked with many southern schools and every time she entered a system, she was taken aback by the stupidity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:05:47- I think you have misunderstood several posts and gone on a rant because of that. My "disgusting and offensive" post was about the use of the word niglet. I find it a nasty word. Reread the first quoted post in your 05:47 post, then read the post in response to it. I was not speaking about the whole story- I spoke about the use of one word in the story. That is clear if you actually read it.

There is more than one black person in this thread. Some find the story funny. Some don't. I actually posted earlier that the story was amusing because of the idiocy of the teacher. So your rant is quite misguided and I can't/won't answer your numerous questions about blame and anger.

If you weren't angry, you would have responded to my questions, as they are indeed contextually appropriate.

Niglet, for example, is only one small part of a larger picture, correct? So if niglet makes you angry, how do you address that and other words that are offensive to some but apparently embraced by the younger generation? Do you stop kids in the street when you hear those word? If you're not part of the solution; you're part of the problem, right?

And then you, like others, found the story funny b/c of the idiocy of the teacher. As a white teacher, I agree. very idiotic! But had this young boy been angry in retelling the story, how would you have reacted? I can't imagine you'd find it humorous. Yet he had a way of poking fun at a sad situation in order to garner support from people he didn't even know!

Kids don't know their history, and what many do hear are angry words spouted out by angry parents. So while cuz is just fine, nigger is not. And and a white teacher, while I do my fair share of discussing why certain words are not appropriate, if I don't have rapport with students, who are majority minority (nice oxymoron), no amount of preaching will change them b/c all they see is a white face.

So what I am saying is that even though this video may have been posted as a form of "entertainment," it did indeed cause a reaction - bringing forth deep rooted resentment. Admit it. And hiring more white teachers will not create change. again - part of the problem if you're not part of the solution

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This comment is unrelated to this particular story and more of a general comment- you should consider that perhaps when (some) white people find certain jokes about black people/experiences funny and (some) black people don't, there's a reason for that. Maybe when you're the group a joke targets, you don't find it as amusing as people who do not and will never have no connection to it.

I'm not going to call Jewish people humorless if they don't find a story about kids having to play concentration camp funny. Maybe I would find the hypothetical story humorous, but I would understand that as a non-Jew that just don't have the same perspective about it.

Then again, perhaps I should not have bothered to respond to your post since you seem a bit troll-like. And if not troll-like, a bit ignorant.

While I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to make light of the horrors of slavery or the genocide, that's not what this guy is doing. This is an instance where a black guy is relating a story about an inappropriate event he experienced, he is deliberately using humor that a broad audience finds funny, not just just white people. If humor were not his objective, he would have been angry and offended by the reaction he was getting from his audience - which doesn't find his story funny because they're white, they find it funny because they're human and aware. Did you ever see Life is Beautiful? How about the Producers? There's nothing funny about the Holocaust but there is humor in situations, particularly ridiculous situations like the cotton picking field trip. You don't have to be black to have a 'connection' with slavery. We all belong to mankind and what hurts one hurts us all. And, if that's not good enough for you, there are enough mixed race people that it's going to be hard for you to determine who is entitled to a 'connection' and who isn't.

Did you mean to quote my comment? Because in the very first line (you didn't include that line when you quoted me) I said the story was amusing. In the second paragraph, I mentioned that the comments I was going to make were completely unrelated to the story in the OP.

Your comment is out of place in relation to what I said. Additionally, I am mixed race, so you don't have to inform me of how mixed people will change things.

Why are so many people having reading comprehension issues in this thread? Do they just want to rant without regard to who/what they're responding to?