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<blockquote> <p>...nor in fact, does Whitney Houston wear an afro<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Sometimes she does:</p>
<p>I'm sure you're right coureur, but that particular hairdo is not an afro. And with my hair, I know of what I speak. Politics I might not know, but curly hair, that I know.</p>
<p>(Meant in a spirit of humor -- no colors on the internet.)</p>
<p>PM me if you want more info. on curly hair, haha.</p>
<p>What I don't get about all these incidents (and they are numerous) is this: Do they not teach the very painful history of black Americans in high school? Why doesn't every American kid understand the true history of nooses and blackface? What is the point of taking AP US History if you don't know and FEEL the very tragic history of lynchings and the regretful formation of cruel stereotypes that arose from blackface? Where is the empathy?</p>
<p>And while we are on topic, let's not forget the royal prince of England (one of em) dressing up as Hitler. Little girls dress up as whores. Penn had it's suicide bomber - photographed with President Gutman. I think we should ban costumes entirely.. except for religious reasons, of course.</p>
<p>Unquestionably racist. And considering that the incident involved a student at Smith, I'd also suggest that it demonstrates an astonishing lack of both sensitivity and good judgment.</p>
<p>"Unquestionably racist. And considering that the incident involved a student at Smith, I'd also suggest that it demonstrates an astonishing lack of both sensitivity and good judgment."</p>
<p>Showing lack of good judgement, yes. The reaction was predictable because of the historical context, no matter what the intention. Unquestionably racist? I don't think so. I haven't seen pictures, but it sounds like they were not in traditional "blackface," which involves a cartoonish combination of shoe-polish black face and ludicrously enlarged white lips. It sounds as if they were in an attempt at realistic theatrical make-up. Have you ever seen a picture of Laurence Olivier made up as Othello? Is that "racist"?</p>
<p>^No disrespect intended, but wearing theatrical makeup to play Othello is one thing. Showing up to a party in "blackface" masquerading as Whitney and Bobby -- that's something else.</p>
<p>I don't know, i think people are just being a bit too sensitive. Would there have been any questions raised if it was a pair of pale/"good-haired" AAs who had donned the same costumes?</p>
<p>I would have had to ask who Whitney and Bobby were. I Googled.</p>
<p>A tangle of questions here: if it's okay to mock celebrities, would it have been clear that the couple were dressed as Whitney and Bobby if they <em>hadn't</em> been obviously black? Otoh, given the potential range of reactions, <em>what</em> was that young couple thinking? Is it okay to mock celebrities only if they are of one's own race?</p>
<p>I'm in the peculiar position of understanding both the black students' outrage and the white students' sense of overreaction.</p>
<p>"Racist" requires further information regarding intent; "bad judgment" and "insensitive" does not.</p>
<p>Weenie, there's a stretch in my book from attempted verisimilitude (black face) to taunting intimidation (nooses).</p>
<p>I guess I don't find this cut and dried from either perspective.</p>
<p>I think it is pretty cut & dry and "you're being too sensitive" is precisely the response that sparked the uproar on campus.</p>
<p>The incident amy not have been patently racist, but it was racilally insensitive and racially offensive. And even if unintended (s I'm certain this was), the offense should not be dismissed as hyper-sensitivity on the part of the aggrieved party/group.</p>
<p>If we don't want to say necessarily racist (which I think it is, even if unconscious), I certainly think it shows a lack of taste and sensitivity.</p>
<p>As an another example, my son likes to make fun of the voice at the other end of the telephone when he orders Chinese food. I told him that this is racist and unpleasant to hear and not to do it in front of me. He wondered, "Why is it okay if I do a French accent and not a Chinese one." He loves accents.</p>
<p>I am not sure if I can explain why I think it is. I guess things occur in a historical context and we have never oppressed the French, with the exception of the atrocious "freedom fries and freedom toast."</p>
<p>Tastelessness shades into unconscious racism. I think that if the white students said, "Yes, we didn't mean it that way, but we see your point; we'll be more sensitive in the future" would be a much better approach than, "You are overreacting."</p>
<p>Thedad, black face is considered insulting. That's really the point there. I have seen white kids/adult dressed as black celebrities or characters (Mr T is one who comes immediately to mind, Michael Jackson another, the Supremes are popular). I've not seen anyone dressing as a black character putting on black face, however. I don't see blacks whitening up their faces when they dress up as white characters either.</p>
<p>The whole political correctness thing makes me shake my head often. Particularly when I see things like a group of kids calling each other an inflammatory name, several times a minute when you know that if someone outside of that race used the word, there would be outrage. However, we know the rules. I assume that the Smithies are astute enough that they knew it was a foolish thing to go blackface. Every so often some college makes headlines because someone cross that line drawn by the political correctness faction that are upheld by our society at this time.</p>
<p>While the incident is certainly regrettable, insensitive, and not to be tolerated, I do not think that Smithies should have "known better" to a higher degree than any other college students. They are, after all, still college students - with all the youthful thoughtlessness that that title implies. Smith may have a reputation for a excess of political correctness, but their students are, in the end, still kids.</p>
<p>wow, I just love this old lame excuse, that they are "still college students" with youthful thoughlessness</p>
<p>its getting real old making excuses for adults like that</p>
<p>they knew it was tacky and did it anyway</p>
<p>this isn't about Political Correctness, not at all</p>
<p>Its about not understanding history and what blackface represents</p>
<p>CotH, I understand that it was a foolish decision.</p>
<p>Anent PC: I was once taken to task for a line of dialogue I had written. I was told that it would been okay if the line of dialogue had been written by a woman. Didn't believe it then, don't believe it now.</p>
<p>Just as I don't believe in using the N-word, regardless of who is uttering it.</p>
<p>But there are a tangle of expectations out there that aren't completely rational.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>wow, I just love this old lame excuse, that they are "still college students" with youthful thoughlessness<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>If you read my post you'll see that I didn't say that they are still college students to excuse their activity. In fact I said their insensitive behavior was not to be tolerated. The point of about still being college students was to say that they should not be held to some higher standard than other college students simply because they go to Smith.</p>
<p>I'm glad Pres Christ, whose response was prompt and unequiv regarding the shcs unwillingness to tolerate racist conduct.</p>
<p>TDad - - I think an earlier poster hit the nail on the head. You can talk bad about your family in a way that others can't. And as Spock said on StarTrek, "It may not be logical, but it is true."</p>
<p>Would someone please explain to an alien why blackface is considered offensive. To my mind, impersonating someone coming out of rehab would be very offensive, and dressing up as anybody real for Hallowe'en even more offensive as it is supposed to be dedicated to evil and creatures of the night, but why is painting one's face an insult? One of my favourite moments of cinema is Astaire in 'Swing Time" dancing Bojangles in blackface. Is this scene no longer acceptable? Should one also avoid dressing up as a native American, Groucho Marx or a Chinese Emperor with pigtails?</p>
<p>Well, black face is one way whites stereotyped blacs in minstrel shows. Blacks do not have "black face." Halle Berry is "black" and she is the same color as some whites with great sun tans. (Not pasty me, sigh.)</p>
<p>Black face uses extremely dark, dark make up and exaggerated large, white lips to caricature a group of people.</p>
<p>Why is this destructive and offensive? So many reasons. 1) People are more than their skin color. Pig tails don't involve painting yourself yellow -- not that east Asians have yellow skin, but they were "yellow" as "blacks" were "blacks". And while we're on the subject, I may be pasty, but I am not "white." 2) Sure, steal the music of a group and then perform pretending you're them and don't allow those people to perform their own music. This is the historical background of black face. 3) Or a bit later, allow African-Americans to perform, but don't allow them to use the bathroom in the club they're performing in and don't allow them to walk in the front door. The night club, Cafe Society, was a big deal because in was interracial in its clientele. And this was in the fifties! In NYC! Not the deep South.</p>
<p>Black face is a sad reminder of the appropriation of African-American culture by main stream American culture without so much as a by-your-leave and without remuneration or thanks. Similar to, oh I don't know, maybe slavery, which does the same thing with others' labor.</p>
<p>Mythmom, that's an excellent summary.</p>
<p>But it is my understanding that these kids were not in fact in "blackface." I have the feeling that they thought there was a recognizable distinction between what we all know as the cartoonish "blackface" and realistic theatrical makeup. Apparently they were wrong. (I am willing to bet that they would never have considered appearing in actual "blackface," although obviously I am speculating.)</p>
<p>People who have used the perfectly legitimate word "niggardly"--which, to my knowledge, has nothing at all to do with the N word--have been astonished to discover that they are accused of racism and insensitivity. Just as some sportscaster--and I believe it was Howard Cosell, which makes it additionally ironic, since he was one of the few to champion Muhammad Ali, and was known for his anti-racist record--was astonished to discover that using the word "monkey" to admiringly describe the feats of a smallish, very agile athlete was somehow twisted to suggest that he was comparing the individual to a primate because he was black.</p>
<p>I really think that branding these kids as obvious racists is pretty unfair.</p>