Fantasy Fulfilled

A friend of mine recently told me he never really liked Tupac Shakur that much because his music didn't speak to him. He explained that as the child of two parents who lived together and raised him in a Christian, middle-class home, Shakur's stories of anger and angst didn't really reflect his life experiences.

At the time, I was confused. I grew up in the same sort of household, and I loved Pac. I still love Pac. Every time I listen to Pac I get hype and mourn his death. My friend also doesn't like Biggie, and I have the same sort of appreciation for Biggie. I can remember listening to Biggie's "Gimme the Loot" and thinking, "Robbing somebody sound kind of fun..."

Which is why I found this story interesting.

The story discusses the rise of Odd Future, a rap group composed of teenaged black males, that has garnered some serious love among white music critics. The article explores how strange it is to see black youth rapping about some of the most gruesome crimes imaginable lauded and championed by the very white folks who would seem to be most offended. Check it out if you get a chance.

But, I don't really want to discuss the merits of Odd Future, or whether they deserve their fanbase. Instead, there was a single quote in the article that caught my eye:

It's this overarching sense of youthful whimsy, this idea that they don't mean most of what they say, that keeps Odd Future in white fans' good graces. Because history has shown that white critics have a very low tolerance for actual, tangible black rage.

Those two sentences packed a powerful punch.

I remember reading about how white folks, mostly liberals, trekked down to "nigger towns" all across this country when segregation was the norm so they could get a taste of the authentic black nightlife. So they could hear the best music, could eat the best food, and generally feel like they were more advanced than their Negro fearing friends.

Only, it was sham. The fear was still there. These same folks didn't want Negroes in their spaces acting like fully formed human beings. They didn't want black folks upsetting their status quo in any way. They just wanted them to stay in their little areas and be ready to perform when it was time to entertain.

I'm not saying that "conservatives" and their value systems that got abandoned as soon as some black vagina was available weren't a problem, but it was the liberals who truly deceived black folks. Black folks knew that racists only wanted to use and abuse them, but liberals liked to dress up as friends when really they were only enemies in disguise. That's more dangerous to the unsuspecting.

Odd Future appears to fill a familiar space in white folks lives. They allow critics to embrace the aspects of black life they find truly scary with the maximum amount of safety. Even more, the connection is controlled completely by listeners, who can engage or not engage as they see fit, which isn't an option in the real world.

In the real world, black people make demands on you. They force you to pay attention and do things that are uncomfortable. You can't hit pause to slow things down, or press fast forward to get to the good song when real life black people are involved. And, if you're not careful, you can get seriously hurt.

That ruins the fantasy.





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Drive-By Posting

Don't have time to write much, but I stumbled across this blog at Racialicious and just had to share it.

Seriously, the more things change, the more they stay the same. And this story highlights why black folks and other minorities care so much about stereotypes.

They have a lot of power.


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Diversity's Hue

Diversity.

Tolerance.

Multi-culturalism.

When those buzzwords typically get lobbed around, they are euphemisms for race. Racial diversity, racial tolerance and racial multi-culturalism. Not matter how stridently Americans protest that the world is not about race, sadly, it almost always is.

But, those words lose some of their power when they are only considered in the context of race. Diversity of thought is more important than diversity of race. Tolerating diversity in opinions is far more valuable than allowing black folks to move into your neighborhood. And understanding and appreciating a diversity in true culture does far more good than hanging out in the ethnic part of town. It's about understanding what are real differences and what is superficial.

Despite its importance, race at its core is very superficial. It's quite possible to spend your entire life around people of the same color and never feel like you belong or are appreciated. Sharing a skin color does not guarantee sharing a life experience, nor does it guarantee sharing understanding.

This thought came back to me recently while discussing a hot button news topic with a group of young black men. I realized that all of us brought something different to the intellectual table despite the fact that most of us grew up on the same block. That we all digested the same events differently. That all our perspectives had some value because they all gave a slightly fuller picture of the world. Our shared color did not guarantee shared values. Our minds were our own little sanctuaries, and in them we've created own little worlds.

It is an important lesson to remember..

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Well, What a Surpise!

Are "Uncle Toms" white folks' concern?

Well, of course on a certain level they have to be, right? After all, the term Uncle Tom is used by black folks typically to describe another black person seen as a toady of white people, or a "favored" black person. So, on that level, you can't have Uncle Toms without white folks, and most of us surely know that the term was coined thanks to a book by a white woman.

That said, if a black person calls another black person an Uncle Tom, is that really something that white folks should be running around spouting their opinion on?

I raise this question because recently, Jalen Rose, a former NBA player and current ESPN analyst, made the comment during a recent documentary about his time at the University of Michigan as a member of the famed Fab Five. Rose wasn't calling anybody a Tom today, instead he was explaining how his teenage self viewed black players recruited by Duke University in 1992.

And his comments have ignited a firestorm.

I won't recap the back and forth, mainly because it's easily accessible for those of you who feel like trawling the web. Instead, I want to discuss the curious fact that this firestorm of discussion on what is really an issue about how black folks view blackness has been largely driven by white folks. White folks have ardently questioned Rose's comments, and what those comments say about the black community. They expressed outrage and disgust at his word choice, and as certain black folks have weighed in with their "I used to get teased for being smart and black" stories, the thing has snowballed.

Honestly, it pisses me off more than a tad.

I meet so many "educated" white folks who avoid racial discussion like the black plague. They have no interest in researching or discussing racial history, no use for in depth conversations about how we got to this point, but let a black man throw out the word "Uncle Tom" and they are all over it. They have theories, and extensive commentary, even as they profess that racial issues aren't typically their cup of tea.

First, that's incredibly arrogant. If you don't typically discuss or focus on racial issues, why would you think it's a good idea to pontificate and argue with those with more experience.? Why would you assume your opinions have merit simply because they are your opinions, regardless of the logical and factual fallacies they contain?

Second, white people jumping to the defense of a black person accused of being a Tom only increases the impression that said black person is, in fact, a Tom. White folks ain't rushing to defend black people they don't feel comfortable with or close to. And for black folks, any black person who is really and truly comfortable and accepted by white folks is automatically suspect. We can't understand any situation where you can gain that level of acceptance without displaying Uncle Tom behavior. That might not be true, but that's exactly how we think.

It's funny to me that white folks have so many thoughts on this topic and that they are sharing them so freely. Sadly, I don't think this will continue in a few weeks when a less juicy example of racism, one that doesn't involve black on black crime, pops up. Instead, I'm sure white folks will be too busy to weigh in.

It figures.






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