Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Youtube sensation.

Here's a video that's been making the rounds. Watch it, then we'll all share our thoughts. Or, I'll share my thoughts and you'll just finish reading and go on about your business ;)



This video was a spinoff from this video. The original video has spawned a bunch of spinoff videos, go to youtube and watch them if you're bored.

Being the analytical gal I am, I categorized her "sh*ts white girls say" into 25 different ideas, and thought it might be fun for y'all to guess how many of those things have actually been said to me. Ok, guess.





















Twelve. I've heard them from classmates, friends, acquaintences, strangers. Not all by white girls, but all by white people. One she should have added was, "Do you know/You remind me of insert name of black person speaker knows here ?/." And it's always within 3 minutes of meeting me for the first time, which is kind of random.

I'd say they the comments in this vid fall into the category of racish. They strike me as things that things that people say without thinking. Probably no ill will intended, but annoying nonetheless. I will also say that I would rather have someone make comments like this, than be so afraid of offending me that they say nothing, and just act all weird.

So now my questions for you:

How does the number that have been said to me match up to your guess?
If you're white, how many of these things have you said? What was the motivation behind it?
If you're black, how many things have been said to you? How do you typically respond?
If you're neither white nor black, how does it feel to have things so often framed as black/white issues?

Oh, and if anyone has questions about specific comments like "Why is saying 'I don't like rap music' annyoing?" Leave em! Remember, this blog was gonna be called askablackperson.com, so don't be shy.

6 comments:

  1. I believe that anything anyone says can be interpreted as racist because of the tone of voice and manner in which the comment was said.

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  2. ya know what - i'm just going to start a blog that is a response to yours cuz i take up to much space here (very funny - i almost typed "white space" but didn't mean it in terms of race)

    i don't think i've ever said any of these things. the only one i think i ever wanted to say was "can i touch your hair" but then when i was ten i went to summer camp and was adopted into the "black girls group" and they taught me to braid which included braiding their hair so; there it is.

    but frankly i've never said these things because most of them are not racish imo - they are flat out racist. and others are just stupid. is it racist to ask why there's no white entertainment television - well, not exactly but it's racist and/or stupid to not piece that one together on your own.

    i have told the history of the irish but not as a one to one comparative. i've never said i don't like rap music because i actually love it but yeah, okay, i'll bite - why is that annoying? do you mean sort of an out of the blue thing? in the video it was on the radio so it seemed contextual.

    so some stray thoughts and i'm not even sure how they fit in; i hesitate to say them because i don't want it to seem like i think there is an equivalency going on here; i don't. for a number of reasons but i thought you'd find some of it interesting - i have been told many times that i'm not really white (even without the italian thing lol) that i'm too cool to be white. and i admit that at a time i felt pride over that - this was pre "cookies" but yeah, i got my cookie. i've had black women approach me with astonishment and say "you can dance." i had a black man basically tell me that he only performed oral on me because i was white (you can take that part out if you want -i know it's a family show lol) i had another black guy tell me that what he liked about me was that i was cool hanging out with him and his friends and i didn't try and "talk black." i have a friend who says her kids make fun of her because when she gets on the phone she "talks white."

    oh, and funny enough - about an hour before reading this i sent the previous mentioned friend an email with a link to a story about the lovings - i forget his name and his wife mildred who were jailed for miscegenation. i said that she looked a bit like mildred in pics where you couldn't see her nose up close. this woman is my son's godmother - she sends me "sisters" emails - we share a birthday, a faith, a sense of humor . . . and i sat and stared at that email for twenty minutes before sending it. because - if she didn't see the resemblance too then would she think that i think "they all look alike?"

    it's not easy on either side if you really give a shit. the point i try to make to those who say shit like "why is there no white history month" is that - it might make you uncomfortable but the point of privilege here is that you and i can opt out of the conversation if we so choose.

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  3. People always tell me I remind them of their friend Nicole. Your real name isn't Nicole, is it? lol There also should be a "You look really exotic - what race are you?" but that's probably for a "Shit White Guys Say to Black Girls" video.

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  4. I've had a variety of these things said to me growing up. I've always approached comments like these as an opportunity for people to get to know me as the person, not me as the Black person. I don't think any of it has ever stemmed from malice, only ignorance. I do realize that isn't everyone's experience though.

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  5. Anonymous7:56 PM

    As a white man I want a black girl to tell me that I am black from the waist down. I would dig that stereotype. Keeping it real and hanging low.

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  6. Anonymous12:36 PM

    OK, first of all, that video was hilarious.

    My personality is such that I say inappropriate things All. The. Time.
    So, I'm sure I've said at least one of those things in the video, but truly would never have meant it in an ill way.

    But this post reminded me of an incident I recently experienced:

    I was having lunch with a black friend of mine and my daughter who is half Mexican with very dark skin. At a nearby table there was an adorable baby girl, about 2 years old. She started waving and saying "Hi" to us. We waved back. It was cute. When they were leaving the restaurant her mom came up to our table and said, "My daughter just loves dark-skinned people. Black, Hispanic..."

    I was speechless and started giggling nervously. My friend was gracious and told the woman how beautiful her baby was. My daughter shouted, "I'm Mexican!" (she's proud).

    I know the woman wasn't trying to be offensive, but...Can you say AWKWARD?

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